Review by Tina Koyama
This seems to happen at least once or twice a year: I find myself craving some kind of glittery, sparkly product even as I insist that I’m not that kind of girl. At least this time I have the holidays as an excuse.
I’ve lately been using standard Uni Posca Paint Markers to sketch with, so the seven-color set of Posca Glitter Paint Markers (7 for $16.50; $3.30 each) caught my eye. I got the 3ML (line width measured at 1.0mm) fine point size; the set is also available in the 1ML (measured at 0.7mm) extra fine point size.
The barrel and section are as glittery as the paints.
To make test swatches, I used three types of paper: a black Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook, a Col-o-ring Oversize book and a sheet of Sakae TP Iroful paper. As always, the tough part is photographing the swatches to show optimal shimmer, so I hope you can see that these pens deliver the sparkle. Although they look best on black, they still shine on white, too, and remain especially glossy on the Iroful.For a test sketch, I looked across the street before the sun came up, where our neighbors had wrapped the trunk of their small palm tree in festive lights.
For a test sketch, I looked across the street before the sun came up, where our neighbors had wrapped the trunk of their small palm tree in festive lights.
Although the nocturne appeals to my minimalist esthetics (especially when it comes to holiday lights), it didn’t feel like enough bling to see what these Poscas can do. So I channeled my inner seventh grade self to do what we used to call “balloon writing” for a holiday greeting. That’s some nice sparkle and shine! This closeted glitter gal approves.
(For the record, this is the only form of glitter I will knowingly and willingly bring into my home. Whenever I open an envelope and see that a card has glitter on it, I remove the card gently from the envelope over a wastebasket, peek to read, then put it back in the envelope slowly to keep as much glitter contained as possible. I then tape it shut for storage. It’s the only way to get ahead of Satan’s dandruff.)
Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.
