Felt tip marker pens combine the soft feel and vibrant line work, two qualities that are highly sought after for their nuanced control and brilliant color luster.
We’ve collected a short list of five felt tip marker packs available now for colorists and bullet journaling enthusiasts of all levels. The Paper Mate Felt Tip Colored Flair Pens, Sharpie Art Pens, Mr. Pen Felt Tip Pens, Lixi Colored Felt Tip Pens, and the Amazon Basics Felt Tip Marker Pens are all viable options for colorists and creatives alike to experiment with.
Paper Mate Felt Tip Colored Flair Pens
Paper Mate Felt Tip Colored Flair Pens are some of the highest-rated felt tip-colored pens on the market. The 20 pack of felt tip colored flair pens include Red, Green, Cranberry, Gummy Green, Magenta, Sky Blue, Orchid Lei, Surf’s Up, Strawberry Lollipop, Scuba Dive, Pink, Blueberry Bubblegum, Guava, Blue, Tangerine, Navy, Papaya, Lilac, Pumpkin, Grape, Gumdrop, Macha, Purple, Salted Caramel, Raspberry Fizz, Marigold, Passion Fruit, Yellow, Plum, Olive, Slate, Lime, and Black. With more than half of the colors being food-related, you’d think you’re ordering takeout!
One of the best features Paper Mate includes is its smear-resistant ink. Now it’s not foolproof; smears will happen if you’re reckless or using poor-quality paper. However, for regular coloring use on high-quality paper, these felt-tip pens are excellent. The medium felt tip point at 0.7 millimeters provides both bold line strokes and bright colors that fill the page. The pen tip is even protected by the Paper Mate Point-Guard technology that helps protect pen tip durability.
Unfortunately, many users also complain of poor color selection. Paper Mate advertises their felt tip coloring pens as vivid and bright; however, many of the included colors such as Mocha, Pumpkin, Passionfruit, Slate, Navy, Cranberry, and Plum are darker colors. With how heavy felt pen ink is, darker colors have a habit of settling an even darker tone into the page as the ink lays into the paper’s tooth. In other words, the darker colors in the Paper Mate Felt Tip Colored Flair Pens will often look even darker on the page after the ink has settled.
Sharpie Art Pens
From the iconic permeant marker company, Sharpie designs a plethora of markers and pens, each with various intended uses. The Sharpie felt tip colored pens come in a fine tip and slim design for all 12 colors offered. This approach to the pen design allows users to execute easy control of the pen, allowing for nuanced coloring and word art. The pens are lightweight and easy to store as well.
Though Sharpie ink is known for its bleeding ink and pungent smell, these pens have neither while maintaining the iconic Sharpie bold color. The ink stays vibrant and bright while not smearing or bleeding through the page due to the quick-drying technology Sharpie employs. After all, if the ink doesn’t brilliantly pigment and is visually intense, then can it be a Sharpie?
Many users report that these pens are excellent for bullet journaling — or bujo as it’s called in the business — and word art. The feel of the pen lets colorists leverage every bit possible to execute near-perfect nuance on the page.
Unfortunately, many users also report the ink in these specific Sharpie felt tip pens runs out fairly quickly. Cases of pens drying up and dying midway through the page are no stranger to the Sharpie felt tip coloring pens. Part of this problem is the inconsistent ink flow that these pets suffer from. Lines or coloring areas may start with a swath of pigment only to Peter out a third of the way through.
Mr. Pen Colored Felt Tip Pens
The Mr. Pen 16-pack of colored felt tip pens is an excellent purchase for users wanting the Paper Mate experience without the Paper Mate price. For only $8.00, the Mr. Pen set includes the colors: Black, Slate, Brown, Mocha, Violet, Lilac, Blue, Aqua Blue, Sky Blue, Green, Lime Green, Red, Pink, Salmon, Orange, and Yellow. For a deal of two pens per dollar, the color selection includes all the essentials colorists and bujo enthusiasts need. When it comes to the build of the pens, Mr. Pen felt tip-colored pens have a highly saturated pigment with a thin line. Combining a 0.7-millimeter tip and easy flow ink allows for quick line work and small area color fill. Many users report an easy-to-use experience with the Mr. Pen line of colored felt tip pens. Whether by intentional design or otherwise, the Mr. Pen products are comfortable to hold and easy to use because of their simplicity.
Unfortunately, many users have also experienced the limitations of the Mr. Pen felt tip-colored pens. If you’re looking to fill large areas with color, then Mr. Pen is not the pen for you. These are built exclusively for thin linework and small area color fill. Additionally, though the Mr. Pen colored felt tip pens dispense a reliable amount of ink, they dispense almost too reliably. The ink in these pens runs out quickly, so don’t be surprised if you need to buy another pack in two to three months of regular use…
Lixi Colored Felt Tip Pens
The Lixi 30 Colors Felt Tip Pens are ideal for journaling, writing, bujo hobbyists, and coloring. The best part about these medium points 0.7-millimeter pens is the whole bundle of 30 colors offered and the non-bleed ink. The deal for Lixi pens is the same as the Mr. Pen deal but with more. Along with the same two-for-the-price-of-one logic, Lixi offers not just 12 colors, not just 16 colors, not just 20 colors, but a full 30 colors of felt tip pens. Now, if you’re used to colored pencil numbers, then 30 colors isn’t a lot, but in the world of felt tip pens, having 30 options of ink in one package is more than ideal. And did I mention no ink bleed? You can write in a thin-paged bible and still have little to no ink bleed through the page. Amazing!
Unfortunately, 30 colors and no-bleed ink come at a cost. The tips in these pens do their best to mimic the flair tips that Paper Mate felt tip pens are known for but without similar design materials. Lixi uses a hard plastic tip on a soft brush felt instead of achieving the much sought-after flair tip style. This combination is nothing like the desired flair tip effect. The hard plastic soft brush combo often leads to breaking tips or weakly dispensed ink. This is incredibly sad, considering these felt tip pens are more marketed towards children and nine-to-five office employees. As we all know, kids WILL break one or more of these pens at some point, and the lovely office folk are sure to break all of them as deadlines approach.
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Amazon Basics Felt Tip Marker Pens
Believe it or not, Amazon makes a decent felt marker pen. The Amazon Basics Felt Tip Marker Pens resemble the flair tips from Paper Mate pens the most. This is amazing considering a pack of 12 colors only costs about $6.00, another two-for-the-price-of-one deal on beginner-friendly felt tip marker pens. Like the Lixi Colored Felt Tip Pens, the Amazon Basics pens are advertised as smear and bleed-resistant. Add on top the durable plastic casing for each pen and the long-lasting tip, and you’ve got an entry-level felt tip pen that works in just about every scenario.
Unfortunately, what these pens advertise and what they are can be two different narratives. Though these pens do write smoothly and have a durable pen, their ink doesn’t always live up to the hype. Expect a duller luster on the paper and a messier line. On top of that, the advertised smearless lines and no-bleed ink are just that. Advertising. A handful of users report bleeding and frequent smearing from the Amazon Basics Felt Tip Marker Pens.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s The Difference Between A Felt Tip Pen And A Felt Tip Marker?
Firstly, the difference is in ink. In pens, the solution uses dead liquid pigment mixed with a binder, most commonly resin, and then filled into the plastic casing of each pen. The ink is also a solution for markers using dead pigments that start as a powder and then become processed into a liquid. The liquid pigment is then combined with alcohol or water binder and filled into the marker casings. Though the most significant difference only seems to be in the binder of the ink, the results are pretty different from each other on the page.
What Kind of Artwork Should I Use Felt Tip Marker Pens For?
Traditionally, felt tip markers are a hallmark of the bullet journaling hobby and the creative office space. This is mainly because felt tip marker pens don’t dispense enough ink with quality visuals for larger coloring projects, and the narrow lines allow for more nuanced control that is needed in bujo while still supplying light color fill options. This duality isn’t always great for coloring books but excels in other areas of creative organization. That said, an artist is only limited by their creativity, so feel free to use fee tip marker pens in any capacity. Who knows what you might come up with?
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