December 29, 2020

STA Metallic Brushmarkers Review

STA Metallic Brushmarkers Review

So I got enticed by AliExpress recently and my stationery obsession led me to buy a 10 pack of STA Metallic Brushmarkers. For those that prefer to watch video reviews, click below:

I paid US$6.81 including shipping. I had the option to select a bullet tip but I went for the slightly more expensive brush tip end because I didn’t have a set of brushmarkers, well I have watercolor brushmarkers (click here for more details on those) but they are quite different to these.

First up the package arrived safe and sound, I ordered it during lockdown level 4 in New Zealand on 30th April 2020 and it arrived on 23rd May 2020, that’s just over 3 weeks – not bad during a pandemic…

The package itself was well packaged and undamaged. I was delighted to see it came in the sturdy plastic case as shown on the seller’s listing. By the way, I bought these off a store called “wangwangkong Store” and they are pretty much as described in the listing but there were a few things that I was disappointed with. 
Packaging

Bit more on the plastic case…it’s textured! The diagonal lines in the photo are actually slightly raised and gives it a neat feel. 

Packaging Case

The markers themselves are a thinline brushmarker so good for delicate colouring. As they are a brushmarker, I tried getting broad lines and I got good solid thick lines. Although the brush tip is nice and flexible, it felt delicate and one of them was a little frayed after a few strokes.

Stroke Testing

The ten colours are (metallic): Black, Grey, Red, Blue, Olive, Green, Brown, White, Purple, Gold. All except the white were very pigmented. When colouring you can draw over the top of ink pen lines as well as other colors of the markers. The ink in these markers is most brilliant or vibrant when used on black or dark paper/card. I did not like the white, I wanted more pigmentation. I did not like how it seemed to write clear, even on black paper…you could only see a faint white marking when it had dried – the photo seems to brighten the white much more than it looks in reality.

Testing On Black Paper
Testing On Black Paper

I’m not great at handwriting or calligraphy but when I tried to do some basic brush strokes, they were achievable but I found the brush tip difficult to control.

Testing Brush Strokes
Testing Brush Strokes

I tried these out on an acrylic block to test how well they write on plastic. Not so great. The ink bled and moved around a lot – not something I would recommend doing with these markers.

Testing on Plastic block
Testing on Plastic Block
Overall, I do like these metallic brushmarkers and they are a reasonable price. There is a good variety of colours in the 10 pack and whilst most colours performed well and gave a great metallic sparkle, expecially on dark cardstock… I didn’t appreciate the lack of pigmentation in the white marker. These markers are ok for colouring, drawing and lettering; the fine brushmarker tip means intricate work as well as the bold lines or fills are not a problem. However, the tips seemed delicate and easy to damage or fray so you do need to watch the pressure you apply. As the stroke is hard to control I would steer away from these if you are a beginner calligrapher or lettering artist.
 
Great entry level metallic brushmarkers to add a bit of sparkle to any quick doodle or sketch. I would buy these again if I wanted some metallic brushmarkers for simple projects. If I needed to use them a lot over a long time or wanted perfect brush strokes, then no, I would not buy these. 
 
Hope you enjoyed my review.
 
Happy Crafting!
 
Mel Crafting.
 
Filed Under: Crafts, Reviews

2 thoughts on “STA Metallic Brushmarkers Review”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.