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Are Arteza’s paint markers a good deal? Let’s dive in!
I simply love doing these Arteza reviews, Queen Bees! Seriously! I feel like I have been on a roll lately testing all the Arteza-brand supplies that happen to grace my front door. After reviewing their acrylic paint, their metallic paints, their outdoor acrylic paints AND wood slices, I am now ready to dive in and review their paint markers! It’s go time!
I ran to the door when I heard the “clink” sound of my mailbox clanging shut from a just delivered package. I bounced out of my house and saw a box and I knew it had to be my Arteza paint markers. After opening the box, I found my 20 marker set, and I was already dreaming of 30 different projects.
So, with a fever-like enthusiasm, I whisked the contents to the my studio and proceeded to get down to business – to test out and conduct this review.
Although I am not sponsored by Arteza, they did send me these products free in exchange for my honest review. And, your girl will never say no to playing with more art supplies…so I simply had to say yes!
How can I not get pumped (pun intended!)?
Now, like my previous Arteza art supply reviews, I will be analyzing these paint markers against a list of criteria – including a swatch test, organization, and usability, just to name a few.
So, let’s dive in and see if these paint markers are really up to snuff!
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Criteria 1: Organization + Color Selection
The Arteza paint markers came in a rectangular plastic case, with each of the twenty paint markers standing vertically in place.
In addition, each of these marker tubes is individually shrink-wrapped with protective plastic, which can be easily removed with a few short twists! (whew! totally saved myself A LOT of time here!)
The set includes 14 colors, 2 sets of metallic gold, 2 sets of metallic silver, black, and white.
Now let me just say that these colors are GORGEOUS and highly pigmented. If you are looking for a pigment color that is deep, look no further than these markers.
In terms of paint storage, all paint tubes are arranged vertically to fit the box – no trays like it’s acrylic and metallic counterparts, which isn’t a good or bad thing. It’s good for traveling and storing in your art supply shelf.
I had a lot of good feels here, so I will give their organization and paint aesthetic a 4 out of 5.
Criteria 2: Paint Tube Labels + Qualities
Then, I moved onto the labels used on the paint markers themselves, I discovered there really wasn’t much to go off of.
The paint label itself is pretty simple.
brand name…instructions….and that’s it.
Out of all the Arteza supplies I have reviewed, (yes, even the outdoor paints), these labels are by far the most simple – and thereby – most non-descriptive I have used. The actual names of the paint marker colors can actually be found on the side of the box.
Despite that, I do however, want to discuss the paint qualities as stated on the Arteza box itself.
These paint markers are made with oil-based pigments and are permanent, quick-drying, and non-toxic. In addition, these paint markers can be used on many different surfaces, including porous and nonporous surfaces like paper, glass, metal, wood, plastic, vinyl, rubber, stone, concrete, leather, canvas, and fabric, just to name a few.
The paint markers each have a removable, pumping tip that can be taken out and cleaned (with simple soap and water) if you experience any pigment blockage, and reinserted back in for more painting fun. This was a pretty great plus!
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Criteria 3: Ease of Use
If you have ever used paint markers, there is a certain level of….patience that goes into using them. More specifically, shaking and pumping your paint marker until it is fully loaded and ready for use.
The instructions included were actually pretty straight-forward and didn’t take too long for me to learn. Basically, you vigorously shake your marker, uncap it, pump the top with the tip pointing up three times, and then turn the marker with the tip facing the surface and pump continuously until you see the pigment begin to soak the marker tip.
Once you have that done, it’s smooth sailing from there.
Even though this was a bit of a workout (especially when testing 20 of these markers), the time to prep wasn’t a huge deal-breaker for me, plus, this is pretty standard when it comes to using any paint markers in general.
I totally give the prep time and instructions a 5 out of 5!
Criteria 4: Swatch Test
Now considering there isn’t much to go on with the marker labels, the next step was to test out the swatches of each of these paint markers – mainly so I can better understand how these markers look. I performed this test by placing a small rectangle of color and see how the paint dries over time.
When I completed my painting application, I made my assessments. Once again, I was blown away by how vibrant these colors were against the acrylic pad paper I used for testing. To my utter delight, these colors just popped!
I did however notice that some colors, particularly the lighter of the blues seemed to dry darker than the marker cap color. This is why it is so important to swatch your colors so you can avoid little surprises like this in the future!
Advice for any artist EVER: I always recommend doing color swatching on paper when getting any paint or art medium so you can understand how your color looks when dried on paper. It’s good practice that will only benefit you later.
Criteria 5: Blending & Drying Time
Next came blending, which was something that really piqued my curiosity, considering that these are in fact oil-based pigments markers and not paint itself. So, I got to work.
I made a rectangle of one color and then added another rectangle of color (usually a lighter color) with parts of it crossing into the previous color. By doing this, the first layer of color reactivated and began to blend with the newest layer of color. This mainly happened when a lighter color was placed atop a darker color, causing that blend to occur.
In the end, I managed to get a few decent blends that were passable! I just had to keep the order of the layers in mind.
After I finished with both my swatch and blending test, I observed that my color rectangles took an average of 1 minute to dry after being applied to a surface, which isn’t too bad if you are looking to do some blending!
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Criteria 6: Functionality and Application
After those initial tests of the paint markers, I decided to pull out my Arteza acrylic pad and dive into artist mode and sketch and paint to test for functionality and application.
I first sketched on the acrylic pad paper with a regular sketch pencil, and then proceeded to add my pops of color using my paint markers. In an instant, I was able to see my creations simply jumping to life!
Ha-cha-cha! I was pretty impressed! Compared to using acrylic paint, paint markers offer quite a number of conveniences – you don’t need a palette, water, or brushes. You simply use the markers and cap them once you are finished with that color. Super simple for clean up!
Each of the marker colors I applied glided effortlessly onto the acrylic pad surface at full, un-adulterated pigmentation. Since I was doing a “pop-art” stylized painting, I decided to first add blocks of color and then add crisp black lines for the outlines.
This worked out in my favor for the most part. Plus, since these markers are oil based, this can be easily combined with acrylic paint that will not cause any unintended color mixing or bleeding. This was also a HUGE plus!
Now, there are instances where I saw some snags in the coloring process.
1. Color Bleeding
A big one being when I added an additional layer of color atop a different color. This mostly happened with the color black, where I would add a color on top of the black, and the layers seemed to mix and bleed into each other.
This was a bit of an annoyance, especially since I waited for each layer to dry so I could apply a new one on top. The colors that seemed to bleed and have this effect mostly were the dark colors. So as a method going forward, it is best to first lay down your light colors first, and then add in your darker colors last. Saves you lots of headaches in the long run.
2. Uneveness
I also experienced uneven application spots in places where I wanted uniform blocks of color, mostly with the hair area.
This of course is based on my technique and less on the actual quality of the paint markers themselves, so I would make a note to evenly and methodically add in your color blocks for optimal coverage.
3. Color Mixing Limitations
Considering the world of markers, this one was pretty obvious. I wanted to create a skin tone color for my subject’s face, however, I was limited with the paint marker selection I had, and mixing with them would present a challenge, requiring me to pump out the pigments onto a palette and mix with a brush to get my desired color and then apply the color with a brush.
With all that, I decided to just grab some acrylic paint and make the color myself. It was just an easier option for me. So be sure to keep this in mind!
I totally give mixability, blendability, and drying time a 5 out of 5!
Are These Arteza Paint Markers Really Worth it?
There was a lot floating around in my head as I did my test. I had lots of surprises and a few let-down moments with Arteza’s paint markers. So let’s recap what I discovered in my testing.
The Good Qualities of Arteza Paint Markers
- Paint pigments are deep and highly pigmented
- Amount of Color availability is great
- Organization kit is GREAT
- Paint tube sizes are comparable to other paint markers.
- Easy to use and draw with.
The Not-so-Great Qualities of Arteza Paint Markers
- Markers labels leave much to be desired. Not very descriptive
- Lots of colors to choose from – can be a bit overwhelming for someone just starting out.
Who are these Paint Markers are good for?
-If you are any of the following, Arteza paint markers are the best choice for you:
- A beginner who doesn’t want to worry about wasting money with paint while practicing
- A professional artist looking to add some pizazz or expand their work
- Looking to get a whole variety of paints for a beginner price
Read More: Acrylic Art Supplies All Beginners Should Have
All in all, these paint markers actually do have quite a bit to offer to many artists on varying levels of experience. Whether you are a first timer or a professional artist looking to mix up your mediums, you can definitely find some value with these paint markers on a decent budget.
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So, there we have it. That is my honest-to-God review of Arteza paint markers. I enjoyed the whole experimentation process, and I will definitely consider them for other art supplies!
What are you thoughts about my review? Have you tried these paint markers before? Comment below and let me know!
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