Japanese stationery has always been famous for its exquisite and user-friendly design and excellent quality, although the birthplace of the marker pen is not in Japan, but after more than 100 years of development, the Japanese brand marker has been in the leading position in the world. Founded in 1982, Copic has become one of the world's top marker brands and is the first choice of many professional artists and designers.
The ink type of marker pen can be divided into three types: oily, alcoholic and water-based, oil-based marker pen is made of ink prepared with oil-based solvents such as toluene, xylene, ketone, etc., the smell is pungent and slightly toxic to the human body, and alcohol and paraxylene have good mutual miscibility, which can replace paraxylene as a new solvent, therefore, now most of the oil-based markers have been replaced by alcohol-based markers. Copic was not the first to introduce alcohol-based markers, as it is rumored, but its generation was the only alcohol-based marker that met the stricter Scandinavian national standards at the time. Because oil-based markers used to be the mainstream, and the color effects of the two are similar, many people are still accustomed to calling alcohol-based markers oil-based markers.
Originally developed for Japanese manga artists, Copic's first generation of classic series markers entered the Japanese manga market in 1987 with a total of 71 colors that would not dissolve the toner of newly printed copies. The brand name Copic is derived from the word "copies". To this day, some people joke that Japanese manga such as Naruto are "user feedback" from Copic, because there are a large number of manga artists in Japan who like to use Copic's markers to draw original manuscripts.
It's not for nothing that professionals love the Copic marker so much. Copic marker inks are acid-free, alcohol-based inks, so they don't spread out or scratch the paper fibers like water-based inks, and they apply smoothly and have a natural color transition, which is very effective for color mixing. In 1993, Copic revolutionized the perception of drawing markers with the introduction of the Copic Sketch series with a soft-brush nib.
At present, there are four types of Copic's marker pen series, namely Copic Sketch, Copic Ciao, Copic Classic and Copic Wide, which are recommended for professional cartoonists, novices, designers and people who need to color quickly. Copic Sketch is arguably Copic's most popular series to date, with its soft brush head that blends naturally when drawing comics, does not get dirty, and is also very popular for the tactile feel, making it a powerful tool for expressing skin tone transitions. The Sketch series also has the largest variety of colors in the world, with a total of 358 colors, and professionals like Ken Obata usually enter the complete set. This series of ink is large, can be coated with 3.7 sheets of B4 paper, the pen body is oval-shaped, easy to hold and does not roll at will, the nib is a soft brush nib and oblique nib double-ended design.
With the blessing of the exclusive identity of professional cartoonists, the most basic 12 sets of the Sketch series can be sold for a high price of 360 yuan, which discourages many people. If you're just looking for something new, consider the Copic Ciao series, which is essentially a more economical version of Sketch and costs about 2/3 the price of Sketch. The ink and nib are the same as those of Sketch, but the ink capacity has been reduced to 180 colors. The Ciao has a cylindrical body, but the cap has a raised dot that prevents the marker from rolling.
Copic Classic is a classic from Copic, with a total of nine interchangeable nibs and a large capacity that can fill 5 sheets of B4 paper, making it a popular choice for architectural, fashion and interior designers. Available in 214 colours, the Classic has a simple design and comes standard with a double-ended design with a wide and ultra-fine nib, and a triangular shape that makes it difficult to roll on the table.
As the name suggests, the Copic Wide series of pens has a very wide flat body design, with a wide nib of up to 21mm and an ink capacity that can fill 9 sheets of B4 paper, which is very convenient for coloring large areas, and is suitable for rendering background colors in architectural perspectives, with only 36 color types, there are fewer choices, but they are all commonly used background colors.
Many people say that Copic is the most expensive marker in the world, but others think that Copic is the most affordable marker because the nib can be replaced, and the ink can be refilled, which can save a lot of money in the long run. What's more, the Copic marker is designed with an airtight cap and stored in the right way, and the ink will last for years without drying out.
Copic also has a new way to use it, with its Sketch and Classic series working with the Copic Gun System (ABS) to transform markers into airbrushes to create different painting effects.
