Arrtx Dual Tipped Alcohol Markers
Arrtx Dual Tipped Alcohol Markers
As I am sure a lot of you already know, I love working with alcohol markers and colored pencil for detail, my first love is colored pencil, but every now and then I actually feel the need to get out my markers, splash as much color as I can and then refine with colored pencil, enter the Arrtx Dual Tipped Alcohol Markers on review.
I had seen a few people talking about the Arrtx Markers and so I contacted the company to get a bit more information on their selection etc and they were kind enough to send me two sets to review. As always guys, despite the fact the Arrtx Markers have been sent to me, you know I will always give you an honest review and to be honest, as I have explained before, in my experience, companies want honesty because if there are flaws that they are missing or can improve, they want to know so as to please their customers and continue making sales.
Although I am reviewing the Arrtx Alcohol markers, they do sell a range of other art supplies which I have placed links to if you are interested but as I have not reviewed them yet I can’t really comment one way or the other about them. However, hopefully this review of the Arrtx Dual Tipped Alcohol Markers will help you out if you are looking for a really inexpensive easy to use and well pigmented set of markers.
Arrtx Dual Tipped Alcohol Marker Characteristics
I Think the first thing that I need to discuss about the Arrtx Markers is the incredible packaging they come in. It would appear that more and more art supply companies are realising the importance of packaging. It used to be the case that pencils or markers would arrive in flimsy plastic trays or plastic wallets, those days are gone for the most part, however, some companies have gone a step further providing packaging that transforms into storage and aesthetically pleasing storage at that, a storage system that would look well on any artists desk.
As you open the top of the box, it presents a chamfered appearance which when the lid folds back on itself, it allows you to rest the markers at an upward angel presenting the markers to the artist for easy selection. There is also a decorative metal looking clasp on the packaging to help keep the box closed during transit.
Both the larger 80 set box of markers and the smaller 36 set of markers sport a vinyl leather type handle adding comfort and ease for when moving about with the markers, whether you are carrying them from room to room or longer distances.
The Arrtx marker sports a rounded triangular barrel, this is a tried and tested form for markers and pencils alike and with huge popularity due to the comfortable eroganamics of using such an object.
As I mentioned in the title the Arrtx Markers are dual tipped, like so many artist markers. One side of the marker has a chisel tip or broad tip as it is sometimes referred to and the other end of the marker sports a bullet nib or fine tip, I will explain more about the tips further into the review.
The Barrels themselves are a bright white with black text printed along the barrel. On either end of the barrel there are depictions of the nibs on their respective sides to help the user identify the nib they want to use. this can be an issue on markers were the artist can remove a cap expecting a particular nib only to get the alternative. It doesn’t sound like that much of a problem, but when you have a huge collection of markers and your are doing a large art piece, it can really become a tedious problem.
As well as the small icons depicting the marker nibs, the company name “Arrtx” is printed in bold black print, followed by a bar code which also says “Mad In china”. Finally toward the end of the opposite end of the barrel is printed “ALP Sketch Marker”.
Both caps on the markers indicate the actual color of the marker as well as a number printed on both end caps. I have to say I am not entirely sure what the numbers represent, there doesn’t appear to be a pattern with regards to color families or anything like that.
Arrtx Dual Tipped Markers Performance
Although the Arrtx Dual Tipped Markers sport a bullet nib and chisel nib, there are alcohol based markers with brush tips which a lot of people prefer, however, all markers have place in art and I personally use and love both type of markers, brush tip and bullet tip. There are limitations with both types of markers and I will discuss some of those limitations further into the review.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I was fortunate enough to have been sent these markers by Arrtx, I received the 80 Set with a range of colors and the 36 skin tone set. I completed some art work with the markers, which I was actually really happy with, the only thing I wish I had done, was purchase the 32 Grey set as they would have come in so handy for the artwork and you will see why when you see the image.
The bullet nib is quite firm and there is no give in the nib when using it, the ink flow from both the bullet nib and chisel nib is perfect. I mention ink flow from both nibs because occasionally markers will deliver ink better from one nib over the other and occasionally that has more to do with the way the markers are stored, but not always. However this is not the case with the Arrtx markers, both nibs provide excellent ink flow.
A lot of the colors layer amazingingly, what I mean by this is if you take one color, create a block of color, you can then add a layer on top which although using the same color, will actually provide a darker tone and you can do this a few times with each time creating a darker tone. The darker the color though the less likely you will achieve this effect.
With the bullet nibs you can create excellent detail, this type of nib is absolutely amazing for adult colouring books were you are going to encounter smaller surface areas to color. That is not to say that the bullet nib is only good for adult colouring book work as this is not the case. If you use the bullet nib to cover larger areas you can absolutely do that with the Arrtx bullet nib, but would need to do so using a circular motion to cover.
I also completed a blending test which you can see in the video review that I have added, however if you take a look at the images I have provided you can see the results. The only real critique I have of the Arrtx markers is the numbering system used of the end caps, as I mentioned, there may be a system but I was unable to locate it and what I mean by system is that the colors are in families by number or something similar.
In the blending test I have completed, the actual markers have blended really beautifully and to be honest, with the exception of a select few other markers, I don’t think I would have managed such seamless blends with colors from different families.
In the case of the Green blend, I used numbers 47, 56 and 53, with 47 the lightest, 56 the mid tone and 53 the darkest. As you can see from this number pattern, there is no real patter that I can see other wise the numbers would have been 47, 53 and the darkest would have been 56. But it is the results that really matter and I was really impressed with the results.
The same was true for the Blues, 63 was the lightest, 62 was the mid tone and 69 was the darkest, despite the numbers not quite there, the blending was really nice and this was down to the actual ink used, the ink flow and the quality of nibs used.
Finally I decided to test the skin tones blending which are traditionally are more difficult to crate a seamless blend with, at least in my experience, however with the Arrtx markers the Skin Tone blend was beautiful.
In the artwork I created I used both the bullet nib and chisel nib and to see this in action, you can check out my Speed Drawing. I have also provided a YouTube video review of the Arrtx
Arrtx Marker Sets Availability
I know I have spoke about the sets available throughout the review, nevertheless I always added a dedicated section primarily for ease of search.
Arrtx actually sell a wide range of really gorgeous looking art products and the overriding them with their products is external beauty. I know this is not a really important factor of your art supplies, but Arrtx have taken notice of what is going on within the art community and incorporated beauty into the packaging of the products.
The Alcohol markers however that Arrtx sell come in a 36 Skin Tone Set, 32 Grey Tone Set and an Arrtx 80 set of mixed colors. So that artists can get started immediately Arrtx also sell a three pack of their own brand Marker Sketch Paper Pads with each pad sporting 30 pages.
Unfortunately as of writing this review, you are unable to purchase individual Arrtx Markers or refill inks for the markers. However, and I know this is not the best answer to this issue, but, given the price point of the three sets mentioned, you will understand.
Arrtx Dual Tipped Alcohol Marker Prices
Here in the UK you can purchase all of the Arrtx on Amazon and I am incredibly impressed with the pricing of these markers. It is worth taking into consideration before we get into the pricing. The Arrtx markers are Chisel and Bullet tip which are always less expensive than Brush Tip markers.
UK Pricing
For the 80 set of Arrtx Markers here in the UK you will pay £42, that works out at 50 pence per marker. For the 36 Skin Tone set which actually has 34 colors and two Blenders, you will pay £36 and then for the 32 set of Grey Markers you will pay £32.
Arrtx have made life fairly simple for their customers in that they have set up Amazon stores for America, UK, Canada, Germany and Japan so I have provided links below that will take you directly to their Amazon stores for that respective country.
Arrtx Dual Tipped Alcohol Marker Conclusion
It is important to understand that when I am reviewing and talking about the Arrtx Markers, I am not in any way comparing them or holding them up against the industry standard Japanese Markers that we all know, to do so would be disingenuous simply because of pricing. In the pricing section of this review I mentioned that based on the price of the 80 set, each marker is approximately 50 pence as opposed to the Japans counterpart which in places can cost as little as £5 a marker or £8 per marker.
Pointing this out as the standard so to speak, I absolutely loved using the Arrtx markers and will be completing my collection by purchasing the 32 set of Greys. I was incredibly surprised with the artwork I completed using the Arrtx markers and yes I also added colored pencils but in the speed drawing I have included you can see that the bulk of the artwork was completed using the markers and finishing touches placed with the colored pencils.
As a set of stand a lone markers they are perfect, of course as is the case with every artist, it would be nice to have more colors but that is something I am sure may arrive int he future, currently in total we have 148 colors which is nothing to be sneezed at.
Because of the bullet nib and chisel nib combination, the Arrtx Markers are excellent for adult coloring book artists as the fine detail bullet nib provides the detail required. The ink flow from both nibs is perfect and the quality of the nibs used appeared excellent. I say appeared because I have only swatched the markers out, tested them, used them on one page of an adult coloring book and of course my own piece of art.
To get a better understanding of the Arrtx Markers you can check out my YouTube Video Review, my speed drawing or still images of the art work.
