Winsor Newton Pigment Marker Review

I got these markers a few weeks ago on clearance at a local hobby store, they were a lot less than the retail price since they were on clearance. I read about them and watched videos online then tried them and I've come to know the tricks to working with them successfully. I thought I'd share it with you. First, these Winsor Newton Pigment markers are a high quality worthy of the company name. They are lightfast to 100 years so they stand up well to thbe light. They are ethanol based, similar to alcohol base except most also how based markers don't mix with water, these do. They can be blended with a damp brush, cotton swab, finger or soft cloth. They can be reworked after they dry, I let it dry 24 hours then went back with a damp brush and rubbed out circles, worked beautifully. The trick to using them successfully is to use them on the right paper or surface. they work well on any non absorbent surface like these in ththe picture. I have Yupo paper( a polyethylene paper), tracing paper and poster board on the use shiny side. I've also learned they work well on gessoed paper or board and I expect they'd work on gessoed Canvas but I haven't tried that yet. I wouldn't use any absorbent paper because the marker colors sink into the paper and can't manipulated the way they are on coated papers.

They come in a dual ended barrel, one end broad and one fine end, in a rounded barrel- shown below) that's easy to hold nad are available in about 100 colors, but at about $8 each US, a full set would be pricy for most of us.

On the coated paper the strokes ar visible and look very painterly but can be blended, worked over and do well once blended. It just depends on the look your going for, there is also a white blending pen and a clear blender available that can be used to blend th colors but they both leave a streaky look to the colors I don't care for. they also have a specific marker paper made to go with ththe we markers but it's thin, about 20 pound and is not really thick enough to withstand very much over working. Other than the price Winsor Newton has again proven to have a quality product, the trick is to use the proper surface and playing with th markers first to see how they operate. Would I buy them again at regular price? Maybe, but only to replace colors that dry out ( they are not refillable) or get specific colors not in my collection. Here are some samples of works I did with these markers. The yellow flower is on ths shiny side of poster board, the butterfly is on Yupo paper and the frog is on tracing paper. Pardon the typos, th IPad wasn't cooperating to fix them.