BG15 Aqua is a diluted teal Copic Marker which mimics Cobalt Turquoise watercolor. This is a youthful color, ideal for spring images and celebratory scenes. BG15 is available in Copic Sketch, Ciao, 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.
BG15 Aqua
Let’s take a closer look at this Copic Marker and its ink characteristics.
Temperature: A warm teal.
Resemblance: Moderately diluted Cobalt Turquoise watercolor.
Actual Value: N4 (see the Natural Ink Family section below for a blending warning)
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: Yes. The colored plastic on the Sketch cap closely resembles this ink color.
Buildup: BG15 layers easily but exercise caution with more than 2 coats.
Shattering: Shatters into viridian green and cyan with hints of yellow on the outer edge. The yellow may not appear until the final stages of drying.
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: BG15 stains slightly.
Lift: A moderate lifting color. It’s not erasable but you can significantly lighten mistakes.
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: ODD RESULTS. This color didn’t fade so much as turn blue. We suspect the green in the ink mixture faded significantly but the cyan did not.
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: BG15 is an extreme dilution of BG18 but we suspect the mother ink for this family is significantly darker than BG18.
WARNING: In keeping with our theory that the BG-Teens are only semi-related, please notice that both BG13 and BG15 measure a value of 4. If BG13 was truly a dilution of BG15, they would not measure as the same value. This causes a lot of confusion when users try to color blending combinations such as BG11-BG13-BG15 or BG13-BG15-BG18, only to find that they do not create the expected light-medium-dark effect. It’s not your eyes, these markers are misnumbered and not related!
Family Members: BG18, BG15, BG13, BG11, BG10
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 standard pink like RV13
Underpaint: We suggest underpainting with medium gray like N4
This is simply one suggestion. Many possible colors exist. Test to find a color that pleases you.
Pushing Pencil: Prismacolor 1027 Peacock Blue is a nice pushing color for BG15 but many other colors will work.
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 BG15:
Spring Rain: a challenge level lesson which forces you out of your comfort zone. Celebrate the shape instead of the object with an introduction to negative painting. Find more info here.
We continue to create new content and classes and we will update here as more become available.
Visit the workshop resource page at our sister site VanillaArts.com for a wide variety of Copic classes.
Vanilla Arts Digi Stamps using BG15:
We continue to create new content and stamps and we will update here as more become available.
Visit the stamp shop page at our sister site VanillaArts.com for a wide variety of Copic classes.
Color palettes and swatches using BG15:
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)
