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Crafter's Corner COPIC MARKERS (August 31, 2009)
The highs and lows of using Copic markers.
The highs - well I guess the amazing colour results you get and the vast range. It's real liquid ink so you get a good, even coverage (not like normal markers). The pens last forever - yes really - you buy liquid ink to refill and just get a new nib if you wear it out - or you can change it for a different type. I like the sketch range - keep the brush and swap the medium broad for a finer one. A personal high for me is that the more you study the better you get: some folk will consider that a down side.
The lows - this is a professional illustration tool: well that's a plus really, but it does mean that you have know a bit to get the best from them. You can use them just as colouring pens, but once you get a bit of knowledge and start mixing and layering - and working with the blender spirit - it is just amazing what you can achieve.
The web site (http://copicmarker.com) is not all that easy to find your way around. I am not going to go into techniques and usage at the moment. All this is, is a (fairly) basic (easy?) guide to finding your way about the marker types and the colour system.
Copic is the brand name of a company that makes a range of ink based re-fillable markers and outline pens.
The marker range is divided into 3 main groups
Original Copic - Sketch Copic - Ciao Copic
All ranges are double ended / re-fillable / have replacement nibs / acid free / alcohol inks.
Original Copics -
Come in 214 colours
Can be used in the air brush
Have broad nib / fine nib
Hold the most ink
Are square
Sketch Copics -
Come in 334 colours
Can be used in the air brush
Have medium broad nib / brush nib
Hold the medium amount of ink
Are oval
Ciao Copics -
Come in 214 colours
Can be used in the air brush
Have broad nib / fine nib
Hold the least amount of ink
Are round
There are also 36 wide nib markers for poster work.
The colour coding system is the same for all groups.
The letter - B (blue), BG (blue green), BV (blue violet), G (green), YG (yellow green), Y (yellow), YR (yellow red), R (red), RV (red violet), V (violet), E (earth), C (cool gray), N (neutral gray), T (toner gray), W (warm gray). Plus F (fluorescent) in all colour groups.
The first number - is the tonal value - how bright a colour is. 0 is the brightest down to 9 the dullest/greyest
The second number - is the strength of the actual colour. 1 is the lightest and 9 is the darkest
You really do need basic colour wheel understanding to get the bet out of this!
Then you have the liner pens. These are designed to work with the markers and not damage the marker nibs or run when you ink over them. There are 2 types - basically a throw out type or a re-fillable one, both are available in several nib sizes. They are available in a few colours. Also, you can get Spica glitter pens in 13 transparent colours.
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