Review: Uni Posca Opaque Paint Markers

Jan 2023 update: Added the chisel tip markers

I was inspired by Carlos Stanga's art from the books that I have featured recently. The way he uses opaque markers to overlay really got my attention. It's just a fun way to create art and to make certain elements come forward.

So I experimented with using the Derwent Graphik Line Painter but unfortunately those markers were not opaque enough, and neither were the Dr Ph Martin's coloured India ink that I had. So I contacted Carlos Stanga to ask what he used to create those opaque lines and he told me they were drawn with Uni Posca markers.

And so I bought myself a set to try. You can get these markers individual or in various sets.

The ones I bought have 0.9 to 1.3mm bold tips which is quite thick. Tip sizes range from extra fine to extra bold, and chisel tips.

The chisel tip markers are quite thick and you can hear the ink inside as you shake the marker.

These are opaque paint markers. They don't use alcohol so they don't smell or bleed. They use water-based pigmented ink so the colours are lightfast.

And just like paint markers, they have something inside that you have to shake to mix up the ink. The marker feels quite light so I don't really know how much ink there is inside, and there's no way to check. So if you are creating important artworks, it will be good to have extras of the same colour.

These are the colours in my set of eight. They are certainly very opaque, and the colours are quite strong.They dry rather quick so you can overlay them easily too.

This is the sketch that I drew with pen and ink, coloured with watercolour, and then overlayed with the Uni Posca markers.

The opaque paint is able to cover anything that's behind quite completely.

These markers are really fun to draw with.

The ink is also waterproof when dry. I drew the car with the marker and coloured with watercolour afterward.

Having such opaque markers is so convenient. Because of the opacity, there are certain types of art that you can now created which you can't before.

Here's another pen, ink and watercolour sketch with markers adding the details.

On the left page, I use the markers to draw the street sign on the left, details on the red awning, and flowers for the potted plants.

On the right page, I used the markers for the road signs, awning and lighting. Those thin lines for lightning would be difficult to paint with watercolour. In this case, the colour of the ink actually looks good with the watercolour and do not feel out of place.

I really enjoy drawing with these markers. I can definitely see myself using them more often in the future. The downside is they can be pricey depending on where you buy from. Check out the price via the Amazon links below.

Availability

You can find Uni Posca markers on Amazon via these direct links:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.es | Amazon.it | Amazon.co.jp | Jackson's Art (UK) | Dick Blick Art Materials (US)

Do look out for discounts on Amazon as these markers are discounted frequently so you can get a set that brings the cost for each marker down quite significantly.

For more art product reviews, visit https://www.parkablogs.com/content/list-of-art-products-reviewed