Has anyone here used Prismacolor Markers? Got any opinions on them?

My sister wants to buy them for me for my birthday (which, incidentally, isn't until April), but I told her I wanted to get some opinions on them before she spent the money.

So, have you purchased them? How much did you pay? (Comparison shopping, haha.) What do you like or dislike about them? How do they compare to other art markers like Copic? (- if you have used other markers.) Would you recommend a certain set? (If so, which? I'll be using them for a variety of pictures; portraits, landscapes, still lifes, etc.)

Sorry for all the questions, guys. Normally I would just jump in and buy them, but it's my sister's money, so I want it to be worth her dollars and cents.

hmmm I have a set of prismacolors but I got them in a package from my college and wouldn't consider really buying them in the first place :<
dunno about pricing though, you should google it up |D haha.

but COPICS, are amazing. :I they're so much more hm.."watery" than prismacolors, so they blend a LOT better.
Except, they're extremely expensive >_>; I got a set of 24 copics for about 120$ DX

i've used a friends prismamarkers, I liked them..but they bleed at times and it's hard for me to colour in my lins 8D they're good but annoying? I dont know prices O.o but meh? i'd buy them if you found them on sale :x

We don't have prismacolors over here, we have Letraset Promarker. They are quite similar to Prismamarkers I've been told. € 3.55 a piece (making it $ 4.90). If you use the correct paper (markerpaper) they won't bleed and are really worth the investment. Unless after you buy them, you ignore them most of the time and draw online like I do a lot.-

I will have to look these up, I wasn't even aware there are markers that blend.. does that make me old? Probably huh.

Nah, Lori, you're not old. :)

Maiko - Yeah, that's the thing with Copics. I looked into them for awhile, but maybe if I get really into the whole marker thing where I'm using them tons I can make an investment. (When college is done sucking all my money away, haha.) Are the Copics alcohol-based?

Thanks for the imput so far guys.

Omg I want copics really badly, all i have are some lonesome old highlighters that are dried up.

Yes, I believe copics are alchohol based. :3 and what actually makes them extremely useful too is that they have a brush tip and a chisel tip. The brush tip is extremely flexible so you can make smooth strokes.

hmmm though, I find that at conventions where copic has a booth, they'll sometimes have sales.
Like at anime expo, the copic markers were half off or something or it was buy one get one free |D I don't remember....
They sell them at my art school too |D; except, only slightly cheaper. haha.

Thing about prismacolor markers is that if you don't use them on marker paper, they're a lot more annoying :\ whereas if you
use copics, they work a lot better with different papers.


They are super expensive though XD and i'm always scared to use my markers...I suggest maybe buying a few individual markers of just basic colours, and getting a blender, doesn't even have to be a copic blender. :3 I use my prismacolor blender with my copic markers and it works just fine. :o

You can order them off of copic.com or something like that, but each one is like 5 dollars plus tax. You dont need copic multi liners, micron sakuras work good too.

Thanks for all the info. :D

ehh Don't order them off the website if you can help it x__x; they overcharge.

Also, even though micron pens work fine, they tend to bleed when used with copics :\
ball point pen works just fine if you dry it XD

I actually do all of my lineart and coloring with regular ball-point pens.

I dont need to worry about smudging, the media I use for coloring are pencils.

colored pencils can still smudge :P

PRISMACOLORS > COPICS!!!! =] ill write my reason when i get back.

I own some prisma color markers, the only thing I can say about them is that you have to have ALOT of control. they don't blend well, either. they are more of a certain-style kind of marker. I did an art project in them once, it was very trying. go with copic, i heard they were much better.

Prisma markers work rather well when doing dark things.. adding lots of shadows they work rather well. Doing lighter things like skys and lights.. well they suck. ON a side note prismacolor pencils rock. I had a dark shadowy area and used the white and brough out alot of highlighs and it turned out crisp. Most other color pencils smude so bad and you can not lighten wonce its darkend. SO something that i found works really well is use the prisma color markers for base colors and then shade over with pencil ( or airbrush if you have one) and it makes a really strong looking picture. pricing for prismacolor markers was $2.50 a marker and like $20.00 or so for a set of 10?

Prismacolors are okay, I guess... but if you want to get some good markers, go all the way and get Copic Sketch. You'll be glad you paid more - they're much easier to use and often look a lot better as well. I have normal Copics, too, but they're not much different than Prismas. Copics are better for lighter colours, it seems. Also, the smell of Prismas is absolutely horrible; I can't use them for very long before it really gets to me.

Prismacolor is probably one of the best, cleanest, and most helpful brands you can purchase! You can go from any level, 1-10 and above! They're great for begginers and if your better, you can use them to your fullest. It's probably the best!(I love mine!) However, They do come a bit pricey...
Find every color and almost every style.

It's true.

Neko, you sound like you copied and pasted that straight from there website.

Seriously? No. I guess I like the brand a lot (lolz) and I have this problem.