Markers: How To Get Started?

[SpasticPenguine]

I've been wanting to get started with markers for awhile, but I just don't know where to begin. For me, it comes off as an intimidating media, so if there are any tips out there, I'd be glad to hear them.

[Squidman]

Marker is my medium of choice for colouring sketches and I work wih a very limited pallette, so I may be able to help...

There's a veritable library of marker tutorials out there, but I find that most of them either use a gradient of so many colours it's terribly out of my price range or are geared towards teaching you how to colour one specific drawing (all step-by-step instructions wih no explanation why these techniques are effective), so you'll have to do a lot of figuring out on your own.

When I started buying markers I figured out wich ones I'd need to use the most and started with them. Now I add a couple new shades to my repitoir every few months so I can play around and figure out what I need without breaking the bank. Prismas are cheaper, but darker and more prone to looking streaky. You can get away with using them for darker colours, but light colours, not so much. If you want to make a large area a light colour, forget about getting smooth, even tones. Copics will make your wallet cry, but they're like liquid magic when you try to use them. I don't reccomend gettig too fond of them unless you can buy them cheap(ish)/locally though.

If you want to get used to markers and get your confidence up a bit, you can try investing in a light grey, a medium rey, and a dark grey and just do tonal stuff for a while. You have to be bold to use markers timid lines just pile up and get messy.

For my collection of markers, I've go for light copics and dark Prismas. Really, Prismas wherever I can get away with them to save cash. But I still swear by my ultra pale purple, blue, green, yellow, and grey Copic tones. I've got a whole whack of skin tones, so I go copic for light skin tones and prisma for dark ones. You do NOT want streaky skin, backgrounds you can sometimes fudge a bit, but everyone will be looking at the character.

You should invest in marker paper, but I usually end up using mine on cheap printer paper and sketchbook pages (which really is a bad habit... it will kill your markers and the colours will bleed).

When I finally get to colouring stuff, I usually start off light and work my way to dark. It's a whole lot easrier to make something darker, but once you've lost your hightlights they're gone forever. Try to go a shade lighter than you want the colour to end up as so you can build it up without making everything too dark. If you wat the colour to be really light, use the colourless blender as your base just to get things wet and workable. Usually I do my shadows like "light tone>shadow>Light tone again" just to make everything even.

Keep mind of how dry your ink is. Working sort of wet-in-wet will give you smoother gradients, but if you let everything dry before you add another layer you'll get a sharp contrast. That's good for that cel-shaded look, also if you want to get a light marker tone to look a lot darker. Also keep in mind that when the ink dries it will get a couple shades lighter... it'll all take some getting used to before you can get colours just the way you want them.




All in all, practise makes perfect. Buy a couple markers, play around, build up your confidence, buy some more. You'll get the hang of it.
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[PFC]

I've always thought about doing marker pictures... how expensive are the good brands?

[Squidman]

Copic Sketch Markers are the ones you want if you're going for the Copic brand, because they have a brush tip on the end. Much, much more conveniet than the thin tip that regular Copics and some Prismas have, and infinitely better than the uber thin tip the fine side of most Prismas have. Expect to pay anywhere from $6-$8 per marker depending on where you buy them from and the country you live in (exchange rates, shipping, all that jazz). You can buy sets that run anywhere from about $75 to $430, but I prefer to mix and match my own colours. When you work with a limited pallet you kind of have to get specific so you can get the most out of your markers.

Prismacolour markers are far easier to obtain and cost about half of what copics do. You can them at just about any given art specialty store, and it's also a lot easier to find good deals on them in bulk. Talk to the right people and you can buy a set with every shade on the market in it at about a dollar per marker when you average it all out. Or so the legends say...

Over the past two years I've accumulated what probably adds up to a couple hundred dollars worth of markers. I started with set of greys from Prismacolor (something like $30 for 12 markers, though three of them are black and kind of useless), a medium green shade, a medium and dark blue shade, a fushcia colour, a light fleshy pink, a dark yellow, an orange, a purple, and three different skin tones (a peach, a reddish-brown , and a dark brown). The next summer I added a basic red, a dark green, and a couple more dark skin tones.

As for Copics I've got a set greys (0, 2, 3, 6, and 8, if you want specific tones), two light skin tones (eggshell white and raw silk) because Prismacolor fails at making markers that can colour fair-skinned characters, and the palest shades of yellow, purple, green, and blue I could find.


Those colours suit me just fine. Some of them get more use than others, but for the amount I draw with them, that's kind of the bare minimum I need. People who don't draw as many multiracial characters as I do wouldn't need that many different shades for skin, but either way, expect to drop a decent chunk of change once you figure out what you need for the type of art that you make.
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[PFC]

YIKES! That's crazy. I don't have that kind of money, and even if I did, I probably wouldn't be spending it like that. Wow. I think I'll stick to what I have for now. Thanks though for clearing that up. Again, that's crazy. Maybe.... someday.... I'll get them. Maybe.

[Brianhjh]

I've dished out about 200 dollars for my 96-color prismacolor set. Seeing as it costs about 2.50 dollars Canadian for cheapest price around, I've got a very good deal.

and as for light tones... I get a non-porous surface. leave some ink on the non porous surface. take an alcohol-filled waterbrush and use it like watercolor. Really dark shades will come out really light if you use them this way. Also, light wash can be acheived by brushing a puddle of diluted ink on the paper.

And yes, prismacolor does fail for skin markers, it fails rather hard.
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[PFC]

That's really expensive. I suppose it all comes down to the question, "Is it worth it?"

[Brianhjh]

art materials ARE expensive, and?

Its worth is determined by you and only soley you. It won't make you draw like a pro, but the coloring will certainly look better if you use them right.
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[SpasticPenguine]

Thanks everyone- after reading through the detailed explanations, I've been thinking about what might be best for me. I already HAVE a 12 set pack of prisma markers which were not cheap, but a gift from my birthday that has a fairly wide range of colors (but no skin tones). I've been questioning where I should buy skin tones from because I always got the impression that prisma wasn't great in that area (and it seems I was right )
I'll work with what I have, and perhaps if I can get them cheap enough, get some skin tone copics as well as some other lighter colors from them, just to get started. After I begin to get the basics down, I do have money to spend, so the price isn't SUCH a big deal for me (though I don't throw money away left and right.)
The artist Amadeus actually did a really decent tutorial on coloring I found the other day and plan to consult that while I work.
Hopefully I'll be successful in this medium ^_^

[PFC]

[quote="Brianhjh (Moon Ki)"] art materials ARE expensive, and?

Its worth is determined by you and only soley you. It won't make you draw like a pro, but the coloring will certainly look better if you use them right. [/quote]
Well, I guess that's the best idea. You seemed to have spent a lot less than I figured on your markers. You said it was 2.50 Canadian, so that's really cheap in America... do you do all your pictures you submit with the markers, because you have some cool (not to mention, well done) artwork.

[Squidman]

Prismas aren't horrible for dark skinned people, but OH do they fail hard for whites and Asians. The closest thing they have to a caucasian skin tone is light peach, which ends up looking neon. It doesn't scan too bad but trust me, it'll look pretty crappy in real life. *edit* Also wanted to mention that I still prefer buying copics to watering down dark Prismacolor markers with alchohol because it changes the way the finished product looks and adds to the cleanup time. Zero cleanup and even colours are the whole draw of the medium for me.


If you want exact colour names for skin tones, I use the following:

[u]Prismacolor[/u]
Light Peach
Light Walnut
Light Tan
Sienna Brown
Dark Brown

[u]Copic[/u]
E51 Milky White
E53 Raw Silk


Just as a note, Copic markers are usually more loyal to the colour on the label than Prismas are. Never buy a Prismacolor marker without testing it first to know exactly what you're buying, they look a lot darker in practical application than they would like you to believe.

For an idea of what the markers I mentioned look like, I've dug up a few scribbles that I've used them in.
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[SpasticPenguine]

Ah, I noticed that as well. Not only for Prisma's markers, but for their colored pencils too- they can be quite deceptive, so your right in suggesting to test their products before using them

[Brianhjh]

[quote="PFC (Nate)"]
Well, I guess that's the best idea. You seemed to have spent a lot less than I figured on your markers. You said it was 2.50 Canadian, so that's really cheap in America... do you do all your pictures you submit with the markers, because you have some cool (not to mention, well done) artwork. [/quote]
er, that is the CHEAPEST you can get here, they were on special because they were getting rid of that retarded fine tip.

around 2.75 American is a good online price, 3.50 is the store price you'd expect.
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[fallenangel]

Mmm letraset markers....

The art store a block away is going out of business sometime soon. Before they do I'ma use their sale prices and my 30% student discount to buy a shitload of canvas board and letraset marker refills. I don't use them with the markers, though, just the ink itself. The bottles last forever and are super fun with a brush.


Screw markers themselves.
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[Squidman]

Using marker ink like that looks really cool on vellum. Especially if you use one of those industrial electric erasers with it... it's how they did all the tonal latout studies for the movie Brother Bear.
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[SpasticPenguine]

Man, I've been drawing for two and a half years and still have so much to learn

I love how art has so many possibilites.

[PFC]

[quote="SpasticPenguine (Genkai)"] Man, I've been drawing for two and a half years and still have so much to learn

I love how art has so many possibilites. [/quote]
There's so much truth in that statement. I think that even the best of the best for artist's could still say they needed improvement. They still learn new things.

[Squidman]

Assuming that the greatest artists out there don't have room to grow and change is like saying evolution works towards a fixed goal.
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[PFC]

What I mean to say is that: artists who are considered the best, always find some way to make themselves even better. I know it sounds strange, but it's true.

[Brianhjh]

[quote="fallenangel (fallen)"] Mmm letraset markers....

The art store a block away is going out of business sometime soon. Before they do I'ma use their sale prices and my 30% student discount to buy a shitload of canvas board and letraset marker refills. I don't use them with the markers, though, just the ink itself. The bottles last forever and are super fun with a brush.

[/quote]
:o




OMG TORRENT PLZ


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