This one is going to be short, but not so sweet. I am only introducing you to the first set because I was very disappointed in this pen. It is the Write Dudes Ultra Fine pen that I purchased from Hollar.com for $3, which makes each of these pens about $0.60 each. First off, the red pen was busted right off the bat in the packaging. When I tried to clean it up, it got everywhere. Honestly, it took almost 3 days to get the red off my hands.

Beyond the fact that the pen was broken, because I understand that it does happen, They wouldn’t even write. I had to scribble several times to get the ones to write that I did, and even once they started writing they were not smooth at all. I was pretty upset at the quality of these pens. I will not be purchasing these again.

These next pens are the same brand, Write Dudes. These are ballpoint pens. Don’t let the colors confuse you, it’s all black ink. As far as ballpoint pens go, these are as comparable as any other. I used them all last week at work and notice two distinct things. The first being that you must scribble the pen for each use. The second being that once the pen is writing, it skips.

This is another pen that I won’t buy again. The brand itself has 2 strikes against it with these two pen types.

Please let me know if you find a pen of this brand that actually works.

I know what you’re thinking, fruit scented?  Yes, these pens do have a smell to them, but surprisingly, the smell isn’t strong at all. I actually couldn’t smell it until I held the pen up to my nose. My previous experience with scented pens is very negative. I have a sensitive nose and I just feel like I don’t need my pens to be scented.

With all that being said, Let me introduce you to Fruit Scented Glitter Gel Pens that I purchased from Hollar.com for $3. That means that each of these pens were $0.50. Now they only came in a six-pack, but honestly, you wouldn’t want too many smells happening in the same package. They came in a very nice plastic case that is comparable to Staedtler’s cases. This is nice because I think I would want to keep these seperate from my other gel pens.

So now lets get down to business. How well do these pens write. First off, I was so surprised at just how vivid the colors are and how smoothly these pens wrote. They really don’t smear either like typical gel pens, but there is some smudging possible so be careful when you are using these pens to draw something of any significant size.

Check out how each color just pops off the page. Each color was true to what you would expect, which I find can be a rare thing. With my other gel pens, I’ve learned not to trust the caps on them, and I always test them on another page.

However, these colors were exactly what you would expect and that is something I am grateful for. I know I always mention the color yellow, but I feel like reviewing the yellow colors can really make or break a gel pen set. Some yellows are too bright or too dull and you won’t get the effect you are looking for.  But this one is just great.

So I decided, as I usually do, to draw something for you, using just these glitter pens. The only thing I noticed is that I had great results with thicker lines. The thin lines just didn’t do it justice, but the glitter really pops with the better lines. I tried to show you the drawing at an angle so that you ca see just how the light catches it.

Let me know what you think below and what your experience with scented gel pens were!

I received several pens that you will see updates on over the next few days. I purchased this pens from Hollar.com for $3. It was very easy for me to choose to purchase these pens because they were very inexpensive. For $0.50 each, I couldn’t turn it away.  I am always on the search for pens and these just spoke to me.

The first thing I noticed about these pens is very cheap packaging. What you see here on the front is all the information they give you. This package came with 6 pens of various colors in 0.5mm tips.

The next thing that I noticed, was that these pens were filled with a lot of fluid. My first thought was, these pens are going to bleed all over the place.  So, I took a deep breath and put my pen to the paper.

Wait, what? No bleeding? The ink was actually distributing in the perfect amount. This immediately made me happy.  The ink was smooth, very smooth. Not only did the ink NOT bleed, but it didn’t smear either. It dried rather quickly and when I rubbed my finger across it, as artists sometimes do, it did not move. I was very surprised.

The colors were very vibrant as well. Even the yellow, which I decided to write with several times was just beautiful! Look at this picture to the left. The pens wrote right away, no pre-scribbling required, which I really adored. There is no greater frustration than a pen that doesn’t write when you press it against paper.

The ink didn’t skip at all either. The writing experience was just really pleasant. They were nice to hold in my hand as they didn’t have a weird shape or anything.  But the true test was how would they hold up when drawing with them. Especially since that is the main reason I have for them.

Tell me, What do you think? I like these pens.

I had the opportunity to pick the art pens up at WalMart yesterday for $20 and just had to do a review for it. This make each pen around $1.67 ea.

First off, I have always just stayed away from Sharpie because it doesnt have archival ink and it bleeds and I could go on and on. Sharpie brand itself is great if you doodle on shoes or canvas or anything really. Its a great tool for use on almost any media. However, for archival art, its not where I would turn.

So let’s start out with the case. The case alone reminds me a lot of the way staedtler cases have been designed from the start. It is one of the things that I have always loved about the Staedtler brand.

Lets move on to the colors. In this particular set of 12, I felt as though the colors were very similar. However, the colors were very vibrant, to include yellow, which is always the color I judge the most. However, as you can tell below, the yellow shoes up just as vibrant as all the others.

And now, I decided to test, how the colors bleed and blend when used with each other. I tested light colors on dark colors as well as dark colors on light colors. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the colors. The integrity of each color never swayed.

In conclusion, these pens are a very good pen for the Sharpie name. They open the door for other possibilities. However, the price is worst than the other pens of this quality. The reason, simply is because the other pens are known for having archival ink, as well as coming in a variety of nibs.

Tell me what you think about these pens if you have had the chance to use these.

You do not need the most expensive art supplies to create something truly unique. I started out with just a pencil, and a value mechanical pencil at that. *whispers in the crowd* I know, I know, don’t judge me, but I actually produced a full-page doodle that sparked something inside me, a flame that I haven’t quenched.

As I have continued, I have found things that work for me. It doesn’t matter if it is a pen, pencil or journal, find what works for you. I have seen some amazing art done with everyday and inexpensive supplies. I am going to share with you my first art piece. Keep in mind that it is in pencil so it may be a little difficult to actually see.

Do you see the date on this? 04/04/16. Yes, this makes me a baby artist. I finally started my blog in July of that same year. So, I am also a baby blogger. When I say, lets learn together, I mean it. I hope to learn from my followers as much as I teach, if that is possible.

So, get creative and don’t stop.

Today, I decided to review these felt tip pens by Art 101. I purchased these at Five Below for $4. I do not have any experience with Art 101, so I thought it would be nice to give it a go.

The colors are nice, lines are just like you’d think that a felt tip pen would be. The main thing I noticed is that the ink is darker where you pick up and put down the pen.

As I was completing my art piece, I noticed that these pens bleed through traditional cardstock. The more layers you create, the more they bleed. They also soak the paper and tend to make it rough with every layer. This is something I hadn’t experienced that yet with pens and definitely not with cardstock.

As you can tell with the piece above, I did not do anything elaborate because I wanted to know how well they performed on the simple tasks before I tried anything else. I have to be honest with you guys, I felt like these pens were not for any special job. If you want to just doodle for fun or write color coded notes, these pens will do just fine for that.

Pros: Colors are vibrant. Cost is manageable. Lines are tight.

Cons: Non-archival ink. Ink bleeds through and weakens paper. Not designed for high quality artwork.

Like always, please leave me a comment below to let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for reviews in the future.

Again, I visited Five Below. I was so impressed with the fine tip markers from there, that I decided to look for more. These metallic markers were $5 for 10 markers. I decided to take these for a spin and see what I could discover.

Whew! Look at these colors sparkle. There were two gold and two silver in the package and that’s why there are only 8 colors mentioned. I also took into consideration the tip size for this marker is pretty small.

There were a few cons, but hear me out. First off, they do smear if you touch it immediately, however, if you wait 3-5 seconds, it doesn’t. You can see this by the gold represented above.  Another con is the fact that the caps didn’t fit on the end of the pen. So, while drawing, I  held the cap in one hand while I drew with the other. This is, unfortunately, not the way I want to draw.

So, this is my finished product. One of the pros of these markers was the fact that these markers layered. You can draw one color on top of the other and it doesn’t mix, it just colors over the other like it never existed. Although i wish the colors were more vivid, they cover well.

What I tried to capture in the second picture, is how the light reflects off the colors. Another of the pros of this marker is just how nice they shimmer. Its a beautiful attention getter and would look fantastic as embellishments.

Something to mention is that on the box it reads, gor best results, store markers horizontally. So, unique pen storage solutions may be necessary. I think for now, I will just store them in their original packaging.

As always, if you have any comments, questions, suggestions or concerns, please leave them in the comments below.

As you can tell by the price tag, these came from the store Five Below. If you are not familiar with this store, it is a store where, as the name suggests, everything is $5 or less. These fine tip markers were $5. Because i am always looking for a good deal, I decided to try these out and see how they measured up to the more expensive brands I currently own.

The first thing that I noticed, was that out of the 20 markers, only 1 didn’t work right off the bat. With a little scribbling, it started working. The lines did not skip and the colors are very vivid.

The markers themselves are packaged nicely. I like how there was individual slots for each one and how it seemed care was taken in that aspect. The pen caps do come off one end and stick to the other.  I didn’t have a problem with the caps falling off and they did snap in nicely.

The feel of the barrel of the pen though is not smooth. It has a shape like a #2 pencil, but in plastic. It feels like a really cheap pen, however, I felt as though it was a higher quality writing experience. With a 0.4mm felt tip, I enjoyed the thin lines each pen created. The ink did not smear either when touched immediately after applying it to the paper.

I decided to take these pens on an adventure to test them out. If you have followed  me for a while, you are probably aware that I rarely draw in color. I like the crisp black lines of all thicknesses and have learned to shade and do other techniques that makes it quite enjoyable. But below, you can see that I used every color even the black, represented as the center dot.

In conclusion, I feel like these pens are well worth the $5 that I spent on them. The colors are bright and true to the color of the pen barrel. I did not take a picture because it was pointless, but these pens do not bleed either.  The only cons I see is that I wouldn’t use these pens for coloring, they are better suited for line drawing or writing.

As always, please leave your comments, questions and concerns in the comments below. If you would like to suggest a review, please let me know!

I do not have a lot of experience with gel pens as I find that they tend to smear and skip often. While walking around Target today, I came across these Yoobi Gel Pens for about $15 for a 24pk. This puts each pen around $0.63 each. As far as gel pens go, these came with several options, color, glitter and metallic.

I tried each pen out. I took off the cap and just started writing. As you can tell on a few of them, they all started writing well before I finished the Y on Yoobi. I really enjoyed writing with them but I would say that my most favorite were the metallic ones. Not only did they write the smoothest but the color was very vibrant. However, Metallic ones were the ones that smeared the most. Even after the others were dry, they seemed to be still wet in certain areas.

I would like to say that the one thing that caught my eye was the meaning behind the brand. Every year teachers, who don’t get paid a lot as it is, use their money for supplies for their classroom. Yoobi gives supplies to schools so that the teachers don’t have to use as much of their money to supplement the needs of their students. I believe this is a wonderful cause and definitely worth noting. You can see the video on the target link above.

Final Thoughts:

I think that these are vibrant and the thick tip allows for you to cover more area. I will definitely be using these. There is minimal bleed through and I can’t wait to try it out on a coloring book. This review was done on everyday printer paper. I would recommend this gel pen to adult coloring enthusiasts.

Prismacolor Premier Assorted Markers can be found on Amazon here, for about $13, which is approximately $1.87 per pen. This makes the most expensive pen compared to Sakura Micron, Art-n-Fly, and Staedtler Pigment Liners.  I have always thought of Prismacolor as the elite of the elite art supply, which is probably why this is my first and only art supply with that brand name. But I knew that I just had to review it. First off, this does have Archival ink, which is water proof and fade proof. I would expect nothing less from Prismacolor.

As you can see here, there are seven different tips that came in this set to include Chisel, Brush, .08, .05, .03, .01, and .005. This is a complete set and even offers one up, meaning the chisel tip, than the Sakura Microns in exchange for the .02 tip. One of the first things that I noticed when I opened this package is that these pens were a lot thinner than the others I have reviewed. They are also longer as I have pictured below next to the Sakura Pigma Micron.

The second thing I noticed was that these pens, just like those comparable to it, have the sizes of the tips printed on the caps as well as the side of the pen. I love that both are noted instead of having one or the other. However, a con right off the bat was the fact that it actually was difficult removing the cap from the pen. I am not sure if this will get better with time, or if it is the fact that the caps get thinner at the tip, which makes it hard to grasp with the clip running the same size the length of the cap. Of course, this is just my initial observations of the pen.

As you will notice, there is a B for Brush Tip and a C for Chisel Tip, in with these other sizes. And the size seems to be actually engraved into the tips. The only other pen I have reviewed that had this feature seemed to be the Staedtler Pigment Liners. To me, this says higher quality.

Writing with each of the tips was interesting. The chisel tip I decided to write with the smallest point of the tip and then underline with the wider point to show the variety of ways that it can be used. I am a fan of the Chisel Tip and I would like to have it in the set over the .02 that are in other sets.

The brush tip was way better than the Micron one in my opinion simply because there seemed to be more control in the tip of the marker. I still need a lot of practice using brush markers, but now that I have a few to play around with, I will have to work on that. The ink was really smooth though and I had no skips or angles which it skipped.

Each of the other tips .08 through .005, were equal to the Staedtler Pigment Liner tips. The longer metal guard seems to help easy my mind on the amount of pressure I am applying. It does seem to be a reoccurring theme that the smaller the tip requires the easier the pressure applied. Regardless of the pressure, the ink flowed extremely smooth and it was very comfortable to write with.

The bleed through actually surprised me. It seems to have the worse bleed through the thicker the tip, but then the smaller the tip, you can barely even see it coming through the paper. As a disclaimer, I am using the everyday printer paper for each of these reviews to level the playing field.

Final Thoughts:

After reviewing this product, I was both sad and happy. First off, I was happy that I finally took the time to compare this product to the others. It is my believe that the art supply doesn’t make the artist. This pen is a high quality pen that does live up to its name. The bleed through doesn’t bother me too bad as I only draw one-sided anyways. So keep this in mind when you are figuring out what paper you are using. I would recommend this product to artists out there.

If you have any tests you would like to see or if you would like for me to perform a specific test, please let me know in the comments below.

Here we have the Staedtler Pigment Liner Pens, which you can buy on Amazon here, for about $11 for the set. This equates out to approximately $1.83 per pen. Comparing the price to the Sakura Micron and the Art-n-Fly, the Staedtlers are more expensive by about $0.20 a pen. Please keep in mind that the testing of this product was done on everyday printer paper, which is thin. I will say that this pen doesn’t claim archival ink, instead, it claims indelible ink, which is sorta the same thing. The definition says “that cannot be removed, washed away, or erased.” The ink is waterproof as well. I’m just not sure about fade proof.

The first thing I noticed about this pen set is that they come in a very sturdy case that doubles as a pen stand. I don’t use the stand and honestly, I prefer putting all my pens together. The feel of the pen is more cushioned than that of the Sakura or the Art-n-fly, as there seems to be almost a rubber coating of the pen. This makes using this pen for long-term easier.

On top of having the size printed on the caps, it is also printed on the pen themselves, which I love. You will also notice the “18H cap-off” printed on the pen. This means that the pen can be left for 18 hours without the cap and without drying out. I don’t think that I have ever left a cap off my pen that long, but its nice to know that you can, especially when you have toddlers running around that love to try to grab my pens sneakily and run off.

I wrote with each of the sizes that came in the box and I will have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the supportive metal tips. They seemed a little more sturdy than both the Sakura Micron and the Art-n-Fly tips. The entire feel of the pen seemed more comfortable in my hand than the other two.  I did run my finger over the ink immediately after drawing a line and there was no smearing.

Another thing that I was very impressed with was the fact that there was even less bleed through than the Sakura Micron pens. Keep in mind that I am using everyday printer paper with this review. I wanted to make sure to give each pen review equal coverage.

Final Thoughts:

Although these pens seem to be more expensive than both the Sakura Micron Pens ($1.50) and the Art-n-Fly Pens ($1.67), I find the quality worth the extra coins. I have been a long time user of the Steadtler products because the quality has always been unmatched. Using these pens for the first time made me want to switch from the Steadtler fineliners I have been using to these pigment liners. The overall look, feel, and quality of the ink seemed to surpass my expectations. I would definitely recommend this pen to any artist for multiple projects.

If you have any tests you would like to see or if you would like for me to perform a specific test, please let me know in the comments below.

This set of pens by Art-n-Fly can be found on Amazon here, for about $10. These are approximately $1.67 each. This makes them just a little more expensive than the Sakura Pigma Micron pens. I haven’t heard much about this company, but they advertise that they specialize in high quality drawing and painting supplies. Something to keep in mind is that I am doing this test on everyday printer paper.

The very first thing that I noticed was that there are no ways to tell which pen is which size except for on the cap of each one. So if you mix up the caps, it will be more difficult to actually find which pen the cap belongs to. I may take my label maker and create labels on the sides of these pens so that I have another hint as to the tip size. To me, this is a flaw. If the sizes were on the pen ends and not the caps, I would find it more useful, however, I would still want the size written on the side of each pen.

While writing with these, I noticed that they were very similar to the Sakura Micron Pens in that the tips became less sturdy the smaller they went. I wrote with each pen to show you the size of the tips. This is a first time use for all these pens but the ink seemed to flow smoothly from the tips.

I did notice that it didn’t seem to matter how light or hard the pressure on the tip was, the ink stayed the same size. This is something that I greatly admire and appreciate from a pen.

This pen set also has Archival ink, which is both waterproof and fade proof. This is a must have for any artist wanting to keep the integrity of their art in tact. However, the only way I knew this was on the set packaging which you can see in the first picture. I did run my finger across the ink immediately after writing and found that there were no smears.

Another thing I noticed was that there are only 6 sizes available which is less variety than the Sakura Micron Pens. However, it does seem by reading other customer reviews that people compare these pens equally with Sakura Micron Pens.

I did notice that each pen seemed to bleed through a little more than the Sakura Micron Pens as you can see on the picture above. Bleed through never concerns me when dealing with my art because I typically use a thicker paper as well as only use one side of the paper.

Final Thoughts:

The wonderful thing about these pens are that they are so similar to the Sakura Micron Pens that I can’t give it a bad review, nor would I with the tests I performed. I would love to see them come out with more tips, but they at least have the basics.  I would definitely recommend this pen to any artist for multiple projects.

If you have any tests you would like to see or if you would like for me to perform a specific test, please let me know in the comments below.

First off, let me say that this pen brand is well known in the art community and is widely accepted as a good beginner pen, but at the same time, it is a pen that stays with you throughout your career. You can get this 8 pen set on Amazon for roughly $12, which makes them approximately $1.50 each.

There are a few things that I look for in apen brand is whether or not it is made with Archival ink. The reason that I look for this is because, over time, ink will wear down and fade or even turn a brownish color.  However, archival ink will stand the test of time being both waterproof and fade proof. I would like to also note that each individual pen in this set has their own pros and cons. Something to keep in mind is that I am using just regular printer paper which is fairly thin just to measure the bleed through.

Pigma Brush Pen – This pen is really weird and hard to control your line, especially if you are not used to brush pens. However, it seemed to have a sturdy tip and wrote beautifully without skipping.

Pigma Graphic 1 – This pen is one that I typically use for my main lines. The tip is very sturdy at all angles and writes without skipping. With my other set of these pens, I realized that this Graphic pen seemed to dry up quicker than the others.

Pigma Micron 005-08 – These pens have varying thickness of lines. If you look above, You can see how each one gets smaller than the one before. One thing to note is that the smaller the tip, the more gently you need to write with them. I was a little afraid to press with any “normal” pressure on the three finest tips, but I can see where they come in very handy with detail in my art.

I ran my finger across the ink of each pen immediately after I drew a line and noticed that there was no smearing, even with the brush tip. As far as bleeding through to the back of the paper. I did notice that the places where I started and stopped seemed to bleed through more than the lines. However, over all, the bleed through was minimal if at all. The picture below shows the bleed through. Keep in mind that this is everyday printer paper.

Final Thoughts:

The simple fact that these pens have such a wide variety of tips is amazing to me. You can truly complete any task with these. They write smooth and the pen is easy to handle and comfortable in my hand. I would definitely recommend this pen to any artist for multiple projects.

If you have any tests you would like to see or if you would like for me to perform a specific test, please let me know in the comments below.