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Prismacolor Premier pens- never again!
14 years ago
So in my quest to find inking pens that I can't complain about, I stopped by the art store today and picked up a pack of Prismacolor Premier art pens. I've been using Prisma markers for years and have always loved them, so I figured this would be a fairly safe purchase. I assumed, if nothing else, that they would be at least as good as the Sakura Pigma Micron pens I've been using for years. The microns I have no major complaints about, but they fade terribly when erased over and sometimes smear when colored over with Prisma markers.
This was a bad decision.
Right off the bat I had troubles with these pens. The pens themselves feel bulky and awkward, and are incredibly uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time. This may, however, be due to my rather small hands. In any case, not cool.
The ink flow from these pens was terrible. Despite the fact that they were brand new pens, the ink flow was erratic and splotchy. Often no ink at all would flow, and then suddenly it would blotch and start up again, still with erratic line widths. Trying to draw a line more than about 2 cm long was a complete disaster. After I finally finished the painful process of inking my small sketch, I found that the ink fades every bit as badly as my Micron pens did when erased over. I haven't even bothered trying to color over them.
Is it possible I simply got a bad batch of pens? Absolutely. However, at $15 for a 5 pack, I won't be taking a second chance.
(And for those who will inevitably tell me to try DickBlick for cheaper pens- they're MORE expensive when you have to pay $10 or more in shipping. It sucks.)
So yeah. I would not recommend to any of my artist friends that they buy Prisma Premier pens. Hopefully I'll have more luck with the Copic multiliners I'm hoping to order next week. If not? Back to the microns.
This was a bad decision.
Right off the bat I had troubles with these pens. The pens themselves feel bulky and awkward, and are incredibly uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time. This may, however, be due to my rather small hands. In any case, not cool.
The ink flow from these pens was terrible. Despite the fact that they were brand new pens, the ink flow was erratic and splotchy. Often no ink at all would flow, and then suddenly it would blotch and start up again, still with erratic line widths. Trying to draw a line more than about 2 cm long was a complete disaster. After I finally finished the painful process of inking my small sketch, I found that the ink fades every bit as badly as my Micron pens did when erased over. I haven't even bothered trying to color over them.
Is it possible I simply got a bad batch of pens? Absolutely. However, at $15 for a 5 pack, I won't be taking a second chance.
(And for those who will inevitably tell me to try DickBlick for cheaper pens- they're MORE expensive when you have to pay $10 or more in shipping. It sucks.)
So yeah. I would not recommend to any of my artist friends that they buy Prisma Premier pens. Hopefully I'll have more luck with the Copic multiliners I'm hoping to order next week. If not? Back to the microns.
I will warn you though, every pen I've found will fade if you erase too hard. Best trick to this is to try and keep the pencils as light as you can, so you don't have to press on the eraser very hard, or go back over the lines afterwards.
As for smudges, I've found that they will always smudge if you go over any of the lines, even the Copic ones which aren't supposed to do this (and even after I let the ink dry for a day or more). I tend to just try and be careful and not go over the lines too quickly (or at all).
Hope this is helpful.
Its all about finding what you like to work with best. :3
i've also heard good things about those faber-castell PITT pens.