Start at the Beginning

Have you just purchased your markers and don't know where to start??? I know when I first received mine I had many frustrating attempts before finally getting promising results. Then I bought the correct paper and everything just fell into place!! The right ink and paper is the most vital part of the equation (after your pens of course!!!)

If your paper is too soft it will cause the ink to spread too fast causing the ink to run outside the lines of your image. If your paper is too shiny it will not allow the ink to get into the fibres to blend causing puddles of ink.

Paper needs to have a smooth feel to stop the pen dragging and the ink being wasted. Normal paper is porous and made with pulp, it will suck the ink out of the pen like a sponge resulting in wasted in and poor colour vibrancy

The ink should soak through the paper to give a copy of the image on the back of the paper. This means the ink has been able to move through the fibres of the card in order to blend. If you can't see ink on the back it is becoming trapped in the fibres of the card.


Normal reflex printer paper. Ink bleeds a large amount beyond the line even if very little is used



Watercolor paper. Ink does not move well through the paper and becomes trapped. Ink also doesn't blend well



Plain White cardstock blends reasonably well and for a lighter coloured (which I certainly am not!!) it is perfectly ok to use. It does bleed easier so does not cope well with large amounts of colour. Colours are not as vibrant as marker papers.



Neenah cardstock by crafters companion (also called Smooth premium white cardstock on the crafters companion US website) has a smooth finish for the pens to move across easily and ink moves freely through. Colours appear much more vibrant.

It is best to find a paper that works for you and stick with it to get consistent results. Print your colour chart on the same paper so you get a true likeness for colours.