Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Picking Between markers part 4 - Ciao

I'm back! What a long trip. CHA was great, but it's good to be back. This is the 4th installment of picking between marker types. For general differences, Copic, or Sketch please see their earlier posts.

Finally I'm getting around to talking about the Ciao Markers. I know many of you have quite the collection of Ciao markers, and yest more of you are still trying to choose between the three main marker types. It can be confusing understanding the differences between a Sketch and a Ciao marker.

Ciao markers (pronounced Chow, like the Italian greeting) are a little over 10 years old. With the popularity of the Sketch marker, Japan got a lot of great feedback from artists who had fallen in love with the Super Brush. The main negative feedback for Sketch markers was the price, so Japan created the Ciao.

Ciao markers were intended as a beginner marker. All Copic markers have non-toxic ink, but Ciao markers have a special Child-safe cap. If you look close at the lid it has little holes. In case a child accidentally swallows a Ciao lid, they'll still be able to breathe. Sadly, this cap design means that they can't put the color numbers on the end like many of you prefer. Don't worry though, the cap isn't letting air into the marker, so your marker still won't dry out even if it sits in your drawer unused for a while.

Most of us are not going to go swallow marker lids and test out that useful feature, so what else makes a Ciao special? Ciao have the same two nib types as a Sketch marker, but only half as many colors. Ciao are refillable, but there are no empty markers available to mix your own colors. Ciao hold less ink to begin with, so you'll have to refill sooner (for this reason I don't use Ciao in my workshops- when you have to refill a few hundred markers every few months it gets to be a pain).

If someone asks me which are better, Ciao or Sketch, I have to say I use both since the brush is what I color with the most. Sketch has more colors and fits precisely in the airbrush, but Ciao are a great price, and many people like that they are slightly smaller, so they fit easily in your hand.

So, if you don't mind refilling sooner, love the Super Brush nib, don't mind that your colors are limited, and airbrushing isn't that important then go for the Ciao. You can always fill in those extra colors with Sketch later on.

This image is in honor of the mint that my husband didn't water while I was at CHA. To get the soft edges I used a lot of blender on the paper first, then colored it while still damp. Image: Peppermint by My Favorite Things, Ink: memento London Fog, Paper: Neenah Classic Crest,

15 comments:

  1. I have the Ciaos and love them! I am going to supply my colors with the Sketch marker..I guess I need more colors! Especially if I am going to use the brilliant highlight/shadow tip you gave on your blog a while ago. Thanks!

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  2. Don't men understand that our plants are like children and need attention and love, too? Ha Ha! I hope he didn't kill it!

    Glad to see you are back! I have never used the Ciao markers, but I DO love my sketch markers! I have just over 145, but still find I want MORE!

    Great drawing/coloring again!
    Nicole

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  3. Men really are cut from the same mold! LOL!

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  4. I'm LOL about the mint.. Sorry, but oh what a crack up!!!

    I have mint in my backyard... too much really.. If you want some, let me know!!!

    Love the blogster..

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  5. I have lots of mint you can have too. It's great in ice tea. Glad you're back. I'll keep my Sketch markers. Adding more colors every month. Thanks for the tip using the blender first then adding color. I like your little picture.

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  6. Oh, I doubt that your DH killed your mint. I planted it one year in my garden... CAN'T get rid of it. It grows runners everywhere. And it's a perennial.

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  7. I love your blog. I have the Ciaos and your blog has helped me in learning how to use them. I do find myself wanting more colors, so I will be getting some Sketch markers. I have 2 questions. How do you store your markers. I have seen the storage "tower" on the web site, but can't find in in stock anywhere. Also, will you ever be coming anywhere close to South Carolina to teach a class. I would love to come!

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  8. Marianne,
    LOL I got home yesterday from CHA and have not gone out to check my vegetable garden yet. Poor plants.

    I met you at CHA, I was w/ my sister and was probably literally your last order of the day. I asked you what the Kinkaid stamp looked like.

    I gave your new pen bundling a plug on my blog: blog.scrapallier.com

    Thanks for your help!

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  9. Wow your blog is a wealth of information, glad I stumbled upon it. I just started getting into stamping and coloring. I don't even really have a set of markers yet. I've linked you to my blog so I can come back and read more. I have so much to learn. Thanks for all the great info.

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  10. thank you to everyone who is concerned about my mint. Every summer he forgets to water it while I'm out of town, and it comes right back. Mint is a weed around here, but I will still be happy when my dead pot of mint grows back :)

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  11. My DH has been known to kill/injure plants as well.

    I currently have about 70 Prismacolor markers. I am going to start buying copics and I'm really grateful for this set of posts explaining all the differences.

    THANKS!

    PS- if you ever come to the Philadelphia area I'll be there sitting in the front row!

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  12. Wow! This is great information. I am definitley linking your blog in mine. I will be referring back to yours frequently. I think I'm going to order the Ciaos as I really want some new coloring medium and I can't afford the sketch so the Cioas sound perfect for me from your description. Thanks for all your efforts to keep us educated.

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  13. You can still do your airbrushing with your Ciao markers just put some tiny pieces of foam on the barrel of the airbrush then insert your Ciao marker and start your airbrushing

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  14. I'm LOL about the mint.. Sorry, but oh what a crack up!!! Mold Certification

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