Dual-Tip Shading Marker, Chisel and Round, Salmon Pink, No. 25

Dual-Tip Shading Marker, Chisel and Round, Salmon Pink, No. 25 — alcohol-based ink.

This is an alcohol-based sketch marker with two working ends on one barrel: a broad chisel tip that fills an area in even strokes, and a fine round nib for outlines, edges and small detail. The ink is transparent, so tone builds where strokes overlap and stays flat where they do not.

Alcohol ink dries almost as fast as you draw and blends only while it is still wet, which is exactly why these are the standard shading tool: lay the lighter tone first, then work the darker one into its edge before it sets. Use marker or layout paper if you have it — alcohol ink soaks straight through ordinary copier paper — and keep a spare sheet under the page. Cap them firmly after use; a marker left open dries from the nib inwards.

Each marker holds a single colour and is sold on its own, so a palette is built rather than bought. Two passes of the same pen give a deeper tone than one, and a second colour laid over the first while it is wet mixes a third — which is how a small set stretches a long way.

• Alcohol-based ink, one colour per marker
• Two tips on one barrel: broad chisel and fine round
• Blends wet-in-wet; layers to deeper tones
• Bleeds through thin paper — use marker or layout paper and a backing sheet