Spectrum Noir Artliner Pens Review
Spectrum Noir ArtLiner Pens are perfect for doodling, designing, drawing and hand-lettering. The kind folks at Spectrum Noir sent me several sets of their Spectrum Noir Artliners to try out and I had a lot of fun seeing what I could create with them! On this page I’ll tell you about the different sets available and show you some artwork I created using these Artliners.
This is what I received from Spectrum Noir (from left to right):
- 50-minute instructional hand-lettering DVD
- 6-piece Set of Black (Nib sizes: 005, 01, 03, 05, 08 and Brush)
- 6-piece Set of Neutral (Brown nib sizes: 005, 03 and Brush. Gray nib sizes: 005, 03 and Brush)
- 8-piece Set of Bright (Nib size 3 in 8 colors: Yellow, Orange, Red, Pink, Purple, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Green)
- 8-piece Set of Bright (Brush pens in 8 colors: Yellow, Orange, Red, Pink, Purple, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Green)
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Here’s a close-up photo showing the various nib sizes available in the Black set. Depending on your monitor, this photo probably doesn’t show their actual size, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the size range and how the sizes relate to one another:
I started by doodling a page full of mandalas using the 8-piece “Bright” set of Artliners. I decided to use a limited color palette of 4 colors (yellow, orange, red and pink/mauve). The pens in this set have a 03 nib size which is kind of “just right” - not too thick and not too thin.
I found the Artliners a pleasure to draw with. The ink flows smoothly onto the paper, offering even coverage. Plus these artist-quality pens contain lightfast ink that resists fading, which is great when you want your artwork to last a long time.
In addition to the Artliners with pen nibs, Spectrum Noir also creates these Artliners with brush tips. The brushes taper to a fine point which makes them excellent for activities like hand-lettering and filling in tiny spaces in coloring books. I also experimented with combining the brush tip Artliners and the pen nib Artliners in the same artwork by drawing with the brushes and then adding detail over top with the nib pens.
So far the “bright” Spectrum Noir Artliners are available in 2 sizes: the 03 nib and the fine brush tip, as shown here:
Next I wanted to test how the Spectrum Noir Artliners handle erasing. I often prefer to draw/sketch with a pencil first, then go over the lines with ink, and then erase the pencil lines. It’s always annoying when pen ink smudges if you go over it with an eraser, so I was keen to see how well these pens would hold up!
In my sketchbook I lightly drew some mandalas in pencil and then traced over the pencil lines with the Artliners. When I erased the pencil lines I was delighted that the Artliners didn’t smudge at all when I went over the lines with the eraser. I can happily say that the Artliners passed that test!
Here are some examples of mandalas I drew with the Artliners (using the 03 and 005 widths from the Black set on the left and the brown 03 and 005 from the Neutral set on the right):
My next test for the Spectrum Noir Artliners was to color over them with alcohol markers (shown above). I wanted to see whether the alcohol markers would cause the Artliner ink to smudge or smear, but the Artliners also passed this test with flying colors! I also colored over the Artliners with colored pencils, gel pens and paint pens and they too went smoothly over the Artliner ink. This makes the Spectrum Noir Artliner pens perfect for outlining.
All in all the Spectrum Noir Artliners are an excellent choice for drawing, doodling, outlining, patterning and adding details. I only wish they came in more colors!
Above: I outlined the bottom left mandala with the pink/mauve Artliner from the “Bright” Set before coloring it in with alcohol markers and gel pens.
Below: My finished sketchbook page full of mandalas!
Spectrum Noir is owned by Crafter's Companion, a company that makes all kinds of arts and crafts supplies. Learn more about all the available Spectrum Noir products over at the Crafter's Companion website.
Check out my Markers Guide to learn more. You can also read about my favorite coloring supplies.
