Best Markers for Skin Tones

Skin tones can be hard when it comes to markers. When I first started illustrating people with marker I struggled to find the best colors with marker to use as a natural skin tone. Each brand of marker is labeled so differently and that can make it hard to figure out skin tones across different brands. I've tried all of the main brands of alcohol-based markers and here are my skin tone recommendations for Copic, Prismacolor, and Artist Loft. Of course there are other brands of markers that you can try out, Windsor Newton, Tombow, and Ohuhu are two that come to mind that also offer alcohol-based markers and have a wide range of colors as well. All of these markers can be purchased on Amazon or Blick Art Supply, Michaels or even better - check your local art supply store!

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COPIC MARKERS

1) Copic markers offer the largest range of "skin tones" and I use them most often when adding skin color to my figures. My favorites to use are E11Barley Beige, E13 Light Suntan, E15 Dark Suntan, E35 Chamois, E51 Milky White, E30 Bisque, and E21 Soft Sun. Copic markers are very high quality. They have a lightly opaque ink that allows you to layer it to make additional shades of the color your using. I perfer to use the Copic Brush markers because the brush tip is just stiff enough to allow me to get small details as well as large swashes of area. The tips are all replaceable, which I LOVE and they are all refillable as well. The colors also match the lid color pretty well so you can guess at what your color will look like on the page.

PRISMACOLOR MARKERS

2) Prismacolor brush markers are great and also offer a wide range of colors for skintones. Prismacolor markers differ from Copic with the size of their marker tips. Both the brush and the chisel are both larger than the Copic brush markers which offers different ways to utilize both tips. Prismacolors tend to be more opaque than Copic, in my opinon and don't layer to make more shades quite as well as Copics either. The ink is great quality and I like the larger barrel size. The tips are high quality and last a while so I can get small details as well as large areas without the brush tip wearing out. They are not refillable but they are larger so will last a little longer than an average Copic marker. The colors on the lids don't match the color of the ink very well so I do recommend doing a swatch sheet so you can refer to that when deciding which color to use for the skin tone you're going for.

ARTIST LOFT MARKERS

The Artist Loft markers are Michael's line of alcohol-based markers and are great starter markers. These markers are generally very opaque but can be layered to add some additional shades. The tips on these markers are not as high quality as the Copic or the Prismacolor markers so they wear out much faster. The brush tips on these markers aren't able to give the fine details because they are much softer and less stiff. These markers don't come in a large range of colors but they are really great to start with if you are just learning about alcohol-based markers and wondering if you should invest. Beware, however, of the colors on the lids because the do not match the ink at all.

OHUHU MARKERS

The Ohuhu line of markers is also a great starter set of markers. They are very opaque but can be layered a little bit to create a deeper shade. They have the dual brush/chisel tips. The brush tip side is not very stiff so you can't really get fine details with the brush tip. The brush tips wear out quickly but the chisel tips are great. Ohuhu markers offer a wide range of colors and these are the colors I have, but they do have a skin tone set that offers many more skin tone matches.

All in all, I would highly recommend Copic and Prismacolor markers if you are ready to invest in a nice set of alcohol based markers and plan on using them regularly. The Copic is the best buy because you can use them forever with replaceable nibs and refillable ink. Artist Loft and Ohuhu are great starter sets of markers and offer a pretty good range of skin tones to utilize and learn how to use alcohol based markers. Let me know what you think about this. Have you tried these brands? What is your opinion?