It seems like stampers are busy coloring in images these days with their Copic markers. Copic markers are quality professional markers that come in three styles (original, sketch, and caio), and come with a hefty price tag attached.
Frankly, I wasn't sure I would even like the results of coloring with markers, when there are so many other better techniques (in my opinion). Before I layed out a significant amount of money for any markers, I first wanted to see how coloring with markers compared to other coloring techniques such as the Magic Pencil technique, watercolor painting, pastels, etc. I bought a handful of Copic markers on sale at Hobby Lobby so that I could experiment with them.
samples - first picture is colored with Tria markers; second photo is watercolor paints.
I found that I "liked" (but didn't "love") the results markers gave compared to other techniques. The one thing I learned about using markers was that I would have to have the ability to blend colors ... which for me meant having alot of colors/shades available. I couldn't color something in using just one shade. This was going to be another expensive addition to my ever growing art studio if I went forward with this purchase.
Everyone gets so caught up in brand names, and having to have what everyone else has. I didn't feel that way about Copic markers at all. Once I decided that I liked the coloring technique enough, I just wanted to find out what worked best for me. Like I once read, if you can draw (or color), it doesn't matter what tool you use. In other words, the brand of marker you are using isn't going to make your art look any better than the talent that is behind that pen.
I went in search of a way I could purchase professional markers as economically as possible. I read alot of online information and reviews. Mostly, I found information about Copic markers, and not so much about other brands. From what I saw and read I was really quite curious about Tria markers from Letraset (NOT to be confused with Triart Markers). Tria professional markers have been around for many years. Recently they revamped their pens. They were changed from a refillable barrel design to a changeable ink cartridge design. Personally, I like the cartridge concept better than having to buy reinkers for all of the heavily used colors. Supposedly the ink has been reformulated, but I don't see where that is negative or positive for me. Tria markers offer 3 nibs ... fine, brush and chisel ... IN ONE PEN. The best of all worlds. You don't get 3 nibs on any other pens. This was a big plus in my book, as I use all three for different things.
The end result is that I purchased 40 Tria markers. Instead of paying upwards of $6.00 for a single Copic marker, I paid $2.95 for individual Tria markers. (I purchased my Tria markers from Carpediem). I could of gotten a greater deal had I purchased them in a set (as you would with Copic too). Although there were many beautiful sets available, the trouble with larger sets is that you usually get too many gray markers. A couple of "grays" are necessary, but I just don't use that wide of a variety of them. So, I chose to get just the colors I wanted, making sure I got blendable shades.
I have only had the Tria markers for about a week now, but I thought I'd share my first results with them. The flower above, and these two cards, are the first images that I colored. The photos are not the best , but I hope you can see the results I had with the Tria markers. They worked very nicely!
Besides having the 3 nibs in one pen, the other thing I like about the Trias over the Copic is the brush nib. The Copic brush nib (sketh marker) is quite flexible. Almost too flexible for me. The Tria is a bit stiffer and I find that easier to work with. To me, the ink in both markers apply the same. In the end, I found that the Tria markers truly don't look any different than the Copics. I found them very easy to work with. I am very happy with my purchase. I can see adding more colors to my Tria collection in the future. I feel like I got good results at a great value.
Update to this blog post - March 4th, 2009
I've owned my Tria markers for just about one year now. I find that I am not using them as much as I should, with lack of time being the issue. Recently I went to use the markers and found that many of my markers had dried up or were in the process of drying up. I couldn't believe it! I hadn't used some of my colors and the others had not been used much. The caps appeared to be on securely.
I remembered reading something when I was first doing research prior to buying the redesigned markers, about a batch of defective pens. I remember it had something to do with the caps. So, I thought "what have I got to lose". I contacted CarpeDiem (where I purchased the markers online). I told them I had 20 markers that were dried/drying up for no apparent reason. CarpeDiem immediately contacted me and told me there had been defective pens/caps at about the time I purchased my markers. All stock had been replaced by Tria since.
A representative from Lettraset contacted me and was very apologetic and explained what had happened with the markers. He asked for a list of the bad markers. That was on February 24th. Today I received replacement markers ... all 20 ... plus a very nice letter, a set of 6 additional primary colored markers, and a sleeve of fine point nibs. Now, I call that excellent customer service!!! The box came from the UK in just over 1 week. That is impressive in my opinion. I still recommend the pens, and definitely the company that stands behind them.
One thing that I figured out, was that the original markers that went "bad" had clear labels (or no label) on the sides of them. The remaining "good" markers had silver labels. All of the new replacement markers have the silver labels. If you purchased any markers about a year ago, and are having similar problems... check to see what kind of labels they have on the side. If they aren't silver, they may be defective like mine were. And, don't hesitate to contact Letraset.
So where did you buy your Tria markers for that price? The prices on the website you gave a link to are for 48 (a set) - over $6 each. So if you could share where you got yours for $2.95 would be most appreciated.
Posted by: MaggiLiz | March 17, 2008 at 08:39 AM
Nice coloring Kris, thanks for the info on markers :)
Posted by: Sue McG | March 22, 2008 at 11:11 PM
Kris, thanks for this information! Very helpful indeed. As, I'm not wild about those heavy flexy brush tip markers (one reason, why I only own a few markers) This answers all my questions. Your examples are excellent!
Thank you very much!!
Posted by: Lisa Renea | April 01, 2008 at 07:07 PM
Hi!
Today, January 5, 09, I posted an entry on my blog with a link to yours.
Would you let me know if that's OK?
Thanks,
Nancy Ward
http://paperfriendly.blogspot.com
Posted by: Nancy Ward | January 05, 2009 at 01:11 PM
please go back to the website suggested and scroll to the right hand side of the web page. the markers are showing up at 2.95.
Altered state
Posted by: altered state | January 06, 2009 at 07:37 PM
oh--thanks for the info--I'll have to look into these!
Posted by: liannallama | January 14, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Thank you so much for your excellent review. I have been agonizing over "which" markers to try out. You have saved me a LOT of money.
Posted by: Brenda | January 30, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Note that the Carpediem Trias are the old style. The new ones have a clear barrel, cartridge refills and the colors have been updated to work with HSL Colorspace. Well at least you would have a bargain until they dry up.
** NOTE FROM BLOG OWNER - this is incorrect information. The markers Carpediem sells are the NEW style of markers... not the old ones. These have clear barrels, and you can replace the ink cartridges (no refilling needed).
Posted by: Phyllis Strickland | May 08, 2009 at 03:23 PM
I need to correct my post about Carpedien - they DO indeed have the Tria new style for the best price i could find. I didn't find them because I always clicked the Triart Marker link on the left. The new markers are found at the Letraset link. Sorry for the inccrect information.
Posted by: Phyllis Strickland | May 12, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Thanks for all the info! My mum is taking me to buy my first tria markers for Christmas. =)
Posted by: Anara | December 14, 2009 at 03:57 AM
I was able to pick these markers up today for only $1.95 each on sale at carpediemstore.com. This is for the individual markers. It's actually cheaper to buy them individually while on sale than in a set. Once at the site click on markers and scroll down and click on Tria Markers New System at the bottom right. Thanks for the help deciding on the tria instead of the copic! I would have been sick to have seen this info after a huge purchase of copic and can't believe my luck finding the tria on sale! After reading your post I was also able to view a video on you tube that helped out as well.
Posted by: Jackie | April 25, 2010 at 11:09 PM
I had the same problem with a big set that was a present and had the same experience with Letraset. Apologies and replacement. They are awesome. I have many pieces I've done over the past six years and they don't fade, so far. I love those markers. I've also tried Prismacolors and they have a tendency for the color to flatten out...The Tria are just wonderful!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Wendy Donaldson | August 07, 2010 at 11:33 AM
Hey I have been thinking about buying markers to color my anime drawings. i heard about the copics and wanted to buy the ciao ones, however when i came across this, im not sure anymore.....could you tell me more about the blending and is the brush tip a bit flexible or is it very stiff? also how well do the colors come out? are they bright and vibrant or do they come out sort of dull? thanks so much if you can answer these questions and thanks for this review!
Posted by: Anna | April 20, 2011 at 01:01 PM
THNAK YOU so much for this review. Would you be willing to list out for us the colors that you use most or think are the best for making cards for a starter set of Tria Markers...maybe the best 12-15? I love to make cards but I'm not that knowledgeable about blending, etc. and want to buy what would be most useful. I do not see sets on Carpe Diem so would need to pick out the best colors individually. I do not see all 300 colors on the web site but the ones currently listed are $1.75!
Posted by: Deb | July 21, 2011 at 10:08 AM