The Best Paint Pens for Expert and Novice Artists

One of the tools that any artist should have is a paint pen. A paint pen has gone through real evolution over the past years. They have evolved from primitive marking tools to a device that can create classic art, hence it is an item that every artist should have at their disposal.

Currently, marker paint pens do not only contain coloring and alcohol components but also have some additives that make them special. This helps them create strong lines on any surface.

History of paint pens

The first paint pen was created in the early 1940s and it was primarily used for artistic details and labeling. Then in 1952, Magic Marker pens were created and they contained a glass bottle with a wool-felt wick and held ink.

In 1958, the use of these pens became popular and people used them for creating posters, marking packages, labeling and lettering. Fine-line markers and highlighters were first perceived in the 1970s. This is the time when the permanent marker paint pen was created. Since then, the dry-erase pen and superfine point pens have been gaining more and more popularity.

The top paint pens for artists

Molotow One4 - All Acrylic Paint Markers

These paint pens are known for their high-quality, water-based ink that can be used on a variety of surfaces, including wood, metal, and glass. The ink is also UV resistant, which makes it a great choice for outdoor projects.

Prismacolor Premier Paint Markers

These paint pens are a popular choice among artists because of their vibrant colors and fine tips, which make them great for detailed work. 

Arteza Acrylic Paint Pens

 

These paint pens are filled with high-quality, water-based acrylic ink that is suitable for use on a variety of surfaces, including paper, canvas, and wood. They are also easy to control and provide consistent, vibrant color.

Posca Paint Pens

These paint pens are known for their versatility and ability to write on almost any surface, including paper, plastic, metal, and glass. They are also water-based, making them non-toxic and easy to clean up.

Sakura Pigma Micron Pens

These paint pens are a favorite among artists because of their archival quality ink, which is resistant to fading and water. They also have a fine tip that allows for detailed work and come in a wide range of colors.

Winsor & Newton ProMarker Pens

 

These paint pens are filled with alcohol-based ink that is highly pigmented and provides vibrant, long-lasting color. They are also odorless and non-toxic, making them a safe choice for artists of all ages.

Montana Acrylic Paint Markers

 

These paint pens are filled with high-quality, water-based acrylic ink that is suitable for use on a variety of surfaces, including paper, canvas, and wood. They also have a fine tip that allows for detailed work and come in a wide range of colors.

Copic Markers

 

These paint pens are a popular choice among artists because of their high-quality, alcohol-based ink that provides vibrant, long-lasting color. They also have a fine tip that allows for detailed work and come in a wide range of colors.

Uni Posca Paint Markers

 

These paint pens are known for their versatility and ability to write on almost any surface, including paper, plastic, metal, and glass. They are also water-based, making them non-toxic and easy to clean up. They come in a wide range of colors and have a fine tip that allows for detailed work.

Why are paint markers pens popular?

Typically, paint markers are very popular not only for professional's artists but also for amateurs and beginners alike.

This is because most paint pens are available in a wide range of pigments and you can use them on any surface such as in canvas, textiles, fabric, treated wood, pottery, metal, polymer clay, stones & rocks, plastic, and terra-cotta.

Moreover, most artists prefer paint makers since they dry quickly and are easy to use. Their easy use of color makes these pens perfect for gesture drawing, sketching, and doodling.

They blend smoothly which makes them capable of abstraction and photorealism. The adult coloring trend has made marker paint pens more popular. Colorists love them since they come with different tip shapes and have a wide range of color choices.

Why do artists use marker-paint pens?

Many artists use paint pens commonly for paintings, drawings, and sketching. They love these pens since they produce vibrant colors and dry quickly without fading over time.

These pens come with different tip shapes while others come with dual tips to use interchangeably when creating different details. The pen’s tip shape is very important when creating various drawing details on big projects such as murals and a big canvas.

There are different types of tips

Extra-fine and fine tips, these pens with extra fine tips are the smallest and are commonly used to produce tiny sharp lines. On the other hand, fine tips paint pens are utilized to create less details in art and drawing pieces.

Medium tip pens come with broad tips which can be too wide, and it takes a lot of time to fill and create a design when using these pens. They are ideal for both filling in large areas and fine details. 

Brush tips usually draw the same as a paintbrush. They are utilized to create sharp and thick highlights in paintings and drawings.

Other tips that you can find include Chisel tip paint pens which are perfect for card making. Bullet tip paint pens feature a round shape and are ideal for creating sharp and thick highlights.

Whenever you are selecting the most suitable marker, it is important to be guided by the following two criteria: The type of surface that you are planning to apply the marking and the purpose of use.

Types of Paint Marker Pens

Acrylic paint pens

These type of pens works well on light-colored surfaces and plastic surfaces to produce a mirror-like shiny finish when they dry up. You can also use them on glass, ceramic, paintings, wood, t-shirt painting, and stones.

Marker paint pens

These markers are commonly utilized for street art and other nonporous surfaces. They are usually highly pigmented and you can also use them on surfaces like metal, canvas, and paper.

Oil-based paint pens

These paint pens are perfect for creating paintings on stone and metal painting designs. They have pigments that are difficult to remove when compared to marker paint pens or water-based paint pens.

These markers are ideal for any artist since these pens are permanent. Their paints are resistant to abrasion, fading, and water. They are commonly used for plastic, metal, ceramics, rock, and plastic painting projects.

Water-based paint pens

This is a multipurpose marker pen that you can use on any type of surface. You need to seal them to remain waterproof. The pigment is dissolved in water on water-based markers.

Following this, you need to know that pigments in paint have a big difference when it comes to longevity. You can use tests to know the ability of the marker paint pens to resist color fading.

Dye-based markers

Dye-based markers usually fade faster as humidity, oxygen, and light gradually break the molecule's chemical bonds that produce color.

If you want to make paintings or drawings that will remain in people’s minds for decades, then you should try to avoid using dye-based markers pens that are vulnerable to fading when compared to pigment marker paint pens and marker paint pens that usually get the color from the dye.