The Sketchmarker manufacturer in Slovenia made it Christmas early in my studio! I put on my Christmas pjs for the unboxing…..ha! (Anyone else “get” that new-art-supply feeling?)
First, let me say I’ve tried lots of alcohol markers. Usually I only buy a set of 12 since I’m not about to sink precious art money into unproven items….I’ve been disappointed on nearly every occasion with copies of Copics! Once a company sent me 12 colors of a brand to play with and….that just wasn’t enough, and yet they were still pretty meh for an alcohol pen. But when this company offered a reasonable number of colors, I thought why not – if the MSRP is $3 each below Copic, and if they’re any good — i can’t really ignore that.
My advice is at the end of this post, along with shopping links.
BIG CAVEATS
The company only asked for an unboxing on social media in exchange for the pens. I wasn’t required to like or recommend them, and if there had been a quid pro quo I’d have told them to take a hike.
For $3 in cost-cutting SOMETHING WILL SUFFER. With a lot of markers, it’s the nib, or the colors, or other important things. Making the choice to have a marker BODY that bears the brunt of the cost cutting isn’t so bad. So watch the video with that in mind. When raising my concerns with the company they did say they plan on upgrading the marker bodies as they increase production to bring that cost down, so that shows they at least know there’s room to improve.
Special disclaimer for this marker review:
Before Sketchmarker approached me, my friend Ellen Hutson said she wanted to bring them into her store, and asked if I wanted to play with them. I was hemming and hawing, because I’m getting ready for Christmas and an ironically-busy sabbatical in December. Then, completely independently, the Sketchmarker company approached me on Instagram because they also launched on Amazon. I decided that two independent requests was probably a sign I should at least look; I wanted to be able to get an early opinion out there to the craft community, as I know a lot of people may just hit YT with “Hey loookee cheap copics!” with some fast swatching – and I didn’t want folks making an investment decision based on someone trying to just get the first sales on a product new to our sector.
As with EVERY art supply, I don’t recommend things willy nilly. I truly believe in getting the best supplies you can afford, because my experience shows if I go for cheap, I end up tossing it at some point and getting the good stuff instead. It infuriates me that I fell for it yet again (ha!) and I want y’all to have your eyes wide open.
So the disclaimer on all this: If you make a purchase using my Amazon links, I will receive a % of that sale, at no cost to you. If you buy from my Ellen Hutson links, I will only receive a % if you have cookies turned ON.
So I humbly request you turn them back on if you’re attempting to help keep this blog going. Thanks!
Okay are ya ready? Get a cup of your fave beverage, this is a long one!
Sketchmarkers come in either 400 or 448 colors – there’s apparently a special 48 set not available everywhere (like Copic had an anniversary set at one point, I’m guessing).
The nibs are Japanese, as are the inks – I don’t know what it is about Japanese art supplies, but that gives me confidence. At first look I have zero idea how they last long term, how long the nibs last, how long til refilling (or even what that process is, etc). Lots of outstanding questions for me in a lot of areas.
The tests
After each image are some notes about what I learned in each test.
I made the choice to receive the “Pop” collection of colors, as it was the largest of the sets they offered me; I didn’t want a small set like skin/hair colors that wouldn’t give me an overview of naming conventions in other colors, etc. So the realism fail(ish) is not at all their fault – it’s mine. The US distributor did offer to send me some in between colors – perhaps we’ll still go that route, but I wanted this post out there sooner rather than later (Christmas is a-comin!) so opted to go with only what’s in my box. Aside from items listed in the animé piece below.
That said, once I got over not getting a strong creamy yellow for my trees, I was pretty satisfied with the ability to layer colors for a more realistic kind of colorway. This was a quick sketch – but I’m betting I could spend more time on something (and more product knowledge, and on better paper) and come out with something really nice.
As for the nib performance, it felt much like coloring with Copics – marks I made felt very natural. The pen is smaller in my hand, and I actually like a round body pen in general more than the oval Copic body – so that’s all pretty good.
I wish the caps did “post” (click onto the back of the pen while coloring) – Copics never did that at all and I’ve always wished they did – my pups love to chew on lids if one hits the floor. The pen bodies, as I said, are the part that got “cut” to lower the price, so the inconsistency in the posting (some do, some don’t) is to be expected.
A challenge: blending with really limited color selection! ha. Yeah, I know, probably unfair with the Pop collection! But even though it was on marker paper that doesn’t like to smoothly blend anyway, I was able to preview the color issue I was going to have with pink hair later – when trying to blend the several pinks, it went red really fast! And the edge of the yellow-orangey color didn’t want to melt/soften, though I could do some tip to tip coloring to try to compensate.
In general when people think of marker coloring, regular folks think of more graphic application of color – it’s cardmakers who insist on perfection in blending. Markers are considered more of a sketching medium than a fine art medium – think back to my waterfall drawing, where I wasn’t worried about blending, but more about the sketched result from a distance, not the nose-to-paper perfection.
On to Neenah! I stamped “Get Together” from Colorado Craft Company with Lawn Fawn’s Jet Black ink, on Neenah Cardstock, and everything felt much better right away. Ha! That’s the paper I use for almost all my marker work so it was comortable.
While this will take a lot more testing, I did notice more of the light colors “eating into” the darker areas – it’s something I’ve definitely seen with Copic but not to this extent. I’d have to test it with more color pairings and more of the Sketchmarker light colors to see if it really is a “thing” or not. For the casual user, especially cardmaker, it may entail being careful that light colors could act more like a colorless blender, pushing back darks – and for some you might love that if your darks take over! But – I was looking for differences to note, so that’s one.
And of course colors are different than Copic, so that’s to be expected. I’d be curious to see the full range in person and see if overall they’re more bright/cartoony as this Pop set feels – but remember – I chose this one, knowing it’s “pop” kinds of colors. So I wasn’t expecting my beloved neutral-ish colors. Plus, who wants the exact same colors in two lines? I’d like to be able to supplement my Copic collection with some useful other colors, so I’m glad they’re slightly different.
I know, I’m not an animé artist! That’s not my jam, though I’ve been asked if I’d create an animé coloring class for the kids and grandkids of some of my students – watch for that in 2022.
But I thought since some might want these less expensive pens for their young folks, I thought showing you this piece would help.
First – I wanted to see if the Copic airbrush would fit these pens, so handled the skintones that way. And yes, they fit! Just snap them all the way into the gun. (At first I thought it was a fail til I pushed it in til it snapped in place.) The angle that it sprays is different, so be aware of that.
Then the colors- the hair made me crazy! In my first attempt at this, I tried for smooth blending of the hair, and that reddish pink totally took over the pinkish pink, which was not what I wanted. Way too red.The whole thing came out really muddy, so I started over with a different plan – leaving some whites, then airbrushing on the last bit of color on top. That kept the pink feel.
The deeper shadows were, well, another problem. I tried using the bluish purple, and unfortunately that was too blue, and going over it with the reddish purple, it got muddy fast. In general I found the “muddy” to be an ongoing overall sadness with these pens – most people will never see it, but it’ll take having the right colors potentially to keep from creating muddy layers, I think. Hard to say with a limited color collection.
And if you want to download this to color up yourself – here’s the link to get it from my teaching site: LINK
My verdict, for now
For those who haven’t invested in Copics, these would be a decent alternative. Though right now I honestly can’t tell you what colors to get, or how to choose by color number (with Copics you can kinda say “get the same letters but go up or down two digits). I’m of no help at this point. But subscribe to my YT if you want any further updates in 2022. Be very careful who you listen to about “buy this set!” or “buy these colors!” Because everyone wants a piece of your dollars in their affiliate sales. Look at their art – is that what you want to create? If not, find someone else with advice for ya.
For those already invested in Copics: stay the course, IMHO. I won’t be choosing any of these as a go-to for my coloring, at least not yet. I may try to find some colors to insert into my Copic range, but I won’t be abandoning the investment already made – even WITH the cost of refills, they’re a better value for you as an artist. Remember, you already paid for that marker body. Use it! If you want to mix some of the Sketchmarker colors in with what you have, that’s totally fine.
For those who don’t even care about alcohol markers: You’re free to enjoy whatever mediums you love!
Supplies
Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. If you choose to shop using my EH (Ellen Hutson) links, please accept cookies on that site in order to retain the link to my blog, or that compensation does not happen for me. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art
I’m only listing the brush marker sets here but you can get them in bullet (fine) with Chisel. NOTE: the fine/chisel MAY NOT have same colors as the brush sets. I’ve listed both Ellen Hutson’s links and Amazon’s; the AMZ Sketchmarker store has a selection of just a few sets.
Just a little marker maintenance! I wanted to get the post-watercolor month off and rolling but….my markers, oh my! I had a lot of work to catch up on.
I did make a video on the new reinkers before – but I’m still working with my old ones, but here’s what the new bottles look like if you haven’t seen them. Yes, more expensive. But Copic should have been raising prices by a little bit every year for the 10 before they hit us with the increase last year – it’s only super painful because they kept putting it off. I don’t hold it against them, even if paying for new ones makes me wince.
The official Copic tweezers have little teeth that works better than makeup tweezers. How do I know? Coz my Copic tweezers had gone awol last year and I had to use the others. I’m so glad I found this one again!
I dono’t weigh my markers like some do – that’s overkill as far as I’m concerned. 40 drops for a really dry Sketch marker, and scale down from there based on just how dry it is. This rarely has me overfilling anything.
Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. If you choose to shop using my EH (Ellen Hutson) links, please accept cookies on that site in order to retain the link to my blog, or that compensation does not happen for me. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art
If you haven’t had to play bingo with your hex chart….you might be an anomaly! Ha! As the creator of the Copic Hex Chart, I’ve gotten a few emails asking me where a particular color is. Sometimes even irate emails saying I “missed” a color! Nope nope. I didn’t miss any – they’re with their VISUAL neighbors, not the letter or number you expect them to be near!
While making up a new chart – I wanted to have an apples to apples comparison to see if my 3 year old chart had faded – I shot some video so I could show you where some of the colors are, and talk a little about how the chart was created. And its unavoidable imperfections!
How do YOU use your hex chart? I’d love it if you’d leave comments for other people who’d like to know how the chart can be utilized in coloring. You can leave them on this post, or on the video, or as a Review on the website – which might be one of the best places, since folks visiting there are really close to making the decision about whether or not they need one.
A request: If you post a pic of your hex chart, please do only post a section, shoot photos at an angle, etc. There are people constantly causing me headaches as I have to chase down photos that allow for theft of my copyrighted chart; it’s not that I am a pain by doing so, but if I don’t pursue offenders of my copyright and insist on removal of the images – or worse yet bring my lawyer in to pursue it – then I can lose my rights to owning it. So….I kinda have to come and message you if I see you post something you ought not do. The pics in this post are great ideas for ways you can post it without causing problems!
My chart is kept inside a notebook – you could put it on a clipboard with a piece of paper over it to protect it from the light, then you don’t have to worry about it fading for a long time. These inks WILL fade though, it’s one reason not a lot of people do fine art projects with Copics – they aren’t lightfast.
Supplies
Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. If you choose to shop using my EH (Ellen Hutson) links, please accept cookies on that site in order to retain the link to my blog, or that compensation does not happen for me. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art
Rainbows! I’m not usually a use-all-the-colors-at-once kind of person; I try for balance in my art, not just that lovely cacophony of color. However – finding creative ways to cleanly use all the colors of the rainbow? I can totally be all over that!
Supplies for this project are linked at the end of this post. Compensated affiliate links may be used at no cost to you.
The Koala set from AI is a sweet one – koalas are just such a cuddly looking critter! Many of us refer to them incorrectly as bears, not marsupials! I’m not sure why we think “bears” are necessarily cuddly with all the big teeth and claws, but I digress. Perhaps it’s just that they look so soft and fuzzy!
Video
In this card I use the rainbow of colors in three ways – in the coloring of the image, as well as two different border styles!
I recommend you make your own selection of blendable rainbow colors and make a little cheat sheet or card to tuck into your Copic bag or notebook – here are mine:
This card “feels” clean and simple – not only because of the white space, but the color balance on the image. There are some objects with plenty of color – but warms (reds, oranges, yellows) are segregated to the cups, and the cools (blues, greens) are in the streamers and confetti. Then all are unified in the rainbows around the borders.
Supplies
Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. If you choose to shop using my EH (Ellen Hutson) links, please accept cookies on that site in order to retain the link to my blog, or that compensation does not happen for me. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art
Koalas, Art Impressions Clear Stamp and Die set —- EH – AI
I’ve got a tutorial packed with an efficient overload of information:
some Copic red pairs of colors picked from the Hex Chart;
a simple way to create a gift card that stands “up” like an easel;
and a new way to have gift cards handy anytime you need one!
Supplies for this project are linked at the end of this post. Compensated affiliate links may be used at no cost to you.
Video
Copic pairs of reds
I chose a red and two pink cardstocks, two warm and one cool red….and used the Hex Chart to find some color pairs to use on these cute gnomes. You can certainly choose three colors for blending, but it IS possible to just use two. There’s no law of threes! This first one has my favorite dark red in the pair.
When choosing a color to shade a pink, especially if only picking 2 colors, the tip-to-tip technique can be really helpful.
The cool dark pink cardstock is fairly close to RV17 – and I chose a dark RV to use for its shadow color.
Arent they just THE cutest little gnomies?
The gift card holders are 4″ x 7″ panels, with scores at 2-1/4″ from each side. You can decorate any of the panels with patterned paper (I have none, eeeep!) or just create your own decor on them with a white pen like I did!
I cut slits in the center panel to hold the gift card, and you can decorate the other panels as desired – even with white pen doodles if you want, like me!
CardNow
I was approached last month to see if I would be interested in sharing the CardNow program with you – a system wherein you buy “empty” gift cards in either a starter pack or starter box (with a business picture on the front, so it really is a “normal” gift card) – and then when ready to send them to someone, you load it up with your funds on an app! It does cost a few bucks to get the kit – but for about 50cents extra per gift card, and during a pandemic when going to a store isn’t always the best idea, this might make some of you quite happy like it did me! Note that I do receive a commission if you choose to participate, but no pressure, just thought it might be fun for more than just me! I tucked my gift card holders in the box so I’m ready to roll for a birthday coming up next month!
Supplies
Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. If you choose to shop using my EH (Ellen Hutson) links, please accept cookies on that site in order to retain the link to my blog, or that compensation does not happen for me. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art
Are flourescent Copics really glow in the dark? Let’s see!
It JUST occurred to me that Copic has always had a couple flourescent colors in the mix…and aside from the ones that LOOK flourescent being kinda garish (and I rarely have anything that needs those colors!), I hadn’t ever *tested* their flourescence!
Supplies for this project are linked at the end of this post. Compensated affiliate links may be used at no cost to you.
Be sure to stay tuned in the video to see the sneak peek at the end:
Once again the reinker bottles are not named “reinkers”, which would have been helpful, ha! Though “Copic Ink” is better than “Various Ink.” I’d been waiting for them to show up at crafty outlets so I’d been saving my money to get them in Ellen’s shop – yay for at least parts of the orders to get into the shop.
I’m 88% excited about them because:
Bottles are smaller and will not take up so much space
Nib is longer – less mess in reinking pens!
Slowly becoming available in the marketplace.
Less expensive overall.FAR better than the “same price half the ink” rumors going around months ago!*
*This is the 12% of not thrilled: they’re more expensive than they once were per ounce. That’s a VERY normal thing in this world, and while I know it’s no fun, companies’ costs do go up, so a little more isn’t as
Flourescent Octopi Card
Only three of the colors are truly flourescent – FY1, FYR1, and FYG1. Maybe FBG2 if it works hard. lol. The rest – maybe there are other uses that would show off flourescent properties, but whether on dark or light paper, I didn’t find much going on. However, since few people will send a blacklight along with a card, all that may not matter, eh?
Oddly you can tell under blacklight by the caps which markers have the real flourescence.
All the colors used on my card:
I have so many octopi in my stamp collections! lol. The pirate is from Sea Birthday, by Waffle Flower, and Mr Big Eyes is from Subbing In by Ellen Hutson.
Lawn Fawn’s Ocean Shell-fie has the mama and baby sized octopi…
The last but not least – the happiest octopi of all is from Shellebration by Trinity Stamps –and since the outlines were much thinner I kept him at the bottom in the darkest areas. Sentiment is from the Lawn Fawn set.
Copic Art Journaling Class
I’ve been working like mad on the intermediate Copic Art Journaling class that’s been on my back burner for YEARS now…..it has two major components:
Techniques for coloring and drawing pages – no drawing experience is needed, but Copic Jumpstart or equivalent experience is recommended since I won’t be getting into basic blending or color theory and you’ll want to know both.
Changing your mindset about yourself as an artist – this art journal is all about YOU! Which means your pages will look different than mine, so you can add stamping, stencils, or drawings of your own too.
#2 is the biggie for me; I am hoping to help students write over their “I can’t do it!” tapes in their heads with positive messages, reminders to look at how far they’ve come, and write down areas they want to continue growing in. We’re all on a journey in art – there’s no right or wrong place to be!
What supplies are needed? As for #1, the supply list is what everyone’s going to want, eh? Hopefully in this pandemic-economic-hard-times, you already own lots of what’s needed! You can visit the free pre-class lesson (link at the bottom of the class page) to see what’s needed.
How many pages? The class will have 10 lessons in it, but each one includes two spreads; the main lesson is a technique and pep talk on a topic, and the ‘bonus’ spread is tips on ways to handle the BACK side of the pages in between the previous lesson and the current one. Ink bleeds through, and sometimes can be recovered to create a whole new page, sometimes can be covered up, and I’ll show you what I’ve done to not “lose” pages in my 96-page book.
Supplies
Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. If you choose to shop using my EH (Ellen Hutson) links, please accept cookies on that site in order to retain the link to my blog, or that compensation does not happen for me. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art
