NEON MARKERS

The lovely people at LETRASET recently introduced some NEON markers to their range of great pens.

These pens are water based and super juicy, the ink flows really well. I tried them on both smooth paper and also on watercolour paper and I found that they work equally well on both.

As they are quite wet, I wouldn't advise layering colours while they are wet, as this can cause the paper to become too wet and ball up...but if you leave one layer to dry and then apply the second layer you can create great shadows and blending of colours. This is possible because the ink is reactivated just enough when you add to it.

 When they arrived I was shocked at how bright they were, and at first I was really worried that I would not be able to use them effectively, but in the end I had a blast with them and created some really fun cards.

As you can see there are only 6 colours but just have a look at this chart I made. Down the left side are different colours of paper, starting with brilliant white at the top. I made a sample of each of the 6 pens over each of the 7 colours of paper...this effectively gave me 42 shades just depending on the colour of paper underneath. You can see how bright the original colours are along the top edge, but see the beautiful shades that you can achieve over other colours of card.

This is a superb way to use up old card that you perhaps no longer like...

For my samples today,however, I used the markers over brilliant white to show that even though the colours are really intense you can make some great things.

First off a little card..

this has a surprise pop up inside..not only is the monster image coloured with neons but the background was created by scribbling neons onto a rubber stamp. As they are water based they do not harm the stamps and the leftover ink wipes right off.

Staying with the party theme, how about an invitation...

and add to that another birthday card..

and for a little monster in your life..again the background was stamped with neons on a rubber stamp.

of course if you are giving gifts then you will need tags...on the left tag the ribbon was coloured with neons to match the tag, and even the cotton thread was coloured to resemble bakers twine. (of course... unlike promarkers.. colouring onto ribbon or twine with neons will not be waterproof)

what about some other occasions? maybe someone you know has just passed their driving test...

and for the love of your life...Valentines and Weddings.. See romance can be bright and funky too...

..and after the wedding comes the babies... again the sheer ribbon was coloured with a neon pen.

and as we have Christmas just around the corner, here are a few cards for the holiday season..

and two more..

and finally for the teenage monster that needs you to stay out of his room...the background of this is all grungy with lots of layers of stamping  all done with neons on a rubber stamp and even colouring through stencils..

I hope you feel inspired to get all bright and funky with your new neons. I do have another couple of projects done with these pens, but they can wait for another day.

All monster digi images were created by JAY THE VIKING contact him if you wish to purchase them.