MARKERS - THE GOOD STUFF

Here is an intro to some markers I own & use in my artworks. These are not the same as the whiteboard/permanent markers you get for a dollar each or the magic pens children use.

The differences are these markers are translucent fluids so you can layer them and they blend into each stroke, making your work look professional. That means it is entirely possible for you to use one colour beneath another to get another colour (though it doesn't work nicely all the time). Whatever paper colour/ texture/ patterns also appears under your marker colours. Also the prices are much more expensive. My cheapest AD Chartspak cost about S$3.85 per pen, and the Copics cost about $4 - $6.00 each (Yes imagine how much we have to spend just to have a decent workable set of hues!) Refills for Copics (abt S$11) saves me costs in the long term as I can use them for a long time.

Thinking about that I think my artworks do cost a significant bit to produce! Anyhow the thing about markers are since colours are prepared already, all you need to do it spend time looking for them. I find mixing paints tedious so markers are wonderful tools for me. I just wish they come cheaper!

The negative aspect to them are they dry very quickly so you get no chance of saving your work if you have accidents, and flaws in colours or bleeding are usually hard to rectify. Many times I have ruined work just by leaving my marker on too long, bleeding over areas, choosing the wrong colour or finding out they don't match. Also it takes a while to get used to it because you have to work quickly before each line dries or you will get ugly streaking. They also don't come in white! To have white you either leave out colouring the paper, or use opaque white ( by gouache, acrylic, colour pencils or white pen. Correction fluid works too but it turns yellow over time!)

COPICS http://copicmarker.com/

These are great, they are alcohol-based, refillable and made in Japan, so they are the priciest of the lot. I believe the pricing goes into packaging where the colour labels are the plastic caps instead of using stickers. The thing about alcohol based markers are they melt your lineart if your ink is also alcohol based/ not compatible so I usually test out on my lines or be extra careful. Colours are consistant and quite translucent, you can go over a few times to get different intensity too. Their broad nibs are stiffer than the other markers.

A. Copic Marker

This has a square body and nibs are exchangeable/ replaceable. The default marker you get is a broad nib & a fine nib suitable for details. It is available in 214 colours. The caps also tell you what colour you are currently using.

B. Copic Ciao

This is my favourite out of the lot, I like it because it's just smaller to hold (round body) and I like the brush nib & medium broad nib which is more suitable for my miniature artworks. It comes in 144 colours. However it is not as good as the normal copic marker if you want to colour large spans of background, but it is very much cheaper.

C. Copic Sketch

Sketch has an oval flat body and the caps tell you the colour. It has a medium broad nib and a brush nib, similar to the Ciao. It comes in 322 colours and costs the same as normal Copic, so I will rather stick to Ciao unless I need more colours with a brush nib.

D. PRISMACOLOR http://prismacolor.com/

Prismacolor is medium priced, alcohol-based and made in USA. They just revamped their packaging. 2 nibs: one broad and one pen nib. The broad nib is 2 times fatter than Copics and 2 times softer so it gets a nice flow of ink. The pen nib however is the kinds of skinny plastic tips you see on mechanical pens, so it can get damaged if you press too hard. Sometimes ink don't flow out right and it squeaks especially when you've just started using it after a long time! However the pen nib is perfect for writing or filling in those minute areas. They also seem to have a wider range of grey tones, warm grey/cool grey & french grey. Not too useful for me but good for techincal drawings in design or shadow work.

The colours are not as vibrant as Chartpak or Copics, more mature perhaps. Some colours like blond wood have a strange grey undertone. Some hues are too similar to each other or their names aren't too accurate. Light olive is not really light and lime peel is more pastel avocadoish and rose pink isn't really flowery. The colours on the packaging are very misleading, seldom do they appear as the actual tones, so I always have to test on a piece of paper to recall them. However, I am a fan of the Deco series! Currently this is my major source of ink because I received a nice set as a gift! =D

E. AD CHARTPAK MARKER http://chartpak.com/

Chartpak comes in 1 broad nib, 130 colours and made in USA. They call it the tri-nib but really it just one fat nib you have to use at different angles so it takes time to master these markers and it doesn't help when they are awfully bleedy for a new pen. Their nibs are the biggest of all so you cannot do detail work but their juiciness works great for large areas of colour.

I love them for their vibrance, they have a pretty selection, with my faves being their yellows, pinks & beiges. These are almost half the price of Copics, and I am rationing them because my local art store does not stock them anymore. The best thing about them is they do not melt my linearts. The best time to use them are when they are half full (or should I say half empty?). All my early works are made with Chartpak.

But I will like to suggest they improve on their packaging. For one the colour printed on the labels are not accurate and there are no names on the cap's sticker labels. Their caps are sometimes horrendously hard to remove. They are hard to remove if ink residue builds up (like I said it's bleedy!). To close the marker, it's just fastening the caps instead of screwing or snapping them in place, so they get stuck because you used too much force to cover it or the cap falls out because you don't want your caps to get stuck =/ I've gotten blisters, used pliers and had dried out nibs because of these problems. Another thing is they bleed yellow 'shadows' onto other pieces of paper if you stack them together for a long time, so always store them separately.

F. MAXON COMICTWIN
This is twin-nib, alcohol-based and made in Japan. One side is a brush, the other is a fine sturdy nib. Not too easy to find, Maxon is more well-known for screentones I think. Love these but their colours are very limited, mostly pastels & pop colours. They are in the mid-range price. Because of their small size, they finish quickly.

G. LETRASET PROMARKER http://letraset.com
Alcohol-based, one fine nib and one broad nib, made in England. I only own one for testing and liking it so far. The nibs are stiff and have a nice flow of ink. I cannot remember how much this cost but I believe it was cheaper than Copics. Letraset also produces the Tria (3 nibs) Pantone markers.