Winsor and Newton Watercolor Markers Revisited

A few weeks ago, I shared a mini review of Winsor and Newton's new(ish) watercolor markers.  I'd ordered mine online through DickBlick, and although I'd visited the DickBlick outside of Atlanta recently, they still did not have the markers in stock.  Today I received a circular from my local PlaZa Art Supplies advertising that they were offering W&N watercolor markers on sale for $3.99 each rather than the MSRP of $5.99, and I made the trek down there to add more markers to my collection.
The problem with these markers is that while some are fantastic- great pigment delivery, wash out onto the paper well, no color separation, some are mediocre (mainly through pigment delivery).  I thought I'd share which markers I've found to perform well, and which I feel consumers could afford to skip.  Keep in mind I don't have the entire range of colors yet, but rather colors I thought would be especially handy in a portable, marker format.  I'll probably revisit this list as I add markers to my collection.

Best:

  • Lamp Black- same color on both ends, even pigment distribution, gives up pigment easily to water
  • Gamboge Hue- Brilliant sunny yellow, same color on both ends, even pigment distribution, gives up pigment easily to water
  • Quinacridone Magenta- same color on both ends, even pigment distribution, gives up pigment easily to water
  • Alizarin Crimson Hue- Pretty much the same as the color from the tube.  This muted red isn't for everyone, but I love it for adding a hint of blush to cheeks.  I'm excited that the marker performs pretty similarly to the paint.
  • Mauve- More like violet-red, or purple lake, this color dissolves fairly well with no separation.
  • Raw Sienna- A very sunny, yellow raw sienna, a little more subdued than Gamboge Hue.
  • Burnt Red- A nice reddish brown, takes a little scrubbing to get the pigment to dissipate, doesn't separate into individual pigments.
  • Cadmium Orange Hue- A very sunny orange, color is consistent between both nibs, good color dispersion.

Good:
  • Turquoise- Brush end is significantly greener than bullet, gives up pigment easily to water
  • Sap Green- Takes a little scrubbing to get pigment to disperse, even pigment distribution
  • Cadmium Red Deep Hue- Takes a little scrubbing to get pigment to disperse, even pigment distribution
  • Hooker's Green Dark- Bullet end is bluer in hue than brush, takes some scrubbing to get pigment to disperse
  • Indigo- Bullet end is much bluer than brush end, easy to activate with water
  • Payne's Grey- Bullet end is much bluer than brush end, easy to activate with water
  • Dioaxazine Violet- Not a bad color, but the violet doesn't dissolve cleanly into the wash
  • Cerulean Blue Hue- Nice sky blue color, takes a little scrubbing to get it to dissolve, both nibs produce similar colors, but not exact same color.
  • Raw Umber- Slight color variation between nibs, both take some scrubbing to get color to disperse.
  • Cadmium Red Pale Hue- The brush nib is much closer to a deep orange than a red (pretty standard for Cad Red Pale Hue in W/C), the bullet nib is more of a red.  Bullet nib has better color dispersion than brush nib.
  • Yellow Ochre- Brush nib has decent color dispersion, but is very yellow for a yellow orchre.  Bullet nib is closer to a yellow orchre, but is much darker than the brush nib.  Takes some scrubbing to get color to disperse.

Skip:
  • Pale Rose- difficult to get pigment to distribute on page utilizing water, pigment is more concentrated at bullet end
  • Hooker's Green- Brush end is bluer (and truer to hue) than bullet end, which is a yellow green.  Bullet end requires scrubbing to get pigment to disperse
  • Burnt Sienna-  Color isn't as intense as the sample in store, or the color on the marker, takes scrubbing to disperse pigment, even after pigment is dispersed, it is very faint in comparison to other markers' dispersal, can still see marker strokes after scrubbing. 
  • Lemon Yelloow Hue-  Even with scrubbing, I couldn't get the color to dissipate.
  • Mid Blue- The brush end is alright, darker than expected, decent color dispersion, but the bullet nib is poor, much lighter color than brush end, poor color dispersion.
  • Sepia- Mediocre color dispersion from both ends, significant difference in color between brush (light) and bullet (dark)
  • Payne's Gray- Significant color difference between bullet nib (more like indigo) and the brush nib (Payne's Gray).  Bullet nib has good color dispersion when water is added, brush end has mediocre color dispersion.



 

Comments