My Kingdom for a Marker!

If you’re a caricature artist, finding a good marker to draw your caricatures can be a frustration thing. Even more frustrating than being asked, “Are you any good?” or “Will you draw me pretty?” 

First, it was the Eberhard Faber Design art markers with the pointed nibs. These were a joy to use, despite the toxic lung-searing fumes. Who cared? They had great tapered lines.

But, then they were discontinued much to the chagrin of artists everywhere. 

Next in line was the Dixon Markette ink marker.  I actually liked these better than the Design markers. They lasted a long time and the nib created smooth, flowing lines. They were made in Mexico and were smuggled across the border along with the families of the workers who made them. Not really. Seriously, they were awesome, but then they changed the tip from a sharp flexible nib to a blunted one. What were they thinking? Epic Fail.

So, we wandered across the desert looking for a decent art marker because apparently the U.S. has not developed the technology yet to reproduce the old Markette marker.  Now we have the Chartpak fine tip ad marker.  This marker works fairly well to create those nice tapered lines. The downside is that you have to put more pressure to make those thick lines that were so effortlessly done with the Markette. When you’re drawing caricatures for several hours, this can put some strain on your hand and wrist.

Another issue with the Chartpak is that sometimes when you use a new marker, the marker will bleed out too fast. What I mean is that the marker will bleed a lot at first and once you have it working the way you want, it will begin drying up soon afterwards.  I mean, it will drop the ball faster than a M. Night Shyamalan film.

Okay, maybe it’s not that bad, but you get the point.

There are several other markers that can be used for drawing caricatures like the Copic brush tip, Prismacolor, and Tria markers. For me, personally, I’m not too fond of the brush tips on some markers because I’m unable to have as much control over the lines as well as I would like.

Crayola markers are actually able to produce some fantastic lines, but unfortunately, they are not waterproof and will smear when wet. Incredibly, a kid’s marker is able to create lines better than some professional markers. Double face-palm.

The search goes on to find the “perfect” art markers for caricatures. It begs the question:  Are there any marker manufacturers willing to take up the challenge of upstaging  the old Markettes?