BV31 is a bluish-violet Copic Marker which mimics Cobalt Blue-Violet watercolor. This is an excellent underpainting and a natural violet for realistic botanicals and portraiture. BV31 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.
BV31 Pale Lavender
Let’s take a closer look at this Copic Marker and it’s ink characteristics.
Temperature: A bluish-violet
Resemblance: BV31 mimics diluted Cobalt Blue-Violet watercolor
Actual Value: N2.5
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 slightly lighter and bluer than one coat of BV31 ink.
Buildup: BV31 reaches full color at 3 layers but starts to create oily patches on the second layer.
Shattering: BV31 shatters into violet with light aqua leakage around the edges.
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: BV31 stains the paper blue
Lift: BV31 lifts a bit because it’s a pale color but you can tell where it was.
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: BV31 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: BV31 is the light end of the very small BV-Thirty family. At Vanilla Arts, we use this marker family a lot and we’d love to see Copic expand the family to the dark end.
Family Members BV31 and BV34
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 gold green. Try YR01 or YR21
Underpaint: We suggest W1 underneath BV31.
This is simply one suggestion. Many possible colors exist. Test to find a color that pleases you.
Pushing Pencil: We suggest Prismacolor 1063 50% Cool Grey with an incredibly light pressure over BV31.
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 BV31:
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 BV31:
Color palettes and swatches using BV31:
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.
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