If you’re into coloring, illustration or drawing with markers, you have what seems like zillions of different choices available for markers you could use. Pictured above is one of many possibilities: A set of Brush-Tip markers by Leisure Arts.

If you’ve never tried using these particular markers, perhaps you’re wondering why you might want to use them instead of others. What makes these markers different than all the other markers out there you could be coloring with?

In general, a primary differentiator with brush-tip markers is that they give you the ability to lay down varying line widths using a single tip — without having to flip the marker over and switch ends (like you have to do with double-ended markers) or even switch markers all together. You can vary your line width from fine to thick simply by adjusting how much of your brush tip comes into contact with your paper or coloring page.

If you’re a fan of adult coloring books, these brush tip markers are acceptable coloring instruments for doing them justice. You’ll find that many adult coloring pages have both finely detailed areas and larger areas within the same image. The brush-tip markers can handle both types of areas easily. These markers are ideally suited for coloring on paper, unlike some competing products (like Sharpies, where the best use is on non-porous surfaces like plastic).

The Leisure Arts brand brush tip markers are more affordable than many of your other options, and the quality is better than you’d expect, given the low price.

Colors and Color Blending

The color range is beautiful, but it is better suited for some types of artwork than others. I’d consider it to be ideal for creating floral art, botanical art, landscape art, abstract art, geometric art, textile art and foodie art. I think it is less than ideal for fashion illustration, fashion sketching or portrait drawing — because there isn’t an adequate range of colors available for either Caucasian skin tones or the skin tones you’d need for drawing people of color.

I’ve successfully used these markers to color images in a couple of different adult coloring books. One of them is filled with motivational quotes; the other is a botanical coloring book and sketch book. These are both wonderful examples of the types of artwork that make the best possible use of the color range you get with this set of markers. Take a look:

I have a bachelor’s degree with a minor in studio art, but markers are not my area of expertise. There are people who are wizards at marker art — and I am NOT one of them. So, please keep that in mind when I show you the following example. In one of the leaves in the image I colored, I attempted to figure out how good, exactly, these markers are at blending.

I know some artists who are proficient with Copic markers. They tell me that a selling point in favor of Copics is that Copic ink can be easily and beautifully blended. I don’t know for sure how the Leisure Arts markers stack up against Copics in the blending department, because I’ve never tried blending Copics. But I can say with certainty that it is possible to make pleasing color blends using the Leisure Arts brush-tip markers.

This image gives you a glimpse at how a couple of yellows and blues can be blended to make green using the Leisure Arts brush-tip markers:

To create this color blend in the leaf, I first laid down a layer of yellow ink. Then I blended a blue-green into it, and then I added some highlights of actual green. I like this effect quite a bit! And I’m betting this could easily be improved on if you were to give this set of markers to someone who’s actually an expert at marker art. But, you can feel confident that you’ll be able to get at least some passable results with your ink blends using these markers, even if you aren’t a market expert yet, either. Plus, the more you practice, the better you’ll get with it.

While the range of 30 colors is quite beautiful, you can see that this ability to blend colors expands your possible color range significantly.

A Wide Range of Coverage Options

Here’s an image from an entirely different coloring book. This one is called Daily Inspirational Easel Flip Book. The book includes 40 different images showcasing motivational and inspirational quotes for you to color and display. This image shows you how beautifully the brush tip markers are able to provide coverage for sizable areas. It also gives you a good look at the actual brush tip on one of the markers. In the picture, I am holding up a green marker before I start coloring in the green leaves on the lemon image.

No Refills

The Leisure Arts brush-tip markers are not refillable. There are some refillable alternatives to these, and I highly recommend considering them instead of these.

The best refillable brush markers I’m currently aware of are Altenew’s refillable brush markers. I haven’t tried them yet, but I am hoping to purchase them in the future.

Another option is refillable brush-tipped water pens. I have a couple of them. I love mine — but they do a different sort of job than these particular markers do. They work sort of like a paintbrush, and they’re best used with watercolor paper, Bristol board or similar hefty paper rather than coloring books and marker papers. They can make a real mess if you aren’t careful.

If enjoying a relaxing coloring session is your primary goal, refillable brush-tipped water pens are not what you want for that purpose. Only get the brush-tipped water pens if you fully intend to mess around with water media.

If you plan to devote serious amounts of time and effort to marker art, refillable markers like Altenew’s would most likely be a worthwhile investment for you — so you’d probably want to consider shopping for a refillable option instead of these. Over the long term, refillable markers generally turn out to be good investments for artists who use them consistently. The down side is that the upfront costs of refillable markers might be prohibitively expensive for casual artists and crafters — and that’s who I think would benefit most from owning these Leisure Arts brush-tip markers. For casual artists who would be unlikely to recoup a sizable investment in refillables, these Leisure Arts markers are a sensible choice.

Water Based, Non Toxic Markers

These markers are water based and non toxic, which means that you don’t have to stress out if you or your kids accidentally get some ink from these markers on your skin. You can use ordinary soap and water to clean up easily. However, do be aware that the ink from these markers may stain your clothes if given the chance.

Conclusion

These brush tip markers are intended for use by artists and aspiring artists over the age of 6 years old. You’ll want to avoid giving them to children younger than 6 due to possible choking hazards (I guess from the marker caps).

Overall, I think these markers are a decent value for their asking price. They aren’t the highest quality markers on the market, but their quality is sufficient for purposes of casual coloring and paper crafts. If you’re a professional artist or illustrator, or you’re a diehard cardmaker, scrapbooker or other paper crafter, you’ll probably want to use something better than these; in that case, I recommend Tombow Dual Brush Pens (which I own and LOVE) or Altenew’s refillable markers, which I have not yet tried (but I am confident in recommending them to you, because I know that their manufacturing standards are high and I LOVE all the products of theirs that I do own — and there are many of those).

If you’re just coloring to have fun, the Leisure Arts brush markers work for the task at hand. I have used mine for things like coloring in my coloring books and making greeting cards to send to my loved ones.

If your primary criteria for choosing markers are affordability and pretty colors, I think you’ll be pleased with this set of 30 brush-tip markers from Leisure Arts.

Where to Buy Leisure Arts Brush-Tip Markers:

• click here to shop for Leisure Arts Brush Markers at Amazon.

Where to Buy Tombow Dual Brush Pens:

I have two favorite places to shop for Tombow Dual Brush pens:

• Click here to shop for Tombow Dual Brush Pens at a Cherry on Top Crafts. I recommend shopping with them if you also want to load up on other art and craft supplies; they carry art supplies, needlework supplies, paper and craft supplies. They are one-stop shopping for nearly everything a creative soul might want — and they have great discounts and great customer service.
• Click here to shop for Tombow Dual Brush Pens at Dick Blick. I recommend shopping with them if you are in need of basically any kind of art supplies. They do also carry some craft supplies, too, but mostly they are famous for having a jaw-dropping selection of art supplies in stock at their warehouse. Most of the time, when I have comparison shopped in the past, they have been the ones offering the best prices on any given art supplies I have looked at. They have both sets and individual markers available for sale.

Click here for more information about adult coloring.

Click here to learn more about drawing with markers.

Find More Fantastic Art and Craft Supplies

• Double-Ended Markers by Leisure Arts
• Paper for Arts and Crafts
• How to Make Your Own Paper
• Best Adhesives for Paper Crafts
• Card Making Projects and Ideas
• More Paper Craft Ideas

By Amy Solovay

About Your Product Reviewer: Amy Solovay is a freelance writer with a background in textile manufacturing. She holds a bachelor’s degree with a studio art minor; and she has also obtained another degree in textile design.

This page was last updated on 10-18-2022.