There two things you should know about these guys. They are pricey and they are quite nice to draw with. While the initial upfront cost for these markers is significant, you can purchase refills and new tips for them so in the long run the price isn't as bad. But even if they were disposable, I would still buy these. Why? Because they create such rich and vivid colors. I particularly like using the brush tip. Would definitely buy these again. Give them a try if you want to draw with markers.Make sure to use these with a Copic safe ink or the ink will smear and smudge. Thick paper is needed as well as they will bleed through the thin stuff. Also, be sure to use them in a well ventilated room since they are alcohol based. :)

Copic Ciao Set - on special discount?! Yes, please

While wandering around the local Michaels for inspo, I found these markers with a special discounted price sticker! Couldn't beat the price with current coupon deals; how can you pass them up? The shades included in the "skin" pack are extremely useful for the obvious skin tones, but also for shading and more. I had to use restraint not to buy out what was left!

Excellent markers for portraits & comic/ manga art

The best alcohol markers on the market. These markers are refillable and have the option for replaceable nibs just like their Sketch cousins. I love using the brush tip to lay down smooth color. If you make comic art or portraits like I do this set is extremely necessary to add to your collection. I highly recommend!

Favorite markers

This is the only place I can afford to get these singles. So, the hues of Copics, in my opinion are the most vivid. The quality of the brush tip is the best among may of the alcohol markers I have tried, so this sets them above the rest as well as the range of colors which offers the widest variety of blending. Overall they blend better with each other and even one single marker can be used to give two to three ranges of color and blend with itself. The problem I found with Copics is that newbies like myself are not able to afford a wide range of hues at first. So, one ends up being forced to choose either bright tones, natural tones, flowers etc. and accept that these markers are a long term investment. Alcohol markers are great and they are my favorite medium but ... MoreThis is the only place I can afford to get these singles. So, the hues of Copics, in my opinion are the most vivid. The quality of the brush tip is the best among may of the alcohol markers I have tried, so this sets them above the rest as well as the range of colors which offers the widest variety of blending. Overall they blend better with each other and even one single marker can be used to give two to three ranges of color and blend with itself. The problem I found with Copics is that newbies like myself are not able to afford a wide range of hues at first. So, one ends up being forced to choose either bright tones, natural tones, flowers etc. and accept that these markers are a long term investment. Alcohol markers are great and they are my favorite medium but they do require alot of money and space because it can take anywhere from two to three markers to make one blended color, so even at Blicks prices, $7 -$10 to have one color is crazy. ( I ended up investing in the Spectrum Noir's originals through Blicks as well, ( closer to $1.00 per marker ), so I could have every range of colors from the start but I was overwhelmed until I got a used copy of the 2nd Generation instructional dvd and although they are not Copics, nothing is a Copic but a Copic!, they are blending better than the variety of others I tried .) And then I am getting Jennifer McGuires suggested 29 copic starter set of bright hues since I mostly use these for card making.

Great resource for quick portrait sketching

This a compact set of markers you want to quickly lay down a great portrait without carrying water colors, colored pencils or paints. I have absolutely loved carrying them with my sketchbook to create some great portraits. Highly recommend.

Highly Recommended

I've used Copic Sketch markers for many years and up until now have never touched a Ciao. I decided to try them after discovering cracks in some of my Sketch markers, rendering them unusable. I bought B28 and BV25 to replace their cracked Sketch counterparts.The Ciao markers have round barrels whereas the Sketch are flat. Because of this, I find it harder to hold the Ciao markers, and I have lost my grip multiple times while using them. This may be because I am unused to the rounded shape, so it may not necessarily be a con for everyone. The rounded barrel also causes the marker to roll away at times, which can be a bit annoying. The little nubs on the caps do not do much to stop the marker from rolling once it is in motion.As for Copic markers in general, the ... MoreI've used Copic Sketch markers for many years and up until now have never touched a Ciao. I decided to try them after discovering cracks in some of my Sketch markers, rendering them unusable. I bought B28 and BV25 to replace their cracked Sketch counterparts.The Ciao markers have round barrels whereas the Sketch are flat. Because of this, I find it harder to hold the Ciao markers, and I have lost my grip multiple times while using them. This may be because I am unused to the rounded shape, so it may not necessarily be a con for everyone. The rounded barrel also causes the marker to roll away at times, which can be a bit annoying. The little nubs on the caps do not do much to stop the marker from rolling once it is in motion.As for Copic markers in general, the colors are extraordinary. They are vibrant and look amazing in finished pieces. The ink comes out so nicely, and it is very satisfying to use the brush tip for coloring. Something to keep in mind is that these markers do have a strong odor, and I have gotten headaches from using them for too long in one setting. I avoid this by taking breaks and/or opening a window when possible.Bottom line: I love Copic markers and highly recommend them for anyone who enjoys working with markers. #sweepstakes

I will be buying more of these markers in future.

I love making cards, doing scrapbooking and journaling. I use many tools and I am new to Copic. I love how nicely the Copic pens blend. It is great that that Copic offers 3 lines of Copic pens. I choose the Ciao line for multiple reasons, size, shape and price. Ciao comes in 180 colors, Copic Ink refills Copic Ciao up to 9 times. I plan to purchase the Ciao markers but if I want colors not offered in Ciao I will purchase the Classic markers.Sketch comes in 358 colors and Classic has 214 colors available. #sweepstakes

Praise be to the Ciao brush!

I will never be fond of Copic's prices. They are worth it, mind, but I am not made of money and have gone most of my life without Copics simply because I can't afford them. I finally purchased a handful of them, Ciaos, and went to work experimenting with them. Compared to standard Copics, I think the Ciao is far better because of it's brush tip. For the kind of pieces I do, the brush tip is more ideal in most cases. For people who draw portraits of people or animals, or anime/manga-inspired/fanart pieces, Ciao (and Copics in general) are EXCELLENT products to invest in. While costly (and costly still when refilling, a bonus/convenient thing so that you don't have to replace the entire pen), they are worth it in my opinion, you simply must know what colors you're ... MoreI will never be fond of Copic's prices. They are worth it, mind, but I am not made of money and have gone most of my life without Copics simply because I can't afford them. I finally purchased a handful of them, Ciaos, and went to work experimenting with them. Compared to standard Copics, I think the Ciao is far better because of it's brush tip. For the kind of pieces I do, the brush tip is more ideal in most cases. For people who draw portraits of people or animals, or anime/manga-inspired/fanart pieces, Ciao (and Copics in general) are EXCELLENT products to invest in. While costly (and costly still when refilling, a bonus/convenient thing so that you don't have to replace the entire pen), they are worth it in my opinion, you simply must know what colors you're getting (finding photographs/samples is a good idea, going to the official site helped me decide what colors to get) because you may only ever end up using a small handful. The pens can achieve multiple shades by layering, so you needn't get too many colors unless you intend to do something super rainbow-y.My experience as a first time Ciao user and second time Copic brand user (I've owned multiliners for years and have used other Copic pens in the past) has been a good one, and I intend to eventually purchase more colors once I have the money to spare toward it.

Professional level For cheap

If you're on the fence about getting copics and you're a beginner I'll put this review into a perspective that is easy to make a judgement. Copic makes 3 types of markers, sketch, original and ciao. All 3 are good markers but have their separate uses. This review is mostly about ciaos and sketch since they're the more popular choices. The original has a chisel tip and a bullet tip. The other two have chisel tips and brush tips (brush tip is the popular sought out tip). The difference between sketch and ciao is by their size and color variations. sketch hold more ink and have more colors while ciaos cost less per marker. If you're a beginner I would suggest going with ciaos until you get a better grasp of how they work and the colors you would want and the reason for ... MoreIf you're on the fence about getting copics and you're a beginner I'll put this review into a perspective that is easy to make a judgement. Copic makes 3 types of markers, sketch, original and ciao. All 3 are good markers but have their separate uses. This review is mostly about ciaos and sketch since they're the more popular choices. The original has a chisel tip and a bullet tip. The other two have chisel tips and brush tips (brush tip is the popular sought out tip). The difference between sketch and ciao is by their size and color variations. sketch hold more ink and have more colors while ciaos cost less per marker. If you're a beginner I would suggest going with ciaos until you get a better grasp of how they work and the colors you would want and the reason for this is because the ciaos cost way less initiall and still have a lot of colors to choose from. All of them are refillable and since size doesn't matter much on refill value. When your markers die and you buy refills the cost per refill is the same regardless of which markers you get the only real difference is you will refill the ciaos more often due to size and depending on how much you use them. Sketch have 358 colors to choose from and ciaos have roughly 214 which in my opinion is more than enough for a beginner. You can always mix and match between sketch and ciaos as well. The barrel on ciaos is circular while sketches are kind of oval shaped but both are very comfortable in your hand. These markers are alcoholic based markers so you will get bleed through on the other side of the paper but ive never had to go to the second piece after that. I've heard that they can smell too but I've never had a problem with them even once and I have used them 6+ hours at a time. You have the choice of buying these in sets, depending on what you're coloring I would recommend a buying a few first and seeing how you like them before getting a set. Great markers and they have infinite value with refills.

Top of the line quality

I love Copic Ciao markers!! The colors are beautiful and the ink is smooth. The super tips make it easy to apply the ink. There is no hardly any smell if your sensitive to that. They motivate me to want to create art. I highly recommend them.