Review: Sakura Koi Watercolor Brush Pen Set (12 Colors)

This is the other box set of Sakura Koi Watercolor Brush Pens I bought together with the gray tones set I featured a few weeks ago.

The watercolor brush pens are sold in different sets, such as in packs of 12, 24, 48 and also as colour theme sets.

These are water-based markers that use dye inks. So they are not lightfast and will fade in the future. Because of that, they are more suitable for casual use and not meant for creating artworks with permanence in mind. Do not use them to do commissioned works.

Each colour in this set has a colour code and name.

These are the colour codes for all the markers.

This is the colour swatch I created with the markers. The colours included are

1. #3 - Yellow
2. #5 - Orange
3. #7 - Pale Orange
4. #12 - Brown
5. #19 - Red
6. #20 - Pink
7. #24 - Purple
8. #125 - Sky Blue
9. #27 - Yellow Green
10. #29 - Green
11. #36 - Blue
12. #49 - Black

I like the sharp brush tip which is good for writing too. It's made of some sponge. If you're going to blend, getting the tip dirty is unavoidable.

As with brush tips, you can get a variation of thin and thick lines depending on the pressure you apply. This tip is also good enough for writing, creating calligraphy art.

Markers are really convenient to use. You can even use them on public transport for drawing because they are easily to use and keep.

Here's a scan of the sketch above captured by a Canon Lide220 scanner. There wasn't any edit to the scan. The brighter colours are challenging to capture and some post editing is definitely needed if you want to match the colours in real life. The photos I took with a camera represent the markers' colours more accurately.

Because the markers are water-based, the strokes blend easily together to create a even wash without streak marks. They also do not bleed through pages.

They don't dry instantly so you have some time to blend.

These are some colour blends that I tried. Generally speaking, I find it difficult to create gradual blends. For gradual blends perhaps more markers of the same hue family are required. The stronger colours have a stronger covering strength and can easily cover lighter colours beneath. To blend better, you probably have to get the Sakura colorless blender.

Conclusion

It's good for casual use but not suitable for work that are meant for archival, long term storage because of the dye ink used.

Availability

I bought mine from Amazon for around USD $21. Some other places are selling for a much higher price so beware.

You can find them at: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp