I used to be a snob when it comes to affordable art supplies until Ohuhu came along. Since then, I have been trying some well-reviewed, budget brands like Arrtx and Art-n-Fly which are sold on Amazon. Because I was pleasantly surprised with Art-n-Fly’s oil-based coloured pencils, I had high hopes for this set. Shop it or drop it? Read on for this Art-n-Fly 12 brush markers (skin colors) review to find out.
Since most alcohol markers tend to go on much darker, I thought it would be the same with these too. However, this is not the case.
Art-n-Fly 12 Brush Markers (Skin Colors) Review
Right off the bat, I was very disappointed with the colour selection. There are too many light shades that are similar, and no mid-tones.
The shades are too similar to do any shading or gradation. There is too much of a gap among the 3 darker shades.
Gunk Problem
Three markers (both ends) from the Art-n-Fly 12 brush markers set had gunk. This did not present well and definitely did not leave a good first impression. However, the gunk didn’t seem to affect the performance of these markers.
Performance
I gave up trying to use the set as the one-off for portraits. Instead, I used two shades, YR26 and BR236, to do this quick portrait as underpainting.
In general, that these markers are more juicy on the chisel nib than the brush nib. The lighter shades are streakier, but that could be due to the higher alcohol content and less pigment.
Since I was testing the markers as underpainting, I used Strathmore 400 series Mixed Media paper to allow for layering. This paper soaked up the markers a lot more than the marker paper, since it has more tooth. The brush end of YR26 was streaky and I ended up using the chisel end to even things out.
I went over the same areas with the Art-n-Fly brush markers to even out the skin a bit more.
Because I had to layer on the markers to shade the skin, it made further shading with coloured pencils harder. The paper would not take in the coloured pencils much more than a single layer. I don’t think this would work out as underpainting, unless I can shade the rest with alcohol markers.
Summary
The pros:
- decent chisel and brush nibs
- decent colour payoff
- darker shades are juicy and pigmented
- refillable and available in open stock
The cons:
- gunk in the nibs
- streaky with the lighter colours (especially the brush nibs)
- shades are too similar for shading
Despite the gunk and the colour selection, these are not bad markers. However, I would recommend Ohuhu over this any day.
