I’m on the quest to find my favorite ink/markers for painting on rocks. Today I’m reviewing Uni-Posca Markers. I am using the extra-fine point set of 12 markers.
I’ve been using inks to draw and paint the designs on rocks, but thought it would be fun to see if I would like to use markers. I’ll tell you about the inks on another post.
Here are the colors on paper.
You can see by the rock, that they are pretty true to their colors even on this somewhat rough surface.
These markers work great. I felt I had a lot of control of the colors and loved that I could use the black to outline my design.
However, the white doesn’t work well on the rock at all. So, for the white I use this ink with a dip pen. I have found that a 512 nib works great to draw on the rocks.
So using the Posca markers and the white ink I completed this rock design.
The colors from these markers are a matte finish compared to the inks. In the photo below, the first rock is painted with these markers. The other two are painted with ink. They look different, of course, because the ink-painted rocks are outlined in white, but if you focus on just the colors you can see that the inks are richer and darker.
But there’s nothing wrong with that. It just depends on how you want your finished rock to look. I like them both.
These markers come in extra fine, fine, and medium point. I have just used the extra fine. Since I’ve only used these for about a month, I have no idea how long they will last. But I will say, so far, so good.
So here are my pros and cons.
PRO
- Easy to fill in color – more control than ink
- Great tip to outline
- All colors are easy to see on an unpainted rock except the white. If you want to outline in white, you need to use ink or some other marker.
- These markers come in a three tip sizes.
- $18 for set of 12
CON
- Matte finish makes the colors look a bit dull.
- Limited colors
I really like that the paint is so easy to control on the rocks with these markers. If you are just starting out painting on rocks, I would recommend starting with these before moving to the inks. However, I love the intensity of the ink colors. I’ll be back later to review the inks I’ve been using.
Disclaimer:Â I purchased these paint markers, and am not getting any compensation for this review.
Linda,
A great review! I’m collecting ideas for ‘Art In A Box’ boxes to send to my grandkids. This would be a great project, as most of them can find rocks to design on. Thanks for your opinions on this product. Have you used these on any sort of paper? I know different types of paper absorb inks/paints/markers differently, so that could be another post if you have that info,,, enjoy your creative adventure.
Luann, Thanks. I only used them on paper to see the actual colors. I think they would work great on most any paper. What a great idea for the grandkids!
Great review, Lynda. Question: do you use anything to seal the rocks and protect the design? I wonder if a clear sealer would bring out the colors more and add a little luster? You must have a great source for rocks… I would have to go to the landscape rock place to buy some… nothing but cinder rock in our neighborhood!
Judy, Thanks. Yes, I use Krylon Low Odor Clean Finish Matte to seal. Even though I let the rocks dry for several days, the ink/markers often bleed a bit but that’s okay. I use matte because I don’t want them to be shiny. I’ve ordered some rocks on etsy and then bought the larger ones at a rock place locally. The rocks at the local place were real cheap, but I had to spend time going through large bins of them – lots of lifting big rocks but I got some nice ones.
Thanks for the review. It is always nice to see things that are fun to use when we need a little burst of creative fun.
Johanna, I really enjoy playing and seeing what works best for me. Then, of course, I have to share! So glad you checked it out.