The Best Inexpensive Acrylic Paint Markers

If you’re looking for decent quality but inexpensive acrylic paint markers, it can be hard to know what to buy. There are so many choices out there and it can be hard to know what markers the best and which ones are aren’t very good. I have shared comparisons of my favorite artist acrylic paint markers before. But today I am sharing some of the inexpensive acrylic paint markers that I use that work very well on a variety of creative projects.

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What to Look for in an Acrylic Paint Marker

Acrylic paint markers have really improved over the last few years. 5 years ago, when I started using paint pens, so many of them weren’t very good. They would clog, spurt paint and sometimes I would only get 1 or 2 uses out of them before they were ruined. But now, there is a variety of quality artists paint markers and inexpensive paint markers that work well in a variety of creative projects. But what’s the difference between a good and bad paint marker?

Opaque Paint

A good quality acrylic paint marker will have very opaque paint and will create a solid layer with one pass of the pen. If you’re using a cheaply made paint marker, the paint will be thin and translucent.

Quality Nibs

One of the most frustrating things when working with paint pens in a ruined nib. When the nibs don’t work properly, it will either not release any paint or the paint spurts and pools around the nib which can ruin your project. If you’ve experienced this, you know how frustrating and disappointing this can be!

When purchasing a set of acrylic paint markers, the quality of the nib is important. If the paint marker clogs after one use, you basically can’t use the marker anymore. This ends up making it a very expensive marker! Good quality paint markers will prime easily, flow evenly and some even come with replacement nibs.   

Tight Caps

Good quality acrylic paint markers have tight caps to prevent the nib from drying out. When you put the lid on the pen, it should be tight and make a clicking noise. The click will let you know that the lid is fully seated and won’t let air into the pen.

The Best Cheap Acrylic Paints Pens

When looking for acrylic paint pens that are inexpensive, I made a point to read many reviews before purchasing. I also took the recommendations from friends, readers of my blog and my subscribers on YouTube that used paint pens in their creative works. These are the three brands that I can recommend that I have purchased myself and tested them extensively. Please note that I have tested these paint markers only on paper for use in art journals and creative projects.

Artistro Paint Markers

I have been using Artistro Paint Markers for more than a year now. For an inexpensive paint marker they have excellent color and flow beautifully on paper surfaces. These pens have a clear barrel makes it easy to see how much paint you have left. The caps have a good seal and I haven’t had any issues with nibs clogging at all.

If you find that the Artistro paint pens are a bit dry when you start to write, push down partially to help the paint flow, and start writing. I have used Artistro Paint Markers on so many projects and have been very happy with the results. They are less pigmented than the Posca artist paint pens, but for the price, they are an excellent choice.

Priming a Paint Marker

To prime a paint marker, shake the marker until the color is fully mixed. Artistro paint markers tend to take a bit more time to prime than other paint pens. To start priming them, shake well, and to release the air pressure. Turn the marker nib side up and press the tip with your finger.

To finish priming, turn the pen back over. Using a piece of scrap paper, push the nib in and wait for the paint to flow to the tip. After 20-30 seconds if you don’t see the paint, release the nib and then press down again. There may be air bubbles in the paint that need to be cleared.

Once you see that the paint has flowed to the nib tip, release and start writing. If you hold it down too long, the paint may pool on the nib giving a thicker line. If this happens, write on a scrap piece of paper until the flow evens out. Use a scrap piece of paper to get your pen started before using it on your project. This way you won’t ruin your beautiful project!

FlySea Acrylic Painter Markers

Flysea Acrylic Painter markers have been highly recommended by many of my artist friends. I purchased a set recently to try and they provide very consistent results. They prime quickly and write smoothly. These paint markers need very little priming to get them started after not writing with them for a while.

The color of the paint is a bit more opaque than the Artistro paint markers and they require less shaking to mix the paint. But in most other ways they work very similarly to the Artistro markers. 

Please note when looking for these pens online, they are sometimes shown as Acrylic Painter and sometimes as FlySea. Take a close look of the images and look for the FlySea branding on the pen to make sure you are getting the right set of pens.

Tooli-Art Paint Markers

Tooli-Art paint markers are slightly more expensive then FlySea and Artistro pen, but not by much. This is a new brand for me, but I’m loving these pens so far! I chose the Tooli-Art paint markers because of the good reviews and the range of beautiful pastel colors. I love creating in a black journal, so this is a great set of pens to add to my collection!

The Tooli-Art acrylic markers have very opaque paint in them. I love the solid pastel colors which makes it very easy to complete art projects quickly. These acrylic paint markers are very quick to prime if you vent the tips first. It’s usually only a few seconds to get the ink flowing to the tip. I appreciate that they have a window in the side of the pen to show the ink level. So even though they have a black barrel, you don’t have to guess how much paint is left in your marker.

These pens also come with replacement nibs for the paint markers along with instructions on how to clean the nibs when they get clogged. So far, they have been wonderful for my projects, and I haven’t had any issues with them clogging. But I appreciate the attention to detail and the extra nibs to make sure that your pens continue to work. I especially love the colors of these pens and the range of pastel colors available. This makes these pens unique as they are not only inexpensive acrylic markers but are made to a high quality with beautiful colors.

Comparing these Pens

In the photos below I have added these pens to my sample book so that you can see the intensity of colors compared to each other. Most of them are quite similar in opacity and I find all of these pens high quality for the price point. I can recommend all these markers, so it might come down to personal preference on colors and pen style.

When Should you Buy Art Pens?

So should you ever buy art pens? Yes, but it depends on what you want to use them for. If I’m working on canvas pieces or on pieces that will see a lot of light, I stick to artist acrylic paint pens because of the quality and opacity of the paint in the pens.

Artist pens are made with higher quality pigments and materials, which reflects the price point. But if you are working mostly in a journal and your project will not see a lot of light, you can use inexpensive acrylic paint markers.

One weak point of the inexpensive acrylic paint markers is the whites are not very opaque. For the best white paint pen, I recommend the Posca Paint Marker (my very favorite art marker). From the sample below, you can see the difference in the intensity of white acrylic paint pens. The Posca paint markers are a strong opaque white which is a good choice when creating white highlights on your journal pages.

If you are looking to work with a lot of gold, bronze and metallic, I would also suggest using the Sakura Pen-touch pens. Especially with alcohol inks and Yupo, these pens are much more brilliant and give you better contrast than most other paint pens.

If you want more information and comparisons about artist paint pens, check out this article The Best Acrylic Paint Pens: A Paint Marker Comparison

The Bottom Line

Based on the information that I’ve shared, which pens should you buy? I would purchase a set of 24 pens in my favorite colors by Artistro, FlySea or Tooli-Art so that you have a variety of colors for your projects. I would also buy a white Posca acrylic paint marker and several metallic Sakura Pen-Touch paint pens. This should be more than enough pens to keep you busy for many hours!

Paint Pens Don’t Last Forever

Be aware that paint pens don’t last forever. Most of them only hold a few millilitres of paint so don’t be surprised if you use them a lot they will eventually run out. If you’ve had a pen that has been working perfectly and it starts giving you issues, shake it to see how much paint is left. If you hear the ball in the pen rattling loudly, it’s possible that you’ve used up all the paint in your marker!

Just be aware that there are limitations to paint pens. I love them for my art journal projects. They are easy to use and great for details, but they won’t last forever!

Any Questions?

Any questions about the the inexpensive acrylic paint markers I’ve recommended? I’d love to hear what paint markers you use and what works well for you. Please leave a comment below, I’d love to start a conversation with you!

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