Copics are the most popular and well known brand of alcohol markers in the world. They blend together very smoothly and they have a big selection of colors. People use these markers for cartooning, finished art pieces, adult coloring, and more. However, we must keep in mind that they are dye based markers and therefore not lightfast. If you want to try out these markers for yourself, I have included my Amazon and Blick Art Materials affiliate links down below.
Copic alcohol markers come in four types: Classic, Sketch, Ciao, and Broad. Classic Copic markers have a chisel tip nib and a fine tip nib. Classic Copics have a square barrel and come in 214 colors. Sketch Copics have the most colors with 358 shades and have an oval barrel. Sketch markers have a broad nib and a brush nib. Ciao Copic markers are smaller than the first two types and come with a chisel nib and a brush nib. They have a round barrel and come in 180 colors. The Broad Copics have a three-quarters of an inch broad nib with a flat barrel and they come in 36 colors. All of these markers have replaceable nibs and refillable ink. Copics blend so well because there are many subtle shades of ink colors.
My Collection
You can download a Copic Marker chart and print it out to keep track of all the markers that you have. I have a few small packs of Ciaos and Sketch markers and one or two Classic markers. Most of my markers are from Copic Doodle packs or small Sketch marker packs. You can get Copics open stock from around $5 to $8 depending on where you buy them. Amazon and dickblick.com are some of the main retailers of Copics. The Copic website sells them and many other art stores.
The complete Classic marker collection comes in three sets of 72 , the complete Sketch markers collection comes in five sets of 72, and the complete Ciao marker collection comes in two sets of 72. The large sets retail for around $300 on Amazon. All of these markers are available in smaller sets as well. There are little Doodle Packs that consist of Ciaos and Copic fineliners for around $17.
Copic also has several lines of other products besides alcohol markers. Copic has fineliners in a few colors and they are waterproof and lightfast. Copic also has glitter pens and marker paper. They also have an airbrush tool that you can use with your Copic markers. There are lots of books and dvds to show how to use Copic markers plus tons of YouTube tutorials.
Doodlin ' Time !
'New Mexico Chile'
by Ellie Taylor
I tested out my little group of Copic markers on one of my coloring pages from my upcoming coloring book on New Mexico. These markers blend very well and don't bleed very much. Copics are definitely one of the very best brands of alchohol markers and all the replaceable parts make them very good for a long term investment. I like Copics, but since I don't use them all the time, the smaller packs or smaller Ciao markers are better for my needs.
If you are just a hobbyist and don't use alcohol markers very often, then you might want to try some cheaper alternatives or the smaller Copic Caio markers. However, If you are a professional and use Copic markers all the time then they are a good investment. This is because you can get nib replacements and ink refills and that is cheaper than buying new markers in the long run.