Hi all :]
I am very interested to learn marker rendering skill, but I need tools to start with. Is there any brand you guys recommend making quality markers? I live in UK, is there anyway I can purchase them on the internet? Also, what sort paper should i get to avoid colour bleeding?
Thanks ^^
Franki
Patience! When some one has the answer they will respond!
Many of my friends choose Prismacolor pens, but it depends on your budget and your level of quality required.
I’ve been using Letraset Tria Pantone color markers a while. They’re great. Perhaps other brands are better, but for me they do the job. I’m more anoyed by my lack of skills then by the markers I’m using 
There are three big marker manufacturers that I know of, Pantone, Prismacolor, and Copic. Prismacolor and Pantone have been around for a long time and I think Copics came out a few years ago.
I have never used or even seen a Copic marker in person, but from what I can tell they seem to blend together well and the finished images have a watercolor look to them, rather than a marker look. They are very popular with people who draw anime. They are also very expensive. Copic marker link. You can look at their (pretty bad) example gallery.
Prismacolors have a good assortment of bright, bold colors. The markers have two nibs, fat and thin. The fat end is very brush like in the way it marks and by changing the way you are holding the pen you can get different line widths. I like the way these big nibs feel, they just glide along the paper. Prismacolor link.
Pantone Trias, made by Letraset, are probably the most widely used marker by professionals. I’ve bought up maybe two-dozen colors over time. Their nibs are a little rougher than the Prismacolors. They have three nibs, fat, medium, and thin. The neat thing about them is you can actually by the ink itself in a refill bottle. Some artists just use the ink and don’t even bother much with the markers, EXAMPLE (Justin Kaufman’s work). Base colors were laid in with the ink refills over an ink drawing and the rest of the rendering was done with Prismacolor color pencils and gouache. Pantone link.
As for paper, there is “marker paper” made by a few companies. Canson is my favorite for paper, Strathmore is another great one. The papers can take a lot of abuse. Bienfang is another company but I’m not as thrilled with their papers. You don’t have to be limited to marker paper, regular sketchbook paper works well too. Just be sure to put several pieces of paper underneath the page you are working on so the ink doesn’t bleed onto the next page. Canson marker paper.
As for buying, you are going to have to look around online for a seller that sells to the UK. Unless you live near a REALLY good art store that is your best chance. Some US based sellers ship internationally but there are the international fees to deal with. http://www.dickblick.com/ This company sells all three marker brands and ships internationally.
I looked at the website u guys gave me… man they r reli expensive >.<
2-3pounds per colour! I wonder what are their “lifespan”, do they run out of ink quite quickly.
For a beginner, is there any marker package you guys recommend? I saw a UK marker online store, they group their packages, with names like Fashion Design, Arhitecture, Product Design, etc. I am a bit confuse what to get
The Letraset’s can be refilled, which makes it a lot cheaper instead of bying new ones. But you will still need makers to actually fill. They’re alcohol based so they can dry out pretty quick (always keep them closed). But that’s also how they work on paper. It needs to dry quick.
Depending on what you’re gonna do, you won’t need a full range either. I started with 4 cool grey’s, and I can do pretty much anything with them. I take it into Photoshop anyway.
Does anyone make markers with a REALLY wide nib, like 2 or 3 inches? I’ve got a book called “Rendering With Markers”, where they clamp cotton batting in a bulldog clip, squirt ink along the edge and draw with that. Theres also a picture of a fat marker that I’ve never seen before: “Holbein Illust Marker”. I found some here. 6-10" wide! I want!! Any other brands that make big fat markers like that?
i think maybe you mightn’t want to do graffiti style artworks. but posca markers are really good for thick opaque colours, and would be about 10 pounds for a small packet…one of my friends has em and they are really good, the marker tip is nice and doesn’t seem to wear out easily.
Go to http://www.bombingscience.com/catalog.htm?category=Markers They have some cheap marker sets and some broad markers.
I never successfully did markers, but when I was doing pen&ink, I adored my sketchbook that was filled with inkjet paper. You might want to experiment with photoquality papers for inkjet printers once you have a handle on the markers.
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