Awhile ago, I purchased a set of Copic Markers:
My set of Copic Markers
Made in Japan, Copic brand markers have long been in use by the artists there. They come in approximately 346 colors, released in various sets and themes. The markers aren’t just prized strictly in Japan, as they are sold internationally and sought by artists everywhere (and not just artists influenced by Japanese art either).
A Copic Marker
Each Copic marker uses a special casing that’s durable. When regular markers run out of ink, they shrivel up and die a horrible death. But with Copic Markers, you can easily refill the marker with ink, so you won’t have to buy a new marker each time. Another advantage to having refillable inks is that the inks themselves can be mixed into brand new colors before being inserted into the markers. Too, the company that manufactures Copic Markers, makes special “blank” markers for this very purpose, adding to the versatility of the marker brand.
Each marker is also double-sided, with one end having a brush tip and the other having a typical angled nib. These tips are the main claim to fame about these markers. Using the brush tip especially feels loose and natural, and you’re able to use a wide variety of coloring techniques with them. The angled nib has its purposes too, if you desire a straight, consistent line.
Dragon Maiden, the person I drew the “Power of Oshawott” pic for, has been a fan of Copic Markers for a few years and has been trying to get me to buy a set for a while. But they’re so expensive, with a set of 12 costing well over $100, and a set of 72 (its highest) costing over $300. Finally, I stopped being cheap and decided to buy a set of 12 (I got them at a discounted price though anyway).
I wanted to try them out, so I drew a random picture for me to color. Now I’ll introduce Kateri, Guardian of the Pencil Lance:
Kateri, Guardian of the Pencil Lance
When I said random, I meant random. My muse had a field day combining random design elements into one whole. What it came up with was a rocker-ish looking girl holding a lance designed after a #2 pencil. She was named Kateri because Dragon Maiden thought she looked Native American, and I looked up a random Native American name for the character.
After penciling and inking Kateri, it was now time for the main event. The whole reason the pic existed…to test the Copic Markers. And the markers definitely lived up to its reputation. Kateri was mostly colored with the brush tip, and I found myself thinking I was painting with oil paint rather than coloring with a marker. That’s how natural and intuitive the brush tip felt.
The artwork made the best of the 12 colors I bought. Unfortunately, the set of 12 markers I bought was themed after skin tones, so the colors leaned toward the yellow/purple side of the spectrum. I say its unfortunate because I really wanted a set of basic colors, where I could really play around and create colorful artwork, but the store I went to didn’t have it. So Kateri was forced to have a purple/orange theme, which still worked out pretty good anyway.
I did some minor color mixing with this artwork, as you can see with the shading and in the hair section. With Copic Markers, and regular markers too, the more you color a single section, the darker the color will come out. So I used that property to create shading, by coloring the shaded regions twice with the same color. The hair section combined 3 colors, an orange, a blue and a tiny bit of a green. The only problem I had really was with highlighting. I attempted some highlighting on Kateri’s leg on the left hand side, but it came out looking kind of dull, and not bright looking. That’s because, again, when you mix 2 colors, the result color is darker. So next time I use copic markers, I’ll have to plan ahead and use other techniques if I want better highlighting.
I hope you enjoy this experimental artwork, and the brief look at Copic Markers. Down the road, I’ll go more in-depth about Copic Markers as I learn more about them (there are tons more info about different marker types, techniques, history, famous people who use them, etc). But that’s enough for now. Laters
Chimeric Musings 