36 Colors Journal Pens

Description

Shop Taotree at the desertcart Arts, Crafts & Sewing store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Save on everyday low prices. Review: Great Ink - Inexpensive Pens - These are good fine line pens, especially for the low price. I own just about every pen and marker possible and think these are decent fine nibbed marker-like pens. (You can see a couple of my reviews in my profile.) The ink is water-based "pigment" ink - but don't think it's safe to use in mixed media work where water and other wet layers will be added. (See photo.) With just a little bit of water, the colors smeared like crazy - and the water was added several hours after the doodling was done. Definitely NOT the pens you want to use if you want to work in layers. These would be fine for your top layer, but if you are going to add anything on top of them you better spray some fixative, or you will be one sad, frustrated hombre. Definitely good for adding details since the nib is only 0.38. The set includes 36 colors ranging from muted versions of oranges and greens to pastel blues to brighter reds and pinks, to six neon colors. HOWEVER...there is nothing on the pen barrel or cap to denote which ones are neon. Nope, you get to play the guessing game, which doesn't stop there. The color of the pen top is pretty close to the color of the ink, BUT a few of the colors can be difficult to differentiate since the pen tops are so close in color. (See photo.) Even though the tops may look similar, the ink colors are so not identical. It is in those cases the tops are not representational of the ink color at all. So you'll grab a pen thinking it's the one you just used (for example, purple since three of the purple caps look so similar) only to be totally surprised at the color that comes out. This can ruin a whole piece if you aren't really careful - super frustrating. The only other complaint I have is minor and may not bother you at all depending on your habits. When I remove a pen top, I tend to stick it on the back of the pen. Not only does it help me keep track of the lid, but I like the weight it adds to the top of the pen and the way the pen feels more balanced to me. I will have to get over that preference with these - most of the lids are so tight-fitting that it's way too difficult to stick the top on the back of the pen...then way too difficult to remove the lid. Much more hassle than it's worth. Is that a deal-breaker? Not to me, but you may feel differently, which is why I mentioned it. Look. These pens are less than $10. (I think I paid around $8.25.) That's a pretty fantastic deal for fine line pens that write smoothly and have consistent ink flow. Are they my favorite pens? No, but I have similar pens I paid twice as much for that don't work half as well. Would I repurchase these? Yes. Do I have a couple of suggestions for the manufacturer? Sure - but they aren't huge deals. I do want to come up with a way to label them better, so I know which color I am picking up in order to avoid any disappointing surprises. I do think you will be happy with these and should give them a chance. Review: These are Great! Juicy, blendible. - These are great waterbased Fineliners. The .38 mm tips are my favorite size for small detail work in coloring books and for doing Zentangles in Color. Also work great on top of acrylic paint pens (for mixed media). The colors are really juicy and flow smoothly across the page. These colors also layer/blend with each other. I love that they come packaged in color groups and that the case, while plastic, folds in half to give you a 5x5 or 6x6 square that easily fits in a purse or backpack. It seems pretty sturdy. It also has the colors and a swatch on each side, so it is easy to keep them organized when you put them away. Each pen also has its own niche, so they don't wiggle around and get out of order. The caps are not round so you can take out several colors and not have them roll all over the place. The pens are also thinner, which I found very comfortable. One pass of color is true to the cap color, but if you go over it again, you will get a tone or two darker. Beware that if you do that on cheap computer paper (which my swatch is on) it will not unexpectedly bleed through. So it is not a good idea to do that with cheap coloring book paper or lightweight computer paper stock. You will want to use a blotter sheet between the pages and not color on a book that has an image or writing on the next side. Again, this is with cheap weight laser printer paper. You will be fine with a light to medium cardstock which most adult coloring books (Colorit is one) use, and also most bullet journals are made with a thicker paper. They match really well with TaoTree' 32 Glitter gel pens. (see my review there). About 90% of the colors match the color on the cap and ends really really well. The executions are light yellow (which is more of a light gold brown yellow ochre Grape Purple and Light Purple, which lean more towards a brown). I think the Violet, Purple and Florescent Purple fill Purple needs, and the need for a yellow is filled by Cadmium Yellow and Florescent Yellow. One trick I learned is to get some .23x.5" laser jet lablels and swatch out gel pens on them (as they Never match their caps across every manufacturer). I am going to do this for the light yellow,Grape & Light Purple and stick the lable on the cap. I do this for all of my gel pens and some other marker and pencil manufacturers. I am very happy with this purchase and would recommend them to others. If the manufacturer made the exact same set with a .7 or.8 nib I would buy it as well (though I would hope they fix the 3 "off" colors it wouldn't be a deal breaker. In the swatch photo, the lighter half is one pass with the pen and the darker is two