Ecoline Markers and Liquid Watercolors- Review and Tutorial

Posted by Becca Hillburn July 13, 2017

Ecoline Markers and Liquid Watercolors- Review and Tutorial

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Over the years, I've had the pleasure of handling, reviewing, and exploring a variety of waterbased and watercolor markers both here on the Nattosoup Studio Blog and on my Youtube Channel. Some major standouts include Spectrum Aqua watercolor markers, Winsor and Newton watercolor markers, and today's review, Ecoline watercolor markers and liquid watercolors.

This review and tutorial is part of my Watercolor Basics series- a collection of reviews and tutorials designed to teach you how to watercolor comics and illustration, and introduce you to a wide variety of watercolor media on the market. My desire is to empower you so that you feel confident selecting the materials that will work for you, and the techniques that will deliver the art you desire.

July is World Watercolor Month! This review and tutorial will hopefully inspire you to play around with watercolor, or to try a new material or technique.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with a few friends on your favorite social media platform! Make sure to tag it #worldwatercolormonth!~

About Ecoline

Ecoline watercolors are produced by Royal Talens. Talens is a Dutch company founded in 1899 to make paints, lacquers, and inks, and launched with oil paints and watercolors. Royal Talens brands include Rembrandt, Cobra, van Gogh, Amsterdam, Art Creation, Talens, Bruynzeel, Sakura of America, Schjerning, and Strathmore. The Ecoline line of products includes watercolor markers, liquid watercolors, papers, and blending markers.

Ecoline watercolor markers and liquid watercolors are primarily dye based, although the White liquid watercolor does appear to have some pigment in it. Dye based watercolors tend to be light fugitive and not entirely waterfast, so you may have to adjust your watercolor technique to best suit these markers.

The Ecoline watercolor markers appear to have a removable nib, and seem to be refillable straight from the Ecoline liquid watercolor bottle, making these watercolor markers some of the few that are refillable.

Number of Colors in the Ecoline Marker Line: 30

Number of Colors in the Ecoline Liquid watercolor line: 48

Image Source

Where to Buy:

Watercolor Markers:

Amazon

Openstock: $9.36 each

Set of 5: $15.15

Set of 10: 36.88

DickBlick

Openstock: $3.19 each

In Sets:

5- $16.25

10-$24.66

Liquid Watercolors:

Amazon

Set of 6: $29.87

Set of 10- $46.96

Openstock: $11.66 each

In Sets:

DickBlick

Openstock: $4.99 each

In Sets:

Ecoline Markers:

Ecoline Markers have a very similar body to Crayola washable markers- fairly stock with a straightforward color indicative cap that posts on the back of the marker. Although Ecoline watercolor markers are not marketed as refillable, nor are their nibs billed as replacable, the nib is removable with a little care and caution, and one can assume that you could refill your empty marker with the Ecoline liquid watercolor that corresponds. Given this, it would be nice to see Ecoline release not only replcaement nibs, but also empty markers, in the same vein as Copic.

Ecoline Watercolor Markers and Liquid Watercolor Review

Photos from the review:

ecoline, watercolor markers, ecoline watercolor markers

ecoline, ecoline watercolor markers, watercolor markers

Ecoline Liquid Watercolors:

Large mouthed jars with no eyedropper, unlike many of the other liquid watercolors on the market such as Hydrus and Radiant Watercolors. Ecoline liquid watercolors come in 1 ounce glass bottles with a plastic screw on lid. These bottles do not come with an eyedropper.

The Blender

The blender is probably filled with a mixture of water and glycerin- common solvents for waterbased and watercolor markers. There doesn't appear to be an overabundance of glycerin, as the blender marker does not dry slightly glossy. Ecoline watercolors work well with either the blender or water- but don't mix, as this can lead to muddiness.

This tutorial was made possible thanks to the generosity of my Patrons on Patreon.

If you enjoy reviews and tutorials such as this one, please consider joining the Artnerd community on Patreon.

The Field Test and Tutorial:

Succulents Step by Step with Ecoline

Still Photos from the Field Test

This field test was completed on Fluid Cold Press watercolor paper.

succulent, watercolor succulent, watercolor painting, succulent in watercolor, ecoline, ecoline watercolor markers, illustration made with ecoline watercolor markers

The Verdict:

Ecoline watercolor markers are fun and fairly easy to use. They are single sided, dye based watercolor markers that utilize a foam rubber brush nib. This nib has plenty of flex and bounce, making it great for hand lettering artists, or artists who are used to alcohol markers such as Copic.

The foam rubber nib seems to be replaceable, and the markers seem like they're refillable-the nib is easily removable from the body, and the marker colors are coordinated with liquid watercolors, giving me this impression.

These markers play quite well with the Ecoline liquid watercolors, which are also dye based, and are available in vibrant colors. Between the markers and the bottled liquid watercolors, there's a huge variety of ways to play with and utilize this watercolor system.

Compared to other dye based watercolor markers on the market, such as Spectrum Aqua watercolor markers, or the DoCrafts Artiste watercolor markers, these markers offer a wide array of advantages. Refillable, customizable colors, a blender marker that actually blends, the ability to work with liquid inks for blending techniques, open stock availability, vibrant colors- the Ecoline watercolor markers seem like an excellent choice for a calligrapher's studio, an illustrator's drafting table, or for vibrant watercolor work.

Because these markers are DYE BASED, they should not be trusted as entirely light fast, and should not be stored or displayed in sunlight.