Are you new to Copic Markers?
When you’re starting out with no markers and no money, the first few marker purchases are exciting but also nerve wracking. It feels great to get started but if you’re honest, you really don’t know for sure if you’re buying the right colors.
I remember those days. I debated every color and every purchase— this blue or that blue? Is this a good yellow or is that one better?
Even with an art degree, I still made mistakes. Many of the markers from my first box of 72 are still gathering dust today!
If I could go back and change the past, I’d focus on useful blending combinations rather than buying boxed sets and grabbing any Copic in the clearance bin. It’s only a bargain if you actually use the marker!
In the spirit of helping you avoid my mistakes, I started to wonder:
What’s the best yellow blending combination for Copic Marker beginners?
I asked three of my favorite marker instructors about which yellow markers they recommend for first time colorers.
Which yellow markers offer students the best value?
Which Copic Ys are versatile enough to color many different yellow items?
Which yellow blending combinations do we teach with?
Which Y markers do we use in our own work?
Which Yellow Copics are Best for Beginners?
We highly recommend Copic’s Y-Ten series of yellow markers for beginners and those building a small, versatile alcohol marker collection. Y17-Y15-Y13 make an easy blending bright yellow or try Y15-Y13-Y11 for a softer look. Both are versatile yellows for any occasion.
Let’s talk to four Copic instructors to learn more about Copic yellow blending combinations.
“Daisy Duckling” by the author, Amy Shulke. Copic Markers and Prismacolor Colored Pencils on Cryogen Curious Metallic White 89 lb. paper. This project is featured Amy’s online class teaching how to develop fuzzy fur or downy feathers. More info here.
Michelle Houghton’s Favorite Yellow Copics
Find Michelle on her Copic in the Craftroom channel at YouTube and at Scrapweaver.com
Michelle recommends Y21-Y23-Y26-Y28 for beginners.
She colors them light to dark.
I think Michelle might be a yellow fan. Whenever I’ve asked her for color recommendations, she’s given me one suggestion. This time, she pretty much mentioned every yellow Copic makes.
The girl likes yellow.
Michelle says:
The ones I reach for most are Y00, Y21, and Y28. Then I work in Y21, Y23, or Y26 depending on the situation.
But oh, I really love the Y-Thirties too!
You may find Michelle’s choice a bit surprising. The Y-Twenty family is not what a beginner usually thinks of when someone says “yellow”.
The Twenties are very organic and natural looking yellow; they’re a a brassy gold which reminds me of Naples Yellow. There’s a noticeable earthiness to the Y-Twenties. They’re much more muted than rubber-duckie yellows.
And yet the Twenties are absolutely gorgeous!
Michelle’s choice is smart. She colors many flowers and even when she’s coloring a cartoon stamp, it still has a nature-girl feel to it. Michelle’s yellow blend fits her personality so well!
Here’s Michelle demonstrating the Y30s here:
And here’s a handy comparison of the different yellow groups:
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Michelle is an elementary school teacher (BS Fine Arts, MA Education) with over 20 years of paper-crafting experience. She’s is a former Copic Certification Regional Instructor for Imagination International. Michelle runs the Copic in the Craftroom website and YouTube channel. Her Copic College events are favorites with Copic fans at all levels.. Visit her at Scrapweaver.com.
WE ASKED YOU!
What’s the favorite yellow blending combo for Vanilla Arts readers? Y13-Y15-Y17 won hands-down. It wasn’t even close!
Keep reading because this combo is also recommended by 2 instructors here today!
Cordine van der Touw’s Beginner Yellow Blend
Find Cordine’s latest projects on her Facebook page here. You can also find her at Copic Marker Europe and Cordine’s latest classes for Copics at Colourstock.
Cordine recommends Y13-Y15-Y17 for your first yellow blending combination.
Cordine says:
This is a bright yellow combination which is useful on its own but it can also be modified.
I love how I can add for example Y38 for a darker yellow combination or add Y11 for a lighter yellow combination.
This seems to be the driving theme behind all of Cordine’s Copic blending recipes.
She starts with a core blending combination but then adds markers to the dark end to make the color deeper. Or she’ll add a few lighter markers to shift the combination lighter. and brighter.
Far too many beginners think they need totally new yellow combinations for everything they want to color. Instead, Cordine uses her core group to create a full range of yellows.
Cordine proves that you can do a lot with a small but smart collection of basic blends.
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Cordine is an office manager in The Netherlands. She’s an avid paper crafter who loves card making, scrapbooking, and coloring stamps with Copic and colored pencils. She has taught Copic since 2013 for Colourstock as the Benelux region representative (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg). Contact Cordine here.
Elena Cazares’ Favorite Yellow Copic Blend
Elena recommends Y17-Y15-Y13 for beginners. She colors them dark to light.
Elena says:
I have several favorite yellows but I keep coming back to this classic and it’s a good one for beginners to start with. Y17 is sunny and bright but not wimpy. It reminds me of a sunny-side-up egg!
I also use Y08-Y06-Y04 a lot but that combination has a little hint of green to it. It works for flowers but most beginners wouldn’t want that greenishness if they were coloring eggs.
Uhm… cooking tips aside, notice that Cordine and Elena recommend the same combination and yet their yellow items look different?
This is one of the hardest concepts to convey to beginners. Many colorers spending a lot of time collecting marker recipes and blending combination swatches assuming that if they use that exact blending combination, they’ll get the same results.
But there are so many variables to blending—
Did you apply the color dark to light or light to dark?
How fast or slow do you color?
What is the ratio of dark ink to light ink used?
What pressure was used to apply the dark ink?
How generous was the blending coat?
Did you reblend several times?
Are you using the same brand of paper?
Change one or more of these factors and you’ll change the look of the blending combination.
Every person using this yellow Copic Marker blending combination will get slightly different results.
Cordine and Elena’s coloring looks different because they’re different people with different processes— even though they’re using the same markers. This is also why your project will differ from theirs.
Who colored it is usually more of a factor than what they used.
Amy Shulke’s Favorite Yellow Markers
Hey, that’s me! You can find me here at MarkerNovice.com or at my artistic coloring site, VanillaArts.com.
My favorite yellow blending combination is B60-Y35-Y21.
No, that’s not a typo. I really do use B60 in this yellow blend.
And yes, I teach this blue-yellow underpainting combination to my beginner level students— often in their very first class.
Underpainting is not nearly as difficult as it sounds.
It’s deeper thinking, not harder coloring.
Why do I add blue to my yellow blending combination?
Because although Copic makes 20 different yellows, they really don’t make natural looking shade yellows.
And I know, right now you’re thinking: But I’ve seen lots of tutorials on YouTube where they shade with something like Y19 or maybe an orange or brown marker.
Nope. That’s what they do but it doesn’t look realistic. Shade isn’t just a darker version of the original color. Shade also isn’t more saturated than the base color. When you pull out a Y marker which ends in 8 or 9, you’re just getting a more intense yellow, not shade.
Take a look at my duckling here. Check out the shady area under his chin. There’s not a lot of light hitting inside the fold of his neck, is there?
And that’s my point. Copic doesn’t make a good yellow to use in these crevices.
So I fall back on my painter’s background and I make my own shady yellow.
B60 is a very cool, very grayed blue. By laying B60 down first and then covering it completely with Y35, I’m doing exactly what I’d do with watercolor to mix up a grayed, cool, shady yellow.
B60 is a very gentle underpaint for beginners who aren’t quite used to making muddy shade colors. It’s easy to cover, easy to blend. Many of my other yellow blending combinations use BV, V, or even a stronger gray marker. But for beginners, I start them on the underpainting process by using B60 under this yellow.
It’s an easy shaded yellow for those who intend to grow and progress to realistic marker illustration.
And in case you’re wondering— no, I didn’t invent underpainting. I borrowed it from standard watercolor and oil painting techniques. The concept actually goes back to the 1700’s and the Old Masters. I started underpainting with Copics back in the early 1990’s when I got frustrated at the lack of shady colors in the Copic ink palette. I didn’t realize at the time that nobody else was doing it.
Do beginners need to underpaint Yellow?
I would.
Look, if you’ve never drawn, painted, or used Copics before, and especially if you’re trying to learn how to color using YouTube videos, blogs, website tutorials, and other free resources…
Well, that’s a lot on your plate at once.
You’re at a disadvantage because free instruction is not the same as good instruction.
So maybe concentrate on figuring out how to blend before you worry about underpainting.
One hurdle at a time, eh?
But once you’re blending well?
If you intend to color realistic items, you’ll have to underpaint yellow because Copic does not make realistic yellow shade tones.
They simply don’t.
You must make shady yellow yourself. Underpainting is the easiest way to mix markers and once you get the hang of it, you’ll use it all the time.
SPF50 for Yellow
Learn to tame bright and vibrant yellow Copic Markers in “SPF50 for Yellow”, a beginner’s challenge online class from Amy Shulke. Underpaint yellow to soften, desaturate, and tone Copic’s most vivid and saturated colors.
We’re making the shady yellows we wish Copic would make!
Which yellow(s) should you avoid?
Honestly, I’d stay away from the Y-Zero family. The Zero family includes Y02, Y04, Y06, and Y08.
Avoiding the Y-Zeros will be hard because many beginners are drawn to the bright cheerful colors found in the B-Zeros, YR-Zeros, YG-Zeros, etc. Zeros are catnip to newbies. Plus, I’ve noticed a lot of card makers turned Copic instructors use the Y-Zeros in their tutorials and classes.
But here’s the problem: The Y-Zero family look like office highlighters.
Copic makes an entire group of florescent (F) markers. Ironically, the Y-Zeros are more highlighter-ish looking than FY1 (Florescent Yellow #1).
The Y-Zero family are a bit obnoxious. You can live without them.
Why is Y00 green?
Notice that of the 4 instructors here, nobody recommended buying Y00, Y000, or Y0000?
That’s because they’re kind’a green.
Yes, the sub-zero yellow markers actually look pale green on many brands of paper and in certain lighting conditions. It’s very disappointing!
Why do they look green?
The entire Y-Zero family is a cool yellow.
Warm yellows look a bit orangish, cool yellows look greenish.
Y08, Y06, and Y04 are dark enough that the colors read as very yellow. But from Y02 on down, these markers have far more solvent than colorant. The coolness of the yellow is easier to spot and they read as a “sickly” yellow to many people.
You’ll notice in this entire Best Blending Combination series of articles, we rarely recommend sub-zero markers for beginners. You can definitely skip the Y-Sub-Zeros until later.
So there you go,
The Best Yellow Copic Marker Blending Combinations
If you’re new to Copic Markers, we highly recommend Copic’s Y-Ten series of yellow markers, especially if you intend to build a small yet versatile alcohol marker collection.
Y17-Y15-Y13 make an easy blending bright yellow or try Y15-Y13-Y11 for a softer look. Both are versatile yellows for any occasion.
Amy Shulke is a professional illustrator who has used Copic Markers since 1990. She teaches artistic coloring classes online at VanillaArts.com and locally in mid-Michigan.
Marker Novice is Amy’s completely free resource devoted to beginner marker education. For intermediate/advanced artistic coloring articles, see her Studio Journal here.
Marker Testing: Colors Mentioned Above
Quack, Quack!
Join Amy for a fun Copic Marker + Colored Pencil lesson in the Vanilla Workshop
Learn to color touchably soft fur or fuzzy feathers
Copic is fun but we need the help of colored pencils to give us realistic furry fluff. But unlike many fur tutorials, drawing a bunch of hairs doesn’t help. Amy covers the professional approach to coloring dimensional bodies with real looking fur.
Immediate access. Watch as many times as you want, whenever you want
Class Printable Pack Includes:
Class syllabus with detailed recipe guide
Full color project sample
Guide to Copic base
Detailed color map
Project inspiration references
