How to Get Cleaner Lines and Better Blends with Art Markers and Fineliners

November 29, 2025

If you want cleaner linework and smoother marker colour, the “right” tool is usually a combo, not a single pen. This guide shows a simple, repeatable workflow using items from Art Noise’s art markers and fineliners collection, plus practical troubleshooting for the problems that waste the most time. You will also find shopping notes for paper choice, tip styles, and when a multi-surface marker is the better tool.

Paper and Pads Drawing Supplies Graphite

Dual Brush Pen Art Markers, Teatime, 6-Pack Tombow Markers art-noise.myshopify.com dual-brush-pen-art-markers-teatime-6-pack

What you will accomplish (and what’s actually in this collection)

If your drawings look “almost right” but not quite, it is often a tool mismatch: the marker is great for colour, but the pen fights your paper, or your fineliner is crisp until you add marker on top. This guide focuses on one practical outcome: cleaner linework plus smoother marker colour, using items you can shop in Art Noise’s art markers and fineliners collection.

From what’s currently listed in-collection, you will find a mix of marker and pen styles plus some adjacent sets and kits. Brands visible in the collection filters include Faber-Castell, Tombow, OOLY, Pebeo, Staedtler-Mars, and Triart. You will also see size and tip variants across products, including smaller technical-style sizes (for example 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) alongside broader marker tips.

General guidance: the fastest path to better results is usually a simple “tool stack”, one item for linework, one for colour, and (optionally) one for lettering or accents. The workflow below is designed so you can repeat it on sketchbook pages, illustration studies, and journaling layouts without re-learning everything each time.

Shop the Collection

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Faber-Castell - PITT Artist pen - Brush Tip - Black, White and Greys

$3.70 CAD

$3.70 CAD ~~$3.20 CAD~~

Faber-Castell - Albrecht Dürer Artists‘ Watercolour Marker - Individual Marker

From $6.10 CAD

Faber-Castell - Pitt Artist Pen - Soft Brush tip - Individual Marker

$3.40 CAD

Faber-Castell - Ecco Pigment Fineliner Pens - Black

$4.10 CAD

Faber-Castell - Pitt Artist Pen - Superfine Fineliner tip - Individual Marker

From $3.20 CAD

Faber-Castell - PITT artist pen - Brush tip - Blues and Greens

From $3.20 CAD

Faber-Castell - PITT Artist Pen - Bullet tip -Metallic

From $3.70 CAD

Staedtler-Mars - Pigment Liner Fineliner

$4.75 CAD

A simple workflow: linework first, colour second, accents last

What you need: paper you trust, a fineliner you can control, and a marker system that matches the look you want. If you are unsure where to start with paper, browse Paper and Pads and pick a sketchbook or pad you can test consistently.

Pick your line tool: if you want a tidy black line that stays put, start with a fineliner set like Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment Fineliners (set of 4), then choose the nib size that matches your drawing style (small for detail, larger for bolder outlines).
Plan your colour approach: for rich colour and layering, an alcohol marker like Tombow ABT Pro Individual Markers is designed for pressure-based brush strokes plus broader chisel coverage. Pick 2–4 colours that step from light to dark so you can build depth without overworking.
Do a 60-second test swatch: on the same paper you will draw on, make (a) a fineliner line, (b) a marker swatch, (c) a marker-over-ink pass after the ink dries. Keep the test on the back of the page so you can refer to it later.
Ink your drawing: draw your main shapes and details with a steady hand, then pause. Let the ink fully set before you add marker. If you also want headings or a hand-lettered accent, keep it for the end so you do not smear it mid-process.
Add marker colour in passes: block in light values first, then add darker layers where you want form and depth. General guidance: fewer, more deliberate passes usually look smoother than lots of tiny scribbles.
Finish with lettering accents: for small headings, tags, or calligraphy practice, a set like Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens (3-pack) gives you multiple tip feels (soft, hard, and twin tip) so you can find what you control best.

If you are building a lettering-focused kit beyond brush pens, browse Calligraphy Pens for additional options.

Tombow ABT PRO Alcohol Markers: Greyscale 12pk - Art Noise Tombow ABT PRO Alcohol Markers: Greyscale 12pk Tombow Markers art-noise.myshopify.com tombow-abt-pro-alcohol-markers-greyscale-12pk

Troubleshooting (common problems and quick fixes)

1) “My marker colour looks streaky.”

General guidance: streaks usually come from uneven overlap and drying differences. Try larger, slower strokes, keep your overlap consistent, and build colour in 2–3 passes instead of trying to make it perfect in one pass.

2) “My blends turn muddy.”

General guidance: muddy blends often happen when you overwork the same area. Reduce your colour count (light, mid, dark), blend at the transition only, and stop once it looks good enough.

3) “My fineliner feathers or bleeds into the paper.”

General guidance: paper matters as much as the pen. Switch to a smoother, heavier sketchbook or pad from Paper and Pads, and test your pen on that surface before committing to a full page.

4) “My ink smears when I colour over it.”

General guidance: give the linework more dry time than you think you need, especially on coated or very smooth papers. If you want a fineliner with explicit product-page claims around waterproof-on-paper behaviour, start your testing with Ecco Pigment Fineliners and do the 60-second swatch test.

5) “My fineliner skips or feels scratchy.”

General guidance: slow down slightly, lighten pressure, and adjust your pen angle. If the paper has a strong tooth, try a smoother sheet and see if the “scratch” disappears.

6) “My brush pen lettering looks wobbly.”

General guidance: make the downstrokes slow and deliberate, keep the upstrokes light, and practise a single letter row at a time. If you are unsure which feel you prefer, a mixed-tip set like Fudenosuke (3-pack) lets you compare soft versus hard tips without buying multiple separate pens.

7) “I need to label glass, metal, or another smooth surface, not paper.”

That is a different task than illustration. A product like Faber-Castell Permanent Multimarker is positioned for smooth surfaces (with multiple line widths). General guidance: always test adhesion on a small hidden area first, especially on coated or oily surfaces.

8) “I want paint-marker style coverage, not dye-marker colour.”

If what you actually want is opaque paint-like marks for mixed media, browse Acrylic Paint Markers. That collection is separate from fineliners and illustration markers, and it is often a better starting point for bold, paint-style lettering and accents.

9) “Can I exchange markers or pens if I chose the wrong thing?”

Before you buy, check the Refund Policy, since markers and pens have special return restrictions. General guidance: if you are on the fence, start with one colour, one pen size, or a small set, then expand once you know what you like.

Pro tips, shopping notes, and next steps

Use the collection filters like a checklist: start with “Brand” to narrow your options, then use size and category filters to confirm you are comparing the same kind of tool.
Build a small “core kit” first: one fineliner set, 2–4 markers in a palette you like, and one brush pen for headings will take you a long way.
Learn faster by copying one workflow: repeat the same steps for three drawings in a row before you switch pens or paper. You will see what is actually changing the result.

For a deeper shopping breakdown, read How to Choose Art Markers and Fineliners (Without Buying Twice).

If you are local to Kingston, Ontario, you can also explore Art Classes & Workshops to keep your practice consistent. If you are ordering online, review the Shipping Policy so you know timelines and free-shipping thresholds before you build your cart.