Tombow 56171 Dual Brush Pen Art Markers, Grayscale, 10-Pack. Blendable, Brush and Fine Tip Markers

Love them last forever

I bought these right before October, which was perfect timing for using them in the national Inktober challenge (where you draw something in ink every day for the entire month). I'd been looking for some way to easily shade my ink drawings without resorting to watercolors or expensive prismacolors, and these are a good middle ground. They are tricky to use at first because of the lines they create when you overlap strokes, but once you've taken the time to practice on a few drawings they become a good go-to. The trick is to treat them like watercolors, and start with the lightest shade and work your way down, layering the same shade if need be in order to achieve an even look. Not for the faint-hearted, because if you mess up there's no way to fix it. I recommend using a light box to create duplicates of original drawings to shade until you're confident with these. Most of the markers have green undertones while a couple have blue, so I suggest creating a swatch sheet where you can make sure you use the right values that will blend easily. Honestly it was tricky enough to learn how to use at first that I don't think I would've conquered them if I hadn't been doing Inktober. It really encouraged me to keeping at it until I got it, which I'm really grateful for. The shading is excellent and really livens up my art pieces.Update (one year later): due to the nature of these markers and how you can create different values just by overlapping the same color, I'm sworn to these for life. They've utterly spoiled me. I can get any shade I want just from this small set. I bought some color markers through a different brand, but I'm pining for my Tombows. Definitely going to invest in getting some of their color sets next.

These pens are excellent artist pens. They allow the artist to create black and white drawings—with all the various values of gray in between. Perfect for seasoned artist or beginners. I love doing value studies using these pens. Great in a studio or out on site.

Great brush pens, very smooth and, covers the surface of paper nicely without blotches. I would definitely buy them again!

These markers were okay, maybe it's the fact that they're water-based that I don't care for them that much. I bought them to add quick gray-tones to my sketches, but they pill up the paper very quick in my sketchbook. I thought maybe it was the paper, so I also tried a marker sketchbook. They don't pill as much with marker paper, but then they don't absorb quickly either, which can lead to even more streaky lines. I didn't expect them to work as well as my alcohol markers in the first place, but they are just slightly disappointing.As long as you follow the explanation in the packaging they come with, they actually are blendable despite being water-based, which I was surprised. The pilling effect sort of deters me from doing this, however. I didn't intend to use them for that anyway, so it's not that big of a deal to me.I do like the lighter colors, as they don't seem as overpowering as the dark. I also like the fine tipped side, which I didn't expect to use much. Over all, they're fine if it's not serious art.They're not my favorite, but I will use them if I'm just doing something quick.

I have tried several different brands of gray scale shading pens including water based and alcohol based sets and I have yet to find another set as good as this set. I use these on everything from paper to canvas. They blend well with all my other water based mediums and really make my life as an artist much easier! If you are still in doubt about buying these let me assure you that you won't be disappointed. They are worth every penny!!

LOVE these pens. i found out too late that they aren't beginner-level, because the brush size is so large, but they're really pretty and very vibrant. the ink doesn't fade or run out at all. it's too early to tell how long they'll last as of now, but i've heard that they last pretty long. only complaint is that the darker grays seem to be very similar. of course, i ordered grayscale because i loved the look of the grays over having variety, but i would have preferred more lighter grays, and perhaps a more browner and warmer gray than the N89 (which i love). i love the light grays, but the darker grays kind of bleed through papers and pages more, and the black definitely does. i got the hang of calligraphy and my style within a few days with these, but i'd recommend a beginner to start out with thinner pens like the fudenosuke ones first, or at least to order both of them so that you don't have to practice with really thick pens first. i went through quite a lot of paper because my calligraphy had to be much larger. also, i don't really use the smaller marker tip too much. it's pretty much just a round felt tip. i may update this review when i get the hang of modern calligraphy a bit more, and buy more kinds of pens.

These greyscale brush pens are completely blendable. You can use them to create fine lines, medium, or even bolder strokes. There are all excellent set also for drawing and shading.