Monochromatic, Triad, and Tetrad

How can I use these color schemes with my Copic markers?

In the previous blog, we introduced three more color schemes: monochromatic, triad, and tetrad. In this blog, I’ll be showing how you can apply these color schemes to your Copic marker art. Additionally, each example shown today is available as downloadable line art on our website here. Without that being said, let’s get started!

First up, we have the monochromatic color scheme. Monochromatic colors use any value variation of just one color and often create a very peaceful palette (especially with cool colors). In the example above, I used light greens in the front/foreground (G00, G02), used mid-tone greens for the middle layers (G05, G07), and a very dark green, G29, for the background. By keeping the foreground colors light and the background colors dark, this simple monochromatic drawing creates a lot of contrast and vibrancy! 

Next up, we have triads. Triads consist of three equidistant colors on the wheel, such as blue, red, and yellow (the primary colors). Triad color schemes are very attention-grabbing and powerful. The famous artist Piet Mondrian created some of his most well-known work by using only red, blue, and yellow. Try this palette out in some of your own illustrations! Or, if you don’t want to use the primary colors, use violet, orange, and green; or red-violet, yellow-orange, and blue-green.

Last but not least, we have tetrads. Tetrads consist of four colors on the color wheel that include two sets of complementary colors. In the example above, I simply colored the exterior of buildings using this palette. However, it’d be easy to apply the same four colors to, say, a field in the spring where flowers are blooming. You’d see a blue sky against green grass with speckles of red and orange. The combination of blue, green, red, and orange can create an effortless palette, especially for nature compositions!

Now that you’ve seen how we can apply these color schemes to drawings with Copic markers, it’s time to put your own skills to the test! You can download the 8.5 x 11 image above from our Line Art Gallery and print it at home on a sheet of marker paper (I recommend Neenah Premium Cardstock) and use the same colors I did or create different color combinations. We can’t wait to see how you #copicwithus!