Category Archives: Intermediate Supplies

Review – Sharpie Colors Part 6 – Orange, Peach, And Yellow

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And now, it is time for the final (for now) part of my look into the various colors of Sharpie markers (that I own). This section isn’t quite a “nice” as the others as I didn’t have another place to put the yellow that seemed appropriate, and there aren’t many oranges. Nevertheless, let’s take a look.

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Orange – The standard orange is, like all standard Sharpie colors, quite dark. It doesn’t quite resemble the fruit enough for most renderings but is close enough. It’s not too bad on bleed-through, feathering, or shading. It’s well behaved, just not that useful.

sharpie colors oranges-yellows

Peach – Peach doesn’t quite look like a peach either. It’s more of a weird skin tone. But it is perhaps a bit more natural looking than the orange. It’s pretty bad on bleeding and feathering, with shading being noticeable. But it is pretty so if you like the look you might be able to find a use for it.

Yellow – And finally yellow. It isn’t something really spectacular. It is indeed stereotypically yellow, without much of a natural bent. It is hard to read in the dark and bordering on eye hurting in the light. It bleeds through, but feathering and shading are minimal. I would struggle to find a place for it due to its unnatural hard-to-read-ness but if yellow is your thing, it certainly gets it done.

And that’s the last set of the Sharpie colors that I have. It’s probably the most lackluster set (figuratively. Literally would be the neutrals). I would struggle to find a place either in art or at the office for them, but they do help round out any personal collections and would make eye-catching signs I guess.

Most of the Sharpie colors are more useful, though. The set I have would work both in the artistic and office realm. And it offers a large enough selection of colors to keep most people happy.

Review – Sharpie Colors Part 5 Reds – Red, Pink, Pink Lemonade, and Magenta

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We’re five parts in to my look at the various Sharpie pen colors I have. This time I will be looking at some of the various shades of red.

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Red – The red itself is a deep, dark color. It’s close enough to the color of a red rose, and surprisingly (or unsurprisingly if the dye for both is those red bugs) ketchup. It’s not very aggressive or eye-hurting, but it stands out and is good for marking and work-appropriate. It’s not the best or worst on the bleed-through side of things, but has almost no shading or feathering. It’s a good color, if a bit boring.

sharpie colors reds

Pink – The pink is also a bit like a rose, not getting quite to the obnoxious hot pink style, but still bright and visible. It’s not the most natural color, but it does separate things out from the crowd. Bleeding is again medium, feathering and shading are a bit more pronounced than on the regular red, though.

Pink Lemonade – Pink lemonade is indeed the color of pink lemonade, or of a pink crayon or candle (something wax). It’s not unpleasing, but it’s also not a color I would keep coming back to. It’s fairy flat and doesn’t really pop out, but is differentiatable. Bleed-through and feathering are pretty bad, and shading is noticeable, though not too much.

Magenta – And now for the final color I’m a bit dubious about. I think it’s magenta. It’s a very deep pinkish color (should I say again like a rose? Roses occur in so many colors) which I can’t find many natural parallels to, nor any really solid work applications. It does look pretty (I guess) but that’s about it. Bleed-though and feathering are terrible with this one, but no shading is evident.

And that’s the reds. They look like flowers, and don’t work well at the stereotypical workplace. They work for organizing, but have some pretty extreme properties. They’re certainly the most eye-catching of the bunch (other than yellow).

Next week I’ll look at the Oranges (and yellow)

Review – Sharpie Colors Part 4 Purples – Purple, Berry, Boysenberry, and Lilac

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All right, now it’s time for part 4 of my look at many of the Sharpie Colors. This time it’ll be the purple-ish set I’m looking at, so let’s get to it.

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Purple – The standard purple color is a very dark purple that looks much like the stereotypical purple. It looks almost bright enough to be some of the darker purple flowers, or a very near-night sky. It doesn’t have many applications in most workplaces either, and its darkness could make it hard to read. It’s middle of the road on bleed, through, for Sharpies, and almost doesn’t feather or shade, making it a pretty good all around color to use around the house.

sharpie colors purples

Berry – Berry certainly lives up to its name and provides a very reddish purple that is very similar to berry juice. It doesn’t have many other natural applications, though. It is bright and visible, with minimal bleeding, shading, and feathering. It’s a very good organizational color even if it might not be that work-friendly.

Boysenberry – This color is an interesting one. It’s a lighter, reddish purple that is akin to the fruit from which it takes its name. It is a much more appealing purple color and is useful in many situations. It’s prone to bleeding, but feathering and shading are minimal. I like it a lot, but it isn’t the most useful color.

Lilac – Lilac is a light, bluish purple. It is very similar to the flower and many other natural shades. It is bright and easy to read, but a bit unprofessional. It’s not bleed- or feathering-prone, but it shades a bit. It’s a nice looking color, and artistically or organizationally useful, but not really for a work environment.

And those are the purples. I like the colors, but they tend to be less useful. It’s just hard to find applications other than organization. But they work very well. Next week I’ll be looking at the various red colors I have.

Review – Sharpie Colors Part 3 Greens – Green, Lime Green, Mint, Aqua, and Argyle

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Now I’m on the third part of my look at all of the Sharpie colors that I have. I’m not sure I need to introduce the color green to you, so I’ll just get into it.

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Green – This green is a very dark color, even more so than the standard green color most art supplies feature. It’s a deep, leafy green that is quite natural but does look generically dark in bad lighting. On copy paper, it can be hard to distinguish for people with bad eyes. It’s also quite bleed- and feathering-prone, but on less absorbent papers all three of the last points are minimized. It’s a good generic color, but far from my favorite of the selection.

sharpie colors greens

Lime Green – The lime green is a variety of lime that isn’t an eyesore and looks sufficiently like the fruit to justify the name. It’s bleed- and shade-prone, but isn’t too bad on feathering. It is a very visible, not too bright to read, not too dark, and not too close to the standard green, making it good for organizing. It’s finally a lime color I would use.

Mint – The mint is more akin to ‘mint flavored’ than to the plant. It’s a very frosty, light green. It is still not too light to read, and is very distinguishable from the other colors. It’s also a fairly natural shade, so it works for art as well as the office, though this might be a bit extreme for some offices. It’s less bleed- and shade-prone than most of the greens, but the most susceptible to shading.

Aqua – Aqua is a nice dark blue-green color. I’d say it leans more to the green side myself, while the turquoise leans more to the blue (which is the opposite of real life). Still it is a very natural shade for both water and land. It is a darker green, but not one that I think would be confused with any other color, but it might be a bit out there for office use. It also has the least shading, feathering, or bleeding of any of the greens.

Argyle Green – This is the second and final color that I am dubious of my identification of. If you think I’m wrong, feel free to correct me in the comments. Argyle is a medium green very similar to the lime color but a bit darker. It’s got some bleed-through and feathering problems, but minimal shading. Other than that, I’d say it mimics lime well on the page: it has similar organizational and artistic properties, and would be hard to distinguish at a glance. It’s just not very original.

And that’s my look at the green selection of Sharpies I have collected. They are all very good for organization and artistic efforts, but they may stick out or be frowned upon in the office. They behave all right in terms of properties, but they aren’t the best in that regard. But I think they might be my favorite set.

Next time I’ll take a look at a collection of purple pens.

Review – Sharpie Colors Part 2 Blues – Blue, Navy, Turquoise, Sky Blue, and Blue Ice

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Now in the second part of my Sharpie color reviews I’ll be talking about the blues, a nice and varied set of colors.

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Blue – Blue is a very classic color and it looks quite a bit like the standard blue we’ve come to expect from various markers and pens. This one is a bit darker, though. The ink is more wet than the other standard colors and bleeds a bit. It’s also too dark to be natural and almost too much to be organizational, it is a bit too close to black in dark conditions, but with good eyes it can work. Still, it is very blue.

sharpie colors blues

Navy – This color is very close to the classic navy color, a bit close to black in low light, but it looks like a lot of navy colors. It’s a very dry color and has very little bleed and feathering/spreading. It’s a nice-looking color, but not a very useful one.

Turquoise – Turquoise is a difficult color to get down in ink, and none of them look quite like the stone. This one’s a bit dark, but it does make a good blue-green tone. The ink is very wet, and bleeds easily, but has very minimal feathering. It’s a very natural and pleasant tone, great for organization and for artistic purposes.

Sky Blue – This blue, like most of the blues in this set, is darker than it really should be. It’s more of an evening sky blue, or a wispy-cloudy blue. It bleeds a bit more than the turquoise and the blue, and is just as feathery. It’s a very nice looking and easily identifiable color that many office and artistic uses can be found for.

Blue Ice (Possibly Mystery Blue) – This color is the most contentious of the colors in my current review lineup. The package of markers I received was not marked, and of the other blue colors I looked at this one seemed closest. If you believe I am wrong in my categorization, I encourage you to leave a comment. This blue is a cool blue that I would say has no direct natural counterpart (certainly not ice, as this is the least aptly named), but it could be used as a substitute in many cases. I prefer it to the sky blue as a light blue. It can be used in art if one is creative and is very distinguishable from other colors for organization.

Overall, I really like the blue Sharpie colors. They are a bit bleed-prone, but they have a variety of uses and in many cases are work-appropriate. The tones are very natural and appealing. They’re a good set to get, if one can.

Next time I’ll be looking at a few of the greens that Sharpie has to offer.