Originally, markers were conceived for illustration or advertising work, which required intense colors, clear contours, and ink that was compatible with photolithographic reproduction. Similarly, markers provide artists with an agile, direct way to draw lines, though making spots and stippling with them is more laborious. Today, although computers have displaced markers for technical purposes, they are still widely used in artistic drawing.
Markers are an agile, uncomplicated drawing medium. They do not need sharpening and carry their ink inside. Many artists use them for outlines or sketches, but they can also be used in patiently constructed drawings, such as this one by Josep Asunción
A marker is a cylinder of metal or plastic that contains a synthetic fiber sponge soaked in ink. Ink rises by to the tip of the pen through a filter or polyester wick with furrows that let the ink flow to the tip. This is the inside of a conventional marker for drawing. Fine-tip pens designed for writing contain liquid or semi-liquid ink that reaches the tip by force of gravity.
The mechanics of a marker are very simple: its cylinder contains an ink-soaked wick that comes into contact with a thin piece of polyester or felt (the tip of the pen) which carries the ink to the paper by capillarity.
Markers are a very effective and practical medium for color or black and white sketches. The ink dries quickly, solidifying the line and coloring wide surfaces in a clean and uniform tone. As its ink is self-feeding, it needs no additional tools to sharpen its tip. In addition, colors can be drawn on top of each other, as they do not run or change tones over time. The finishes of the drawings created with markers vary depending on the ink employed, but it is usually semi-opaque or transparent with almost perfect homogeneity of tone and marked luminosity in their color.
This studio is full of markers. Color ranges are very broad and the artist can find the right color without having to mix two different colors.
There are many varieties of markers as specialist manufacturers provide considerable ranges. Drawing with markers requires nothing other than the pens and paper.
Although there are special versions, nearly all markers can be divided into two groups: water-based and alcohol-based. The latter is available in most colors (up to 500), which means that artists can avoid the complex task of mixing. However, the most common markers are those used in schools. These are water-based and, despite looking very simple, can still make complex sketches.
Permanent ink alcohol-based felt tip pens are also known as markers. These pens have either a rounded or beveled shape, as well as a wide range of tip sizes, which allow them to produce a variety of different strokes.
Water-based markers with a thick point are suitable for school use and are also useful for medium or large-scale sketches.
The ink they carry is usually a colorant diluted in xylene, an alcohol, which evaporates and dries rapidly. Once dry, the ink is indelible (it can tolerate other colors drawn over it without its color running or mixing), but fleeting; works done in marker pen do not tolerate sunlight well and discolor. Tones are usually transparent, meaning that these markers yield their best results on white surfaces, which lend luminosity to the color.
Alcohol-based markers have a fiber tip that may vary greatly in thickness. This image shows two marker pens with a thick, beveled tip.
The various models of alcohol-based markers include double-tipped pens. At one end they have a fine, round tip, while at the other they have a beveled tip for drawing thick lines.
DILUTANTS
The main brands of alcohol-based markers place a diluting agent at the artist’s disposal, as well as marker pens that load this same solution to achieve color blending.
Water-based markers are for children’s use. Strokes dry more slowly, and some colors may change when applied on top of others. They are also suitable for making sketches and studies. Some manufacturers sell water-based markers that are loaded with a pigment similar to gouache. This type of ink makes their color opaque, and yields excellent results in works that require solid, homogenous blocks of color.
There is a special kind of water-based markers: a pen with an opaque stroke. These markers are loaded with diluted gouache, which allows for light tones on colored surfaces.
In these images you can appreciate the lines that the edge of the tip held flat, in a perpendicular position, can achieve.
Like crayons, markers can draw over each other, with solid strokes of color. In general, they are not amenable to excessive mixing unless (if they are water soluble), they are diluted with water. Even so, dark colors always dominate light ones. Because the color of markers and the thickness of their stroke does not depend on how much pressure is exerted by the artist, each marker yields only one tone. Thus, it is necessary to have a set of markers that encompasses a wide range of colors.
Direct color mixtures involve putting one color on top of another. This technique is practical when working with colors in the same range or when darkening tones. It is not effective when seeking a homogeneous mixture (one in which two superimposed colors yield a third color). Creating direct mixtures with markers tends to darken and muddle tones.
If you are trying to darken a tone, creating a direct mixture with markers is an effective way to do so. Beginning with the color you would like to darken, apply another tone on top of it, usually a darker one. This will result in a darker, opaque color.
When working with colors in the same range, ones that are similar in tone and ink, direct mixtures are perfectly viable because there is not a wide margin for dirtying the coloring or obtaining an unwanted color.
Like water soluble crayons, markers that contain water soluble ink can lead to results similar to those of watercolors. However, in the case of marker pens, inks are much more intense, less transparent, and less suited to the effects of a wash. You should only dilute small areas of marker, and it is not advisable to apply excess water in trying to spread color.
Hatching with strokes is a fundamental technique of drawing with markers. The transparency of the color means that overlays create darker areas and avoid the potentially mechanical style to which this technique can lead.
Used in small areas of the drawing, water-based markers produce effects very similar to those of watercolors. These effects become less exciting when trying to spread large washes of dissolved color.
Employed with energy and freedom, the strokes of markers enliven the surfaces of the drawing, appearing to be a combination of a crayon and ink drawing. Work by Josep Asunción.
We place the fine tip tools normally used for writing and creating more precise works under the category of marker pens. There are numerous varieties on the market that use water-based inks, alcohol, oil inks, and gels that change color upon coming into contact with the air. Lithographic pens or marker pens with a calibrated tip allow for lines of a constant thickness and perfect stability. In general, ballpoint and lithographic pens offer a neutral, steady line, but their ease of use and wide variety of colors make them very appealing to artists.
The common ball-point pen is one of the most economic tools used for drawing. It works on almost any surface and is very agile in drawing sketches.
Nowadays, numerous artists employ this universal writing medium for outlines and sketches. They are known internationally as “biros,” after Lázslo Biró who invented them in 1938. They have a small ball in their conical tip, which, upon moving, discharges the ink onto the paper. The ink is oily and dries on the paper without penetrating it. The ink supply lasts a long time and the lines partly reflect the pressure exercised by the hand.
Ergonomic study for the design of a vehicle seat. Done with a ballpoint pen, its lines allow for spontaneity and accuracy at the same time. Work by Jordi Milà.
Various roller-ball pens with inks with metallic pigmentation. This new ink produces unprecedented ranges in marker pens’ strokes.
Rollerball pens developed from ballpoint pens and seek to combine the benefits of the latter with the softer stroke of lithographic pens. A rollerball’s mechanism features a ball contained at the end of a conical tip. Their water-based and more fluid ink, which renders them lighter to handle and thicker in stroke, distinguish rollerball pens from ballpoints. Its ink, normally pigmented, delivers a livelier in color and penetrates the paper’s fibers, making it more permanent. It discharges more ink than a ballpoint and runs out of ink more quickly.
Many creators use lithographic pens for inking the cartoons in comic strips. Their line is clean and maintains a constant thickness.
MARKER PENS WITH BRUSH TIP
These combine the advantages of the marker pen and the brush in the same tool. They are very comfortable and their stroke is consistent in its intensity and varies according to the pressure exerted on the tip. Their use has grown among comic strip artists as they make inking easier. They also give very good results in the drawing of outlines.
Lithographic pens are lettering tools with a calibrated tip in various sizes. They have a cylindrical, nylon tip similar to a needle whose line is softer, more accurate, and usually finer than lines produced by more conventional rotating pens, also giving them the name of “fine-point pens.” Their ink is normally a pigmented black, which means that the stroke gives an intense black, very similar to that of India ink. This intensity and the softness with which they slide over the paper makes them attractive to many artists.
Needle-point lithographic pens with a standard line ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 mm thick.
Lithographic pens or fine-point marker pens favor detailed drawing, but also produce good results in sketches and outlines.
Lettering instruments are widely used in drawing comics. Their ease of use and cleanness of result make them irreplaceable.
Paper is the only support for drawing with markers. The paper must be smooth, glossy, or have a very fine grain for all marker pens with alcohol-based inks. Water-based markers work successfully with conventional papers. These papers can even be slightly rough if the artist seeks a visual effect other than the stark graphic nature associated with drawing in this medium. The thickness of the paper is not as important as it is to other drawing mediums, since alcohol-based inks barely penetrate the surface of the paper, and water-based inks do not contain enough solvent to warp the piece of paper.
Paper for drawing with markers is always white or, at least, off-white.
Paper has a very smooth surface, which is also suitable for drawing with markers. It is available in small or medium-sized sketchbooks.
Bristol paper is a good support for drawing with markers. Its surface is glossy and a heavier weight than most papers.
The ideal paper for markers with an alcohol-based ink is typically glossy in order to achieve finishes without irregularities, which would have been caused by small variations in the sheet’s grain. The thickness of the paper that is ideal for markers ranges between 70 and 90 gsm, meaning it is quite a fine, light paper. Semi-transparent paper that permits certain translucent effects is also available. The ink of the marker will not penetrate the paper. Instead, it dries on the surface of the paper very rapidly. Finishes are smooth and any examples of cross hatching will be transparent, revealing all successive layers of line.
Any paper that is not excessively fine is suitable. Fine-grain watercolor papers weighted at 300 gsm give the best results. This weight is important when diluting ink, as well as when working with markers to create special effects, as well as when working with marker pens in a more traditional manner. The same applies to the paper recommended for working with opaque marker pens that are loaded with gouache. Papers that are textured or have a thick grain are only advisable when seeking deliberately imprecise or textural results.
Alcohol-based markers require smooth or glossy papers to conserve an even, consistent stroke, and to achieve a smooth, luminous effect.
Water-based marker pens require a slightly absorbent paper to ensure the rapid fixing of color on the surface. Smooth papers cause unforeseen puddles and muddled effects.
A small amount of the paper’s texture is visible when working with marker pens. The effect can be very interesting for work that does not demand a perfectly smooth finish.
When working with fine tip water-based markers, it is important to avoid thick-grain paper. Smooth watercolor paper is the best choice.