Princess Mononoke - Arrtx Paint Pens

Screenshot Redraw - Princess Mononoke - December 2024

I just wanted something quick and simple to work on now that Huevember is over, and I had also just had a new watercolor notebook arrive that I had ordered specifically for screenshot redraws, so the universe lined up for this to come to pass. I was originally going to tackle it with gouache when I remembered I had this set of acrylic markers I'd been meaning to really test out, and the rest was fate. (Marker review at the end.)

There are definitely differences between the original and my drawing (the angle is slightly different, namely) but it's so simple and flat in colour that I don't even really register it as something I drew. I tend to have a lot of blending going on.

The notebook is pretty itty bitty (5x7, meaning the screenshot redraws will only be 3.5x7), so it will be nice to use for when I just want to do something fun and simple instead of stressing over it for days on end. From blank page to ready-to-scan I think this one here took less than two and a half hours. I normally spend longer than that on a sketch alone.

ARRTX ACRYLIC MARKER REVIEW

I picked up this set of paint markers back in May. This is the first time I've really used them aside from tossing one or two into a sketchbook spread.

As a whole, they were a lot of fun! Similar to alcohol markers, it was easy to get bold colours with flat washes in a short time, but they're not ideal for filling in large areas (I ended up using regular white acrylic for the base of her furs after suffering through the blue base of the sky background - the grey overlay of the sky is intentionally patchy.) The nibs have held up really well and none of my markers had dried up on their own in the seven months of zero use. The blue one I used to fill the background was definitely struggling by the end, but was fine for smaller areas after I gave it some time to re-activate. On top of that, while I wouldn't quote me on this, I kept a swatch sheet on my window all summer to test lightfastness and there's not too much of a difference! Some, yes, but far less than the alcohol markers.

All in all, for their price point, I'd say they're definitely fun to play around with. I likely won't be picking up more but I'm glad to have the set that I do in the meantime.