Markers Over Grayscale
Markers are hands down my favorite media when coloring over grayscale! Their transparent qualities allow the shading of the grayscale image to shine through while still being bright and vivid in appearance. You can find markers in huge color varieties and different price points. Markers are also much easier on your hand and shoulder than colored pencils.
There are several techniques you can use when coloring with markers over grayscale. I mainly recommend that you color the same color over each area allowing the grayscale coloring underneath to create all the variations in value. Choose mainly light and medium colors to avoid covering up all your highlights and making the image too dark. Markers are very difficult to blend unless you have a very large set with colors specifically designed to blend. But if you do happen to have one of those sets, you can certainly try a grayscale coloring technique where you choose light, medium and dark values to blend together creating a final image with more depth and color variety. You can also layer colored pencils on top of marker which creates amazing dimension very easily. See my techniques or tutorials section for more information.
I tested three popular brands of markers and performed a complete coloring of each brand over my grayscale image, Riley. You can see my results below. I used the exact same skin color on the 3 leftmost images (Spectrum Noir FS6). The image on the very right should show you why. The less expensive sets are lacking in good skin colors and are very streaky when applied in large areas. If you use a less expensive set of markers, I recommend getting a nicer flesh tone set like Spectrum Noir Pale Hues. For just a small investment, it will make a world of a difference!
I have gone into more detail below on each brand showing pros and cons, my personal experiences while using them and notes about how they perform specifically over grayscale.
**Please note: I found that markers even bled through and wrinkled my thick cardstock at times during my testing. When coloring inside a coloring book, use multiple sheets of paper or cardstock in between the images to prevent any bleed through to other images. Also, keep in mind that your paper will wrinkle when coloring inside a book, unless it is an edition with very thick paper.
**Please also note: My reviews are solely based on coloring over grayscale. My experiences would probably be quite different when coloring a traditional black and white line art coloring page, so you might want to consult another review if you're looking for that specifically. Also, the "best" marker choice comes down mostly to personal preference. I found that I liked and didn't like all of these brands for different reasons. I encourage you to "try before you buy" when possible and/or buy single markers before ordering large sets to see which one is your favorite.
There are several techniques you can use when coloring with markers over grayscale. I mainly recommend that you color the same color over each area allowing the grayscale coloring underneath to create all the variations in value. Choose mainly light and medium colors to avoid covering up all your highlights and making the image too dark. Markers are very difficult to blend unless you have a very large set with colors specifically designed to blend. But if you do happen to have one of those sets, you can certainly try a grayscale coloring technique where you choose light, medium and dark values to blend together creating a final image with more depth and color variety. You can also layer colored pencils on top of marker which creates amazing dimension very easily. See my techniques or tutorials section for more information.
I tested three popular brands of markers and performed a complete coloring of each brand over my grayscale image, Riley. You can see my results below. I used the exact same skin color on the 3 leftmost images (Spectrum Noir FS6). The image on the very right should show you why. The less expensive sets are lacking in good skin colors and are very streaky when applied in large areas. If you use a less expensive set of markers, I recommend getting a nicer flesh tone set like Spectrum Noir Pale Hues. For just a small investment, it will make a world of a difference!
I have gone into more detail below on each brand showing pros and cons, my personal experiences while using them and notes about how they perform specifically over grayscale.
**Please note: I found that markers even bled through and wrinkled my thick cardstock at times during my testing. When coloring inside a coloring book, use multiple sheets of paper or cardstock in between the images to prevent any bleed through to other images. Also, keep in mind that your paper will wrinkle when coloring inside a book, unless it is an edition with very thick paper.
**Please also note: My reviews are solely based on coloring over grayscale. My experiences would probably be quite different when coloring a traditional black and white line art coloring page, so you might want to consult another review if you're looking for that specifically. Also, the "best" marker choice comes down mostly to personal preference. I found that I liked and didn't like all of these brands for different reasons. I encourage you to "try before you buy" when possible and/or buy single markers before ordering large sets to see which one is your favorite.
Spectrum Noir
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Pros
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Cons
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Spectrum Noir are double-ended alcohol based, blendable markers. They are refillable and have replacement nibs as well as a brush tip option. The standard nibs are a chisel tip and a bullet tip. They can be purchased in a huge variety of sets as well as open stock. 6 Marker Sets (Each set contains 6 markers designed with colors that work together well)
Nikki's Experiences: I cannot say enough wonderful things about these markers!! I enjoyed them from the first time that I used them and absolutely had to have the entire set. They are considered more of a crafter's marker than an artist's marker, and I have not thoroughly compared them to their more expensive cousins such as Copics. But honestly, I liked them so much, I didn't feel the need to search for anything else. I do want to say that I haven't been using them for very long, so I cannot speak for their longevity. I will try and update this review if I find that they are drying out quickly.
These are expensive markers, for sure. But if you're looking for decent refillable markers that are designed in sets specifically for blending, Spectrum Noir will be one of the most cost effective ones you can find. I got my initial set of 72 markers for around $110 and then decided to get all the 24 marker sets as well to complete the collection and those were around $120 thanks to a really good sale the company was having. If you're looking to buy these markers, I would shop around and look for sales. You could also start by collecting some of the 6 marker sets in colors that you use a lot. These sets are fairly reasonably priced (around $11 for a set of 6).
I will say though, that I bought all 12 of their 6 marker sets and found that the color selection within this series was lacking. It was very heavy on gray and brown colors and I felt that there wasn't enough color variety in the pinks, purples, blues, greens, yellows and reds. But that is why they designed the four 24 marker sets which add more variety within those color families. These glide across the surface of your paper with ease and seem to blend magically. I would watch them appear streaky when I first applied them, but as they dried the streaks would become less apparent and the strokes would all just sort of blend together. These did bleed through the backs of both my cardstock and my coloring book paper. But I didn't find that the bleeding spread outwards like other markers.
The markers themselves are a bit bulky in my opinion. Some people might like the width of the barrel, but I found them a bit too wide. They have a hexagonal shape which is nice so they don't go rolling off your table while you're working, but I couldn't decide if I enjoyed the feel of them in my hand. I found the marker caps very hard to remove. They're probably tight for a reason (so they don't dry out), but after coloring with them for awhile and doing my color chart, my hand definitely hurt from removing the caps. So if you suffer from arthritis or have other issues with your hands, that is something you should definitely consider before buying these. I've also had one faulty marker so far where the inside of the marker keeps popping out when I try to remove the cap.
Grayscale Coloring: Spectrum Noir markers are the gentlest on a grayscale image that I've tried. I found that I could go over areas multiple times without it pilling the paper or eating away any of the grayscale printing. If you're buying these specifically for grayscale coloring, you could probably skip a lot of the grey colors and save yourself some money. I don't find myself ever reaching for a gray, because well, the whole image is gray!
The transparent qualities of these markers are also perfect for coloring over grayscale. It allows all of the shadows underneath to shine through creating a lot of dimension with very little effort. I found that even though they were transparent, the colors were also bold and vivid with very rich pigment.
- Includes all twelve 6 marker sets
- Greens
- Yellows
- Purples
- Reds
- Blues
- Pinks
- Warm Grays
- Essentials
- Browns
- Cool Grays
- Turquoises
- Pale Hues
Nikki's Experiences: I cannot say enough wonderful things about these markers!! I enjoyed them from the first time that I used them and absolutely had to have the entire set. They are considered more of a crafter's marker than an artist's marker, and I have not thoroughly compared them to their more expensive cousins such as Copics. But honestly, I liked them so much, I didn't feel the need to search for anything else. I do want to say that I haven't been using them for very long, so I cannot speak for their longevity. I will try and update this review if I find that they are drying out quickly.
These are expensive markers, for sure. But if you're looking for decent refillable markers that are designed in sets specifically for blending, Spectrum Noir will be one of the most cost effective ones you can find. I got my initial set of 72 markers for around $110 and then decided to get all the 24 marker sets as well to complete the collection and those were around $120 thanks to a really good sale the company was having. If you're looking to buy these markers, I would shop around and look for sales. You could also start by collecting some of the 6 marker sets in colors that you use a lot. These sets are fairly reasonably priced (around $11 for a set of 6).
I will say though, that I bought all 12 of their 6 marker sets and found that the color selection within this series was lacking. It was very heavy on gray and brown colors and I felt that there wasn't enough color variety in the pinks, purples, blues, greens, yellows and reds. But that is why they designed the four 24 marker sets which add more variety within those color families. These glide across the surface of your paper with ease and seem to blend magically. I would watch them appear streaky when I first applied them, but as they dried the streaks would become less apparent and the strokes would all just sort of blend together. These did bleed through the backs of both my cardstock and my coloring book paper. But I didn't find that the bleeding spread outwards like other markers.
The markers themselves are a bit bulky in my opinion. Some people might like the width of the barrel, but I found them a bit too wide. They have a hexagonal shape which is nice so they don't go rolling off your table while you're working, but I couldn't decide if I enjoyed the feel of them in my hand. I found the marker caps very hard to remove. They're probably tight for a reason (so they don't dry out), but after coloring with them for awhile and doing my color chart, my hand definitely hurt from removing the caps. So if you suffer from arthritis or have other issues with your hands, that is something you should definitely consider before buying these. I've also had one faulty marker so far where the inside of the marker keeps popping out when I try to remove the cap.
Grayscale Coloring: Spectrum Noir markers are the gentlest on a grayscale image that I've tried. I found that I could go over areas multiple times without it pilling the paper or eating away any of the grayscale printing. If you're buying these specifically for grayscale coloring, you could probably skip a lot of the grey colors and save yourself some money. I don't find myself ever reaching for a gray, because well, the whole image is gray!
The transparent qualities of these markers are also perfect for coloring over grayscale. It allows all of the shadows underneath to shine through creating a lot of dimension with very little effort. I found that even though they were transparent, the colors were also bold and vivid with very rich pigment.
BIC Marking (also sold as Bic Mark-It)
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Pros
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Cons
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BIC Marking (also sold as BIC Mark-It) are permanent alcohol based markers. They are available in both fine and ultra fine points and come in a variety of different sets.
Nikki's Experiences: I saw the 36 count set of fine point BIC Marking markers while I was browsing the office supply section at a local store and I just couldn't resist! I had seen everyone sharing them in the adult coloring groups on Facebook and they seemed to be a huge favorite of marker lovers. So I really wanted to give them a try. Because of their low price, I would suggest just going for it and buying the complete set of 36. If you do a lot of fine detail work, go for the ultra fine points. If you want to use them over grayscale images such as mine, I would recommend the fine point tips for larger coverage. The same 36 colors are included in both the fine and ultra fine sets.
These seem to be sold as both BIC Marking and BIC Mark-Its, so don't let that confuse you! The pack I bought said Marking, but I see them more often online as Mark-It. I don't know if I got these during some weird transition of branding by BIC because while the markers all had really fun names on the package like "Tiki Hut Tan", "Rambunctious Red", and "Plumtastic Purple" only about half of my markers had actual names printed on them which I was kind of bummed about. It always makes it more difficult to keep organized when the markers don't have any names or numbers since the marker color can actually be a lot different than the color on the cap.
That aside, these are very enjoyable markers to use. I have never really been a fan of Sharpies (sorry Sharpie lovers!), because of the really strong odor. These, while they had somewhat of an odor, were not nearly as strong as Sharpies. The caps are easy to remove and the markers have comfortable rubber grips. I also really liked the case the markers came in. It unfolds so you can spread all your markers out in front of you and they all snap well into it for storage. The markers are bright, vivid and put out a lot of ink for good coverage. I found the tips to have a slight flexibility (they aren't nearly as rigid as Sharpies) which I enjoyed. I've also used some of the markers quite a bit and haven't had any dry up on me yet. These can't be purchased open stock which is something to consider if you use some colors a lot. You will be forced to buy a whole new set just for one marker.
They do bleed a lot and will also spread quite a bit, so you have to watch it spread as you color so you don't color outside of the lines. They are also streaky when used in large areas. So I would not recommend these very highly for skin or for backgrounds. But I didn't find them to be terribly streaky when used in medium to small size areas. There is not a good skin tone in this set, so I would recommend buying a decent skin tone marker set such as Spectrum Noir Pale Hues.
Grayscale Coloring: **A word of caution when using these over grayscale!! They can be abrasive to grayscale images depending on the paper and printing method used. The ink is very strong and I found that it can actually "eat" away at the printing on a grayscale image. I found there are work arounds by using a very light touch and letting the edge of the marker glide across the surface. Avoid scrubbing any area with the tip or going over an area too many times especially when it's still wet. But this definitely takes some practice and getting used to.
Despite my best efforts, I still experienced some issues while using these markers over grayscale, but it honestly didn't bother me too much. Overall, I found these markers fun to use and convenient to carry around. If you can look past these shortcomings and want a decent, inexpensive marker for grayscale coloring, I would recommend them to you. But if it is going to bother you too much having slight imperfections to the grayscale image underneath, I would suggest investing in a gentler marker such as the Spectrum Noir.
- Complete set of 36, Fine Point
- Complete set of 36, Ultra Fine Point
- Set of 24, Fine Point
- Set of 12, Ultra Fine Point
- Set of 8, Ultra Fine Point
- Set of 8 Metallics, Fine Point
Nikki's Experiences: I saw the 36 count set of fine point BIC Marking markers while I was browsing the office supply section at a local store and I just couldn't resist! I had seen everyone sharing them in the adult coloring groups on Facebook and they seemed to be a huge favorite of marker lovers. So I really wanted to give them a try. Because of their low price, I would suggest just going for it and buying the complete set of 36. If you do a lot of fine detail work, go for the ultra fine points. If you want to use them over grayscale images such as mine, I would recommend the fine point tips for larger coverage. The same 36 colors are included in both the fine and ultra fine sets.
These seem to be sold as both BIC Marking and BIC Mark-Its, so don't let that confuse you! The pack I bought said Marking, but I see them more often online as Mark-It. I don't know if I got these during some weird transition of branding by BIC because while the markers all had really fun names on the package like "Tiki Hut Tan", "Rambunctious Red", and "Plumtastic Purple" only about half of my markers had actual names printed on them which I was kind of bummed about. It always makes it more difficult to keep organized when the markers don't have any names or numbers since the marker color can actually be a lot different than the color on the cap.
That aside, these are very enjoyable markers to use. I have never really been a fan of Sharpies (sorry Sharpie lovers!), because of the really strong odor. These, while they had somewhat of an odor, were not nearly as strong as Sharpies. The caps are easy to remove and the markers have comfortable rubber grips. I also really liked the case the markers came in. It unfolds so you can spread all your markers out in front of you and they all snap well into it for storage. The markers are bright, vivid and put out a lot of ink for good coverage. I found the tips to have a slight flexibility (they aren't nearly as rigid as Sharpies) which I enjoyed. I've also used some of the markers quite a bit and haven't had any dry up on me yet. These can't be purchased open stock which is something to consider if you use some colors a lot. You will be forced to buy a whole new set just for one marker.
They do bleed a lot and will also spread quite a bit, so you have to watch it spread as you color so you don't color outside of the lines. They are also streaky when used in large areas. So I would not recommend these very highly for skin or for backgrounds. But I didn't find them to be terribly streaky when used in medium to small size areas. There is not a good skin tone in this set, so I would recommend buying a decent skin tone marker set such as Spectrum Noir Pale Hues.
Grayscale Coloring: **A word of caution when using these over grayscale!! They can be abrasive to grayscale images depending on the paper and printing method used. The ink is very strong and I found that it can actually "eat" away at the printing on a grayscale image. I found there are work arounds by using a very light touch and letting the edge of the marker glide across the surface. Avoid scrubbing any area with the tip or going over an area too many times especially when it's still wet. But this definitely takes some practice and getting used to.
Despite my best efforts, I still experienced some issues while using these markers over grayscale, but it honestly didn't bother me too much. Overall, I found these markers fun to use and convenient to carry around. If you can look past these shortcomings and want a decent, inexpensive marker for grayscale coloring, I would recommend them to you. But if it is going to bother you too much having slight imperfections to the grayscale image underneath, I would suggest investing in a gentler marker such as the Spectrum Noir.
Crayola Super Tips
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Pros
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Cons
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Crayola Super Tips are a water based marker with a tip that allows you to draw both thick and thin lines. The ink is bright and vivid, yet still easily washable. They have a thin, pencil type barrel which is different than the classic wider Crayola marker barrel. They are available in a couple different sets.
Nikki's Experiences: I had a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby, so when I saw 50 bright, beautiful colors, I simply couldn't walk out of the store without them. For only $6, I thought they were a fantastic buy and I was curious how a water based marker would perform over grayscale. They also come in a set of 20, but if you can find them on sale or use a coupon, I'd say 50 colors are worth $6! These come in a box with plastic trays that the markers lay in. I found them a bit cumbersome to use inside the box and if you use these regularly, you will probably want to find another way to store them.
The markers have no names or numbers on them, and I found the ink color to be very different than the cap color. So I decided to make a quick color chart. Of the 50 colors, two of my markers were completely dried up and one of them was leaking. Once I finished the chart, the colors are certainly bright and vivid! But I found a lot of the colors to be fairly similar.
I found the tip to be nice for coloring. The tip is probably a bit wider than a fine point BIC marker and it is very soft. You can also use the side of the marker for wider coverage. These are very streaky markers, so I would suggest them only for small to medium size areas and not for skin or background. The light skin flesh tones were on the orange side, so you might want to get a nicer set of flesh tone markers like Spectrum Noir Pale Hues if you wanted to use these markers a lot for coloring humans.
I have not used these for very long, but after I finished the coloring above, my dark brown color was almost dried up. These did not seem to bleed as badly as alcohol markers, but I did still have them bleed through some of my paper. And they will definitely wrinkle paper, it even wrinkled and bubbled my thick cardstock. These can also pill up your paper, especially when coloring over a wet area or scrubbing with the tip.
Grayscale Coloring: **A word of caution when using these over grayscale!!! They were the most abrasive to both the paper and the grayscale image that I found. They were nearly impossible to color multiple layers or to color over an area that was already wet, because they would literally lift up the printing and sometimes pill up the paper as well. I found that there were work arounds. If you color very gently in nice even strokes and avoid scrubbing with the tip or coloring over an already wet area, these were decent markers to use. Once I got the hang of them, I didn't mind it too much. But I will say, despite my best efforts and practice, these still created imperfections on my grayscale image. If you can look past those shortcomings, I'd say give these a shot if you see them on sale or have a coupon like I did. But if the imperfections on the paper will bother you, I would look for a more gentle marker for coloring over grayscale such as the Spectrum Noir.
The markers have no names or numbers on them, and I found the ink color to be very different than the cap color. So I decided to make a quick color chart. Of the 50 colors, two of my markers were completely dried up and one of them was leaking. Once I finished the chart, the colors are certainly bright and vivid! But I found a lot of the colors to be fairly similar.
I found the tip to be nice for coloring. The tip is probably a bit wider than a fine point BIC marker and it is very soft. You can also use the side of the marker for wider coverage. These are very streaky markers, so I would suggest them only for small to medium size areas and not for skin or background. The light skin flesh tones were on the orange side, so you might want to get a nicer set of flesh tone markers like Spectrum Noir Pale Hues if you wanted to use these markers a lot for coloring humans.
I have not used these for very long, but after I finished the coloring above, my dark brown color was almost dried up. These did not seem to bleed as badly as alcohol markers, but I did still have them bleed through some of my paper. And they will definitely wrinkle paper, it even wrinkled and bubbled my thick cardstock. These can also pill up your paper, especially when coloring over a wet area or scrubbing with the tip.
Grayscale Coloring: **A word of caution when using these over grayscale!!! They were the most abrasive to both the paper and the grayscale image that I found. They were nearly impossible to color multiple layers or to color over an area that was already wet, because they would literally lift up the printing and sometimes pill up the paper as well. I found that there were work arounds. If you color very gently in nice even strokes and avoid scrubbing with the tip or coloring over an already wet area, these were decent markers to use. Once I got the hang of them, I didn't mind it too much. But I will say, despite my best efforts and practice, these still created imperfections on my grayscale image. If you can look past those shortcomings, I'd say give these a shot if you see them on sale or have a coupon like I did. But if the imperfections on the paper will bother you, I would look for a more gentle marker for coloring over grayscale such as the Spectrum Noir.
Nikki Burnette is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Using these links does not cost any additional money, but does provide me with a small commission when items are purchased after clicking on the links. Thanks so much for your support! <3
