Sketchmarker Club BrushPro Marker Review and Sketchmarker Liners
Sketchmarker Club BrushPro Marker Review and Sketchmarker Liners.
In this review we take a look at the Sketchmarker Club Alcohol Markers, the Sketchmarker Liners and the Sketchmarker Sketchbook; but before getting into all of this I would like to highlight one very important aspect surrounding the company behind the Sketchmarkers.
As I am sure you are all aware there is a war raging in Europe right now, Russia has invaded Ukraine. Sketchmarker Club and all the amazing people who work for the company are located in Ukraine and during all of the communications I have had with the CEO and other reps of the company, have been taking place while these brave men and women are fleeing for their lives, trying to survive under such horrific conditions whilst running a company and supplying all the needs of their users and those of us tasked with reviewing their products.
I was aware of the Sketchmarker brand about a year and a half ago or two years, there about’s; ever since then I have been desperate to get my hands on a set to test and review. However, despite the company being well established and providing top quality products, their products were hard to get hold of here in the UK and to the best of my knowledge the US.
About two months ago or more, I received an email from Sketchmarker asking if I would like to test and review their markers, of course I jumped at the chance and was so excited at the prospect of finally getting hold of the Sketchmarkers. I didn’t know that much about the company at the time, but thought they were Russian, however, it was right about the time I agreed to review the Sketchmarkers, that Russia started to invade Ukraine and it was at this time I learnt that Sketchmarker Club was Ukrainine.
During all of the communications between myself and representatives of Sketchmarker, I have heard first hand the terrible ordeal that these people are going through. Fleeing for their lives, moving between friends houses in order to keep safe. As a soldier I know only too well the hell these people are going through, but to run a company at the same time and try to make sure their customers needs are seen to first and foremost has developed a respect in me toward the people of Skethmarker like nothing Ive ever known.
I am not interested in the politics of this war or any other war, because as I have learnt over the many years of conflict myself, the politicians who enter in and out of wars like they are playing a game of chess, are not taking part in war themselves nor are they sending their children to war either. AS has always been the case in war, it is the people of nations, the hard working everyday people that go to war, die, return without limbs and mental scars that can never be healed, while those who do the sending, eat dinner with their families in comfort every night. At the end of this post I have added a link, where you can make a donation to the people of Ukraine if you would like to do so. The people from Sketchmarker have verified this link and so have I to make sure that any money raised goes to the families of Ukraine.
Sketchmarker Markers Characteristics.
We will get into the huge number of colors available from Sketchmarker later into the review, but for now we will look at the three markers in their range. The first marker is of course the Sketchmarker, as you can see from the images, this is a round barrelled marker, light grey in color.
Along one side of the barrel is printed “Sketchmarker” in clear dark blue print, beside this is printed in slightly smaller print “Alcohol-Based Marker”. On either end of the barrel is printed a small icon depicting the nib type, in the case of the Sketchmarker they are Chisel Nib and Bullet Nib.
Where the icon for the “Bullet Nib” is printed, there is a dark grey band separating the barrel and the lid connection, this too is a quick method of indicating the type of nib you want when both lids are housed. Both lids have small lips petruding from them in order to prevent the marker from rolling of your work station and falling onto the ground.
On the very end of both lids, there is a color coded cap to the lids, this is to help with quick color selection, however, as well as this, the very ends of both lids have the color code printed and the color name. Finally, on the opposite side of the barrel, there is a foil sticker or decal which displays the barcode but it also shows the color name, as well as the color number and color family initials.
Next up is the Sketchmarker BrushPro and this marker sports all the exact same features as the Sketchmarker, only difference with this marker is the jet black barrel and of course the Brush nib. The BrushPro Sketchmarker sports both the broad chisel nib and the excellent quality brush nib.
Although the overall aesthetics of the Sketchmarker and Sketchmarker Brush Pro or identical other than barrel color, the performance of both markers are very different. Of course both markers carry the chisel nibs but the Brush nib of the Brush Pro provides so many amazing variations and the bullet nib of the Sketchmarker allows for the artist to achieve fine detail.
The third marker that Sketchmarker have to offer is their Aqua marker, I have not yet had the pleasure of testing and reviewing this marker, but nevertheless, this provides a very different medium and effect when used and as a range, the collors on offer for the Aqua range is much smaller than the other two markers, but we will come to this when we discuss sets further into the review.
One of the many amazing things about the Sketchmarker’s is the phenomenal sets that are provided, I won’t be able to list them all in this review, however they are all genre based or color family based sets. The sets come in many different sizes but all of the sets sporting 36 markers or less come in their own wallet.
the wallets are made from a black waterproof canvas material, of which they all have a paper sleeve enveloping the wallet with an illustration and information printed on it. the Wallets open via a velcro strip and depending on the size of the set, will depend on how the set opens out or unfolds.
Every wallet has the company logo and website address printed in white on the flap as well as a small carry handle. On the rear of each wallet there is a zip allowing for the artist to place some pencils, eraser, small sketch pad depending on the set size and a few other bits you might bring with you on an outdoor marker session.
Inside the wallets, all of the markers are kept firmly in place with elasticated fabric bands. Each wallet also comes with a mix of swatch card, allowing the artist to immediately swatch the colors from their markers out, along with a few stickers or decals. Some of the wallets also come with a small inked drawing on marker paper, again allowing the artist to open their markers and get started immediately on a project.
Sketchmarker Liner Pens
Sketchmarker provide an excellent selection of fine liners to along with their markers, I was sent a packet of six fine liners, each delivering waterproof jet black pigment ink from high quality nibs. Sketcher have a wide range of fine liners of all colors and sections available, but if you are looking for good quality fine liners, the Sketchmarker Liners are right up there with the best.
In this set we have a 0.05mm nib, 0.1mm nib, 0.2mm nib, 0.3mm nib, 0.5mm nib and finally a 0.7mm nib. As the pigment is waterproof, after creating your line work, you can can come back over the line work with your markers, adding as many layers without smearing at all.
The Sketchmarker Liner pens are a slimline barrel, which feel really nice in the hand, well balanced and weighted, the barrels are bright white with jet black print along the barrel, helping to highlight the richness of the pigment from the liner.
Along one side of the barrel is printed “Sketchmarker” followed by “Liner” which is quite a mouthful to say as most artists refer to this type of pen as a Fine Liner as opposed to simply Liner. On the very end of the barrel is printed the nib size, white print in a rich Black circle, again making the nib size very clear to see.
On the opposite side of the barrel there is printed information pertaining to the Liner ingredient and behaviour. “Water-based Pigment Ink | Acid Free | Lightfast | Non-Bleeding | Waterproof | Close cap after use. The caps have a lapel clip which helps prevent the pen from rollin of your desk and the lid can be posted on the rear of the barrel when using the pen.
Sketchmarker Performance
A lot of people when they look at a marker or try a marker will think once you have used one marker, you have pretty much used them all, however, I personally don’t agree with that stance, however I can accept the option of those who do feel this way.
For the longest time, the Japanese COPIC markers have very much been the industry standard for the illustrator community, however, within the past few years, in my opinion, that has very much been changing and mostly to do with two factors, cost and color choice. The COPIC color choice used to be the most comprehensive and so many excellent budget markers are been getting closer and closer to the 358 colors in their palette, however, Sketchmarker have way exceeded that count with a whooping 448 colors total.
Starting with the Sketchmarker BrushPro, many brush markers that enter the market, do so with a cheap alternative to the Japanese COPIC and after a few weeks of blending and use, the ends start to fray. The Sketchmarker BrushPro have not frayed at all thus far with the tests I have put them through and the various papers I have used them on.
I have not swatched the Sketchmarkers simply because the sets I have are a long way off even half way to the full collection and so on this occasion I have completed a full marker piece and a sketch piece on a much smaller scale using the Sketchmarker Sketch and Line Book.
The artwork that I completed using the Sketchmarker BrushPro and Sketchmarker Liner’s of Wreck It Ralph character Vanellope Von Schweetz, was completed on Frisks Bristol Smooth paper, a really inexpensive paper but excellent for marker work.
The artwork of “Vanellope Von Schweetz” was completed using the Sketchmarker Liners as well and as you will be able to see in the speed drawing of the artwork, there was no bleeding of the line work from the liners where the marker went over them and I also used colored pencil on top of the marker which also worked beautifully.
I also completed a quick sketch using again the Skechmarker Liners and the Sketchmarker BrushPro Markers only this time I completed the sketch on the Sketchmarker Marker and Graphic Line Sketchbook. I have to say, this is without the very best sketchbook I have ever used that is designed for ink and markers. The thickness of the paper is perfect, there is virtually no ink seeping through onto the page below, but to make sure it doesn’t happen, Sketchmarker have you covered, there is a loose sheet of paper in the sketchbook for you to place under the page you are working on.
This is a hard backed sketchbook which is perfect and really helpful for sketching on the go, the paper is 180 g/m2, there are 96 pages or 48 sheets and the over all size of the book is 17cm x 17cm. They of course sell different types of sketchbooks which you should absolutely check out from the links provided or go directly to the Sketchmarker Club Website
For both the BrushPro and Sketchmarker, their ink flow is really fluid, regardless of the nib. Ordinarily I am not a huge fan of the chisel nib, but as you will see in the YouTube video review, the chisel nib coverage and lay down is super smooth.
The brush nib on the BrusPro also provides an all round seamless coverage as well as excellent line variation. If you have ever used the Winsor and Newton Brushmarkers, for me, their brush nibs are really too flexible, but with the Sketchmarker Brush nib is very similar, almost identical to the COPIC brush nib. I used both markers side by side and added various levels of pressure and found it almost impossible to tell the difference.
Winsor And Newton Brush Nib
I am not the best judge when it comes to marker odour, but when I held the Sketchmarker nibs close to my nose I could smell them, but when I was using them in their normal capacity I was unable to smell anything, certainly nothing over powering.
Sketchmarker Sets.
Unfortunately, given the unpredictability of what is happening in Ukraine at the minute, I do not have any UK or US prices for you, I suspect had this invasion of Ukraine from Russia not happened, Sketchmarker Club would have been free to roll out their products in the UK and US as planned. Hopefully, as soon as things get back to normal, and we all of course hope that is sooner rather than later, I will update this post with all the relevant links and prices.
In the mean time however, with regards to the Sketchmarker BrushPro Markers, there are 75 different sets, ranging from sets of 6, 12, 24 and 36, when you move up to the 48 sets, they come in boxes with a perspex type holder for the markers and the same is the case for the largest sets of 96. There is a total of four 96 sets
I mentioned earlier in the review that there is a total of 448 colors and this is the case for the Sketchmarker and Sketchmarker BrushPro, however, 48 of those colors are to be introduced toward the end of this year all being well beginning on next year, so as things stand at the time of writing this post, there are 400 colors.
For the Sketchmarker Markers, that is the one with the chisel and bullet nib, there are a total of 43 sets, again ranging from sets of 6 to 96. The Aqua markers have 11 different sets as they only come in a range of 72 colors. I say only as if that is a bad thing, but in comparison to the other two markers, it is understandable, also, given that the Aqua markers are watercolors essentially, so many variations of color can be mixed and created.
The Sketchmarkers can also be refilled and every color refill comes in a 20mil refill very similar to the old and much preferred COPIC refills. Sketchmarker also provide replacement nibs, brush nibs, chisel nibs and bullet nibs for the markers and as I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of different sets available in the Fine Liner pens.
Sketchmarker Conclusion
I would say the wait was well worth it, but I would be lying, after using the Sketchmarker products, I wish even more so now that I got hold of them years back when I first discovered them. I have to say I absolutely love not just the BrushPro Marker, but their sketch pad, fine liners, the fact they sell a refill for every color as well as brush nibs.
Although I don’t just yet have specific prices for the US and UK, judging from the prices on their website, they are not what you would consider a budget range of markers and to be fair, there is a good reason for that. Their pricing is quite comparable to Copic, although for the most part part, the Sketchmarkers are slightly cheaper, but not by much.
As I mentioned, as is the case with so many items in this day and age, they are difficult to get hold of, but even more so given they are a Ukrainian company and we all know the nightmare bestowed upon Ukranians at this current time and moment. the whole reason Sketchmarker reached out to me was because the UK and US are markets they are looking to break into, but nobody could have quite foreseen the current climate in Ukraine.
As and when things settle down, the company can regroup and begin to market their products and sell as they have been hoping to, I will of course amend this post with regards to pricing here in the UK, the US and in any other area around the world they have begin selling in.
If you would like to donate to the people in Ukraine you can follow this link, please do not feel obligated in anyway whatsoever to donate, this is a completely personal choice and anynomus choice as well. If you would like to watch my YouTube review of the Sketchmarker Club Markers follow the link, also if you would like to watch my speed drawing of Wreck It Ralph character you can follow this link and finally to view the artwork still images follow this link.
