I've been a wee bit jealous when watching other people playing with fancy alcohol-based markers. My foster daughter has a big expensive set of these pens, and one of my favorite comic artists (the Oatmeal) has been posting pictures of the things he's doing with them too. I was inches away from using a 50% off coupon at Michaels to buy a set that retails for a couple hundred bucks when Alfred got sick last week, and I suddenly felt bad about spending such a ridiculous amount of money on pens that I might not actually use enough to justify the cost. I still wanted to try them, though. So I cheaped out and bought the store brand (Artists Loft), for significantly less of an investment. I made one simple practice piece when I first got them, and then I got busy doing other things during the week.
Today I wanted to pull them out again, and try something a little more elaborate. I decided to attempt a purple butterfly (because that's the symbol of lupus and for the first time in over 20 years, I have the beginnings of the classic malar rash on my face). My pen set didn't have the exact same purples and cobalts as the photo I copied, but I pressed forward and did the best I could, blending and layering until I was relatively satisfied with the result.
I have to say the pens will take getting used to, but they are fun. I don't yet know whether I'm going to make enough things to justify getting the fancy ones. I'll stick with my cheapo set until I outgrow them. For now, I'm okay with making my own simple designs to color, and not worrying about whether my art is professional looking.
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