The Copic experiment, part 1

After a brief visit to Machiko Manga School in Kemang for work last week, I realised nothing was ever too late to begin exploring new manga techniques -- even if it meant spending hard-earned money on seemingly frivolous art materials!

I am, of course, talking about the famous Copic markers and their impossibly wide spectrum of colours (334 upon last count!), eight of which I managed to reluctantly purchase the other day:



In an effort to convince oneself that this new 'investment' had been worth the while, I've been using the markers on various experimental drawings that have only confirmed my suspicion that a manga artist can never have too many Copics... just as a girl can't have too many shoes -__-

As much as I find Copic's waterproof quality convenient, the fact also means you cannot effectively blend colours unless using the brand's Colourless Blender, which is yet another marker to buy!

It was particularly difficult to render shadows and values given the limited colour choices, as can be seen from these drawings -- sketched using the eight-colour set above:

Image 1


Plus point(s): The thighs and hair @,@
Minus point(s): Creases on the blouse and the painfully 'sprained' neck ;P

Image 2

Plus point(s): That leg looks divine! ;P
Minus point(s): Could do with some background and more precise hand positioning/angling. Also, his head looks a little large?


Thoughts/comments so far:

Copic's relative ease of control and precise colouring prove very flattering indeed, even when applied on plain sketches! ;P Give it some practice and more colour variants, and I'll be happy to do more manual colouring for that distinctively manga look ^^


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