Technique Thursday: Spectrum Noir Markers

Spectrum Noir Markers

I got a baker's dozen Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers, by Crafter's Companion, for evaluation purposes.



The Spectrum Noir pens come in a total of 168 colors (including the colorless blender). The markers are square to prevent rolling on your work surface, and have two different tips; a bullet tip and a chisel tip. Each cap has the marker number imprinted on it. The bullet end of the marker is denoted by a gray ring where the cap meets the marker, making it easy to know which end of the marker is which.

I found the caps to be a little hard to remove from the markers; I couldn't get a really good grip on them, and I ended up with marker on my hands more than once. (to be fair, though, I have difficulty with my hands, but I do not have trouble with the Copic caps.) The marker lids can not be placed on the back end of the marker for safe-keeping while in use.

The markers have their own numbering system, which might be confusing for people who are used to the Copic markers. You can access a PDF of the marker palette on the Crafter's Companion web site, here.

Among the markers I received were three bright pink pens, BP3, BP5, and BP7. Though I was missing the lightest of the bright pink pens, I decided to try coloring my old friend, Frantic Stamper's Magnolia cling stamp. I started with the BP3, and colored all of the petals of the three flowers. I added shading with the BP5 and BP7, and blended with the BP3.

One problem I had is that I am REALLY used to having a brush tip for my coloring. The bullet tip is very different to color with. One of my favorite blending techniques, a flicking motion with the brush tip, was not available with the bullet tip, because, though I could flick with the bullet tip, the color did not get lighter toward the end of my stroke as it does with the brush tip. All shading, then, had to be done with blending in a darker color with a lighter color, in small circular motions. I found it much harder to get a smooth blend. I do wonder, though, if I would have been happier with my blending and transitions if I had had a BP1 pen.



All-in-all, I was fairly pleased with the results, given that I didn't have a complete range of colors, and that I am not a seasoned bullet tip colorer. I felt the yellows and greens I had on hand blended very well in the bud and the flower center. The bright pinks are exactly that; bright and vibrant. The markers performed quite well.

If I were in the market for some alcohol markers and I didn't have my strong preference for brush tips, I would definitely consider these markers. The have a lot of features in common with the more expensive Copic Sketch markers, at a lower price point. They performed very well. They have replacement nibs available, but those are only for the chisel and bullet nibs; there is no brush nib available. They also have a much smaller selection of colors than Copic (either Sketch or Ciao), which may figure into a decision on which markers to buy.

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