My Favorite Copic Markers

I get asked a lot about what Copic Marker sets to buy and/or what Copic Markers are my favorites.

I covered some of these questions months ago when I first started out with Copics and I thought now would be a good time to revisit the subject. :)

How I buy markers:

Please keep in mind that this is what works for me. :) What looks good to my eye might not look good to yours. But I can share some buying tips for when you go to purchase Copic Markers.

I generally use 2-4 markers per color when coloring in an image.

1. Purchase in groups of three. Pick a "favorite" color + two friends. For example if you pick E57 Light Walnut as the "main" brown color for what you are coloring in, next choose a lighter shade i.e. E55 Light Camel (a couple of numbers lower than the "favorite", E57) and a darker color (a couple of numbers higher than the "favorite", E59 Walnut). This will allow you to color with some nice shading. You can fill in with additional colors as you can purchase more markers.
2. I don't recommend buying the sets of markers. They may seem like a great deal but how many times have you purchased a set of something only to come away with a bunch of pieces you never use? Same goes for markers. They generally are "random" markers. You won't be getting the "groups of three" that I talked about above and you'll end up spending more to get the additional markers you need.
3. These markers are an investment. BUT you do not have to have a huge collection of them to enjoy and benefit from being able to color and blend your stamped or hand drawn images. Buy in groups of two or three and buy what you like and fill in as you can.
4. I have been filling in my collection for about a year now. I only buy a handful at a time and keep a wishlist handy so I know what ones I still would like to have.
5. Keep a color chart (you can download one HERE) and color in the rectangles with the colors you DO have. Take the chart with you to the store (or check it when ordering online) to make sure you don't buy duplicates. I have bought duplicates on accident...and kicked myself because they are too pricey to do that!

My Favorite Markers:

BROWNS: For brown hair, wood, etc.

E55 Light Camel

E57 Light Walnut

E59 Walnut

REDS: R39 Garnet is not near as purple as it appears in this photo.

Perfect for getting deep red shadowing.

R24 Prawn	R27 Cadmium Red	R29 Lipstick Red
R39 Garnet

DEEP PURPLES: I am fairly certain that these colors are used a lot in really detailed advanced shading but I love them for rich purples.

BV20 Dull Lavender

BV23 Grayish Lavender

BV25 Grayish Violet

GREENS: For coloring leaves, grass, etc.

YG23 New Leaf

YG25 Celadon Green

GREENS: Deep greens, more muted. Love these together.

YG91 Putty	YG93 Grayish Yellow	YG95 Pale Olive
YG97 Spanish Olive

YELLOWS: For hair

Y11 Pale Yellow

Y28 Lionet Gold

YELLOWS: Flowers, things besides hair

Y15 Cadmium Yellow

Y17 Golden Yellow

ORANGES: This is the perfect duo for coloring pumpkins. You may want to add some shading with grays or browns but these are the oranges I use all the time.

YR15 Pumpkin Yellow

YR18 Sanguine

BLUES: The BG colors are my favorites for coloring aqua blue tones, the B colors are more true blue denim tones.

B91 Pale Grayish Blue	B93 Light Crockery Blue	B95 Light Grayish Cobalt
BG0000 Snow Green	BG000 Pale Aqua	BG01 Agua Blue

Caucasian Skin Tone and Cheek Color:

E000 Pale Fruit Pink	E00 Skin White	E11 Bareley Beige
R20 Blush

COOL GRAYS: What I use to shade in "white" areas on stamped images. You want your whites to still have depth and dimension even though you technically aren't "coloring them in".

C00 Cool Gray

C1 Cool Gray

C3 Cool Gray

WARM GRAYS: I use these for black hair, coloring in anything that is gray (like the donkey in THIS project), etc.

W2 Warm Gray	W4 Warm Gray	W6 Warm Gray
W7 Warm Gray

Where to buy Copic Markers? 

I have purchased the Copic Sketch Markers from the following and highly, highly recommend the two online stores:

• Hobby Lobby: (not a huge selection but decent for just starting out) They retail for $6.49 I believe but I like to wait for them to be 30 or 40% off.
• Ellen Hutson: Wonderful to work with, super fast shipping, great prices. (I believe they are around $4.99/marker). They offer discounts often which usually makes the cost even cheaper + they carry a wide variety of papers and inks that works well with Copics (more about that a little later).
• Simon Says Stamp: Again, fabulous to work with, awesome people, awesome store. HUGE selection of stamps, too. After all, we need something to actually color once we get all these markers! Markers are $4.99/ea.

Okay, I think that does it for today. 

If you have more questions concerning what I shared here today or just on Copics in general drop me a not here or by email.

Have a great day!