| Felt tip markers are a good medium to use for | | | | color and then to come back with black gouache paint |
| sketches as well as finished renderings for | | | | and a paintbrush and fill in details. The black gouache |
| presentations, graphic design, advertising and package | | | | stands out very well over the black marker ink and the |
| design. Felt tip markers are water or solvent based. | | | | overall black looks very rich. This brings us to water- |
| Water based markers are generally non-toxic. | | | | based paints. |
| Permanent markers are solvent based using xylene, | | | | Water-based paints include acrylic, watercolor, |
| ethyl alcohol, propyl alcohol or methyl isobutyl ketone | | | | gouache, casein, and tempera. I will talk about |
| as the vehicle. Avoid using xylene-containing | | | | watercolor and gouache paints, which are fairly similar. |
| permanent markers as they may cause dizziness, | | | | They consist mainly of a gum, water, preservatives |
| headaches and nausea. The vapors from methyl | | | | and pigments. They may also contain glycerin, syrup |
| isobutyl ketone markers are also strongly irritating to | | | | and other nontoxic ingredients. Watercolor is more |
| many people. Permanent markers based on ethyl | | | | transparent especially when thinned with water, |
| alcohol and propyl alcohol are much less toxic, even | | | | gouache contains chalky, calcium carbonate which |
| though the vapors may cause some minor eye or | | | | makes it opaque. Both paint mediums are easy to |
| respiratory irritation. All markers should be used in | | | | clean up with water, fast drying and versatile. |
| areas with good ventilation. | | | | The opacity of gouache makes it a very good |
| Layout bond is a good paper to use with felt tip | | | | medium to paint on colored papers. The pigments in |
| markers. Coated papers do not absorb the ink as well | | | | these paints give rich and concentrated colors and can |
| and a certain amount of color depth is lost. When using | | | | be mixed to give a vast spectrum. Pigments already |
| felt tip markers, the color does run a little on the paper. | | | | mixed into paints are generally safe, as opposed to |
| To control this, color a hair's breadth inside your line, so | | | | mixing your own pigment powder where they can be |
| that when the color bleeds, it is within the area that | | | | inhaled. The major hazard from pigments is |
| you want. Save your markers that run dry, they are | | | | accidentally ingesting the pigment. Some pigments that |
| excellent for feathering or filling in small spaces. When | | | | are toxic include compounds of cadmium, cobalt, lead, |
| coloring an area black, many design students opt to | | | | manganese and mercury. Chrome yellow, zinc yellow, |
| use a charcoal gray color and then to come back with | | | | strontium yellow and cadmium pigments are a few |
| a black pencil to fill in any details such as lines or | | | | examples of pigments that may cause lung cancer. As |
| seams. Using charcoal gray does not lend itself to a | | | | a save guard do not eat or drink while using paints, |
| rich looking black. I recommend using a black marker to | | | | wash hands afterward including under the finger nails. |