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Copic YG03 “Yellow Green”: The Best Green Marker for Beginners (video + resources)

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What’s a Good Blending Combination for Copic YG03?

I’ve used Copic Markers professionally for 30 years. I’ve tried a lot of excellent YG blending combinations but I’m always sad when someone asks for a marker recipe.

There’s more to artistic coloring than pretty Copic blending combinations.

Blending combos are the least of what we do.

Let’s examine Copic’s YG03 “Yellow Green” and how I use this chartreuse marker in my classes and personal art.

Let’s go beyond basic blending to see how this marker actually performs.

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Copic YG03 “Yellow Green” is a bright Chartreuse

Chartreuse is the common name for the yellowish green color which sits just to the green side of yellow on the color wheel.

Yellowish Green can be trendy, ebbing and flowing with popular taste. A few years back, this color was all the rage. Then it was out. Now it’s creeping back again.

You either love it or hate it but YG markers are essential for botanicals, florals, and landscapes— especially those with a spring theme.

YG03 is a typical spring green. It’s not florescent but it does have an eye-catching glow.

In the MayBells project shown here, I’ve used YG03 and YG17 as the base colors for the lily leaves. YG17 adds structure while YG03 provides the feeling of sunshine on freshly picked leaves.

About the YG Color Family:

Copic has two green families:

  • G greens lean towards blue

  • YG greens are warmer with more yellow in the mix

The two letter code, “YG” indicates that these markers are made from an ink blend. There’s usually a mixture of yellow, blue, and even green inks in the YG markers.

About the YG-Zero Group:

The first number “0” in YG03 indicates this marker is part of the “Zero” group of YG markers.

Copics in any of the Zero groups (B02, YR04, V06, etc) tend to be highly saturated and sometimes obnoxiously bright. I often describe them as candy colors.

The sub-zero markers ending in 00, 000, or 0000 also belong to the Zero group. YG0000 and YG00 are highly diluted versions of the same ink YG03 is made from.

About the Color Value:

Learn more about the Copic Numbering system in my article at MarkerNovice.com here.

The second number in the code YG03 is a 3. This tells you that the color has a value of 3 and it matches N3 in value. Copic uses their N grays to valuate all their marker colors.

YG03 is towards the middle of the Zero group (0’s are the lightest and 9 would be the darkest).

Most Copics with a last number 4 or below tend to be easy to blend. But honestly, any marker which contains a percentage of yellow ink is going to be easier than normal. The more yellow the easier the blending gets.

YG03 is an incredibly easy blender, even for beginners! It’s from the Zero group, it has a value below 4, and it’s full of yellow ink. YG03 was born to blend!

About the Name: YG03 “Yellow Green”

YG03 is a bright spring green. Spring greens are a common color so there are many alternative names for this type of green— in art supplies, in home decor, in fashion, and in just everyday language.

You and I could easily brainstorm 50 names for this color in a minute, ranging from light avocado to zinnia leaf.

I do not understand why Copic wasted the opportunity with a lame name like “Yellow Green”.

YG already stands for Yellow Green!

Copic color names don’t always make sense and some markers have names that are just plain weird…

But “Yellow Green” is lazy.

Is Copic YG03 Lightfast?

Does it fade quickly? Can it be erased? Does it shatter? Does the cap color match the ink color?

I’ve tested YG03 ink to help you better predict how this ink will behave during use.

See the test results for:

  • Lightfastness

  • Layering

  • Color Build-up

  • Dilution

  • Value

  • Cap Accuracy

  • Behavior upon contact with Colorless Blender

MarkerNovice.com is the sister site to VanillaArts.com where I offer reliable information for Copic Marker beginners.

WATCH THE YG03 VIDEO

(Click below to watch. View directly at YouTube here.)

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Visit Amy’s YouTube Channel for more FREE art lessons.

“MAY BELLS” SUPPLY LIST - SCROLL TO BOTTOM

How to Blend with Copic YG03

In the Self Blending swatch, I’ve blended YG03 with itself. The darker left side is three coats of ink, the middle mid-tone is two layers, and the far right is one layer of ink.

People don’t often think about blending a marker with only one marker but self-blending always creates the easiest and smoothest gradient.

Next, I’ve sampled two natural blending groups for you.

A natural blending combination is 2-3 markers which all share the same first number.

The Light Natural Blend uses YG03 as the darkest color— YG03, YG01, and YG00. Notice how yellow this blend looks. This is why I rarely use this blend; it’s too yellowish for florals and landscapes. I tend to combine YG03 with YG21 because 21 is light and yet still greenish.

The Dark Natural Blend uses YG03 as the lightest color. If you’re looking for an “acid green” blend or you like the retro-80’s vibe, keep this blend in mind. I confess, I wore this color in high school so it’s authentically 1980s.

The last swatch is my favorite blend and this is how I used YG03 in today’s feature project, May Bells. BV23 is a multipurpose underpaint because it works underneath many colors. YG67 goes over the top of the gray-violet, then YG17 and we smooth the blend with YG03 for a classic green leaf gradient.

Tips for Blending YG03:

Note: YG03 is not a staining color; it’s extremely easy to blend. Don’t talk yourself out of trying something crazy like YG03 + V25. Give it a try!

  • I think YG03 works best as the lightest marker in the combination. When 03 is the darker, you’re often playing with markers that end in zero and these colors contain tons of colorless blender in the formula. Colorless blender really wipes away the green component of YG03 leaving you with just yellow. This is what happened in the “Light Natural Blend” above.

  • Don’t worry about over-inking with YG03— and to be honest, this is why I prefer YG03 over similar colors like YG23. Many Copic YG markers can look blotchy and almost oily when layered and it happens faster than you’d expect. This blotchiness DOES NOT happen with YG03 which is why I teach beginner classes with this color.

  • YG03 contains a lot of solvent in it’s ink formula. This makes the marker an easy blender but it also means it can be dangerous if you take YG03 over some darker colors. The solvent in YG03 can bleach away some of your darker inks which not only causes mottles but it can eat away at some of the depth and dimension you’ve created with the darks. I still recommend this color for beginners but I caution students that the more you reblend, the flatter your project can look. Is a perfectly smooth blend worth the loss of dimension?

FREE YG03 SWATCH SHEET

Keep a record of your Copic collection, testing and blending your colors.

Subscribers to Vanilla Beans, my Saturday newsletter have access to an exclusive FREE Download Library which includes the PDF Uncapped Template here.

I colored this template in the YG03 video.

Subscribe, download, and print to color your own!

Redundant Copic Colors:

Everyone asks about Copic subs and dupes.

And I get it. It can be frustrating to spend a small fortune on markers only to find some colors are similar enough to be twins.

Do we really need three green Copics close?

If you’re just casual coloring once in a while, you probably don’t need YG03, YG13, and YG23. One chartreuse green will do.

But here’s the thing: There’s no such thing as a Copic duplicate.

You’re thinking only about color but chemistry-wise, each marker serves a purpose.

Every Copic color has a unique chemical profile.

  • YG03 was made from a master YG-Zero ink. It will always blend best with other YG-Zero markers because they’re made from the same master ink.

  • YG13 was made from a master YG-Ten/Teen ink. It will always blend best with YG-Teens.

  • And YG23 was made from a master YG-Twenty ink and blends best with other YG-Twenties.

To the human eye, they look alike but it’s the difference between your Grandma’s chocolate cake and the plastic-wrapped, preservative-soaked snack cakes from a vending machine.

And as a beginner?

Blending is hard enough without complicating it by jumping number groups.

But if you’re determined to avoid similar colors…

Which YG chartreuse marker should you purchase?

YG03 is more yellow. YG13 has a bit more blue in it. YG23 sits in the middle and it’s brighter. But I’m nit picking here. I don’t think I could tell the difference if you handed me unlabeled swatches.

And yet, if you only want one:

I recommend YG03 as your one chartreuse.

Why?

Check out the layering test for YG13 here and YG23 here. Both markers can look oily and blotchy with as little as 2 layers. And check out the fade rates on YG13 and YG23.

YG03 is a safer choice . It’s not 100% blotch free but it’s a lot easier for you to go back and re-blend with YG03 than the other two YGs. YG03 is also more lightfast than 13 and 23.

YG03 is so easy to work with, it’s on my recommended Copic Starter List and I talk about it in my Best Green Markers Video here.

So skip YG13 and YG23.

And when they come up on supply lists, you can usually substitute YG03 for the other two.

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(Compare YG03, YG13, and YG23 test results by clicking below)

Is Copic YG03 a Good Marker for Beginners?

Absolutely!

It’s the first green I introduce to beginner students and we still use it frequently in most of my advanced classes.

I consider YG03 a lifetime green.

  • In the beginning, it’s an easy blender and ideal for learning basic techniques.

  • As a hobby colorer, YG03 creates some amazing special effects

  • As an intermediate, you’ll love how easily YG03 blends with crazy colors like pinks or purples.

  • As an advanced colorer, you’ll see YG03 in the world around you— especially in the garden. If you want to color with realism, you need this green!

GREEN WORKSHOP

GREEN LINE ART

WE TEST GREEN INK

MAKE GREEN BEAUTIFUL

UNDERPAINT ARCHIVE

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LET’S COLOR SPRING FLOWERS

Line art for artistic coloring by Amy Shulke

“May Bells”: A Burst of Spring

Practice your green leaf skills with these twisty turning leaves and sweet little Lily of the Valley flowers.

Perfect for spring, Easter, Mother’s Day, or just to enjoy the feeling of laying green ink onto fresh white paper.

My digital stamps are clean and precise. Every blossom has a stem and I don’t clutter the spaces with needless texture marks.

MAY BELLS SUPPLY LIST

(or see MayBells supply page here)

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