InkTober Check-in: Making Friends with Brush Markers

10/12/26 Wedgwood neighborhood. I stood near the middle of this quiet street
to sketch. Neighbors stood on their respective porches to have this conversation.

InkTober is half over, and I’m pleased and surprised to say that I’m enjoying using Staedtler Pigment Arts Brush Pens! As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve long been attracted to brush markers for their expediency and range of line widths, but I’ve never found a way to use them that suited my style or esthetic. I just don’t care for the marker-y look, which I obviously can’t avoid completely: Markers be markers. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from participating in InkTober each year, it’s that using a specific tool or medium daily for an extended time teaches me how I relate to it better than when I use it only sporadically – even if I think I don’t like it (that was my big takeaway years ago when I devoted the month to ballpoint pens). Because what makes me want to use an unfamiliar medium is finding an approach that feels like my own, and that takes committed time to practice.

I was thinking of doing a review of these Staedtler markers, which were new to me before InkTober, but I would need to use them longer to make a fair assessment. For example, after two weeks (and a couple of months for the black and gray ones), the tips are holding out OK under my heavy hand, but I don’t know how much longer that will be true. I also don’t know how long the ink will last.  

The Staedtler "Nature Colours" set

An interesting comparison would be with what I think are their primary competitor, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush Pens. Both containing waterproof, transparent pigment inks, they seem close in features, yet the Staedtler pens are significantly less expensive. In addition, the Staedtler pens are not available open stock, which makes them less convenient. Still, I’m enjoying the challenge of using the predetermined palette in the “Nature Colours” set that I’ve been using. I think it’s good for me (in the same way that eating kale is good for me) to use colors that wouldn’t necessarily be my first choice.

Esthetically, I also like the way all my InkTober sketches so far have a cohesive look from the common limited palette.

All of that said, it’s change-up time! All along, I’ve been curious about how these Staedtler markers compare with Faber-Castell’s Pitt pens. The latter are much more familiar to me; I’ve been using them sporadically for years, but I’ve never given them any devoted time. Although Pitt marker maestro Don Colley has long been my marker guru, even his inspiring demos and workshops couldn’t get me past whatever resistance I have (or had) with markers. While he does magic with his, I just haven’t found a way to make them my own.

So far, the tips of my most-used markers are holding up under
my heavy hand...but for how much longer?

In the remaining weeks of InkTober, I’m going to do exactly what I’ve been doing with Staedtler markers: I’ve preselected a limited palette (though this time of my own choosing, since I have a decently wide selection of Pitts) that I’ll stick with. Now that the Staedtlers have warmed me to markers, the Pitts should be an easy transition. And with both brands fresh in my memory, by the end of the month, I might be better informed for writing a comparison review. 

Before then, though, I still have a few more Staedtler sketches to show.