Copics 101: How to Build a Starter Collection 

Thank you! I am about to invest in a set of markers and was very hesitant because I had no idea where to start. I was going to buy one of the full sets, but it had so many colors I just thought that was too much for me. I am beginner and need a beginner set. Thank you. I have shared this video!

Wow, you’re the best Antonia! Thank you for taking the time to really explain everything about copics. Such a helpful video, I’ll be adding it to my watch later so I can refer back to it often. Off to check if I have this colors otherwise I’ll be shopping for them, lol. Thank you again for sharing and always inspiring.

Thanks so much for this follow-up that offers fab insight for starting out with Copics. You explained everything very well and it's greatly appreciated.

I know this is an older video, but I just watched it and if anyone is interested I have listed the colors below that she featured. I did not write any others down that she may have spoken about though 😀 BG 10/45/49 V 01/05 B 21/24/28 G 21/24/29 E 31/35/37/41/43/44/29 R 81/85/89/20/24/29 C 1/3/5/ Y 11/15/19 YR 04/09/ YG 03/09 Colorless Blender “0”

Thank you! So many people won’t give recommendations to get started. I want to move from my spectrum noir but as a Canadian these are really expensive so I really appreciate this!

I am new into copics and this video will help me decide which colour copic to buy and save some money and thanks for sharing!

Excellent video. I've been wondering for so long where to start with copic markers. Thank you so much for sharing.

Best Copics video!! ... and I've watched soooo many...lol! Awesome information, very clear & detailed! Love that you shared your recommendations on color combos! Thank you for sharing!

Great tutorial! Just what I needed to get started on my Copic collection. Thanks for sharing! Take care!

Outstanding video! I have been watching Copic videos for a while now, trying to make good color choices. This was total affirmation for me!! I have figured out that I don’t need 358 markers, just a selection of the RIGHT marker colors for my purposes in card making. I have about 80 and they are grouped in families of three, with a few extras. I’m glad I heard you talk about tonal grays, thanks for the info. I like the cool grays best but did purchase a trio of warm grays for animals. Thanks so much for sharing, Antonia!! 💜

Thank you for this. I wanted to buy copics, but was so overwhelmed by all the colors I never bought any. Now I feel like I won't be wasting money.

Thank you so much for doing this video. Very very helpful I had no idea where to start with all these colors! Love your work!

I’m just starting my collection and this is sooooo helpful! Thanks for showing all the colors as well as giving a list of basic colors!

This really helps I wanted to start buying thank you

This was amazingly helpful THANK YOU!!!

The full list of recommendations, for those who don't want to have to step through all aspects of the video to find out (though you should because it recommends saturation/value combinations): BG10 BG45 BG49 V01 V05 V09 (optional) B21 B24 B28 G21 G24 G29 E37 E29 E41 E43 E44 R20 R24 R29 R81 R85 R89 Y11 Y15 Y19 YR04 YR09 YR12 (optional) YR15 (optional) YG01 (optional) YG03 YG09 C1 C3 C5 Grays: Cool, then Warm, Neutral and Toner not that important, though Toner is good for metal effects

Awesome video thank you so much!!!

Thank for sharing.

Thank you so much for this excellent video. Very informative. Now I can give a very specific wish list to my husband for Christmas. How can he possibly go wrong when armed with that????

I definitely want copic markers, thanks for the video this was a helpful tutorial.

Thank you for such great advice!

Best video everrrrr

I'd recommend getting a light and dark color from each color and then adding inbetween tones :3

wow!!! what awesome information for us beginners .. thank you so much

Great video! Any recommendations for blue-violet? Or red violet?

Amazing video!! So helpful!! Thank you ☺️

Great information video! Thank you

Thank You so much very helpful

Would you have a copy file of your practice sheet?

What number W's do you recommend?

Thanks for all the tips. All the numbers are confusing!

💕💕

Thank you so much! I just finished buying my collection! I wish I had seen this a year ago!! I never wanted to buy these because of the cost, but after buying a couple sets of the knock offs, I realized they were the only way to go. This was very helpful, I haven’t even tried coloring with them yet?! Between working on my craft room, and organizing/labeling/swatching like a crazy woman, I haven’t had the time to! lol My only suggestion would be to buy the sketch markers because of the labels on them. I bought 3 separate set of the ciaos, and have been printing out with my label maker and punching out each number so all of my Copics are numbered. It’s quite tedious, but will be worth it in the end. Id love for u to do more videos like this, I think that because Copics have been around for awhile now, there aren’t many channels that give u good beginner tips about them. Plus if anyone wants to follow all these amazing card making tutorials, I feel like I needed them to follow along. Thank u so much!😊💗👍🏼

Great advice for beginners. I can go through my copics and see what i'm missing. TFS🖍🖌💗

Thanks, my Christmas list just got bigger. I'm sure I'm on the Nice List!!!!!😊

Thank you so much for this informative tutorial! I have been considering Copics (I have Spectrum Noir and can't seem to get good blends with them, so am considering buying Copics. This will greatly help in my purchasing!

Great advice ! I too wish I had seen this a few years ago. I bought the Ciao markers first, now wish I had all of them in the Sketch style mainly to be able to read the numbers on the cap.

Thank you so much. This video was very helpful to me. I am building my copic collection and, while this information wasn't completely new to me, it did simplify and streamline for me. Everyone has their own favorites and that can still lead to a lot of copics. I especially liked your neutral suggestions.

Thank you! I'm new Copics and coloring in general. Time to stamp some cups!

What a great video. That really really helps me. Your coloring is always so beautiful. I purchased a great deal of the markers without really having direction. Thank you so much 😊 I ❤️❤️

Such great advice for a beginner on where to start. I started by purchasing some sets (primaries, secondaries, pastels, greys, etc.). Then went from there and filled in/bought them individually as you recommend in this video with the light, med, and dark in the same tone and saturations once I learned of and got the hang of the numbering system. I'm just about passed halfway having the whole collection myself. I also made my own swatch sheet that better arranges the color families to show their saturation and tone numbering system just a bit better so I know where to purchase next :D Another additional advice for any beginners who may be reading this - the purples and violets aren't as bright/saturated as one would see in other marker brands. There is another small numbering family not mentioned in this video - the Flourescents! The purple in this color family is a very bright Violet color and ideal to add a punch of color into your violet and purple family. (Same goes with the others in the 'F' range).

Can you provide the list you spoke about? Great tutorial. Thanks

I never understood how to choose copics because I did not know what the numbers meant. Thank you for both showing us how to blend, and explaining it all with the choice of numbers you recommend. I took copious notes on everything you said so I can be more competent in choosing my markers.

Thank you for this list. Sadly, I only have a few. Wishing I had seen your list several years ago prior to me buying what I now have. It is now 2019, has this list changed? If not I am making a list and going to start picking me up a few each week. Thank you for doing this for us! LOVE your videos!

What about for bv family, and rv.. do you have any preferences?

Thank you so much! I have this video bookmarked now. This might be one of the most helpful videos I've seen regarding Copics.

Thanks a bunch for the great info.... I'm just starting my collection.... :>)

Thank you so much... My granddaughter wants copics for Christmas... This was very helpful

Thank you so very much. I've needed this for years. I could only buy a basic few but never knew the colors to buy. You have helped me so much.

I am just getting started with this art form so this video was extremely helpful to me. Thank you so much! I was thinking along these lines for purchasing and now I have guidelines to help me.

This was such a great instructional video! I have been reluctant to invest in Copics because of the level of my skill set coloring (very, very low) but this encourages me to give it a try. Hubby, watch out, the list is coming!

Wow, I have been looking for this exact video. I appreciate this more than you know.

My Spectrum Noir yellows have been jacked up for a minute and was wondering how I would pick from Copic well tyvm luv ; )

Really great video! I love watching you colour!

Hello, I’m a kid who is an aspiring artist so I don’t have too much money, what would be the most essential like top 10 markers to get?

Thank you. That was very helpful!

Brilliant video thanks 👍 I just got my first set. They blend beautifully on ohuhu marked paper.

Thank you❤

Thankyou ..so helpful ..I did not know where to start

Is there a difference between copics and spectrum noir besides brand?

This was so helpful I struggle with these markers lol

Question Who can I contact to create a custom Copic set for sale?

Thanks for the tutorial! I actually thought copic had the most colors of all marker brands but i found anothe brand, Finecolour with a whopping 480 colors! This tutorial helped me use my markers better, thanks again!

Awesome! Thank you!

No BV’s or RV’s?

I started off buying these first: E000 E00 E18 W5 C5 G03 G16 BG18 B01 YR00 YR07 Y08 V01 R08 and R37. I then decided to buy the 72 A Set cause I liked how the markers worked. I've almost had my markers for a year, I started with 15 Markers plus Colorless blender and colorless blender refill to now 157 markers with 7 doubles and 13 refills. It's good to start with basic colors then purchase lighter colors and some darker colors to improve your work.

Which kind of paper you use for this?

Thank you !!!!!!

Grateful I found your video. I bought the Studio71 markers about a year ago as dupes for the Copics but would like to invest in the Copics, as some of the Studio71s (namely the grey and one light pink) seemed to dry out very quickly and the markers tend to bleed a bit. Your video is really going to help me stick to JUST getting the basics(2-3 of each color family) since, who am I kidding, I'm only ever going to use them to color in stamps and so I don't NEED an entire collection! Many thanks for saving my bank account from being raided!

Thank you for sharing. Did you know Copics changed their refill bottle to HALF the size? Buy refills if you can now, most places are out of stock. HALF THE SIZE

Antonia, thank you for this video. I have wanted this type of information but didn’t know who to trust. I trust you so now I know what I want to get. I started building my Copic collection by buying a few markers at a time from Blick. I chose a color I liked and then skipped a few numbers up and down from my choice in the hopes that I would end up with a decent set. Eventually I quit buying markers because I started to feel overwhelmed (like you said in the video). I will likely be referencing your video several times to get an idea of where to resume my shopping 🛍. Thanks again, you’re a wealth of information.

Thank you for this useful information ❤

This was so very helpful. I am just getting into Copics and I have been looking to buy just enough to have all the colors represented and this was exactly what I've been looking for! Thanks!

Very helpful. Hated my copics, till this video. Went and bought the proper pairings for the ones I had and now actually love them. Thanks much

Thank you! I'm just starting my collection and THIS is informative and useful! I can't thank you enough for taking the time to lay it out so we can all afford to have a collection! Can't wait to see more videos.

Thanks so much! I’m making my Christmas list for Copics-my new obsession. Your video has great information and you did a great job of presenting it.

I started my collection last year but I was dumb and didn’t draw as good and didn’t know how they worked. The noobs are broken off and the ink is dried out. So I’m starting over. Today I got three skins tones next week I’m getting reds those are colors I use a lot. So thanks for the tips.

Thanks for the wonderful tutorial! I shop price and have purchased from Blick and from JoAnn.com when they have sales and specials. Nothing else is made like a Copic.

Thank you so much! I have been wanting to buy Copics without getting the whole set since I already own the spectrum noir set. This is really helpful.

Very informative video. I am new to copics & have found here in the UK that by mixing sketch & ciaos together they aren't too costly. I love all the earth tones ❤

Thank you for this video. I got a good start on my markers from fb marked place and now I can use your suggestions to fill them out a little better

Thanks this helps fo my kiddo christmas gift! What brand do u recommend for green, u know more realistic nature greens? Ty

Fabulous tutorial for unraveling the Copic color codes. Thanks for valuable tips to find a starter collection-and without confusion!

What kind of paper do I use. Did u print these out or stamp them. Thank you so much for this. I was so overwhelmed.

Thank you so much this video. This helped me so much in understanding the numbering system and how to use copics.

Do You have all markers?

Very helpful video! Thank you.

Thanks a very helpful video for us who slowly build up their collection.

I see this is an older video but it was still VERY helpful. Thank you!

Ok I’m not quit sure but I think imma buy those teal ones and the 40s brown set u showed

What a fabulous video! That you for providing this information!

Very informative, thank you. Your colouring is amazing x

Excellent. Idea! This video was most helpful!🤗

Thank-you for your easy to understand guide - so helpful

Such great information thank you

Will copics blend on standard card stock?

Thanks for sharing your ideas on starting a copic set. I originally bought the entire set of Spectrum Noir markers but now they are starting to dry up and instead of buying refills (which also seem to dry up!) I am going to move toward the Copic Sketch system of coloring. I bought the 72 set A and hope that this will give me enough color range to get some nice shaded images before I spring for set B. I have also replaced some Spectrum Noir colors with copies and have found that both brands seem to work nicely together. Are you familiar with copic sketch set A? Will that provide enough shade variation to set started? I haven't used the set yet - I'm waiting for Santa to bring it!!!!

Thank you. This was helpful

so helpful! Thanks so much!

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH Just learning to use markers/color and you are an amazing teacher. Look forward to learning more!