If you’ve been following my Facebook page, you have seen a few posts on my first impressions of Winsor & Newton’s Watercolor Markers. (Currently referred to as Promarker Watercolour markers.) I’m going to be upfront and admit that the most experience that I’ve ever had with color markers has been when I was coloring with Crayolas [Amazon] around the age of 12. (They were great until they started to fade. Then they broke my little heart. The color-changing markers were especially bad.) I do own both a Copic Sketch [Amazon] and a Prismacolor Premier markers [Amazon]. But they’re just to play with. I’ve mainly used markers for inking. So my experience is that of a novice when it comes to professional or artist-level color markers. Let’s start with a story that I told on Facebook…
Gather ‘Round Children… It’s “Story-time!”
I’ve known about Winsor and Newton’s watercolor markers for a few months now. I’m also a long-time W&S fanboy and love working in watercolor. So I had been lusting over these watercolor markers for quite a while. A few weeks ago (as of writing), I found a 50% off coupon on Michael’s website. My original intention was to use it for a tube of Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache, since I’ve been on a gouache kick as of late.
My habit at any art and/or craft store is to do a lot of browsing. I like to look for anything different, unusual, or new. I had about crapped my pants when I saw Winsor and Newton’s watercolor markers hanging on pegs in front of me. (If I hadn’t looked up, I wouldn’t have noticed them. :P) Of course, I grabbed one of the 6-packs. Just before Christmas (2014) I purchased the Bright 6-pack at 40% off. ($20 USD. Still not bad in 2014.)
Focus On The Ends
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Much like Copic and Prismacolor markers, Winsor & Newton watercolor markers sport both a soft brush and fine/bullet tip. The brush end is nice and soft, but a little stiffer than my Copic Sketch marker [Amazon]. The brush tip gushes with color without bleeding excessively. The fine tip is actually as big as the one on a Prismacolor Premier marker [Amazon]. If you’re used to drawing fine detail, you may resort to using the brush tip like I do.
The color that these watercolor markers lay out are really concentrated and intense. From what I’ve read online, these markers are pigment-based. So far none of the markers I’ve used has ever laid any grainy or streaky marks. I have noticed that with a few of the colors, the fine tip seems to lay in a noticeably darker variation of the color. I’m going to assume that this is due to the markers being a pigment, not a dye-based marker. The more concentrated the pigment of any color, the darker.
Look & Feel
Winsor & Newton watercolor markers feel much like a Prismacolor Premier art marker (which I’ve just received). For big hands, they feel pretty comfortable. When playing around with my first 6-pack, The fine tip end would pop off when pulling off the cap. I’m assuming this occurred because I was being too rough. The fine-tip cap has a bullet shape and a noticeable notch to help pull the cap off. Design-wise it makes some sense, but I’d rather have a cap much like what the brush end sports. I recommend using a twisting motion when pulling off the fine-tip cap. The cap for the brush tip comes off pretty easily. So far I’ve never had any problems taking that side off.
My Blending Issues
Aside from being an admitted glazer, I’m also a habitual blender. I like blending just about anything, and if I can’t blend it, I’ll start suffering from immediate withdrawals. I just about threw a fit when first I tried these on my cheap sketchbook paper. Unfortunately, my cheap sketchbook does pretty well with most mediums. I’ll even play with traditional watercolors and acrylic paints.
The color is so concentrated in these markers, that they stain the thinner paper inside my sketchbook. Yeah, I could pull some color off the markings, but creating a smooth transition with a water-loaded brush was impossible. I was rather confounded by this predicament.
Thankfully I was able to dig up a pad of thicker watercolor paper from Strathmore [Amazon] (300 Series, 140 lbs, heavyweight, and cold press). I had much more success with the heavyweight watercolor paper. It takes a little more effort to smoothly blend a mark that has had some time to dry than a mark that has just been laid down. I recommend purchasing a good water brush or quality synthetic round brush, like a Winsor & Newton University Series 233. You can of course use a sable brush, but you’ll likely wear it out while using these watercolor markers. I have tried dipping the brush tip into water to dilute the color and make my smooth gradations. That works with a few colors.
The colors blend easily without becoming muddy. These markers also work well with other watercolor mediums. I tested them with markers, gouache, and professional-grade Winsor & Newton watercolor tube paint. The colors can also be layered, wet upon dry without any issues.
During my testing, I developed the habit of laying in a small bit of color and dragging away at it with a brush soaked with water.
Using Watercolor Markers for Flat Areas
Laying in color for large areas with the brush tip is pretty easy. But you will experience some banding or streaking after one layer. What I learned from my Copic marker is that you need to overlap your strokes (to about the middle of the stroke’s width), and they will visually blend. A second layer will provide a somewhat smoother result. I recommend applying a light dose of water via a round brush to smooth things out. The fine tip does a better job when laying in a flat color. It makes me wonder if Winsor & Newton ever released a set of watercolor markers with a chisel or fat tip if it’d produce as good a result.
My Verdict
I’m a big fan of Winsor & Newton’s watercolor markers. But I only have two big gripes. Out of the 36 colors, there are just a few “pale” hues. (I don’t believe “pale” means much in this context.) Even with the pale hues, the colors are so concentrated it would be pretty difficult to create anything strictly using these markers without it looking over-saturated. My Pale Rose marker is honestly anything but pale. I guess it’s lighter than a Permanent Rose, but it’s still really saturated. I would prefer colors that lay on much lighter hues, and at different levels of saturation or intensity, similar to what Prismacolor offers. If you want any variation in your colors, it’s an absolute necessity to own a round brush to blend with. But maybe that was the intent. Maybe the marketing department at Winsor & Newton assumes that people who purchase these watercolor brushes are likely to be using traditional watercolors in the first place.
Yet I can see these watercolor markers marketed as a gateway for folks with little or no experience in watercolor art. They’re competitively priced and you can either purchase a 3-pack from your local art store or buy one or two online from an online store’s open stock. As mentioned earlier, you easily use them with other watercolor mediums. Or hell, even with acrylics. I’ll have to try that.
My other big gripe is that you need to store these markers horizontally. I’ve never stored anything horizontally. (Not on purpose anyway.) I’m going to safely assume that this issue is due to gravity and the need to prevent pigment from gathering on one end of the marker. Maybe a dye-based formula might make life easier for lazy people like myself.
Otherwise, I like this different take on markers and watercolor. If you don’t like how messy traditional watercolors can get, Winsor & Newton watercolor markers are extremely convenient and almost mess-free. As long as you use good, heavy-weight watercolor paper, you’ll get the maximum benefit from these markers. (Winsor & Newton also makes spiral-bound pads specially designed for their markers.) Blending after application is pretty easy.
No these aren’t the only watercolor markers on the market, but you won’t have to pray over their quality. Yes, you should buy them. If you already use Prismacolor or Copic markers, they’ll complement them nicely. Winsor & Newton watercolor markers can be purchased at any good art store or online retailer such as MisterArt.com. They can also be purchased at Amazon [Amazon]. And what’s great about purchasing them at Amazon? You get them at a discounted price, plus you help to directly support this website using my link.
(Updated Feb 11, 2024.)
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