Markers

There are several types of markers available for professional level artistry.  These markers provide hues much brighter than possible for any other hand drawn medium.  This makes them ideal for anime-style pictures.  However, these tools are difficult to handle and there are several techniques you must master before your art achieves a polished and professional appearance.

Several brands of markers are available.  Tria have 3 differently-sized heads.  Prismacolors have two.  I have used both and find no important differences.  Trias, however, have no names to their colors, only serial numbers.  This makes it almost impossible to communicate about colors with other artists or even yourself.  For this reason, I use Prismacolors.  There are also similar markers with finer, softer tips that can be imported from Japan.  Unfortunately, these Japanese models also have no names, so I let them be.

When using markers for coloring, your greatest concern is bleeding.  The dye from the markers will seep uncontrollably once the marker tip touches the paper.  Because of this, special paper is needed to give your image a sharp and refined edge.  Bristol Board Smooth paper is the way to go.  It is available at most art supply stores.  By using the smooth side of the paper, you inhibit bleeding.  Bare in mind that the Bristol Board Smooth paper's powers are not infinite, so set thick lines in your inking and be careful to fill in the borders of each colored shape patiently and with detail.

Only the broadest tip of a marker should be necessary.  Start by marking out the border of the shape with the smaller face of the marker tip.  Then begin filling in the area with smooth, circular motions.  The idea is to saurate area with dye so the color bleeds into itself and covers the area with a uniform hue.  At the start of the life of a marker, the color will pour out readily.  Toward the end of the markers life, it will take significantly longer to saturate the area.

On a more stylized note, some artists leave a highlight, a piece of the white paper left uncolored, to further give the image a bright, glossy feel.  Go over the darker, shadowed areas again, after the ink dryes to give the object more depth.  You can use the same hue or a darker hue for this effect.

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