Refillable Manga medium
Copic markers are Japanese-made markers that have been used for years by Manga and other artists in Japan. Though generally relegated to that purpose, they’re a very functional medium, an alcohol-based, refillable marker that can also be used with an airbrush. They are initially expensive to buy, but because they are refillable and so versatile, over time they prove to be less expensive than Prismacolor markers. Because they are alcohol based, they are also blendable; similar to watercolor in application, but much more convenient.
Copic markers are somewhat limited in application, and not something generally as versatile as acrylic- or oil-based media. The advantage in my case is mostly portability. For anything larger than an 8 1/2X11″ page, they wouldn’t be practical. Think of them as more for cartooning than fine art. I do a lot of caricaturing and figure drawing, for which they work well. — Stephen Young
For indelible writing on dark glossy surfaces
The Metallic Sharpie is a vast improvement over other metallic pens out there — no shaking the pen before use, and the ink doesn’t puddle up. It dries permanent and shows up great on dark surfaces as well as light ones. It became favorite art tool in my arsenal when I was able to write a friends phone number on a freshly opened, ice-cold beer bottle. Seconds after jotting the number, it was indelible. I try to take it everywhere — it’s good for men’s room graffiti, VHS tapes, I even labeled various keys on my key ring. You can get metallic sharpies at Staples or Office Max. — Chris Sperandio
There’s almost no other way to easily write on slippery surfaces. The metallic sharpie uses silver ink, which has remarkable contrast against both light and dark surfaces. For writing on black plastic or enamel (there is more of it around than you think) nothing else will do. — KK
I have managed to accumulate dozens of small transformers over the years. Those black plastic “wall wart” things. They get unplugged from the device and usually they are totally generic in their labeling. Whatever they powered has gone away, but the transformer remains.
I grabbed one and wrote the product the new transformer belonged to in silver ink on black plastic. I’d tried grease pencils and tags and such stuff before, but they just never worked out. This seems to be the fix. I am so excited about this discovery, I just had to share it. — Norm A.
Fine point performance
Sharpie markers are well-known for being indelible, particularly on plastic, glass and metal surfaces. Folks in labs, movie sets, and hospitals who need to mark things permanently use Sharpies. If the ink goes on, it won’t come off. What’s special here is that the other tip of these pens is an ultra-fine point Sharpie, fine enough to write like a ball-point pen – but permanently — when you need to. The “industrial” version of Sharpie ink will even resist chemicals and scrubbing. Since more writing surfaces seem to be plastic-like, I find we use Sharpies all the time now. — KK
Learning to hand letter
Calligraphy • The Calligrapher’s Bible
Calligraphy: A Course in Hand Lettering is the best book for teaching yourself calligraphy, which you can do on your own. It’s how I learned. The book is spiral-bound to lay flat and includes transparent guide sheets for practice. You write over its pages. The course is structured simply and will teach you the basic Italian cursive hands. I prefer it over other guides because it focuses on getting the basics right, without intimidating you with a lot of fancy work. By the end of this course you’ll be able to do a passable wedding invitation, envelope, or framable quotation.
If you want to move onto additional scripts, the Calligrapher’s Bible (also spiral bound) will show you how to hand write over a hundred of them. The directions for each hand are clear and concise. This will last you many years. — KK
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