Playing with Tombows

This is one of my first few attempts using my Tombow markers. I am quite disappointed with the results of my first few pieces. This is the last piece I just coloured and it looks passable if I ignore all the smudges I created by mistake. I am still not getting the hang of blending the markers directly on paper. This image was coloured by picking up colours I scribbled on an acrylic block.

If there are any fellow crafters out there using the Tombow markers, please help!! I would like to be able to colour with the markers and not struggle so much. I am using both heavyweight watercolour papers as well as medium weight cartridge papers. Strangely, the heavyweight watercolour paper was blotchy and looked horrible after colouring. The picture above is of medium weight cartridge paper. I have a friend who uses coated printing paper but she usually uses the colourless blender to blend her colours. I have yet to try that and will try to find time to do so in the following week.

My Second Play with my Tombows

This is my second play with my Tombows. My first image was on thicker watercolour paper at my friend's place. The image has been mounted onto a card and sold at a fundraiser two weeks ago. I don't have a picture of it. I think the quality of the paper makes a huge difference in the final result of the colouring. This image that I stamped today on heavy cartridge paper just doesn't look at bright or smooth after I coloured and blended using a mixture of the blender pen or the waterbrush.

The paper seemed to be much weaker than the watercolour paper I used previously. I guess that is to be expected, even though the weight of the heavy cartridge paper is heavier at 200gsm, compared to the weight of the watercolour paper at 190gsm. I am guessing the finishing on the surface of the paper affects the blending of the colours. 


The sky and grass are sponged using memento inks in Summer Sky, Green Sprout and Pear Tart. I made the 'clouds' using the edge of a punched scallop. I shall experiment a little more using other brands and weights of the watercolour papers for the best match with the markers. I love how they blended in my first image but the paper is the priciest I have ever bought so far. i hope I can find a more inexpensive alternative.

Tombow Markers Chart

I completed this colour chart two weeks ago. The template was sent to me by a friend who also bought the set of Tombow markers. We did not manage to get the full set of markers though. I think I managed to buy 103 out of the 144 colours. 

The colours blended very well on the watercolour paper I used. This is a fairly light weight watercolour paper at 180gsm. I will be making another chart on white paper. This one is off-white or cream in colour so the colours are going to be slightly different from how they appear on white paper. 


In any case, if there are any of you out there who would like to have this chart, do leave me a comment with your email address. I can send the document to you. I also have the latest one with the summer collection for Twinkling H2Os. That one will need more time to colour in as I am swamped with work this weekend.

New Tombow Markers and an old postcard

I finally finished the crochet penholder I wanted to make to hold my new Tombow markers. It is a little loose right now, as I am still short of about 30 markers from the complete set of 144 markers. Hopefully, the shop that is carrying them will replenish their stock soon. Here's a picture of it.

I used double strands of an acrylic yarn for the holder so it is thick and pretty sturdy. I have tried the markers on different types of watercolour paper and found that it is rather strange that it tends to blend beautifully on some papers but not well at all on some. Generally, I have found that it blends better on thinner watercolour paper. When I tried it on 300 gsm paper (approx 140lbs), I could not get it to blend at all. Will be doing some more tests to figure out which ones work best with these markers. 


As for the old postcard, I found one I completed a few months ago. I like the image very much. Think I will change the colour of the cat the next time I colour the same image though. It looks too close to the colour of the pot it is standing on in my opinion. 

The image is coloured using Swiss Colours watercolour pencils. They blend pretty well. I will be breaking out my new Derwent pencils soon, as soon as I complete the colour chart for it. I love the intensity of the Derwent pencils. My Swiss Colours will be somewhat retired once I use my new pencils I think. They will probably be used for my workshops.

Speaking of which, I have a confirmed class this Sat at 1:30pm. There are still vacancies, so if anyone in Singapore is keen, you can just drop me a comment with your email contact and I will provide you with more details.