We are sketching away here at Arya’s Daughter in preparation for the FW collection. I always gravitate to classic supplies from BookBinders—-their A6 hardcover notebooks, Japanese pens and accessories are amazing. But sometimes things need to be done in colour. That’s when I turn to copic (alcohol-based) or tombow (water-based) markers for quick easy sketches on the go.
These markers coming in a variety of colourways and it’s easy to get lost AND spend way to much money finding what your need. So here are some tips to get you started….
First, always buy markers in groups of three colour families, the closer together, the easier to blend. But if too close, they look the same. Ideally be two or three shades or numbers apart within the family.
Second, think about what you will be using them for. If you’re using them for kids birthday cards, you might stick to brights, landscapes for neutral, shaded colours. I use them in design work and generally prefer clear tertiary colours. If you colour a lot of flowers, then pinks, reds and greens might need to be purchased first.
There is a lot of information on sketch vs ciao. Essentially, Sketch has a broader range of colours and is more expensive (generally used by professionals). Ciao has a more limited range of colours and is less expensive.
To draw and then colour with copics, make sure that your drawing pen is alcohol based or archival ink. Otherwise using a Copic to fill in a drawing will smudge the lines.
I hope these tips are helpful, send your drawings our way…
