How to Use Copic Markers – A Quick Guide


How to Use Copic Markers - A Quick Guide

Copic markers are fantastic when it comes to illustrating, drawing, sketching, and writing in all kinds of styles. They’re used by manga artists and illustrators all over the world.

You can use them to combine darker shades with lighter shades from the same color family to create fantastic artwork. A colorless blender can also be implemented for even better shading. 

If you’ve never used a Copic marker before, you may be feeling a little confused about the best practices involved. Well, this post takes you through the best ways to use your Copic sketch markers to make superb art. 

Coloring With Copic Markers

  • Begin by drawing an outline of the design that you want to color in. You could also use a coloring book or stencil design.
  • Use a pencil to sketch the outline before using a Copic sketch pen to go over the created lines.
  • You can then start to fill in the shape with the Copic marker. Be sure to start with the lightest shades of your chosen color before moving up a few shades darker.
  • Use small circles whilst coloring to minimize streaks and lines.
  • Once you’ve added your base color, use your darker sketch markers to create more depth.
  • Choose a shade that’s one or two darker and shade from the outside in.
  • You can then go back to your lighter shade and use it to blend the two shades together using a circular motion until you fill the design.
  • Make sure that you perform this blending process whilst the ink is still wet to enhance the quality of your work.
  • Try experimenting with different colors and shades to see how they react to each other.
  • If you wanted to use coloured pencils to add more details, make sure that you let the ink dry first. 

Writing Letters With Copic Markers

When writing letters, you can choose from Copic Ciao, classic, wide, and sketch. It’s best to use the wide versions that come with a chisel nib. 

  • Start by using plain paper or paper with lines if you want to keep your letters uniform.
  • You can then start writing using different fonts and experimenting with zig-zag strokes and straight strokes, depending on the letters that you’re writing.
  • It’s best to start with the simplest fonts. You can find these online or in books. 
  • You may also want to try writing the letter font with a pencil before going over it with your wide marker.
  • Once you’ve nailed your fonts, you can move on to creating depth by adding shading. 
  • Use a light color and begin shading the letters before using a darker color.
  • You can then apply a colorless blender to blend the two shades together more smoothly and create some color saturation.
  • You can also experiment with using more ink and less ink with water-based markers and alcohol markers to see what works best to develop and improve new skills.

Also read: How to Color With Copic Markers

Conclusion

After reading our post on using Copic markers to write, color, and blend colors, you’ll be feeling more assured about using them. We hope that the details found throughout our post have been useful in helping you apply these markers to your artwork and writing to add depth and be creative. Now stop reading, and start creating…


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Written By Adam Rushton

Adam has made a name for himself in the illustration industry and is a passionate blogger and writer on the subject of art, illustration and graphic design.

His artwork has been featured in countless publications and used for very well-known media projects. As a professional illustrator for over 20 years, Adams media outlets, a wealth of knowledge, and experience enable him to consult and advise artists and illustrators in this country (from York and Manchester to Southampton and London) and all over the world.


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