Today I have a video reviewing the new Winsor & Newton Pigment Markers. I’m sharing my first thoughts and findings of these unique markers but I have plans for further investigation too so watch out for more from me on these.
Video
It was the beautiful clean and simple design which first caught my eye. Serious kudos to the design and marketing departments at W&N as, let’s face it, there are a lot of markers on the market and if it hadn’t been for the gorgeous design and inspired marketing then I might have missed their arrival. However, having caught my eye and being from Winsor & Newton, a company with a nearly 200 years record of supply quality art supplies, my interest was well and truly caught! I was intrigued to know more about these markers that they called ‘no ordinary marker’. There’s a range of inspiring videos of various artists trying out the markers on their information page; I particularly liked the one of Katie Rodger the fashion illustrator.
Well the blurb described them as ergonomically designed and containing the highest grade, light fast, fine art pigments instead of dyes – more like the paints that Winsor and Newton are renowned for and light fast to 100 years.
In the video I test the markers on
- Neenah Solar White
- Winsor & Newton pigment marker paper
- Simon Says Stamp white
- Copic X-Press It
- Bazzill vellum
- Simon Says Stamp black
The Pigment Markers do not behave like other markers and on absorbent card such as Neenah, SSS white, Copic etc they do not move and blend much. However, the magic happens on non-absorbent bases such as the Winsor & Newton pigment marker paper and on Bazzill vellum. On these the pigment sits on the top of the paper and can be moved around and blended even to the extent that you can use your finger to do so. In addition you have the unique White Blender which mixes with the color to give a rainbow of options. Mix the white blender with the Carmine and you have a range of pinks, add in the Winsor Yellow deep mixed with the Carmine you have oranges when the white mixes with these two you can get shades down to the palest pinky peach which would be great for skin tones. The last marker to mention is the Colorless Blender which being translucent helps with blending while not changing the tone of the color.
I’m trying to be as impartial as possible (I bought these markers for my use) so here’s a summary:
Pros:
- beautiful design
- pigment not dyes
- double ended with fine and chisel nibs
- 100 colors including 24 greys
- colors are indicated on the cap
- light fast to 100 years
- unique and behave more like paint
- the awesome white blender
- use the white blender as a base to use the markers on dark cardstock
Cons:
- beautiful design but the round barrel means the markers roll around the desk
- double ended but only 1 cap color coded
- have to be careful that the inner edges of the caps don’t bump the nibs
- doesn’t move or blend as well on absorbent papers and can cause them to pill
- moves and blend beautifully on the pigment marker paper but this is only 20lb in weight
- white blender is not as opaque on dark colors as a white gel pen
Being so new these markers seem to fly off the shelf as soon as they arrive but, as I write this, Simon Says Stamp do have the sets and the colorless blender in stock. You get the fabulous white blender included in each of the sets.
I’d be very interested to know what your thoughts are on these new arrivals to the marker market so please jump in with any questions or comments below :D In the meantime I have plans for more videos on these; I want to investigate the W&N pigment marker paper more and in addition look at other marker papers and possible base options. I also want to investigate how these markers behave in other ways too – lots to be working on!
SUPPLIES
You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or wording to get taken directly to the product. Where available I use affiliate links which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support.
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I LOVE that you listed your pros and cons in this review! I REALLY should have read up on Chameleons before I jumped out on that purchase, I may warm to them, for now, not sure.. (I used one pen and it overflowed, so I really set them aside after spending so much I kind of was over them..) LOL.
I wonder the price point aspect.. An art store near me has copic “like” I forget the brand, wonder if they are the same ones..If they are they are way less…. well I will check out later..
I’d be so curious on how they color over glitter, the copics do great for me on the most recent project …AND…(Thank you SO SO much for popping over!)
I come from a scrapping mini book making background (follower of Ali Edwards, etc, )card making came much later so I am just in the last 2 years familiarizing myself with designers and playing challenges and designing for challenges..and I have loved LOVE your designs when I see them pop up over blogland. So anyway, my introduction.. hee hee,.. Take Care!
I’ve not tried the Chameleons yet Kimberly; there’s always something to investigate LOL. I will keep playing with these Pigment Markers – I’ve been getting more marker papers and card to try. I’ve also got a card made on vellum but need to photograph it. So many things I want to try and do but the time restrictions of the season make it tricky. So glad you found your way into card making too Kimberly :D
They are beautiful colors.
Wonderful review. Thanks for being so thorough. I’m curious to see how they work on acetate. It seems they would be great for those who like to make the clear and vellum cards. As for the flimsy paper, maybe use a spray adhesive and attach to a heavier cardstock, and see if that would work? Just a thought. I’m not sure how that would hold up to die cutting and such, but now I want to find out.. haha
Thanks again. I can’t wait to see what you create with these markers. ♥♥♥
Oh nice ideas Shari!!
Ok, I was thinking of a paper the other day, after watching this, and thought.. I’ll bet that paper would be perfect! I saw a video on it quite a few months ago, and dismissed it, because I couldn’t imagine me ever using it. I’m not quite that talented.. haha I could NOT think of the name of it to save my life. Anyway, long story short. I was just watching a video by Sandy Allnock, making some tags and she was using that paper.. (I probably saw the original video on her blog, as well.) It’s called Yupo.. From what I remember, it’s not very porous, and alcohol inks kind of remain tacky, which reminded me of the paper you used in the video.. Anyway, just thought it could be something you could play around with.. it’s not very expensive at all on Amazon.
Is it weird that I get excited thinking about you using markers? I mean, it’s not like I’m using them. haha I just get so much enjoyment seeing what others create. ^_^
Cheers! ♥♥♥
LOL, Shari, I ordered some Yupo the other day to try them with!!
That’s awesome. I can’t wait to see what you create. ^_^
Great review, thank you :-)