Great instruction from Jackson Root on the Copic website...

 March 5, 2013

Follow along as Jackson Root, a talented illustrator and Copic fine art instructor, explains the Copic color system:

At first glance, the Copic color chart can seem pretty intimidating – a vast array of colors, currently totaling 358, with the latest addition of another 12 colors just last February. Glancing at the end of your Copic Sketch marker, you may have noticed that in addition a the color name, each Copic color has its own 3 or 4-digit identifying color number, located on the marker itself and centered on each end cap (with the exception of Ciao). Believe it or not, these numbers not only describe the color, but also can act as a guide for navigating the Copic Color system and for picking other colors that will correspond and blend nicely in tone, saturation and hue!

Did you know that in addition to a number of extremely helpful and handy tutorialsand guides, the ability to create your own Copic Artist profile and Art Gallery viaCopicColor.com, and a convenient way to order all of your Copic markers and accessories, Copic also provides you with a multitude of official Copic guides and resources? If you’ve never checked out the Resources page of the Copic site, it’s worth a look. I recommend downloading the color wheel and color chart and printing yourself a copy – I’ll be using it for much of the following guide!

So what is the Copic Color System?

The Copic Color System is a system in which each Copic color is identified and labeled, based on the color’s individual Color Family, Saturation Number, andBrightness Number.

• The Color Family indicates what sort of color, i.e. red, blue-green, orange, etc.

• The Saturation Number indicates how “rich” or how “dull” the color will appear (higher number = more dull)

• The Brightness Number indicates how “dark” the color will appear (Higher number = darker)

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How can this help me to navigate the Copic Color Library?

Just by glancing at the digits on the cap of a Copic Sketch marker can quickly tell you what color (hue), how brilliant or dull (saturation), and how bright or dark (tone) just by understanding the numbers involved!

You may be asking yourself, “so my beloved Baby Blue B Twenty-One is really B Two-One?” All semantics aside, it’s true. Knowing that the numbers are to be read individually can really help to understand how the color will appear and where it will sit on the Copic Color Wheel.

Copic Color Wheel?
The Copic Color Wheel is an extremely handy piece of literature to help understand and explore the Copic Color library.

I’ve highlighted two main areas of the close up version of the color wheel.

• The colors within the yellow lines are all of the same saturation, but with varyingdarkness.

• The colors within the red lines are all of the same darkness, but with varyingsaturation.

As you look at the greater picture of the Copic Color Wheel, you can see that as colors approach the center of the wheel, they become more gray, and as they approach the clockwise end of their respective color region, they become darker.  The only exception to this rule is saturation for the earth tones, as they incorporate a number of colors, from reds to oranges, yellows and greens; you can see that they have their own system goin’ on!

But wait, is that 4 gray families I see? 

Copic has 4 gray families, ranging in warmth from Cool Gray being the coolest, Neutral Gray being a little bit warmer, Toner Gray a tad bit warmer than Neutral, followed by Warm Gray, which when used in conjunction with Cool Gray can almost appear red, which can be handy for gray-tone drawings when you want to indicate skin tone versus metallic surfaces!

What to look for when buying my next batch of colors?

If you want colors in your collection that will blend nicely without looking muddy, I recommend picking at least 3 colors in a Color Family that have the same Saturation Number (the first number). These colors will all have the same “grayness” and will play nicely together on paper. The same rule applies for blending across color families. For example, a BG13 will blend nicely with a B14 and G17, but I would avoid blending a BG34 with a B16 and so forth.

 

Closing Thoughts

When I learned to read the Copic Color System, it greatly helped me in my understanding of how the colors will appear when dried. To an extent, understanding how to read the digits on the cap is a better way to anticipate the color than the color of the cap itself! Also on the resources page is a downloadable “hand color chart” that you can use your own colors to make your very own Copic color swatch chart! The next time you visit your local art supplies store that sells Copic, ask them if you can test a few colors on your chart, and fill your collection of swatches. It’s the best way to see exactly how a color will appear in your artwork!

Find Jackson on the web:
Web Site: http://www.jacksonroot.com
Copic Color: http://www.copiccolor.com/Jackson