Mermaid Marker Review!

Hi friends! As soon as these markers hit stored I have been inundated with requests to review them! I was not going to buy these because I had similar pens already and I didn’t use them much but motivated by your requests and a 40% off coupon I decided to give them a go, or take one for the team as my friend Tracey would say;)

In all honesty I am glad I got them, they have been so much fun to play with and a marked improvement from the ink filled brush pens I have used in the past. Want more info? Watch the video!

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored review, I purchased these items myself and I was not asked or compensated to create this review. My opinions are my own and are not endorsed by American crafts or any affiliated parties.

The product I am reviewing are the Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers from American Crafts sold exclusively in the US by Micheal’s Craft Stores

• Price: $39.99 (I used a 40% off coupon and paid $22)
• Description: A waterbrush pen filled with non-lightfast water based ink. *The pen looks identical to the small round Prima waterbrush with the addition of a straw inside the barrel.

Pros:

• The brush has a sharp fine point and is very springy and firm. Very expressive
• Bright inks, they will all lift a bit but some colors stain and lead to intersting effects, you might life a purple and have a pink stain left behind. The ink also reacts to water leaving cool water spotting when you spatter water on a painted background.
• Pens are refillable with any liquid watercolor (not pigment) or ink.

Cons:

• Colors will fade if exposed to light long term
• This can be a wild and messy product (I love that!) so if you like neat, controlled markers this might not be for you.
• Colors are bright and tropical, you will need to mix colors to create subdued looks.

Bottom line: Personally I love them, I am glad I bought them and I have been having a ball creating with them in my sketchbook. Because the are not lightfast I recommend working in a sketchbook and if you make something you really like than scan or photograph it for postarity.

If you like the idea of these pens but want a pigment watercolor that won’t fade as readily try the *Bienfang watercolor brush pens. They are cheaper (retail) and claim not to fade, keep in mind the heavier pigment particles may make them more likely to clog. The brush tip on these is softer than the Mermaid Markers. *This is an affiliate link and I earn a small commission if you purchase anything at Blitsy after clicking, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra.

I hope you found this review helpful. Keep in mind, just because I enjoy a product does not mean everyone will, I prefer loose flowy mediums and others prefer more detailed controlled mediums but hopefully from the demo you can pick what is best for you! Here are the still shots from my sketchbook that I created with the pens. I can do a tutorial on these if anyone is interested:

What do you think? Will you be adding these yo your collection? Let me know in the comments and til next time happy crafting!