B34 Manganese Blue is a green-shade blue Copic Marker reminiscent of Phthalo Blue watercolor. This beautiful marker color is useful for summer skies, denim, and blue eyes. Makes an excellent underpaint color. B34 is available only in Copic Sketch and Classic marker styles.
Every Copic Marker has unique characteristics based on its unique ink formula.
Knowing how a color behaves will help you blend effectively and make art with confidence.
B34 Manganese Blue
Let’s take a closer look at this Copic Marker and it’s ink characteristics.
Temperature: A balanced blue that looks a bit green-shade, but not much.
Resemblance: Diluted Phthalo Blue watercolor.
Actual Value: N4
All Copics are measured on a Neutral Gray value scale. The last number on the cap is supposed to indicate value but we’ve found discrepancies where the actual ink value is different than cap designation.
Cap Accuracy: The plastic on a Sketch cap is a close match to B34.
Buildup: B34 has a low level of colorant and high level of solvent in the formula. This color layers beautifully.
Shattering: No shattering.
Chromatography testing shows this ink’s behavior when it comes in contact with #0 Colorless Blender (solvent). High shattering colors may leak unexpected color when you make corrections or attempt to blend with any color that has a high solvent to colorant ratio. Shattering is not bad, it’s just something to be aware of.
Staining: B34 like most blues, is not staining color.
Lift: Very easy lifting and could be considered “erasable”.
See staining swatch. Sample was given 6 stripes of #0 Colorless Blender, drying between each stripe. Results indicate how much lifting you can expect.
Lightfast: Poor lightfastness. This color faded quickly and we suspect would disappear entirely if we extended the test time.
Samples were swatched on X-Press It Blending Card. 1 layer of ink was exposed to windowsill sunlight for 21 days. Approximately 10 hours of sun per day based on weather conditions. Note: we do not recommend displaying original Copic art under these conditions.
Natural Ink Family: B34 is a moderately diluted version of B39, a dark Prussian Blue.
Family Members: B39, B37, B34, B32
We include this information because many Copic users never think deeper than the letter groupings (R, BV, G, etc.). Every ink has its own temperature variations and underlying flavors. Understanding what an ink looks like in its different dilutions helps when creating your own blending combinations.
Complement: A medium orange. We suggest YR15
Underpaint: We suggest V25
This is simply one suggestion. Many possible colors exist. Test to find a color that pleases you.
Pushing Pencil: Prismacolor 901 Indigo Blue works beautifully over B34. It’s not a revolutionary choice but it works.
VanillaArts.com (our sister site) teaches a Push & Pull technique for dimensional coloring. This is simply one suggestion. Many possible colors exist. Test to find a color that pleases you.
Vanilla Arts Classes using B34:
Tree Frog: Join Amy for a challenging lesson on rebel blending that blends green into yellow into violet into pink into white. Find more info here.
Vanilla Arts Digi Stamps using B34:
Snowman Supplies: an incredibly flexible stamp, perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, or any party. Find more info here.
We are building our palette and swatch collection a little more each week and will update here as more become available.
Visit the color resource page at our sister site VanillaArts.com for a wide variety of Copic palettes and swatches.
Looking for beautiful color palettes?
We absolutely love The Color Catalog 1 & 2 from Sarah Renae Clark. It puts hundreds of Copic friendly color palettes at your fingertips.
(note: affiliate link)
