This month’s focus on metallic markers had us rounding up some of our favorites!
Here’s a closer look at some of our go-to metallic picks:
*Pebeo 4Artist Copper Marker*
An impressive metallic marker that we fell in love with instantly. This oil-based copper paint pen makes smooth and shiny marks that look just like a melted penny! These markers can be used on multiple surfaces and give any craft a real WOW factor.
*Fabricolor Fine Tip Gold & Silver*
When asked what our recommendation is for autographs or other markings on black/dark fabrics, our best pick is the Zig Fabricolor Fine Tip marker in silver. Its super light ink appears almost white but gives a brighter, slightly shiny appearance that really stands out. The Zig Fabricolor Fine Tip gold marker is a deep, almost bronze-like gold, with bright gold specks blended in that looks beautiful on all types of fabrics!
*Fudebiyori Metallic Brush Markers*
With their soft and flexible brush tip, the Fudebiyori (Foo-dee-bee-your-ee) markers work very well for lettering as well as making other designs, borders, and more. The ink flows super smoothly from the tip, and brings incredible metallic colors to light or dark papers.
*Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Pens*
Glitter can be added to SO many things, making them stand out with a sparkle. The amount of glitter that these pens lay down along with their color is pretty amazing! They are available in a variety of different colors, and can be used alone or over the top of other colored areas. Plus, this pen is easily controllable with a squeezable barrel and real bristle-type brush.
*Gelly Roll Shadow*
A special type of Gelly Roll, the “Shadow” roller ball gel pens have the unique feature of writing with a color that quickly turns into a metallic color (gold or silver) and leaves just a hint of the other color on the edges for a fun effect as you write!
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Have a look at these great markers and more at www.markersupply.com!
The new craze of coloring books has people searching for the best tools to bring color and life to their pages. There are so many kinds to choose from! Marker Supply is focusing several blogs on markers and more that are perfect for use in coloring!
See Part 1: Zig Double-Ended Markers
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Part 3: Alcohol-Based Markers
One of the most common tools we’ve seen that people like to use in their coloring books are markers with alcohol-based ink. This type of ink usually has bold color properties and flows onto paper “as smooth as butter”. These markers may also have unique properties such as being refillable, having interchangeable nibs, and more.
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A word of warning about markers with alcohol ink–
This ink is usually very strong and can easily bleed through paper!
Make sure you use single-sided coloring pages (with some kind of backboard underneath to catch any ink that soaks through) and/or use paper that is thick enough to handle alcohol inks!
The contents of this type of ink are also usually not kid-friendly, so be sure to use them age-appropriately.
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PRISMACOLOR BRUSH & FINE
A great coloring marker with tips that are perfect for coloring books that feature small spaces, the Prismacolor Premier Brush & Fine is a double-ended marker with a fine tip opposite a flexible, rubber brush tip. (You can also find the same marker with Chisel & Fine tips). The silky smooth ink flow leaves your pages with nice, even color. Available in 195 colors and multicolor sets of all sizes!
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ZIG KURECOLOR
Our equivalent to the Copic markers, the Zig Kurecolor markers have all the same features you love- they are double-ended, refillable, have a variety of tips to choose from, and are available in OVER 100 colors!! Often used by graphic artists and other professionals, Kurecolors contain high-quality permanent inks. Choose from the Kurecolor Twin– with a larger, easy-to-grip barrel- and the Kurecolor Twin S– with a slimmer, square barrel, so it won’t roll off the table!
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CHAMELEON COLOR TONE PENS
One of the newest markers here at Marker Supply, the Chameleon Color Tone Pens have a very unique ability.
Each marker fits together into 2 parts. One part can be used alone as a regular double-ended coloring marker with alcohol-based ink. OR, if you take out the small section in the middle, you can place the colored tip into the second part of the marker- which has a tip filled with a clear blending solution.
Let the clear blender tip soak for a moment into the colored tip. Then take the colored section of the marker back out, color with it, and watch what happens! The color will start super faint, then gradually darken all on its own as you color! These markers make it VERY easy to color in a seamless gradation- letting you apply some awesome effects to your coloring pages!
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Hop on our social media pages and hashtag #MarkerSupply to let us know which markers you like to use!
Happy coloring, everyone!!
The new craze of coloring books has people searching for the best tools to bring color and life to their pages. There are so many kinds to choose from! Marker Supply is focusing several blogs on markers and more that are perfect for use in coloring!
See Part 1: Zig Double-Ended Markers
See Part 3: Alcohol-Based Markers
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Part 2: Pens & Pencils
If you’re unsure about how your coloring page paper will handle using markers, you can always go with alternative tools such as gel pens and colored pencils!
SAKURA GELLY ROLL PENS
The Sakura Gelly Roll pens are fantastic tools for adding special effects to your coloring books. You can use them alone or on top of already colored spaces. Color carefully however! The gel ink is very opaque (non-see-through) and will cover over the black outlines of your images.
Gelly Rolls come in classic colors, or try our favorites with fun features:
–Gelly Roll Stardust with super glittery ink!
–Gelly Roll Moonlight with bright, neon ink!
–Gelly Roll Metallic with a sheen of colorful metallic ink!
Or try our new giant 74-piece Gelly Roll Collection!
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ZIG WINK OF STELLA GLITTER PENS
Another great choice for adding some sparkle effects to your pages! These special glitter pens come in either a fine plastic tip, or a bristle brush tip, and along with their color, they lay down a nice amount of shimmer. Use them alone, or over already-colored pages! (The clear Wink of Stella markers are great for overlaying on top of color!)
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PRISMACOLOR PREMIER COLORED PENCILS
The Prismacolor Premier pencils come in a large range of 150 colors and a variety of sets, allowing you to find just the colors you need! There are even different styles to fit your coloring needs, including the Verithin with a more narrow lead and the Col-Erase with an eraser tip! The soft cores and high color pigments make these super easy, artist-quality tools to color with!
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PRISMACOLOR WATERCOLOR PENCILS
A fun type of pencil that will color normally as other colored pencils do, but when blended with water, the Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils with move along with the water and act like watercolor paints! You don’t need to use much for awesome blending and shadowing effects! (Tip: For best results, make sure your paper is thick enough or specially designed for use with watercolor mediums. When tools are used with water on too thin of paper, your pages can buckle, wrinkle, or tear.)
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POLYCHROMOS OIL-BASED COLORED PENCILS
A special type of colored pencil from Faber-Castell, the Polychromos use an oil base rather than a wax base- allowing for super smooth color laydown and blending. The thick 3.8mm leads come inside a premium cedar wood casing, making these super strong coloring tools. They are available in 120 rich, permanent colors.
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KOH-I-NOOR TRI-TONE PENCILS
A new and limited-time colored pencil line here at Marker Supply, the TriTone Pencils feature a blend of 3 different colors within each pencil tip- giving you some fun color effects! Color normally or twist the pencil as you color for a unique coloring style!
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Stay tuned to the Marker Supply Blog for more coloring book marker highlights!
Hop on our social media pages and hashtag #MarkerSupply to let us know which markers you like to use!
Happy coloring, everyone!!
Watercolor is a timeless style of painting and sketching. Using markers instead of tubes of paint, etc. is a quick, simple, and more mess-free way to explore this type of art! This blog takes you through the markers we have at Marker Supply that are dye-based and will easily blend with water (and with other colors) to create smooth color gradations, shadows and fading effects, and of course- watercolor art!
(*All of these markers are water-based and should not bleed through most papers. However, it is recommended that if you are blending them with water to create watercolor style art, you use a thicker paper designed to handle the moisture.)
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Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker
Colors Available: 80
Sets Available:
–Set of 48 with Case and Bonus Water Brush
–Color Tone Sets of 6
–Color Scheme Sets of 4
–Set of 6
–Set of 12
–Shade and Shadow Set of 20
–Trend Set of 12
–Grayscale Set of 20
Tip Style: Single-Ended, bristle brush
Currently a very popular watercolor marker, the Clean Colors have been recently featured on many craft blogs. Its hair-like brush tip resembles more of an actual paint brush, which makes it easier to thin out the color as the stroke grows larger. Clean colors have awesome blending ability and plenty of light and dark colors to create gradation effects. Their color range also includes fluorescents and a variety of gray tones.
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Sakura KOI Coloring Brush Pen
Colors Available: 48
Sets Available:
–Set of 12 colors
–Set of 24 colors
Tip Style: Single-Ended, Rubber Brush
A newer marker from Sakura, the KOI comes with its own fun and unique color palette. The brush tip is more of a sturdy, rubbery feel, but still flexible- allowing you to make thin or thick lines- but will quickly spring back to its original shape. This durable tip also makes these markers great for working with rubber stamps.
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Zig Art & Graphic Twin
Colors Available: 80
Tip Style: Double-Ended, Fine Tip and Rubber Brush
A dual tip marker (like getting 2 pens in 1!) that has a rubber brush on one end, and a fine point on the other- a handy combo for coloring both larger and tiny spaces. Available in a wide variety of colors, very similar to the Clean Color range. The brush tip on these markers is a little longer and more “bendy” than the KOI. The ink is also very fluid when pressure is applied to the brush tip- making it a breeze to dab some color on a palette surface for blending just like real paints.
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Zig Calligraphy II Dye
Colors Available: 15
Sets Available:
–Set of 6
–Set of 12
Tip Style: Double-Ended, 2mm Square and 3.5mm Square
Another double-ended marker that features 2 square (flat-edged chisel) tips in different sizes, common with writing many calligraphy font styles. The dye ink in this marker makes it possible to add some unique shadowing and other effects to your lettering!
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Prismacolor Watercolor Colored Pencils
Colors Available: 36
Sets Available:
–Set of 12 in metal tin
–Set of 24 in metal tin
–Set of 36 in metal tin
Tip Style: Sharpened pencil point
These special colored pencils from Prismacolor are water soluble and can create incredible blended effects and watercolor works of art. The pencil tip lets you apply pressures and shading techniques while drawing and writing that differ from what is done with markers.
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Sakura KOI Pocket Field Sketch Box
Outside the world of markers is this handy watercolor tool- featuring 24 half pan watercolor paints, a water brush, dabbing sponges, and a detachable palette tray. It’s small and portable- perfect for painting anywhere you go! The lid forms an easel that holds postcard size paper- helping you capture the perfect little scene at the park, on the beach, or in the city!
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Blenders
All of the above markers can be used with regular paint brushes and water, or try using them with any of these convenient blending pens!
Zig BrusH20 Water Pens: A refillable pen that holds water- just squeeze the barrel and it flows out through the brush tip! Available in 4 sizes.
Zig Blender Marker: A dual tip rubber brush marker full of water-based blending solution. Works well for more subtle blending than using water.
Zig Art & Graphic Twin Colorless Blender: A dual tip (fine/rubber brush) marker, just like the other Art & Graphics, only this one has no color, just a clear blending solution.
Sakura KOI Colorless Blender Pen: A rubber brush colorless pen, great for blending and mixing colors. Sold as a pack of 2 pens.
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Techniques
There are several techniques you can use to paint with dye-based markers:
-Use the markers to sketch out your drawing, then blend with a water pen to give it a watercolor look.
-Add a little water to the paper first, then soak in some color in places over the top of it.
-Briefly soak the color tip in water until the tip lightens. Then as you color, the shade will gradually darken.
-Touch the tip of a lighter color marker into the tip of a darker color until a little soaks in, then draw with the lighter tip for a smooth color-changing blend.
-Color a section with a darker color, then use a lighter color to blend it out.
-Dab the wet tip of a water pen over the colored marker tip, then apply to the paper from the water pen.
There are plenty more ways to create watercolor with markers! Let us know your favorite tips and tricks, and send us some of your painted watercolor works! We love to see what you markers are making!!
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