Gel pens, rollerballs and markers in Easel by Zaweba

Not every drawing tool comes from the art shop. Plenty of the most enjoyable ones come from the stationery aisle: the gel pen you doodled with at school, the alcohol markers illustrators swear by, the fat paint marker you use on a sign. Easel by Zaweba 1.1 added a whole set of these, so you can sketch, journal and letter with the pens you actually own.

Gel pens in four kinds

The gel pens come in colour, white, metallic and glitter. Coloured gel pens are smooth, bright and easy, good for doodles, bullet journal pages and quick sketches.

The white gel pen deserves its own mention. It is the classic tool for putting highlights back into a finished drawing: a glint in an eye, a sparkle on water, a rim of light on a dark shape. Lay down your darks with ink, pencil or marker, then add the brightest points last with white gel.

Metallic and glitter gel pens are for decoration. They suit lettering, cards and anything meant to feel festive. Use them sparingly and on darker or toned grounds, where they show up best.

Rollerball

A rollerball sits between a biro and a gel pen. It is a dependable everyday writing and sketching pen with a steady line. Use it for notes, plans and quick life sketches where you want something that just works.

The marker family

Easel has five kinds of marker: alcohol, paint, highlighter, permanent and dry-wipe.

Alcohol markers are the illustrator's favourite in the real world, known for smooth, layered colour in comics, fashion and product sketches. Build colour in light layers and let the darker passes go on top.

Paint markers lay down opaque colour, so they work on dark grounds where ordinary ink would vanish. Try one on a dark surface such as slate, a toned sheet or kraft paper for bold lettering.

The highlighter is fluorescent. That gives a glow ordinary colours can't match, so use it for small accents rather than big areas.

Permanent markers are the bold, all purpose choice for outlines and signs. Dry-wipe markers are made for whiteboards, and Easel includes a whiteboard among its surfaces, so you can plan a diagram or a lesson board the way you would at a real one.

Matching pen to surface

Stationery is fussy about surfaces in the same way paint is. A dry-wipe marker on a whiteboard is natural. A paint marker on dark kraft paper looks great. Gel pens and rollerballs are happiest on smooth paper and card. Slick surfaces such as glass, tile and synthetic paper wipe clean, which is handy for practice.

For a sketchbook feel, choose sketchbook or cartridge paper and keep to a small set: a fineliner or rollerball for line, two or three alcohol markers for tone, and a white gel pen for the last highlights.

Habits that help

Work light to dark with markers. It is easy to add another layer and much harder to take one away. Save white gel and metallic pens for the end. And keep the fluorescent highlighter for the one or two places you want the eye to land.

If a page looks flat, the answer is usually contrast. Add one deeper marker tone and a few white highlights, then step back. Easel by Zaweba has a step back view for exactly that moment, and it's a quick way to check a page before you call it finished.