Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers
Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers
IMPORTANT
Just as I was about to upload and publish my review on the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers, I discovered that Winsor And Newton have stopped production on the markers and have removed them from their online store. I had already edited my YouTube review and so couldn’t do much about adding this information to the video which is why I have added it to the very start of this review, allowing you to decide whether or not it is worth your while continuing on with the review.
I have wanted to get my hands on the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers for such a long time now, but in order to create what I hope to be a decent review, I knew that I needed to purchase at least the 36 Set, which is the largest set Winsor And Newton sell of the markers. However the main problem was the cost, the 36 set of Pigment Markers was always used to be incredibly expensive, making the review process a little bit slow.
However, over recent months I had noticed that the cost for the 36 set had been reduced quite dramatically and so I had to take advantage and purchase a set to review. One of the most desirable aspects of the Winsor and Newton Pigment Markers is the lightfast ratings attributed to them, however we will talk about this a little further into the review.
Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers Characteristics
I have to say, of all the markers I have seen and used, the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers are by far the most attractive looking and feel the best in the hand. The brilliant white barrel has a unique shape that is incredibly comfortable in the hand when using them. Their aerodynamic shape allows the markers to sit well in the hand during use.
Both caps are chamfered with one being slightly thinner than the other, but in terms of identifying which nib is under which cap, there is not very much in the way of clear identification. One of the end caps has an identifying number and color coded recognition, under this cap is the Chisel tip, a pretty standard and common nib to be present on markers.
The opposite cap is of a more triangular shape, it is very subtle but the round barrel merges every so subtly into the triangular shape. This cap has no identifying marks or numbers on it, however, under the cap lays in wait a small but detailed bullet nib, or perhaps more appropriately named a fine nib.
Along one side of the barrel is the iconic Winsor And Newton Logo, under which is printed “Pigment Marker”, next to this is the pigment identifier which is a dotted band all the way round the barrel. This is incredibly helpful as you can see the pigment you are looking for no matter how the barrel lays.
After the pigment identifier, the pigment name is printed in three different languages, English, French and Spanish; again a really nice touch making the understanding of the pigment widely available to a large group of artists.
On the opposite side of the barrel is important information regarding lightfastness and the ASTM D 4236, the ASTM standard refers to safety standards required to be conducted on all art supplies. Every marker is guaranteed by Winsor And Newton for 100 plus years of lightfastness, there are no stars or marks on the markers as you might expect to see on pencils etc.
Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers Sets Available
There are a total of 84 colors in the Winsor and Newton Pigment Markers, however, I think the way Winsor and Newton have laid out the sets is a bit complicated and unnecessary, I personally would like to have seen a set comprising of the entire range but this is no available.
The largest set is the 36 Set which I have to review and whilst 36 is a good number to get started with. After this there are sets of 6, some of which are included in the 36 Set. For instance there is a 6 set of Skin Tones, of the 6 markers there are three in the 36 Set, Portrait Pink, The White Blender and Burnt Umber Light.
The Sets of 6 comprise of the Rich Tones, Blue Tones, Skin Tones, Cool Greys, and Vibrant Tones. Of the 84 pigments total, there is a wonderful selection of Greys, 5 Toner Greys, 5 Warm Greys and 5 Cool Greys. The Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers are also sold open stock, so if you did purchase the 36, you can avoid purchasing duplicates by boosting the set individually.
Winsor and Newton Pigment Markers Performance
I have really not bee looking forward to writing this section because for the first time in a long time I am lost for words, or at least the correct words to describe the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers. So lest start with my own thoughts, I personally feel calling them Markers is a little bit misleading and please don’t think I mean Winsor And Newton have done this on purpose, not at all. When I wanted to get hold of the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers, I assumed they would be just like other alcohol markers only with the ability to maintain their vibrancy and color over the period of 100 years.
However, as you will see, they are nothing like alcohol markers and so I think like Faber Castell have called their Lightfast pens, Pitt Pens, as a new artist with little knowledge, on the title alone you know they are very different to ordinary markers.
The surface you use for the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers is incredibly important, as paper always is, but even more so with the Pigment Markers. Ordinarily, with alcohol markers, you can use a surface such as Bristol Smooth, Mixed Media paper or something along the lines of Bristol Plate from Strathmore. With the Pigment Markers none of these surfaces are viable, using the markers on those papers cause the paper to lift and fray and so your paper choice is critical with the Pigment Markers. Winsor And Newton have their own paper which is designed to go hand in hand with the markers, however I was recommended to try a different paper by a good friend which turned out to be excellent advice.
For my demonstrations on the YouTube Video I used the Frisks Yupo Paper, this paper has an almost silky surface to it, but it allows the pigment to sit on top and dry longer, allowing the artist to move the pigment about a little bit better and in more time. You can use ordinary alcohol markers on this paper but there is a somewhat streaky appearance.
The style of art I prefer to create was in my opinion not well suite to the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers. My own personal presence in art is using alcohol markers and colored pencils combined. One of the many reasons I enjoy this mixed media format is because of the detail I can accomplish. Now it is important to note that this is just a style of art I personally love doing, I am not saying it is the only style of art, art is so wonderful because it is so subjective, made up of many individuals ideas and dreams. With the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers I was unable to use them in this capacity of art.
After using the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers, testing them and trying to create various demonstration types, it was becoming much clearer to me that the pigment markers applied themselves much better to a looser, much freer style of art, very similar I guess to that of watercolour artists.
I contacted Winsor And Newton to pin point what exactly was the contents of the Pigment Markers and all I was told was that they are a water based pigment. I was told that despite the Pigment Markers not being water soluble paint, they actually work incredibly well and interchangeably with the Winsor And Newton Professional Watercolour Markers. I must admit, whilst I of course agree that Winsor And Newton understand their own products much better than I, I am slightly perplexed about this statement given the importance of the paper choice for both markers and neither interchangeable considering this fact.
Due to my inapt ability to master the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers, I decided against a speed painting soul dedicated to the Pigment Markers, however, I did try to create some art and I added a clip of this art come to life on the actual YouTube review video, which you can of course watch.
Winsor And Newton Pricing
As I have mentioned right at the very beginning of this review, just as I was about to upload my YouTube Video review, I discovered that Winsor And Newton have ceased production of the Pigment Markers and will not be continuing with selling the markers on their own site.
To be absolutely honest I can see why this is come about, I think the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers are aimed toward a very niche group of artists and judging by the fact Winsor And Newton are stopping production of the markers, I am guessing this is quite a small group and financially unsustainable Winsor And Newton.
I felt it was incredibly important for me to make this information very clear to you, there is a double edged sword when it comes to making the decision as to whether or not you should buy the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers. The really good side of buying the Pigment Markers now is of course the price, lots of stores will be selling them off cheap, but of course the downside will be that at some point they will no longer be available. So I have decided against adding prices as I know this will change quite regularly and quite drastically as time moves on.
Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers Conclusion
As I have mentioned, from the first moment I learnt of the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers I wanted to get a set, test them, demonstrate them and review them and whilst I am quite late to the game with regards to actually reviewing them I have learnt quite a bit along the way.
First of all they are definitely not like many of the alcohol markers you may be personally used to, Alcohol markers work better on certain types of paper, however for the most part you can use them on any paper and get decent result. The Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers are not as forgiving, you can only use the paper I have demonstrated and whilst there are different brands of this paper, using the pigment markers on Bristol Board or watercolour paper of any grade will not deliver results of any kind.
It has been difficult to pin down exactly what the ink is inside the Pigment Markers, Winsor And Newton simply say it is water based pigment, but that doesn’t really describe much to me. Its not watercolor or Acrylic, its not water based ink either and when I conduct these reviews I try my level best to really home in on the facts of a product, however this has been difficult with the Pigment Markers.
I really loved the vibrancy of the pigments within the barrels but I am afraid I feel there is slightly too much restriction on the actual markers based on the Paper choice. I also believe that some of the issues mentioned in this conclusion could account for some of the reason Winsor And Newton have shelved them. Perhaps my own personal lack of artist experience has resulted in not issuing a glowing review.
Please understand that I am not suggesting the Winsor And Newton Pigment Markers are terrible, this just is not the case, they are simply a product that I personally was unable to demonstrate artistically or enjoy using on an artistic level, but this is absolutely not to say that there are not artists out there who could create beautiful art with them. There is one thing views and readers of The Art Gear Guide can be absolutely sure of getting and that is brutal honesty when reviewing a product. If you visit sites like Pinterest and Instagram you can see some amazing impressionistic, free flowing art using the pigment markers, which is how I know in the right hands with the right understanding, beautiful art can be created.
It is a shame that Winsor And Newton have decided do away with the markers, I think the actual design of the Markers is beautiful and even the packaging. I would love to see them adopt the pigment marker design and packaging for their Brush and ProMarker line and perhaps adopt the refill system so many other marker companies have.
Thank you so much for checking out this review of the Winsor and Newton Pigment Markers, I really debated whether or not to release the review as soon as I discovered the company stopping production, however, I had almost finished with the review and I thought it was still important to have it catalogued. To see the art work I tried to create with the markers check out the actual YouTube Review by following the link.
