Markers and Pencils

Copics markers are widely considered among the best art markers for professional artists and illustrators. On the downside, they are very pricey. Each Copic costs between $6 and $8. For amateurs and aspiring artists, this can put Copics out of your price range.

The good news is that there are a growing number of Copic alternatives on the market that may meet your needs without breaking the bank. In this buyer’s guide, we will review five of the best Copic alternatives and why they may be a great fit for you.

Best Choice

Winsor and Newton Promarkers

Best Copic Alternative

These markers are beautiful and affordable. Whether you are a beginner or professional, you will appreciate the beautiful application and ease of use that the ProMarkers offer.

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Selecting your Copic Markers Alternatives

What art markers to use? How many colors do I need to create a realistic picture? How to make my illustrations look better? These are the questions that are frequently asked by beginner artists. Sometimes it is not easy to find the proper answers to them but this guide will help you find ones.

What do art markers consist of?

A highlighter is not a one-piece construction. They typically consist of the following parts:

• body;
• reservoir (ink or dye container);
• tips;
• gaps.

Artistic pens may have either one or two tips, dependent on the type.

What types of markers exist?

Highlighters are divided into three groups according to what the ink is mixed with in the reservoir. As a diluent mostly used:

• alcohol
• water;
• solvent.

Painters use them for different purposes, so let’s look at each of them closer.

Water-based

In water-based paint markers, the pigment is diluted with glycerin or clean water. Some people hearing about water-based pens at once think about Crayola or any other markers that children use. This is partially true because schoolchildren indeed use them a lot, but artists can also utilize them.

Artists utilize them for calligraphy and other types of artwork.

Pros and cons. Water-based art highlighters are quite good if not compare them to others. By the way, some people also might consider being odorless as one more advantage. Here are some pros and cons:

Alcohol-based

Artistic markers in which the ink is dispersed with alcohol are called alcohol-based. They are perfect for any type of professional illustrations. Use them if you are not completely sure in your drawing skills because unlike water-based pens you can anytime mix them so there won’t appear many mistakes.

Pros and cons. Only your intentions define the advantages of something. The fact of fast desiccating is questionable advantage. Although it provides the opportunity to use the layering painting technique without flowing through paper, in the process of painting you might get some streaks. As their composition is not fully natural, they might become one’s allergic reaction reason. Beginners may face the fact that these markers cannot be blended with water, and this is okay as the paint in them is not combined with it. You can stir them on paper with isopryl alcohol or any other marker with of the fitting color.

But it is possible to point some of the most obvious benefits and downsides:

Solvent-based

Highlighters with a solvent base are rarely picked out as the third type. In their reservoir, the dye is suspended in different chemical compounds. Because of these toxic ingredients in the composition, allergic reactions to them are not rare. Apart from a serious allergic reaction, they might cause a headache or labored breathing. It is not a great idea to draw with them right on the original artwork because sometimes they give an unexpected effect and smear the lines. Among all these disadvantages, they have some benefits such as it is a means that one can utilize on different surfaces. That’s the reason why crafters chose them for their projects.

What markers type to choose?

Which marker type to give preference to depends only on your purposes as an artist and your drawing skills, but one thing can be stated for sure: for working on a paper at home, do not use markers based on chemical compounds.

If you are only starting to draw and have never dealt with paint markers before, you’re going to practice many weeks or even months. That is why buying cheaper markers (water-based) is an excellent idea: you’ll be able to practice as long as needed.

If you are lucky to have some basic skills in drawing already, you may use markers based on ethanol, as they fit more for professional illustrations.

Anyway, decide which highlighters are easier for you to use and give preference to them while purchasing. The best piece of advice that one can give is to try both! Only then, you’ll be sure about which ones you want to use in the future. However, art is freedom as they say, and you’re free to do whatever you want, so if you cannot make a choice, use both in your artwork at once.

Marker tip shapes

To diversify your drawings, purchase markers with all four tip types. In case it is not affordable for you, determine first, what nib type is significant for your drawings.

The basic tip shapes are:

• brush;
• chisel;
• fine;
• bullet.

But these do not have fixed sizes! Some manufacturers confuse tips’ names. Therefore, before purchasing, look at them yourself.

Brush tips. Highlighters with brush tips you should buy first as they are multipurpose. You can draw almost anything having only this type of markers: either fill with paint large areas or draw thin lines dependent on the angle of inclination. The price of brush tips is their drawback. Usually, they are high-priced.

Chisel tips. Chisel tip is popular among artists because similarly to brush tips, you can get different results using different sides of the tip. It is perfect for painting over big areas. However, you can get a thin stroke with a chisel tip as well. But with fine or brush tip it will anyway be thinner.

Bullet tips. It is not versatile at all, because it fills large areas slowly and it’s almost impossible to get thin lines with. If you don’t possess highlighters with other tips yet, don’t start with this one.

Double-ended markers. Highlighters with two tips are easy in use and provide many possibilities. The two tips of such markers share a common container with dye. Typically, there are brush and chisel tips on two sides. But sometimes, it differs.

Color range

One big disadvantage of artistic markers is, you can’t blend them as easily as you would do with watercolor, for example. That’s why the color range is so important. To get smooth gradients, you should have all the shades of this gradient: you cannot mix red with blue and get purple. With highlighters, you’ll just have to buy the purple one. So, even if you’re a beginner, you’ll need at least 15 markers to start.

Size of nib

Sizes of nib vary from type of tip. For bullet tips it’s usually about 2.5 mm, for brush tips it’s 1.4 mm, for chisel tips it’s 8 mm.

Blending

In simple words, the process of getting rid of streaks is called blending. The right paper defines the quality of blending. For example, markers on the ethanol mix well on marker paper, but you cannot blend them at all on printer paper. Same with markers on water. You can mix them, but only if you use proper paper.

Water-based markers are more difficult to blend than the ones on alcohol, and the results are not always predictable as the water is not easy to control. But if you have enough practice, you’ll be able to get smooth gradients even with water-based markers.

Even though alcohol-based markers dry fast, it is still much easier to blend them, than the water-based. Also, because alcohol-based markers have transparency, you can always add more ink to some areas to get a darker tone. So, alcohol-based markers are more appropriate if you want to see smooth gradients in your artworks.

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