How to Choose Professional Paint Markers for Expert and Novice Artists | Artistro

How to choose the best paint pens for expert and novice artists

 Marker paint pens origin, their types and structure. Choose the best marker paint pens and create your masterpiece with our Beginner's guide! 

Table of Contents:

  • History of paint pens
  • Parts of marker paint pens
  • Why are paint markers popular
  • Why artists use paint pens
  • Types of paint marker pens and what they are made of
  • What are the best paint pens for any surfaces

  • There is almost no desk where marker paint pens are not present because it's a perfect tool for any artist. Yet, for the most part, it's only artists that genuinely understand the value of professional paint pens because they are the niche tools that they primarily use for any kind of artwork they want to create.

    During 80 years of its history, the paint pen has undergone a real evolution, turning from a primitive marking tool to a tool for creating masterpieces of art and a must-have for artists. Today, marker paint pens can contain not only alcohols and coloring components, but also some additives that give them special properties. This allows you to create durable lines on surfaces of various materials.

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    History of paint pens

    A little historical background:

  • The first marker was created in the 1940s. It was a felt-tip pen that was used for marking purposes
  • Magic Marker was created in 1953 by Sidney Rosenthal
  • Mass use of marker paint pens began in the 1950s
  • In the 1970s, the first highlighters and fine-line marker paint pens were created; production of permanent (oil-based paint pens) marker paint pens began
  • Superfine-points and dry erase marker paint pens won people's love only in the 1990s
  • The first paint pen was probably the felt tip marker, and it was created in the 1940s. This marker was mainly used for labeling and artistic details. Then In 1952, Sidney Rosenthal started selling his "Magic Marker," which consisted of a glass bottle that held ink and a wool-felt wick.The use of paint pens became more popular in 1958, as people used it for lettering, labeling, marking packages, and creating posters.

    Highlighters and fine-line marker paint pens were first seen in the 1970s. And it was also in that period that permanent (oil-based paint pens) marker paint pens became available. It wasn't until the 1990s that Superfine-points and dry erase marker paint pens gained popularity.

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    Parts of marker paint pens

    The structure of the paint pen is very simple:

  • Tip (its shape and thickness varies depending on the artist's needs)
  • Body or Reservoir of paint (the type of ink may also vary)
  • Cap (to prevent the paint from drying out)
  • Тір. All Artistro tips are made in Japan in the tradition of high art calligraphy for amazing detail work so you can produce your finest work every time.

    Reservoir with paint. Besides the paint, there is also a metal bass inside that helps to mix the pigment. We recommend to store your paint pens horizontally to make it easier to mix the pigment before use.

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    Why are paint markers popular

    Marker paint pens are quite popular not only amongst art professionals but for beginners and amateurs alike, and that is because they come in a wide array of pigments and are suitable for almost any surface including:

  • Fabric
  • Textile
  • Canvas
  • Metal
  • Pottery
  • Treated wood
  • Plastic
  • Painting rocks and stones
  • Polymer clay
  • Terra-cotta.
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    Another reason why they are also popular is that paint pens are easy to use and dry quickly.

    What is the reason for the popularity of marker paint pens?

  • marker paint pens are easy to use
  • ink dries quickly
  • you can mix colors, experiment with palette
  • marker paint pens can be used on almost any surface
  • it's the perfect tool for a colorist
  • great for artists (variety of colors, tip shapes and thicknesses)
  • Their effortless application of color makes marker paint pens well-suited to doodling, sketching, and gesture-drawing. marker paint pens can also blend smoothly, making them capable of photorealism and abstraction.

    Thankfully, marker paint pens have also experienced a considerable spike in interest in the past few years due to the adult coloring trend. Colorists love the wide range of color choices and the convenience of different tip shapes. This demand has triggered an explosion in the number of marker products on the market.

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    Why artists use paint pens

    Marker paint pens are perfect for sketching, drawings, and paintings; they also dry quickly and produce vibrant colors that do not fade over time.

    Asides the fact that Paint pens come with different tip shapes that are millimeters in size, some even have dual tips that can be used interchangeably to create different details.

    Also, the shape of the tip of a marker is fundamental in creating different drawing details on large projects like big canvas or murals.

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    Types of paint marker pens and what they are made of

    Some of the most commonly used tips are:

  • Fine and extra-fine marker tips. Extra Fine marker tips are the smallest, and they are used to create tiny sharp lines on artworks, while fine marker paint pens are ideally used to create fewer details on drawings and art pieces.
  • Medium tip marker paint pens. Broad tipped markers can be too wide, and it takes forever to create and fill in a design with fine tipped marker paint pens are perfect both fine details and filling in large areas.
  • Brush tips draw like a paintbrush and are used to either create thick and sharp highlights in drawings and paintings.
  • Other tip shapes include bullet tip marker paint pens that have a round bullet-like shape and the chisel tip marker, which are used to create thick and sharp highlights. Chisel tip marker paint pens are best used in card making and are ideally used to create thick and sharp highlights in calligraphy and other lettering arts.
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    Paint pens are also made out of different pigments to produce a durable finish on any surface they are applied on.

    When choosing the most suitable marker, you should be guided by two criteria: the purpose of use and the type of surface on which you plan to apply the markings.

    They can also be differentiated based on the pigments and surfaces they work best on. For glossy photographs, pen paints that are bold and thick are used to make subtle sheen details and highlights that are fade resistant.

    The best paint pens for fabrics produce a vibrant and textured finish, and they are made out of pigments that can resist feathering. They work best on white and pastel colors and also on thin fabrics like white cotton.

    If you want to get glossy or photographs or paint iphone case, pen paints that are bold and thick are used to make subtle sheen details and highlights that are fade resistant.

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    Acrylic paint pens work perfectly on plastic surfaces and light-colored surfaces to produce a shiny mirror-like finish once it dries up.They are also ideal for stonem, wood paintings, ceramic, glass and also t-shirt painting.

    Marker paint pens are best on nonporous surfaces and are commonly used for street art. They are highly pigmented and can also be used on other surfaces like paper, canvas, and metal. Marker paint pens were inspired by the spray technique of street art, and their pigments were designed to last long.

    Oil-based paint pens, also known as permanent marker paint pens, are used to create paintings on metal and stone painting designs, and their pigments are much harder to remove from surfaces when compared to water-based paint pens or marker paint pens.

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    Oil-based paint pens are a perfect type of marker for any artist because these paint pens are permanent. So you don't need to worry about your project because paint will be resistant to water, fading, and abrasion. Oil-based paint pens paint pens usually are used for rock painting, ceramics, metal, and plastic projects.

    Water-based paint pens. This type of paint pen is multipurpose and can be used just about any surface. But your will be waterproof only after sealing.

    The difference between these marker paint pens is that during the marking of water-based markers, the pigment is dissolved in water, and when oil-based markers are created, the pigment is dissolved in oil.

    With that being said, it is important to know that the pigments in paint pens differ in terms of longevity. And that is the reason why one of the tests to carry out for marker paint pens is lightfastness, which is the ability to resist color fading. Most art pieces made out of dye-based markers will fade over time as light, oxygen, and humidity gradually break the chemical bonds of the molecules that produce the color.

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    What are the best paint pens for any surfaces

    If you're planning to make drawings and paintings that you hope to preserve for decades, you should avoid using:

  • Marker paint pens that get their color from dye.
  • Dye-based markers that are more susceptible to fading than pigment marker paint pens.
  • That is why at Artistro, we have collected the best paint marker set that would suit your art and craft needs. We have also gathered our most favorite and interesting projects to share with you 100 inspiring things to draw.

    Our brand offers a huge line of acrylic marker paint pens for rock painting, the best seller in this set. For every set of paint pens, we have collected the most popular colors, and these marker paint pens are very pigmented so that everyone can realize their creative potential with everything they need at hand. Not only do they cover the surface from one layer, but they are also fade resistant and do not smudge.

    For paintings or art and crafts Artistro has 5, 12, 15, 30, and 42 sets of acrylic paint pens with an extra-fine tip that would work great for your rock, stone, glass, wood, and ceramic painting.

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    There is also an oil-based paint pen line that we provide at Artisto. We have 15 pack oil-based markers with fine tip for your fabric, ceramic, porcelain, glass, wood, and canvas painting. Kids are not left out, too; we have paint pen kits that they would use for their crafts during the holidays and for assignments. There are also fun colors like glitter, silver, gold, and metallic marker paint pens that they can easily apply for their projects.

    For marker paint pens to be certified as food-safe, they must comply with FDA approval. Our marker paint penshave not been sent to FDA for this request. That is why we do not recommend using our marker paint pens in contact with food. This implies that it is not safe to serve food with the glass and ceramic dishes painted with our marker paint pens. Except for this omission, our paint pens are exceptional for everyone, and they offer every buyer the potential to bring out their creative Geniuses.