BV04 Blue Berry Copic Marker. We swatch and test Copic colors- layering, staining, lift, value, lightfastness, saturation, and cap accuracy. | MarkerNovice.com | How to Color, Copic Blending, Color Theory

BV04 Blue Berry is a cool blue-based violet Copic Marker which resembles Cobalt Violet watercolor. This is a great starter marker, useful for underpainting, florals, and general coloring. BV04 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.

BV04 Blue Berry

Let’s take a closer look at this Copic Marker and it’s ink characteristics.

Temperature: A cool blue based violet

Resemblance: Blue Berry resembles Cobalt Violet watercolor.

Actual Value: N7. Please note how wrong the value is on this marker. It claims to be 4 and is actually a 7.

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 end of a Sketch Marker is a good match to the color of 1 coat of BV04 ink.

Buildup: BV02 starts to create oily patches on the second layer. Exercise caution when layering this color.

Shattering: BV04 shatters into blue with pale pink leakage around the edges. This shattering is also visible in the staining test results.

Chromatography testing shows this ink’s behavior when it comes in contact with #0 Colorless Blender (solvent). High shattering colors may leak unexpected colors 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: BV04 stains the paper blue

Lift: BV04 does not lift much. When we tried, the sample shattered. Exercise caution trying to move this color with solvent because you’ll get odd pink leakage on the margins of the fix.

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: BV04 showed a minimal amount of fade; we would expect further significant fading with extended testing times.

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: BV04 is in the middle of the of the BV-Zero family, even though there is only one marker darker. This family is very deceiving because the sub zero markers are lighter than expected while those above zero are darker than expected.

Family Members BV08, BV04, BV02, BV01, BV00, BV000, BV0000

We include this information because many Copic users never think deeper than the letter groupings (R, BV, G, etc.). Every ink has it’s 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 middle yellow contrasts nicely. Try Y06

Underpaint: We suggest W5 underneath BV04

This is simply one suggestion. Many possible colors exist. Test to find a color that pleases you.

Pushing Pencil: We suggest Prismacolor 109 Prussian Green with a very light pressure over BV04.

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.