Welcome to another Marker Monday post.

Today I am going to try to explain the copic colour coding system and help you choose the right colour combinations for successful colouring.

There are a LOT of copic colours available, it can be overwhelming trying to make a decision on which ones to buy. Once you understand the way they are labelled, choosing your colours is easy.

You will notice that all copics are allocated a colour code consisting of letter/s and number/s

THE LETTER:

The letter/s represent the colour family:

BV for Blue Violet, V for Violet, RV for Red Violet, R for Red, YR for Yellow Red, Y for Yellow and YG for Yellow Green

G for Green, BG for Blue Green and B for Blue. E is for Earth and greys are separated into C for Cool grey, N for Neutral grey, W for Warm grey and T for Toner grey

That bit is easy to understand!

Now the numbers. There are 2 numbers after each letter, both represent a different classification.

It helps to think of the numbers separately. For example as R-2-2 rather than R-’22′.

THE FIRST NUMBER:

The first number between 0 and 9 relates to the colour saturation, or the  ‘intensity’ of the colour (which is achieved by varying the amount of grey in the colour.)

So just by reading the code, we know that R20, R22 and R27 all have the same intensity of Red – the same amount of grey in them. We know this because they all start with R followed by 2. They gradually appear darker because of the second number increase – but more on the second number in a moment.

 

The smaller the first number, the more intense the colour. So R39 is a more intense R than R89 as seen below. R89 is essentially the same colour as R29 but with more grey added. We know this because the R remains the same and the second number, the 9, remains the same. All that has changed in this instance is the first number. The first number represents the intensity of the colour – the amount of grey present.

THE SECOND NUMBER:

The second number, also between 0 and 9 relates to the brightness or lightness of the colour.

So we know that YG93, YG63 and YG23 all have different saturation levels as explained earlier. But they have the SAME ‘lightness’ or ‘brightness’  level because they all end in 3.

  

However YG01, YG06 and YG09 have the same  amounts of grey in them, their difference is in the second number, which refers to the lightness or brightness of the colour.

The difference in the second number is the variance we are looking for when choosing our sets for colouring. This is because they are essentially the same colour – they all have the same amount of grey in them, so will blend well- but with varying levels of brightness to achieve light and dark variation.

NATURAL BLENDING GROUPS:

Within each colour family there are natural groups of sequential colours. For example B21-B29.       

These colours all come from the same colour group (B) AND have the same colour intensity (2) the variation is in the lightness and brightness of the colours (the second number)

Groups such as these form ‘Natural Blending Groups’ and when used together, seamless blending is possible. In order to get the most from your copics you need at least 2 colours from each blending group you choose to work with. As a general rule, and to ensure good consistency but sufficient variation, choose groups of 2 or 3 colours with the same letter and the same first number. Then try to keep a couple of digits between your second numbers.

The group shown above, V91, V93 and V95 is another example of a trio selected from within a natural blending group.

When the colours are viewed in the colour wheel (downloadable from the copic website HERE) it all starts to make sense.

The heavily saturated (vibrant) colours sit on the outside of the colour wheel, with the lowest first numbers – those starting with 0 and 1, and moving towards the centre of the wheel are the desaturated colours, starting with numbers like 8 and 9. If you choose a set of colours, try to stick to the same ring.

RV21 and RV23 will blend together nicely. Follow the same ring around the wheel and see that R27 and R29 will blend together nicely on their own as well, and they also have the same level of saturation as the RV21 and 23 so they will also work well alongside those. To start off with try not to veer too far from your chosen ring. So with this in mind, you may then go for YR20 and YR23, B23 and B24 etc.

THE RULE BREAKERS:

Sometimes you will come across a colour that doesn’t really seem to follow the rules. Some reds and yellows can be a bit questionable, but certainly the Earth tones are tricky. This is because brown can be made up of so many different colour combinations. Trust your instinct – if a colour doesn’t look right in the group, try something else.

You also  need to consider what sort of images you will be colouring. If you favour floral stamps you would be wise to start your collection with greens and reds and pinks, saving blues and flesh tones for a top up order. If you’re like me and you love your character stamps, you might want to start with flesh and hair colours and build on your clothing colours slowly.

I hope this helps. Philippa can assist with choosing your colours too. Just ask!

We will be explaining the greys and Earth tones another time. Next week, the all important papers and inks. You WILL be disappointed with your results if you don’t get these right so don’t miss it!

Happy Colouring!