Posca Markers - a small test on various surfaces
Today's review will be a bit different than the previous ones - I decided to make a small test of Posca paint markers. I love artworks posted on Instagram which were created using these markers (@twelvepapercranes, @gremren, @martalopezfdez.art, just to name a few). They remind me of a style called "flat design" in vector illustration. Choosing 3-4 colors enables you to create an interesting artwork.
I tested this product on various surfaces like craft cardboard, glass, plastic semitranslucent board.
Prices: approx. $3.99 - $7.99
On the official website we can read that Posca is a creative tool for all materials: plastic, wood, cardboard and so on. It is recommended for those who create street art and graffiti. Markers are easy to use and the effects are great.
Having that all in my mind, I decided to check out this tool by making small illustrations. Here are the results:
1. At first I tried the paper. I used Fabriano Accademia 200gsm. Here are examples - I made a couple of cute illustrations:
I enjoyed drawing with Posca on this paper. I love the way the colors look like, they are so vivid. The surface is rather smooth and that was a big advantage while applying the paint. The outline part was a bit problematic - I found it hard to make outlines with a broad tip.
Another thing that irritated me was appearing of unaesthetic clods. I didn't see any of them on Instagram works. Happily you can remove them with a knife when the work dries.
The areas covered with paint, especially larger ones, are not perfectly smooth - you can see marker strokes.
2. A piece of grey craft cardboard - the result was a complete failure.
I gave up after a few strokes because it was going worse, a lot of horrible clods appeared. Maybe it's because the cardboard isn't smooth.
3. A piece of semitranslucent plexiglass board.
I really had fun drawing this little penguin. Just made a sketch, placed a plexiglass board on it and drew with markers straight away. The surface was smooth and it was easy to make strokes and apply paint. And, what is worth noticing, there are no uneaesthetic clods! However, some parts of the drawing required a second layer of paint because the first one didn't cover the plexiglass. I also noticed very tiny paint splashes here and there so you must be careful while making the strokes, it looks like the marker tip scratched the surface at times.
4. A piece of material - a thicker canvas is recommended.
I took a piece of a thin material and it didn't work, especially with markers with a broad tip. I could only make spots, creating a straight line was impossible. The tip tended to stick to the material.
5. Glass - the paint applied to a glass jar smoothly, there are no clods.
Unfortunately, the coverage isn't satisfying. A second layer is needed. A big plus is that if we don't like the pattern we can easily erase it by using water.
6. A piece of dark brown cardboard with coating - the surface feels a bit like a plastic.
I drew a fox on it. The markers worked good on this cardboard, there are no clods. Unfortunately the coverage leaves much to be desired even after applying a second layer of paint.
7. Wood - I didn't find any wood piece I could paint on, so I'll update this article as soon as the situation changes :)
To sum up:
💙I achieved the best results with the paper
💙White paint Posca marker can be very helpful while drawing details in portraits (e.g. eyes, thin hair, etc.)
💙Markers didn't work on surfaces like grey craft cardboard or thin material
💙Another disadvantage is they are rather pricey. I don't think I'll buy more colors, I think I'll just stick to vector gaphics programmes :)
* All the illustrations were created by me. It is forbidden to copy this material (and images included in it) without the author's permission.
