I would use Copic Marker Y38 Honey to color this honey bee scene. You’ll color better when you understand the ink better. We tested this alcohol ink to see if it’s a quality ink and worth purchasing. Test results here.

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.

Y38 Honey

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

Temperature: A warm, orangish yellow

Resemblance: Gamboge Yellow watercolor

Name: “Honey” is a pretty good name for this color. Real honey is never this color but I’ve seen similar shades of fabric, clothing, and craft paint yellow referred to as honey.

Marker Styles: Y38 is available in Sketch, Ciao, and Classic style markers.

For a Copic Wide marker in this color, you must purchase a “blank” or empty marker body and fill it with refill ink. Copic Wides have been do-it-yourself colors since 2019.

Copic makes refill inks for all 358 colors and every style of Copic is refillable.

Actual Value: N5

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.

We tested Y38 Honey Copic Marker ink for quality. Test results show layering, staining, lightfastness, and cap accuracy. How does this alcohol ink compare to other inks?

Cap Accuracy: The colored plastic on a Sketch marker closely matches the color of 1-2 layers of Y38 ink.

Buildup: Y38 reaches maximum value at 3-4 layers

Shattering: Y38 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: Y38 is partially staining. It tints the paper yellow but it’s because this is a dark and concentrated marker ink recipe. The actual colorant is not stubborn, does not bond with paper fibers, and is considered an easy-blending color.

Lift: Y38 has a moderate lift. Again, it’s not staining as much as this marker is rich in colorant. If this were a paint, we’d say it was “highly pigmented” and as such, there’s just a lot of colorant to lift.

See staining swatch. Sample was given 6 stripes of #0 Colorless Blender, drying between each stripe. Results indicate how much lifting you can expect.

We tested “Honey” Y38 Copic alcohol marker ink for layering, staining, lightfastness, and cap accuracy. Test results here.

Lightfast: Y38 faded a bit but very mild during the test period.

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: Y38 is the darkest marker in the Y-Thirty family. The mother ink which forms this group is likely a yellowish orange ink but the diluted versions Copic uses are distinctly yellow. We wish Copic would produce a sub-zero series for this family as the current Y00’s feel too greenish and do not work well with any of the Y-Thirties.

Family Members: Y38, Y35, Y32

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 purple. We wish Copic made a color like this rather than the pinkish purples and violets in the V family.

Underpaint: We suggest V22.

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

Pushing Pencil: PC1008 Parma Violet is an excellent choice to shade this color. Please use very light pressure.

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.

YELLOW WORKSHOP