Karin Brushmarker Pro Brush Pen Review

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My honest review of the Karin Brushmarker Pro Brush pens, discussing the nibs, control, colors, price point and more. Check out the Karin brush pen review below.

assorted karin brush markers laying on marble background

If you are new here, welcome! This is one of many other pen reviews I’ve done on the blog. They are all UNSPONSORED, which means I’ve purchased all pens myself, and am not being paid for my reviews. Check out the other pen reviews here.

Karin Brushmarker Pro is one of my favorite brush pens and one that I include on The Best Brush Pens for Beginners list. Read or watch my Karin Brushmarker Pro review below!

Karin Brushmaker Pro Brush Pen Review

I first started using Karin markers mid-late 2019 when I received two pens in my monthly The Inky Box subscription. I fell in love immediately! Last Spring I bought a pack of 12 basic colors to get a good feel for blending techniques and how the tips felt for lettering. Then over the Thanksgiving sales, I splurged and purchased the full 72 color set (which includes 12 neon colors).

assorted karin brush markers laying on marble background

How do Karin brush pens write?

The tip of Karin brush pens is medium-large in size and cone-shaped. The tip is slightly less tapered than a Tombow Dual brush pen, which I think gives you slightly more control and better transitions from thick to thin.

The Karin brush tips are made from nylon instead of felt like many other brush pens. This makes them much sturdier and able to take more pressure or slightly textured paper. I use mine almost exclusively on Strathmore Arts 400 series Watercolor Paper and have had no issues with fraying.

close up of karin brush pen nylon tip

The pens themselves writes phenomenally! I feel like with this large of a brush tip I get such good control. Usually the larger brush pens can be harder to control strokes (for me anyway) but I don’t have this issue with Karins.

What is the ink and colors like in Karin Brush Pens?

The Karin brush pens come with 2.4ml of dye liquid ink, vs the filter cartridge that many markers have. Because of the liquid ink, these markers are JUICY. The colors are also very saturated, and over time, shouldn’t lose their saturation as the ink gets used up. They aren’t refillable but it seems that the liquid ink will last for a long time. The original basic color set I bought 8 months ago are still fairly full of ink and I use them quite often.

Still of writing color names with karin brush pens

The Karin Brushmarker Pro markers come in 72 different colors — 60 colors + 12 neon colors. The photo below shows them all in their glory! The sets come in a nice box where you can keep the markers stored vertically, which is how the company recommends storing them.

overhead view of karin brushmarker pro megabox plus

Karin brushmarker pro come in several sizes of packs. You can purchase 10-12 marker packs that may or may not come with a blender marker. They are also available in a 26 color pack, 60 color MegaBox and the MegaBox+ of 72 colors. The 60 and 72 packs come with 3 blender markers while the 26 pack comes with 1 blender marker.

Where can I buy Karin Brushmarker Pro

Up until recently it was harder to find Karin Brush Pens in the U.S., but as of this writing, you can purchase from a few online retailers. They are not readily available in craft stores like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. Prices range from $2-$2.75 per pen.

handful of karin brush markers

I have found the Karin markers available on Amazon, Blick Arts, Marker Universe and from the manufacturer, Karin. I purchased mine from Marker Universe over Black Friday when they had a 10% off coupon for site-wide. This is the only sale I’ve seen and it was not on the markers themselves. Here are some links to the products.

Pros and Cons of Karin Brush Pens

Pros:

  • Nylon tip so they can be used on different types of paper without issue
  • Liquid ink keeps the color saturation even
  • The inks can be blended easily and beautifully both with water/brush or with blender pen
  • 72 colors plus more when blending
  • Tips are easy to control because of the shorter tapered/cone tip
close up of assorted Karin brush pen markers on marble

Cons:

  • Longer drying time for liquid ink, on most paper, so they are easy to smudge
  • Can be considered pricey for brush markers, since they are typically not on sale.
  • Harder to find in the U.S. but that is better now than it was even a year ago.

Watch the Karin Brushmarker Pro Review Video

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4 Comments

  1. Thank you for your review. I did, however, struggle to read it because of the annoying share button right slap bang in the middle of the page on the left hand side!

    1. Thanks for your feedback. Would you mind letting me know what type of device you were using? I have tested on my phone and desktop and the buttons do not interfere, but you probably have something different than mine! I’d hate for those buttons to obscure your ability to read, so giving me some additional information will be helpful in troubleshooting.

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