Welcome to my life, Mane... We had to get a bunch of Copics on our first year for some industrial design drawing practice. Due to them being so darned expensive, our class thought it'd be a good idea to order them from online for much cheaper, AND to get some refills while we were at it. We also spent a bunch on marker paper to make the markers last longer (the paper stops the copics from bleeding through, among other things).
Now, three years later, I have come to the realization that I haven't used my Copics for
any industrial design work
after our second year (even then, I only used them on
one course's final work). WELL THEN.........! XD
!ALERT! COPIC NERD TALK BELOW! XDD
If you're absolutely serious of getting some Copics, my advice is to get three shades of cool grey (C1, C3 and C5
OR C2, C4 and C6, I recommend the latter set) and three shades of warm grey (W1, W3 and W5
OR W2, W4 and W6, I recommend the latter set).
Depending on what kind of work you would be doing, I'd recommend getting a few starter colours (
one or two of the following colours: red, yellow, green, blue, brown). Due to copics being blend-able, and the colour getting stronger the more layers of the colour you put on, you can easily start with just one shade of each basic colour, but for deeper and more lively shading it's better to have two different shades. Also, if you're going to be drawing humans, I recommend getting a few skin-tones (I myself use Promarkers for those since I draw so little humans and I'm fine with them being one-use-only, unlike Copics that you can re-fill).
Another fun fact about Copics and why you DEFINITELY should have greys: you can colour on top of the Copics with
chalk pastels or colouring pencils, like I have done
*ON THIS DRAWING* on the rose and face. Copics do not like fixative, however, so to fix the chalk on the paper, chip a bit of the chalk into fine powder on spare paper, mix in a little bit of baby powder, and spread it on the drawing with cotton wool or cotton swabs (former for large areas, latter for small details). You can also create sharp edges with the pastels by placing paper on top of the drawing and making it into a mask, then carefully applying the pastel on the area that is visible through the mask (see
*THIS DRAWING* for reference, the "light" the lamp emits and "background" behind the objects were done this way).
Another useful thing is either a
white gel pen or
white correction ink. They can be used to create shine points where the light reflects back to the viewer as a sharp, shiny dot (
*SEE HERE*). Don't overdo it though, or it won't look natural (unless that's what you're aiming for like I did
*HERE* xDD).
Hmm what else...
Oh! There are two different kinds of Copics that I can recommend.
Copic Marker has hard tips, one thin for precise work and the other flat for large areas. These markers are good for precision work, and I prefer them for most of my work.
Copic Ciao, on the other hand, has softer tips, one flat and one
brush. Ciao are good for softer shading, and I love using them while shading hair / mane / etc, but otherwise I find them way too soft to my liking. It's a matter of personal preference (as an example, my friend
Adalgeus prefers Ciao while I prefer Markers).
Depending on what kind of drawings you're doing, you might want to invest on something that you can do lineart with.
Water-soluble inking markers are better for this since as long as you let your lineart dry long enough, they won't bleed as much into the colouration (Copics are alcohol based and as such will dissolve any alcohol based marker). Black ball-point pens are also rather good for making lineart/sketches, especially if you want to have a more concept-like look on the drawing (though be aware that some black ballpoint pens
will also bleed when coloured over with copics).
Also one last thing I recommend getting at some point:
a colorless blender (code 00). I recommend getting this as a Marker as opposed to Ciao (marker lasts longer and is easier to use for larger surfaces when compared to Ciao). Applying blender to an area you're about to colour helps you blend in whichever tones you're going to apply next. It requires some practice, but it's especially good when you want to apply just the tiniest bit of grey or light toned coloured shadows on a white area.
Oh also, one thing I cannot stress enough:
get Marker paper. Proper marker paper. It makes your copics last longer and the colour won't bleed through to whichever surface you're drawing on. It's also thinner than normal paper and you can see through it (good if you sketch on another paper then draw it through again on the marker paper). Trust me, you will
not be happy if you draw on normal copy paper only to realize your Copics are dead after a few drawings.
.... I think that's all? I can't think of anything else, anyway. xD
Adalgeus, do you have anything to add?