SPECTRUM NOIR vs COPICS? -- Are they comparable?

It's like comparing the flavor of potatoes and rhubarb. It's that different. Spectrum Noir are student grade Markers. They are good markers. The new formulations are. The old ones should have had a recall, lol. Copics are artist grade level markers. They are made for professional illustrators.

Copics are an investment, but they pay good dividends.
As amayalylac said, they're artist-grade and considered the industry standard for alcohol markers. Quality & consistency are Copic's hallmarks. The markers themselves are expensive but every part on them is replaceable so with long term use they end up being the more affordable option. I bought the bulk of my Copics almost 20 years ago and they're still going strong. They also retain a good amount of their value for resale because of the accessibility to ink refills / new nibs.

Does that make them the right fit for your 13-year old? Well it depends. Are they dedicated to artistic activities, or is this a passing interest? Are they specifically eyeing Copics, or just alcohol markers in general? Have they showed any initiative towards saving or buying markers on their own? There's also middle of the road - some Copics, and supplement less used colours with other brands.

Thank you. DD is always colouring/drawing/painting but she's a dabbler more than dedicated to a specific medium. I think she's at the exploring options stage (she's getting some acrylic paints for her birthday - her request). She suggested alcohol markers as a Christmas present but didn't specify copics (although she's aware they are the best and most expensive option). I was thinking of a starter set and then if she loves them and uses them, add on in the future but I don't use alcohol markers so I'm a little lost on where to start.

We're the sort of family that encourages trying new things and I'm okay if she ends up not being serious about alcohol markers once she owns some and uses them but I'm also looking at the price differential between Copics and Spectrum Noir and thinking we would be able to start her off with more colours if we go the SN route BUT if SN is likely to discourage her....the higher price might be worth it. It's likely to end up as her main gift either way along with some decent paper so I want it to be worth it

linda Embri beat me to what I was going to write. I do actually recommend Copic's for young artists if I think they have potential to pursue art as a career. A few years ago a friend of mine was going to buy Spectrum Noir for her DD who was the same age your DD. Her daughter wanted to be a fashion illustrator. I told her to go the Copic route because when her daughter went to college she would have the initial investment of those markers. That is exactly what happened. She is studying fashion in college right now. Her parents were able to invest in Copics over the years instead of having to buy them in one lot which schools can require. Many schools that teach fashion illustration prefer Copics.

I use Copics for my professional work. They are a wise investment. I do have a variety of other marker's I use for my crafting and coloring book fun. They are just as good. Some of my Dollar Tree art supplies are better than my professional. I really doubt DT will ever get Copic grade marker's in, lol. I am a fantasy fashion illustrator so I prefer my Copic's.

If money is not an issue then I would get your DD sets of Copics. You can start off with one set that matches the kind of art she does. Copic's do sell sets of marker's for your particular art interest- fashion, automotive, manga, etc...

There are a lot of Pro's to the SN's as they are sold individually like Copics, you can buy refills. That is a huge plus, especially for us crafters that work with alcohol inks. We can have double the investment without a Copic price. Nibs are replaceable like Copics. For the alcohol markers on the market SN are the closest to Copic's because of these pro's. For example- Prismacolor you can't replace nibs, no refills, etc... I almost forgot SN does sell sets of markers for the type of coloring you want to do- fashion, automotive, cartooning, manga, etc...

There are professional artists that only use SN and their work is amazing. For what I have seen if your child is going to pursue art in school, especially illustration most schools lean towards Copics. It was Prismacolor for a very long time.

I do agree with Embri about buying pale colors. Those are really needed to blend. I hear so many times in the rubber stamp communities why their Copic's are not blending. They are taught buy light, medium, dark range. That is ok advice. Blending will be better with what I like to call the almost invisible range, lol. A lot of times I use light & medium then I use almost invisible to blend.

Take a peek at BayleeJae YT channel. She is a good authority on marker's. She has a large pre-teen and teen following. I feel like it's a good channel to help parents decide what kind of art tools to invest in for their teens.

Hope that helps.

Thank you all for the advise - I don't see DD studying art in college or having a career in an art-related field (I mean, she's 13 so hard to be sure but she's leaned towards STEM since she was tiny) - art is for fun (which is awesome -everyone needs a hobby - and I'm happy to encourage that. Sadly money is not unlimited so does need to play a factor in decision making.