Staedtler Pigment Art Brush Pens and Multi Ink Blending Liquid Review
Staedtler Pigment Art Brush Pens and Multi Ink Blending Liquid Review
I was incredibly honoured and privileged to have Staedtler reach out to me again, asking me to review their highly sought after Pigment Art Pens. If you have been following the channel for a while now, you will know that I have been going through Staedtler’s Design Journey range of art supplies, reviewing them and creating artwork in the name of demonstration.
The Staedtler Design Journey is more aimed toward young artists, student artists etc, wonderful quality products but only lacking the lightfast integrity required by fine art artists. The Staedtler Pigment Art Pens however are absolutely aimed toward fine art artists, with exceptional lightfast ratings, which we will investigate further into the review.
We will also be taking a look at the new Multi Ink Blending Liquid that Staedtler have created in order to accompany the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens, helping to transform pigment art pens into a completely different medium. Before getting into the actual review, I would like to let you know, I will be giving away, completely free and no matter where in the world you live, a 24 set of Staedtler Pigment Art Pens and a 12 set of Portrait colour pens. Keep an eye out for my video announcing the giveaway in the next few days. To make sure you don’t miss out, head over to The Art Gear Guide YouTube Channel and subscribe, this will ensure you get a notification when this review is live and future reviews. I must stress, you don’t have to be a subscriber, I don’t like forcing people to do something they may not have ordinarily done, however, being a subscriber ensures you receive notifications as and when new videos are uploaded.
Staedtler Pigment Art Pens Characteristics
As with all of Staedtler’s products, when you hold one of the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens in your hand, you can automatically feel the quality in the materials and build of the product. When Staedtler were kind enough to send out their wonderful Pigment Art Pens to me, they sent out their 60 set, the largest set in the range.
I am guessing, that when you are going to create a premium product, it is probably a good idea to include premium packaging; Apple mastered this back at the beginning of the iPhone, with people videoing unboxing videos. Staedtler have created not only eye-catching artwork on the front of the packaging, but the packaging itself is the perfect storage unit for the pens also.
There is a cardboard sleeve surrounding the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens box, on which there is beautiful artwork depicting the vibrancy of the product inside, along with a swatch showcasing the colors in the set. On the back of the sleeve there is a lot of information about the Pigment Art Pens, along with lightfast information which we will look at in more detail further into the review.
After removing the sleeve you are presented with a black box, again with a beautiful art piece on the front, showing the bright vibrant colors of the ink within the pigment pens. On the back of the box there is also printed information, similar to that of the sleeve.
The box opens simply like a chest would, the top lifts up displaying the first layer of Staedtler Pigment Art Pens, displaying the beautiful first layer of colors available. On the inside of the lid there is a pamphlet attached, were you can remove it and read the detailed information printed inside.
As you can see from the top layer, we can see a few yellows, leading into oranges and reds, with a few magentas at the end. There are thumb cards on either side of the layers, making removing the layers very easy.
The second layer is now exposed, starting with a few light pinks, leading into purples, light blues, some darker blues and finishing off with some aqua blues. The third layer starts with some aqua marines, leading into pale greens and then darker greens; finishing off with a few skin tine colors, light peach, sand, etc.
The fourth and final layer starts with some light natural tones such as Golden Ochre, Raw Sienna, leading into. some darker tones such as Maroon, Brown and Dark Brown. Finally, we have two warm greys, three cold greys, a light grey, medium grey and dark grey, finishing off with a light black and Intense black. The palette over all in my opinion is incredibly well balanced, there isn’t too many of one color or the other, indicating that the palette wasn’t thrown together and actually thought has gone into the process.
Each Pigment Pen sports a familiar grey barrel, if you have used the Staedtler Pigment Liners before, the barrel material and colors are the same, with a brushed, matt grey, textured finish and made from 97% recycled material. The Staedtler Pigment Art Pens sport a round barrel with a dimension of 9.3mm, however, never fear, I can almost hear the sigh through the dusty webs of the internet; yes, the barrels are round, but no they are not going to roll of your desk.
The lid on each pen displays the color of the ink inside the pigment art pen and at the end of each pen, there is a small half centimetre cap, also colored, indicating the color of the ink. The lids all have a fin on them, preventing the pens to roll off any desks and the lids can also be posted on the rear of the pen when being used.
There is a lot of information printed along the barrel, starting with the Staedtler logo and name, followed by “Pigment Brush Pen” to let the artist know which range the pen they are using is from. Toward the very end of the barrel there is also a small brush icon, which clearly indicates the type of nib the pen sports.
Directly under the Staedtler logo and name we can see the pigment name followed by the lightfast rating, which is depicted using stars. This print is a bit small, so make sure you have your glasses on if needed, but I think it is fantastic that this information is printed on each and every pen barrel individually.
Further round the barrel we can see printed on every barrel, the actual wording of the pens lightfastness followed by “Store Horizontally”, and this is printed in four different languages. The lightfast wording you will find will either be, “Good lightfastness”, “Very Good Lightfastness”, or “Maximum Lightfastness”, obviously depending on the star system used.
On removing the cap you are presented with the brush nib, at first glance the nib looks small and not sufficient to deliver a good application of ink, but we will see further into review that this is most certainly not the case. The base of the brush nib is 2.1mm, which tapers into a highly detailing point. Although this is a brush nib, it is not as flexible as other brush nibs on pens of this size and format, which for me I think is a good thing; however, we will take a more detailed look in the performance section of the review.
Staedtler Pigment Art Pens Performance
Its important to note, that the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens can be used in various medium formats, depending on whether or not you are using the Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid, which I use in this review and we will take a closer look at in this written review as well as demonstrating it on The Art Gear Guide YouTube Channel review video.
As a result of this different technique, I created two different works of art, one simply using the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens in their raw format and the other, in conjunction with the Blending Liquid, using different papers as well for each piece.
Pigment Art Pens Swatch
Before getting started with any review, I always start off with a swatch, showing off the colors available, on this occasion I wanted to create the swatch but also displaying the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens in both formats. For this swatch I used the Derwent Hot-Pressed Watercolour Paper, A3 size. As you can see, I have added the name of the color in each section, as well as the star system indicating the Lightfast rating.
As you can see there are two displays of color in each grid, the first application of color is the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens in their raw format, simple application of color from the pen. The second application of color under that has been created using the Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid, applying it with the Staedtler watercolour brushes provided.
With the smooth surface of the Hot Pressed watercolour paper, the layers of ink from the Pigment Art Pens applied seamlessly and effortlessly, there was no bleeding or feathering, just accurate direction of color, wherever it was applied. For the second application of color I used the Blending Liquid, which is a bit like using odourless mineral spirits and as you can see, the blending liquid more than doubles the surface area of colour.
Staedtler Pigment Inks Details
The inks use in the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens are made from the finest pigments, which is why the colors are so bright and vibrant, but more importantly, providing high lightfast values. A lot of pens similar to the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens release a strong odour, some quite overpowering; however, there is no odour whatsoever from the pigment art pens.
The actual nib is quite small as I have already highlighted above in the characteristics section of the review, it is a fibre tip nib, similar to the old felt tip pens you might have used as a child, only the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens nib is clearly much higher quality. Despite the nib looking small, the delivery of ink from the nib is perfect and free flowing.
Staedtler Pigment Art Pens On Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Smooth.
The first piece of artwork I completed, I wanted to try it on Bristol Smooth paper and so I used a sheet of Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Smooth. I wanted this piece of art to be just the ink from the pen and nothing else, so I drew a few cartoons from my childhood, Woody Woodpecker, The Pink Panther, Garfield and Tweetie Pie, cartoons I used to love watching on a Saturday morning, while Mum and Dad, Brothers and Sisters all in bed sleeping.
The Bristol Smooth surface took the ink from the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens like a dream, no bleeding and no feathering. I used the Staedtler Pigment Liners for the inking of the cartoons and when the pigment art pens brushed over the line work, there was absolutely zero smudging. Also, when bringing the brush nib close to the line work, there was no feathering at all, wherever you lay the ink, that was where the ink stayed. Similar type pens are difficult to control in terms of staying within the line work, cheaper alternatives to the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens, feather outside the lifework.
Staedtler Pigment Art Pens With Multi Ink Blending Liquid Artwork
When creating a review for The Art Gear Guide, I know that it can be quite lengthy, but I want to make sure I cover everything, I want to make sure that before you guys go to spend your hard-earned money on any art supply, that you know exactly what you are getting.
I created a second piece of art only this time, including the full potential of the Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid. I used the same paper that I used creating the swatch, the Derwent Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper, a decent quality watercolour paper, nice smooth surface, perfect for water soluble pencils, pens and markers, such as the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens.
I created a simple butterfly with a little bit of background included this piece of art allowed me to demonstrate just how far the Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid pushes the pigment ink on the surface. In this particular art piece, it demonstrates how you can achieve tight detail with the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens but also lose watercolor like techniques.
Once the Pigment ink has been applied and the blending liquid used, once it all dries you can apply more layers without disturbing the layer below.
Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid
The Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid is a fantastic addition to use alongside the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens, at first, I was a bit hesitant, thinking that it might be a bit gimmicky, but I was incredibly wrong. The artwork I created using the pigment pens and blending liquid is a good representation of the ink vibrancy etc, however, I definitely feel in the hands of an artist that has better imagination and abilities than I do, both products will really shine.
The Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid comes in a 50ml bottle, this is a water based, colourless and odourless solution, that dissolves otherwise permanent inks. There is a very easy applicator built into the bottle making it very easy to decant the solution into a water-brush or simply into a palette tray.
The Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid can be used by either pouring the solution into the barrel of a water-brush, allowing the artists to travel very easily with the blending liquid and brush already there for use. The other method is to use a dish or palette, pour a small amount of the blending liquid into the palette or dish and use a watercolour brush as an applicator when diluting
Staedtler Pigment Art Pens Lightfast Information
One of the most prominent aspects about the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens is the fact they are made from high quality lightfast pigments. As I am sure most of you are already aware, alcohol-based markers are not lightfast which is of course one of the main reasons so many fine art artists stay clear of them, but now everything has changed with the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens.
The Staedtler Pigment Art Pens have used the Blue Wool Lightfast scale and used a simple Star method to indicate the lightfast rating. 5 Stars * * * * * equal, maximum lightfast rating. 4 Stars * * * * equal, Very Good Lightfast and 3 Stars * * * equal, Good Lightfast rating. Every pen displays the number of stars regarding lightfastness and also has printed whether the pen is maximum, very good or good lightfastness.
I have also added the lightfast information beside every color added to the swatch, which you can click on the swatch image, which will expand the image automatically, allowing you to zoom in and inspect the data easier.
Of the full 60 colors in the Staedtler Pigment Art Pen range, 30 colors are rated 5 Star, * * * * * Maximum Lightfast Rating, 27 colors are rated 4 Star * * * * Very Good Lightfastness and only 3 colors are rated 3 Star * * * Good Lightfast Rating. This in my opinion is an excellent lightfast ratio depending on the type of artist you are, some artists will only use 5 Star rated pigments or LF1 but most artists will used 5 and 4 star rated pigments or LF1 and LF2, in which case there are 57 colors you can use and resell your original work with confidence.
Staedtler Pigment Art Pens Set Sizes and Prices
Staedtler have done a fantastic job in creating sets with the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens, in my opinion. The largest set is 60, this is the set I have been reviewing for you here. They also sell sets of 36, 24, 12, 6 and you can also purchase the pens open stock, which as we all know is an important factor for artists.
To purchase a set of 6 traditional colors, here in the UK you will pay £10, for a set of 12 traditional colors of the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens in the UK you will have to pay £18. For the 24 set of traditional colors you will have to pay £38 and for the 36 set of pigment art pens you will have to pay £54. For the largest set of 60 traditional colors you will have to pay £97.
However, Staedtler didn’t just stop there, they added smaller sets of 12, split into color families. There is a 12 set of Pastel Colors, a 12 set of Nature Colors, a 12 set of Portrait Colors, a 12 set of Warm Colors and a 12 set of Cold Colors.
But they didn’t stop there, they also created sets of 6, also divided into color families, Pastels, Reds & Pinks, Blues and Violets, Greens and Turquoise, Greys and Caramels, Yellows and Oranges, Beiges and Neutrals, Reds and Browns, Blues and Greens, Grey Colors and Basic Colors.
Due to the fact there are so many different sets, I have only added the prices for the traditional sets, for the sets of 12 and 6 based on color tones, simply select the set you like the look of, from the images above, and the price will be shown.
For the 50ml Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid, you will pay approximately £8 which is a fantastic price given how much the liquid transforms the Pigment Art Pens and also just how far the liquid goes. Not only did I create a full piece of art using the liquid, as well as doing my own tests, demonstrating and filling up a water-brush, my bottle absolutely loads left, it looks hardly touched.
Staedtler Pigment Art Pens and Multi Ink Blending Liquid Conclusion
I have to say, I absolutely loved using these Staedtler Pigment Art Pens and the Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid. The more I used the pigment pens and blending liquid, the more ideas that came flooding to may as to cool art projects that could be created using them.
I was really happy with the art demonstrations I completed with both the pigment pens and blending liquid, but I couldn’t help feeling that artists with much better imagination than I, and those who can achieve wonderfully loose paintings, could create some magical pieces with these awesome products.
I am absolutely positive that people in the comments will mention the price and I am well aware that cost and price is all relevant to the individual. What I would like you to consider though is that the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens are made from high quality pigments and are of the highest lightfast ratings. Unfortunately, in the art world, we can’t have our cake and eat it, everyone wants highly lightfast products but at the cheapest price, however that is simply never going to happen. When you fully understand the lengths companies goto to provide highly lightfast products, you will see why the products cost so much, there is simply no such thing as cheap lightfast pigments, it doesn’t exist I’m afraid.
This review has been incredibly complicated for me, but I really wanted to do my best and make sure I got it right. There has been a lot to unpack, demonstrate and test in order to complete a detailed review. What I can say, as more and more ideas come to me regarding the use and techniques of the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens and in particular, in conjunction with the Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid; I will of course provide demonstrations and artwork via YouTube and The Art Gear Guide website.
I have been so impressed, genuinely and sincerely impressed with the Staedtler Design Journey range products I have review thus far and of course, the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens and Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid. When I very first started drawing, my daughter had the Staedtler Ergosoft Colored Pencils and it was these pencils that lead me down the path I have been walking the past ten years. I really must give the Ergosoft colored pencils from Staedtler another go given my better understanding of paper and colored pencil use.
If you would like to know more about the Staedtler Pigment Art Pens and Staedtler Multi Ink Blending Liquid, you can also check out my YouTube Video review when I demonstrate in real time how the two products work together, simply click the link to watch the YouTube Video Review. I have also completed two separate pieces of art which you can either watch the speed drawing videos by clicking the relevant links. The first speed drawing video is the cartoons I drew using the pens raw and the second is the butterfly using both the pens and the blending liquid. If you would rather just view the images and images of the art taken throughout the drawing and painting process, simply click the relevant link, Cartoon Artwork or Butterfly Artwork. Thank you so much for your continued amazing support.
