Review of Art-n-Fly Artist Grade Markers

Art-n-Fly Professional Markers Product Review

24 Dual Tip Artist Grade Sketching Markers

I was eager to test these artist grade markers because I had only used inexpensive Bic and Sharpie alcohol markers up to now. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy these markers as much as I’d hoped I would, at least not for adult coloring pages. For starters, the tips are too fat for some of the finer details in most grown up coloring books.

The markers have a barrel tip on one end and a chisel tip on the other. The chisel tip is a bit firmer than the barrel tip and so if you hold it a certain way, you can actually get a finer line with the chisel end, but it can be hard to control. The colors also bleed a lot, even through heavy card stock.

Here’s a page I colored primarily with the Art-n-Fly set, along with some Tombow brush markers for the outer edge of the heart, and gel pens for accents. On the right is the back of the page to show how much they bled through my card stock paper. I realize all alcohol markers will bleed, but this is a the most bleed-though I have experienced with the markers I’ve used. Maybe it’s due to all the blending I was doing but I also had significant bleed through on the color test sheet I made.

: Colored with the Art-n-Fly Alcohol markers, with some accents using gel pens and Tombow markers. Line art from Cross My Heart Coloring Journal by Jenny Luan.

: [Back of the page] Colored with the Art-n-Fly Alcohol markers, with some accents using gel pens and Tombow markers. Line art from Cross My Heart Coloring Journal by Jenny Luan.

The caps are shaped the same for both sides of the markers, but the side of the pen barrel is marked to identify the tip for each end. I think I would have preferred a different cap style to indicate the tip at a quick glance.

Dual Tip of the Art-n-Fly Alcohol Sketch Markers (Photo © Amazon)

A blender marker is included in the 24 piece set. Never having used a blender marker before, I would have liked some instruction for using it. I experimented some and got okay blends, but it tended to make my color splotchy when I used it. Art-n-Fly tells me they are working on some video tutorials so I will be on the lookout for those.

Color Chart of the Art-n-Fly 24 Dual Tip Alcohol Sketch Markers

I also felt that the color selection is on the boring side. I personally prefer bright and pastel colors, and this set has to many neutrals for my taste. When you take out the blender, neutrals, and grays, there are really only 12-13 colors in this set. There are 4 grays and 6 neutrals which would be good if you do a lot of skin tones. Colors are not named, but they are number coded on the caps.

Gallery of Art-n-Fly Alcohol Markers

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The Art-n-Fly 24 Piece Dual Tip Alcohol Markers Set includes warm colors, cool colors, neutrals, skin tones, and a colorless blender. (Photo © Amazon)

Taking the cost of these markers into account, I think I will stick to the less expensive Sharpies and Bic which I can get in ultra fine points. The marker’s aren’t bad… they just aren’t the right choice for me and the type of coloring I do.

Art-n-Fly 24 Dual Tip Alcohol Sketch Markers

Art-n-Fly 24 Dual Tip Artist Grade Alcohol Sketch Markers (Photo © Amazon)

Pros:

Dual tips – chisel and bullet
Tip type is marked on the side of the barrel
Hexagon shape won’t roll away
Zippered carry case included

Cons:

Lots of neutrals (could be a pro, depending on your use)
Heavy bleed through
Tips are too fat for small details
Tip hardness is inconsistent

Check out Art-n-Fly’s website for some demos of amazing sketch art done with these markers. If you’re planning to use them more for illustration than coloring and fine detail work, they may very well rival the much more expensive and high-end artist quality markers like Copic, Prismacolor, and Spectrum Noir.

(I received a discount in exchange for an honest review.)

Related → Marker Types for Adult Coloring