R29 Lipstick Red is a balanced red Copic Marker which resembles Cadmium Red watercolor. This is Copic’s most popular red, a favorite with crafters, colorers, and illustrators. R29 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.
R29 Lipstick Red
Let’s take a closer look at this Copic Marker and it’s ink characteristics.
Temperature: A balanced red.
Resemblance: Cadmium Red watercolor.
Actual Value: N8
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 an R29 Sketch marker looks like 2 coats of R29 ink.
Buildup: R29 layers well up but starts to develop slightly oily looking streaks or patches at more than 2 layers. Because it is generally used as the darkest color in a blending combination, the oiliness is really only obvious when layering straight R29.
Shattering: Does not shatter.
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: R29 stains the paper.
Lift: This is a very stubborn color with almost no lifting.
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: The sample faded about 10% during testing.
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: R29 is the dark end of the R-Twenty family but given the low value of R29 (N8), we know the mother ink is deeper. The R20s are the most popular reds Copic makes and its light reds are often substituted for pink (even though they’re light red, not pink).
Family Members: R20, R22, R24, R27, R29.
Shop for R markers at Violeta-ink.com (affiliate link)
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 true blue like B26 (affiliate link)
Underpaint: We suggest B93 (affiliate link)
This is simply one suggestion. Many possible colors exist. Test to find a color that pleases you.
Pushing Pencil: PC931 Dark Purple (affiliate link) is a reliable choice.
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 R29:
Celebration Cupcake: Soft fluffy frosting and tasty cake, perfect for any birthday celebration. Color gentle waves of frosting & crisply folded pleats. You can use this technique on skirts, shirts, curtains, anything with folds! Find more info here.
Doughnut Stack: Amy shows you why underpainting provides the basis for realistic coloring with accuracy. Find more info here.
Blackberry Bramble: explore the essentials of line art and how to approach stamps with tiny flourishes. Find more info here.
Vanilla Arts Digi Stamps using R29:
Color palettes and swatches using R29:
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)
