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I've used brush tip pens/markers before. They were 'all the rage' when I was in elementary school. The frustrations of those tips squishing, splitting & getting 'fat' were huge! They weren't 'cheapies', but they weren't top notch, either. I HATED letting anyone borrow them, because they'd inevitably come back with the tips worse than before.... (yes, I am a perfectionist! How I turned into an artist, I have no idea! lol) I gave up on brush pens in middle school, and didn't buy them when I got into my colorist mode in the last couple years, either. BUT I got a cheap set a few months ago...and discovered they were even worse than I remembered! SO, when I read reviews of various high-end brush pens/markers & dual tip brush pens, I was a little skeptical. I didn't want to pay over $3 or $4 a pen when I didn't know what I was getting. Then I came across one review from someone who usually bought extreme high-end brush pens, but decided to try Tombow's Dual Brush Pen Sets. WOW! That reviewer was impressed with the quality/price ratio, the construction, flexibility & durability of the brush tip, and liked the fine tip end as well. So I decided to order a set-the one lowest priced. Not only do I LOVE the 'Jewel' colors (and each pen is marked with an identifying number!)-they seem to let light shine from underneath them, while still being only partly translucent, I also love the EASE of use-it really does work like a brush in your hand. If you have any experience with watercolor painting (with GOOD brushes, not just cheapo ones-it does make a difference) these brush pens are just the thing!! It's very nice to have black and a blender pen as part of the set, even if that does decrease the variety of colors slightly. I thought one blender would last a very long time-but once I started experimenting with blending colors, trying various techniques, I realized that eventually I'd probably invest in a box of just blenders. I plan to continue using Tombow's dual tip brush pens, and buy the various sets. With current prices, it seems a better buy to look for sets on sale (less than $2 per pen) rather than buying the entire set of 96 colors for about $170 (latest price here on amazon when I wrote this). Of course, the stand for these is part of that all-inclusive set, whereas it runs $15+ by itself. Amazon and TCP Global Corp seem to have the best prices, consistently, and of course amazon has free shipping. TCP Global Corp is an excellent, reputable (in my opinion) seller (I got these from TCP-GC) and offers free shipping on many items which are also available through amazon. Their prices are also in line with amazon's, sometimes a bit lower or higher. Not all of their stuff comes with free shipping, so read carefully! Oh, and the fine tip marker-I almost forgot to mention it! The marker end seemed thick and 'rough' at first, tearing paper and soaking through. Turns out I wasn't holding it at the right angles for best use. I discovered (there aren't any directions for this) that a fine line is achieved when holding the tip exactly vertical. Slanting achieves a slightly thicker line. The sides of the tip are angled before straightening again, so there's a flat tip, angled sides, then straight into the pen housing. Quick shading or filling can be done with the slanted sides, & writing is clear with either tip or sides. Outlining an area works best with tip. They're not 'fine' in the sense of Triplus fineliners or Stabilo 88, etc., or even like Sharpie or BIC fine or ultra-fine markers. I'd actually call them 'medium' line. But there's an interesting effect-if you press firmly and color, draw or write quickly, they produce good lines, no 'feathering' and no thick 'puddles' where you might let the pen rest too long in one spot. BUT if you try to color 'gently' by barely touching the fine tip to the paper, you get MORE pigment/ink than when pressing firmly! That seems counter-intuitive to me, but once I figured it out, I found the fine tip to be much more useful. If you don't want to take the time or have the skill-level to use the brush tip to outline an area with a consistent, even line, the fine tip will do it-just press firmly. If you don't, the lighter pressure and greater soaking of ink into the paper will 'tear' the paper or strip off 'fuzzies' or roll-ups off the top layer. I haven't tried these on watercolor paper yet, mostly I've used them on high-end coloring books & copy paper where I wanted to practice a design before coloring in my book. MOST of the colors in the Jewel set don't bleed through the paper, unless you apply too many layers of ink. The darker colors do show through more, of course. Also, if you get too enthusiastic with the blender, using lots of layers of color-vs. one or two layers plus side-by-side colors and a layer of blender, you'll ruin your paper & your design. Use the least amount of color possible when you plan to blend. Then use multiple layers of blender to spread the color, blend it, etc. If you only want to blend in order to get an in-between color, don't use the blender, just use the two colors (lighter first, then darker color). This usually works well. These dry fairly quickly, so putting blender on the paper first, then color, doesn't work as well as I'd hoped. It's dry before the color goes on, so you don't get a wet 'wash' as you can in watercolor painting. One plus is that you get thicker, richer color by applying one or two layers than with watercolors. I usually have to layer four or five times to get that 'deep' translucent color effect with traditional watercolor paints. The only other way I've gotten rich color in one layer is to use 'fresh' watercolor paint from a tube, before it dries, though it wastes a lot of paint. These brush pens are my new favorites and I absolutely LOVE the length and style of the round brush tip (probably a medium round size brush would compare). If in doubt about dual tip or brush markers, try these! They're high quality without breaking the bank, and will work well for a long time. They are made in Japan, imported to the US.
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i love these dual tip markers. They come in brilliant colors and i love the blending effect. I've bought other brand of dual tip markers but so far these are the ones I like best!
Best Deals for Tombow Dual Brush Pen Set, 10-Pack, Jewel Colors (56158)
Excellent variety of colors, very strong and pure. Makes a great addition to journaling if you want something easy to carry.
Honest reviews on Tombow Dual Brush Pen Set, 10-Pack, Jewel Colors (56158)
Too expensive for a younger kid or one who does not take care of her stuff. But if your child is responsible, these are great. The color is so much better than ordinary kids markers. Not sure if they are resistent to fading or not.
