I’ve been on a bit of a marker kick. And why not? Lots of colors, inexpensive, and versatile. So today we are looking at the Tombow Dual Brush Marker Pens.
Here’s how the company describes them:
Flexible brush tip and fine tip in one marker. Brush tip works like a paintbrush to create fine, medium or bold strokes; fine tip gives consistent lines. Dual Brush Pens are ideal for artists and crafters. The water-based ink is blendable and the resilient nylon brush retains it’s point stroke after stroke. 96 colors available including a colorless blender for shading.
- Ideal for fine art, illustrations, doodling, journaling, hand lettering and more
- Water-based
- Blendable
- Odorless
- Tips self-clean after blending
So let’s take a closer look! I’ve done this review as a video, which lasts about 10 minutes. You’ll se the still photos after that.
So let’s look again at those nibs.
Brush Tip is located under the larger, color-coded cap.
The writing nib is under the small black cap. Truthfully, I forget it’s there!
Now a few things to keep in mind:
- available in sets and open stock
- water based AND water-reactive
- these only work on porous surfaces and are never permanent
- use with dye-based waterproof stamp pads for coloring images
- they’ve been around for a long time and are a trusted brand
- non-refillable and nibs are non-replacable.
- widely available
- excessive coloring will create “pills” on the paper
My bottom line is that these are a great entry-level marker.. the brush tip and writing nib makes it very versatile, and they aren’t so expensive that they will break the bank. I can use these along side my daughter and we both get good results, too! The felt tip is prone to breaking down over time, and I’d personally like the pen nib to be even finer for writing and detail work, but that’s just my personal opinion. But at the end of the day, I’ve had this set for years and they are serving me VERY well!
Your thoughts? Questions?
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I have several Tombows and I like them for coloring in small areas. I find that they tend to leave coloring streaks in large areas.
I used Tombow years ago—found them to run OUT of color too quickly with only water to use as a refill or to buy a NEW pen………I went COPIC…..sorry…do like the Tombow IF and only if it’s a water color feature……but thanks for the comparison–your vids are always very helpful! 🙂
I have a lot of Tombow, was curious how these compare to the new Spectrum Aqua markers. I really don’t want to invest in anything new.
Thank you for the review of the Tombow markers. How do these markers compare to the Stampin Up markers?
Susanne- That surprises me. And while I like Copic, it’s not fair to compare them to a water-based marker. Totally different animals. And the price difference is usually $3-5 dollars!
Robin- I used a fairly dense card stock and did not have that issue. Try using super-smooth paper that is heavy, like One-Sheet Wonder.. Also, a few passes back and forth should saturate the paper and eliminate streaking.
I’m working on a comparison post, and the SU markers will be included.
Thanks so much.
This is the kind of detailed review I like to see. Thank you for doing such a great job.