I am thinking of buying prismacolor markers

[chris purkis]

I am thinking of buying prismacolor markers the cheapest price I found is at Jerry Artarama.com for $242.00 us. for a l44 set. I live in Canada and I was wondering if anyone knew of a good web site or store to get them. I am also considering tria markers and copic markers but I think the copic are too much. Does anyone knew whats a better marker tria or prismacolor?

Thanks

[jfwalls]

I always buy my prismacolors individually. It probably ends up costing more in the end, but at least I don't wind up with 50 colors I'll never use. Never really used Tria markers, but prismacolors are very good. Get a solvent though so you can practice blending.

[waronmars]

Do you really need prismacolour markers man? They won't magically make you a better artist. I recommend spending $10 on a few sketchbooks and pencils and going from there.

[Red_Rook]

144 colour set is pretty much useless, go buy like a 10 gray set, they will do you alot more good.

[jfwalls]

Do you really need prismacolour markers man? They won't magically make you a better artist.

That is true. I got a set of 100 markers for $20. They work great, and are water based so I can mix and blend them with water and brushes.

[Red_Rook]

That is true. I got a set of 100 markers for $20. They work great, and are water based so I can mix and blend them with water and brushes.
thats the whole point of prismas tho its that they are alcohol based and dont screw up your paper

[rogfa]

These are two places I buy supplies from. Both are Canadian companies (Above Ground from Ontario, Island Blue from BC, all prices are in CND funds too):

Above Ground Art Supplies (link (http://www.abovegroundartsupplies.com)) - Not so good service, cheaper prices, slow shipping.

When I say, not so good service, don't take it as a complete negative because I buy most of my stuff from them. I'll give an some examples of why I say "not so good".

Once you put in an order. You get an order receipt and that's it. No, shipment notification, tracking number, order status. I've ordered some things that were not in stock. I wasn't told they weren't in stock. They just shipped what they had and I thought the order was complete. Then a couple weeks later another charge on my credit card. They filled the rest of the order but DIDN'T charge me more shipping, which was nice. But there's really no communication between them and you. Nothing like, "We don't have those but will ship them out when we do." I was kind of dissappointed because I bought the remaining items from another place.

Also the website is a bear to navigate. I usually just search for stuff. But the plus are the cheaper prices. They have Prismacolor markers for $3.15, Island Blue has them for $4.22. That's a pretty big difference for me.

Island Blue (link (http://www.islandblue.com)) - Really good service, Once you put in an order you'll get an email usually the same day saying they have all the items in stock, little more expensive than above ground art and the website is painless to navigate. Very fast shipping too.

I haven't had any problems with damaged items. Everything comes really packaged well from both companies.

Also, I agree with the others. I wouldn't get a full set or even a full set of greys or warms. Just skip every other one, get 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, Black etc... Just my recommendation, nothing more.

[Interceptor]

I think it's better to just get 2 or 3 every time you hit the art store. In the end it may be more expensive. But it will be far more taxing for you to do it at once.

[flex mathews]

prismacolors dry up really fast and no refills are available. also the nibs dont last that long, especially the small one. if you are spending the money on a set, you might as well splurge and get something a little better that prismas. get copic or tria. i'm feeling the copic "sketch" markers. they have a nice foam brush tip on one side. and they are refillable.

[paberu]

Copic "sketch" markers are great. Hard to get here in Aus, but none the less are very enjoyable. On and copics last ages, much longer then prismas. As mentioned you can refill em to boot!

war: perhaps that's why you're having trouble painting? ;P Doing b&w pencils sketches isn't going to get your understanding of colour better.

[BlueMech]

Doing B&W skectehs won't help you undertsand colour, but expenesive ass markers won't either. Plus markers are a hard medium to use already AND they aren't the best for learning colour.

[waronmars]

All I'm suggesting that at this stage in this guy's development, would it not be wiser to develop an understanding of value before jumping into an unfamiliar medium AND trying to tackle colour, value, form, anatomy etc. all at once? I took the liberty of checking out some of his art, and I honestly don't think that diving into markers is going to help him at this point.

[paberu]

Yeah I agree with you there war.

[chris purkis]

I'll try to sum up all your comments well I don't see much point of just getting greys, if I am doing color drawings I think the only reason I would use greys would probalbly be just for shadows. I already have five primacolor markers and some other mixed mediums so I don't think it would be to new of a new medium to work with, although I do find its hard to make it not streak because it dries so fast. Waronmars if you looked on my page I already have one picture because my picture files are too big to load right now, I have to find a way to reduce them. I do have three pictures in the forum if thats where you looked. Flex Mathews, I do find the small ends usually don't work. Rayk do you think being able to get refills is important, do you save a lot of money instead of buying new markers? Copics are alot of money for a small set and I would really like a variety of color like you would get with a pencil crayon set (but I don't want to use pencil crayons). I don't think I am using the right kind of paper right now but the paper seems to soak up too much of the marker and it bleeds through and runs over the lines. Does anybody know what kind of paper I should use so I can practice with the few I have. So if anybody can comment on any of these statements I would be thankful.

[Tully]

...if I am doing color drawings I think the only reason I would use greys would probalbly be just for shadows..

This is exactly the reason you should only be using greys :\ If you think layering grey on top of a colour would produce a good shadow in most instances, you're not ready for colour yet. War is right--get greys. They're cheaper and better for learning.

[mike yamada]

Prismacolors are "refillable" with a bottle of dye and a syringe. Buy a pad of marker paper to practice on. Letramax, canson or bienfang are good brands. The paper is coated on one side with a marker resistant coating. I would highly suggest buying a set of either odd or even value grays to practice with before going into color. Once you start in color, buy the markers in sets of three of the same hue, but different value.

[Spacemanchuck]

No-body's gonna do that, and it's probably a bad idea to tell a kid to play with a syringe... Just a thought.

But yeah, don't buy the set, you will end up with an ass load of crapy bright greens and blues and pinks you will never use.

It's fine to buy some markers to have a bit of fun with while you're learning. You don't have to sit and only draw with a pencil to make the learning process a productive thing. It's always good to play around with all sorts of stuff even if the end process is crap.

Go buy afew colors you think you will use the most and see how much you use them. Then when they run out and if you feel like you want a butt load get a butt load. Otherwise I would suggest buying them seperatly as well.

P.S never shave a badger in dark room.

[paberu]

Actually I started off with 4 odd copic greys. It's a pretty tricky medium to get the hang of, so I think getting colour before you know how to work with them would be a waste. Different paper works differently with markers, some people use printer paper, some use bleedproof. It's all the matter of what you're doing with the drawing. Printer paper is best for mixed medium (e.g using pencils and waters with the markers), while bleedproof is better if it's only markers.

[glynn james]

If you are new to this medium then just get some greys, 3 is enough for just learning. Trust me if you get a full set half of them will dry up.

[Mamoth]

Happen to me... dont get too much marker at a time, especially prismacolor. Being alchool based, they are more volatile and will evaporate faster... that is good on the paper but forget them under a lamp of near a sunny window for 24h even less if they are open, and you'll se that their lifespan has dropped quite a bit... could try getting a freezer but i would probably cost way too much ;p