It may come as no surprise that the line art on the white background is suitable for both Copic alcohol (Sketch, Ciao, Classic) and acrea markers, while the line art on the black background is only suitable for acrea. This is because acrea markers are made of rich, opaque paint pigment - pigment that sits on the surface of whatever it’s being drawn, written or doodled on. This pigment property is what allows acrea to be used on black paper, as well as many other surfaces like plastic, glass, ceramics, wood, stone, canvas and more. 

Now that we’ve established this key difference between acrea and Sketch, Ciao and Classic markers, we’ll be using the white background to color using Copic alcohol markers, and the black background to color using the Copic paint marker (acrea). Let’s continue to step 2: swatching colors!

In the designated space beneath each floral drawing lies a rectangle meant for color swatching - testing out your markers and making sure they are indeed the colors you want to use before applying them directly to the line art. In this case, that’s the acrea 6pc Light set (right/black background) and 6 individual Sketch colors that closely match the colors of the acrea set. Choosing these 6 Sketch colors was intentional to show how Copic alcohol markers compare in appearance with paint markers. 

This color swatching step may seem trivial, but it’s very important and can save you both time and unnecessary errors! Color swatching is also a great opportunity to see if any of your markers are starting to dry out and/or if the nibs have become damaged. Having designated swatch sheet(s) for your marker art is a great addition to include in your drawing toolkit! 

*The paper the template was printed on is 67 lb. Neenah Exact Vellum Bristol cardstock. In general, thicker paper like cardstock is best suited for working with both alcohol and paint markers (especially for layering) compared to thin and less absorbent sheets of paper.

Now that the alcohol and acrea markers have been swatched, it’s time to start coloring the floral illustration! Starting with the purple and blue colors first, the artist colored two shapes of each color, trying to spread them out within the composition so these darker, cool colors carry weight in large shapes in the background. You don’t need to follow this protocol when coloring though, this is a personal preference that makes layering the lighter colors easier (for both alcohol and acrea markers). This will become more obvious in later coloring steps, especially with acrea on the black background.

Next, the artist continues coloring by adding 2 more colors, red and green, and once again chooses to color shapes that are spread out in the composition. These mid-tone colors, especially the greens, are popping out in contrast to the darker colors around it!  

Notice too, during this step, how the artist is coloring each shape completely, even when the shapes overlap. This makes for some unique color combinations on the white background especially (using Copic alcohol markers). Alcohol markers, by nature, are highly blendable. Even when a color has fully “dried", when you add another color on top, it will reactivate and blend with the “dried” color underneath. 

This is why, in the yellow dashed circles in the image above, the alcohol marker colors R24 and BG02 blend well together to make a unique dark purple color. In contrast, the acrea colors coral pink and turquoise blue do not blend together, but the area that does get overlapped with both colors becomes more opaque. This is a perfect example of how alcohol markers and paint markers differ! Their layering and blending properties are different, but they both produce vivid results.

Finally, the artist wraps up each floral drawing by adding the remaining colors of each set, orange and yellow. These light colors have great contrast against the black background especially. Overall, the acrea 6pc Light set is a great palette to use on darker surfaces for this very reason: high contrast! 

Now that each line art has been colored, one with alcohol markers and the other with paint markers, you can see how their properties and color results differ. While alcohol markers are highly absorbent and need to be used on white or light colored paper, acrea can be used on dark surfaces and are not limited to paper alone. On the other hand, alcohol markers are naturally blendable, making them the perfect choice for illustrators and artists of all skill levels looking for smooth blends and gradations. Choosing which marker type to use is completely up to your preferences, but if it were us, it would be hard to choose one over the other!

Left: Line art colored with Copic Sketch alcohol markers on white paper. 
Right: Line art colored with Copic acrea paint markers on a black background.

And with that, we wrap up today’s blog! To give this lesson a try yourself, download the blank template here in our line art gallery and print it on a thick sheet of cardstock suitable for layering (in addition to the cardstock mentioned earlier in this blog, we also recommend Neenah Bright White Premium Cardstock 65 lb. or Neenah Exact Premium Cardstock 110 lb.). Then, grab an acrea 6pc set and some similar Copic alcohol marker colors (or any alcohol colors you have) and compare their ink properties by coloring!

Until next time, don’t forget to follow us across our social media channels @copic_official_us, and sign up for exclusive discounts and prizes by joining the Copic Club! One last thing - use #copicwithus or tag us @copic_official_us for a chance to have your drawings or workspace featured on our Copic US social media channels.

Thank you so much for reading and enjoying Copic markers as much as we do! 😀