How to Render Eye-Catching Textures with COPIC Markers Paperback – September 28, 2018

This is an excellent addition to the library of anyone who uses markers for illustrations. Even though it is dedicated to Copic, there are tips and color combinations that can be matched or approximated with other brands. I use a combination of brands and materials, combining pencil color as well and I found the book provided some great general insights into things like how to create a gradient, shade and shadow and rendering various materials. The book doesn't waste pages on text. The text, when needed is short, an intro paragraph at the top of a page or a sentence under a step in the process of completing one of several finished works she deconstructs for the reader. The scenes she uses include objects, water, rocks, vegetation, a goat in a suit and shade and shadow. If you are a copic user, the number of every color used is included next to the step. There are between 6 to 9 individual closeups of the pen tip drawing the work on each page. The paper is slick with good color reproduction. While Yasaiko is a manga artist, this is not a how to draw manga book. She does include some pages on painting hair and skin but they make up only a few pages. It is dedicated to painting what you illustrate.If you are a copic user or want to purchase some, the book offers color swatches of all 358 colors as applied to Kent illustration paper and it shows a single and double application of each. While printing can cause color changes and different papers will absorb more or less, this is a nice starting point for selecting colors as most art store either won't let you try the markers to test color or provide a cheap piece of paper to test on. Together with the illustrations in the book you can also get a pretty good idea of the spread between copic numbers. For instance how much lighter is a BG10 than a BG13. Copic offers a wide range of tints to each color but the changes between them are not always subtle or even predictable. For instance BG11 is barely darker than BG10 and would hardly be noticeable unless you wanted to create a subtle gradient. BG13 would be a better purchase along with a colorless blender. BG18 is actually a fairly dark olive green in the middle of a progression of teal, with BG23 being lighter. Some of these anomalies are likely the result of the expansion of the color line over time that left some colors stranded out of place. All of this is very good to know when planning a trip to the art store or ordering online.

This book has already been a huge help in my recent projects. Thank you.

I read the negative reviews before buying, and I don't know what their problem is. This book is excellent! It's what I was looking for and then some. It includes a chart of the Copic markers which is good to have. The step by step instructions are succinct and easy to follow, while the art is breathtaking and really challenges you to get the most out of your expensive marker collection.

For those of us who love Copic markers but don't know quite how to get the effects want with them. This has skin tones, color gradations, how to achieve certain textures. If you take the time to actually read it and not just skim through you will learn a great deal. I like how the author tells you exactly which color/number of marker she uses to get a certain effect. In all, I think it is a very helpful book.

I like how they include tips like the drawing of a capital I for metal reflections and such. Don't want to spoil too much. However, about half of the book is just reviewing the basics about Copic markers. This would be great for beginners, but I found it tedious since I already have other books for that info.

Contrary to what another reviewer said, this book has relative few artwork pages without instruction. There are about 25 in the beginning of the book. But from about page 30 to 150 there are many, many pages with step by step instructions, with about 8 or so small pictures on each. I almost did not buy it because of the review, and I am really glad I did, and am happy to dig into it.

Beautiful and informative, this book is not for beginners. Techniques in this book often require you to have a large collection of markers and, although it has a section for it, an understanding of color theory. Still, it’s a perfect book for any Copic maniac!

I haven't gotten through it yet but it is a lovely copic book.