I have been lucky enough to amass quite a range of markers for colouring in all of the amazing stamps I have and thought it would be fun to try colouring the same image with each type keeping the colours as close as I can to be able to give a real comparison.
While trying to pick my image I found that I had stamped out a lot of these little Nelly Snellen fairies and I had coloured one years ago with Spectrum noir Classique pens. So that became my starting point and I tried to match the others to that.
Here are some of my colour charts. If you have Spectrum noir tri-blends I made the chart myself and have added a blank version to my blog so you can feel free to download it and use it :D
And this is what they look like all together. There were a few differences in colours as there were some ranges like the Nuvos that just didn't have such a dark or bright pink in them. So that is more of a pastel colouring. I still think it looks pretty so it just depends on what you are looking for. Also for the Tri-blend markers it would have been possible to get a closer colour by mixing the pens but I made the decision to stay true to the way they are designed and so just use one pen for each colour and I went for what I thought was the closest option. All in all I had a lot of fun colouring these up and trying out all my pens like this. It took quite a while working out the pen combinations to match the colours but I enjoyed the process. I have said a little bit about what I personally felt about each type of pen and the colours combinations I used for them in this next bit. Maybe it will help you if you are looking to invest in any other pens.
The main reason that I stopped using the old version of the spectrum
noir classique pens is that they had a really bad habit of drying out
quickly and the ends of the pens would come off with the lids and wreck
something I had just been colouring for hours.....that said I understand
they have now sorted these problems out and they are a lot better now.
This was done with the very old version of the pens.
Colours used -
Skin: TN2, EB1
Hair: EB8, EB5, TN7
Wings: OR1, CT3
Dress and shoes: Pink - DR5, BP6, BP2
Blue - TB6, TB5, TB3
The
Spectrum Noir Tri-blends definitely took the least time to work out and I really do think they give a great range and make it very quick to get a good blend. The pink does not have as much contrast as I would like but I could over come that by using the bright pink blend pens along with the bright pink shade pen.
Colours used -
Skin: Fair skin blend
Hair: Tan Shades
Wings: Gold Yellow blend
Dress and shoes: Pink - Bright Pink shade
Blue - True Blue shade
The promarkers I have had for many many years and they are still going strong. I have never had a pen go dry on me and I have had some of the ones I used here for over 10 years! I think that says a lot for their quality and the amount of ink they hold.
Colours used -
Skin: Saffron, Vanilla, Ivory
Hair: Umber, Burnt Sienna, Cinnamon
Wings: Gold, Sunflower, Lemon
Dress and shoes: Pink - Maroon, Carmine, Pink Carnation
Blue - Indigo Blue, French Navy, True Blue
The
Nuvo markers are really nice and blended very easily but I think they could do with having more of a range and the caps were sometimes a little fiddly to get off because of the oval shape to them.
Colours used -
Skin: 478, 475, 495
Hair: 465, 463, 464
Wings: 404, 405, 401
Dress and shoes: Pink - 454, 452, 450
Blue - 431, 430, 428
The
Spectrum noir illustrator pens have a very good range and have a brush nib unlike the others in this selection which are all bullet nibs. This makes them more fluid to use and you can get a tiny line or a thick line from the same nib. However the brush isn't always as neat as I would like and I had one that was almost frayed at the end. I was able to trim it a tiny bit but feel that I shouldn't really have to.
Colours used -
Skin: FS6, FS9, FS8
Hair: EB7, EB5, TN4
Wings: GY4, CT4, CT1
Dress and shoes: Pink - BP6, BP4, BP3
Blue - TB7, TB6, TB3
Arteza everblend pens are the newest range to me and I hadn't really used them until now. They have a decent range although I found some of the colours are very similar. They have a lot of bright colours and if fact were brighter than my original spectrum noir classiques version. They certainly don't seem to go for subtle. They were again very easy to use and I found the triangular barrel to the pens easy to hold. I also like the fact they come in a carry case so they are very easy to take with you if you are going out somewhere to do your colouring and it is at no extra cost.
Colours used -
Skin: Apricot, Peach, Pale peach
Hair: Cocoa Brown, Cinnamon, Ginger
Wings: Yellow Ochre, Sunflower Yellow, Pineapple Yellow
Dress and shoes: Pink - Cerise Pink, Bubblegum Pink,
Blush Pink
Blue - Denim, Sapphire, Carolina Blue
So overall I think they are all good pens and it just really depends on what you are looking for. For ease I would go for the tri-blends. If I wanted a bright punchy image and especially if I was planning on doing a bit of moving around to colour I would probably go for the Arteza everblends. If I have time and want to be able to achieve a range of colours I would go for either the Spectrum Noir Illustrators or my faithful promarkers. There are some colours in the Nuvo markers that don't seem to be covered in the other sets which I quite like, particularly for adding accents and shade to things that I want to look white.
The reality is you need to find what works for you personally and don't be afraid to mix and match as all of these are alcohol markers and can be blended together.
I hope you are all having a good weekend and staying safe. If you have any questions about any of these brands please just ask away :)
Huge hugs
Amy xx
