For artists, sometimes it can be impossible to find the perfect color that matches their mental vision.
Painters have the advantage of being able to mix whatever color they want, but if you’re more of a sketch artists that uses colored pencils or markers, it can be a struggle to find that perfect color.
This can be even more difficult when searching for pastel colors. Markers have such deep saturation and rich pigment that sometimes it feels impossible to find the right pastel marker.
So, what are the best pastel markers? The best pastel markers are often highlighters, since highlighters have a lighter pigment and saturation. You need to find pastel markers or highlighters that have a quick drying time, a good tip width for your art, don’t smear easily, won’t bleed through your paper, and come in multiple colors and shades.
Keep reading this article to find out what makes a great quality pastel marker and find a list of our top 9 recommended products for pastel marker sets.
What Are Pastel Markers Used For?
Pastel markers or highlighters are great for several uses. Not only are they helpful for artists, but they also come in handy for office or school applications too.
Artists can use pastel markers to give their drawings a softer look. Rather than using highly saturated and deep colors, you can use pastel markers to create images with a lighter look.
Some common ideas include fields of flowers, baby-themed imagery, or even marker drawings that are made to look like watercolor. There are even different types of pastel markers to help guide your art. You can use alcohol-based markers or water-based markers.
Alcohol-based markers are prone to bleeding through certain types of thinner paper but work well with a sturdy paper like cardstock. Water-based markers are more versatile and can be used with many different types of paper.
Each type will give you a different look and pigment saturation, so feel free to try them both before choosing the type you want to use predominantly in your work. You can also use pastel markers or highlighters to highlight phrases or passages in a text and make it easier to read.
Traditional highlighters are bright neon, but pastel highlighters offer a softer approach that still pulls your attention to those specific lines of text, but gives you a lighter color to make it easier on your eyes.
Many people also use pastel highlighters in texts with thin pages, such as Bibles. Highly saturated pigments, such as those in traditional highlighters, tend to show through the other side of the page with thin paper. Pastel highlighters don’t bleed through as much.
Top 5 Qualities For Pastel Markers
Before purchasing a new set of pastel markers or highlighters, you’ll want to ensure that the quality will be worth the investment.
There are few things more frustrating than spending money on a product and finding out it was a waste because it breaks or doesn’t work correctly.
Review the list of qualities to look for in your pastel markers or highlighters below before clicking “add to cart.” It will save you time, headaches, and a return trip to your local post office.
The best pastel markers or highlighters will have a very quick dry time, allowing you to color your drawing quickly without having to pause and wait after every step.
Sometimes ink takes time to dry, and that makes sense. You’re applying a wet substance onto your paper, so naturally it will need to dry.
Most ink pigments, however, should be able to dry anywhere between 5-20 seconds. The drying takes place due to natural evaporation of moisture in the air, which shouldn’t be any longer than that time frame.
If your markers take longer than 20-30 seconds to dry, it’s a good indication that the ink formulation is poor quality and probably isn’t water or alcohol based.
2. Good Tip Width
There are a few different tip options when it comes to pastel markers and highlighters, and you want to find the options that are right for you.
There are no right or wrong tip widths in general. Chisel tip, fine tip, or even a brush tip all have their place depending on the type of art or application you’re planning for your pastel markers. The important thing when choosing a tip width is to choose the one that best fits your needs.
Chisel tips are great for office or school use when highlighting certain passages of a text. They’re also useful for getting larger coverage in artistic drawings.
Fine tips are perfect for those little details. You can write with a fine tip marker because the tip is so small and your words will still be legible. Fine tip markers are great for doing small, detailed line work or application in your art.
Brush tips are for those who are seeking pastel markers purely for artistic application. These will take a little more practice and finesse to use correctly, but once you get the hang of a brush tip, you may never choose another tip again.
3. Don’t Smear Easily
Whether you’re using them over text, line drawings, or on a blank page, smearing is one of the top ways that a highlighter or marker can ruin your paper.
Smearing is common when applying a highlighter or marker on top of existing ink, whether it’s printed ink on a book page or hand-drawn ink on a sketchbook.
The smearing usually happens when the highlighter or marker is used too soon on top of fresh ink. It can also happen with old ink, depending on the type of ink that’s used. Certain pens have a more wet ink that will smear no matter what.
Good quality pastel markers and highlighters will mitigate this issue and won’t smear easily. While minimal smearing is normal, you shouldn’t have so much smearing that the color of your marker turns dark grey or black from the underlying pigment.
4. Won’t Bleed Through
Another common problem that can quickly ruin your paper is when the markers or highlighters bleed through.
Bleeding through isn’t just an issue because it ruins the other side of your paper, but it also can weaken your paper and cause holes or tears.
The best quality pastel marker and highlighter sets will have nice ink that doesn’t bleed through the paper easily. You may be able to see a faint shadow through the other side, but it shouldn’t be dark or obvious.
Check reviews for test swatches of the markers to see how well they work and whether they bleed through or not. If there aren’t any reviews, try it out yourself at home once you get your new markers. If they bleed through, send them back and choose a different set.
5. Multiple Color Options
The number of colors you need will depend on the type of use and application you’re planning for your pastel markers and highlighters. In general, you’ll probably want a good selection of at least 6 different colors, if not closer to 10-20.
Having the option to use several different colors can totally transform your artwork from a flat, boring design to dynamic and vibrant. Even pastel colors can have a vibrancy that enriches your drawing.
To get the best deal, look for packs that have multiple shades of the same color, such as a few different hues of blue, pink, green, purple, etc. Having these options within the same color family will set your artwork apart.
The 9 Best Pastel Markers
Below is our list of the top 9 recommended products for pastel marker and highlighter sets. You’ll have plenty of options with different color ranges, prices, and tip widths to choose from. Pick the set that will work best for you.
| Rank | Product | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Zebra Pen Mildliner, Double Ended Highlighters | 15 colors, chisel and fine tip. bleed proof |
| 2. | Shuttle Art Pastel Highlighter Pens | Chisel and fine tip, 18 colors, smear-proof |
| 3. | Ohuhu Dual Bruch Pen Art Markers | 24 colors, brush and fine tip |
| 4. | Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers | 10 colors, smooth application |
| 5. | ARTIFY 48 Pastel Colors Art Markers | 48 colors, chisel and fine tip, |
| 6. | JAVAPEN Rainbow Pastel Highlighter Brush Chisel Tip Pens | 12 colors, vibrant |
| 7. | BIC Brite Liner Grip Pastel Highlighters | Rubber grips, 12 colors, chisel tip |
| 8. | COLNK Pastel Highlighters With Chisel Tips | 8 colors, chisel tip |
| 9. | Ooly Pastel Liners Double Ended Markers | Bright and vibrant |
1. Zebra Pen Mildliner, Double Ended Highlighters
These Zebra Pen Mildliners are some of the best pastel markers available. They have two different tips, a chisel tip and fine tip, to give you more range in your art.
These pastel markers have a vibrant color saturation to give your pastel drawing new life. With 15 different colors to choose from, you’ll have a wide range to give your drawing dimension.
The ink on these markers is high quality, so it won’t bleed through your page or smear as you work. The ink will dry quickly to keep you coloring as long as the inspiration strikes.
2. Shuttle Art Pastel Highlighter Pens
A close runner-up to the Zebra Mildliners, these pastel highlighters from Shuttle Art are another great option with a few extra colors.
These also have dual tips, boasting both a chisel tip and a fine tip, to help you create whatever vision you have in mind.
There are variations in each color shade to give you more freedom in your artwork, and each one has ink that won’t bleed or smear.
Whether you use these to highlight, write, draw, or any other paper craft application, the Shuttle Art pastel markers are a fantastic choice for a great price.
3. Ohuhu Dual Bruch Pen Art Markers
The pastel markers by Ohuhu set themselves apart by having some of the lightest pastel shades available. Their 24-pack of pastel colors comes with its own storage box to help you stay organized.
With a dual tip design that offers both a brush tip and a fine tip, these are ideal for any type of artwork.
The soft color inks won’t bleed or smear as you work, saving you a lot of time and frustration.
If you love these markers, you can also find a 48-pack that includes some of their mid-tones for more color variety.
4. Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers
Another great option when it comes to brush pens, this 10-pack from Tombow includes the base colors you’d need to create most pastel colored artwork.
Although this is a smaller set, it’s still a product to consider since the quality of the ink is so incredible.
These dual-tip brush pens with both a fine tip and brush tip will give your artwork the smooth, soft application you’re looking for from a pastel marker.
They have plenty of other color-themed packs available, so if you love these markers and want to use more than just pastel colors, check out the other options on their product listing.
5. ARTIFY 48 Pastel Colors Art Markers
Our largest pack so far is the ARTIFY set of 48 different pastel color markers. These have a dual tip design that include both a chisel tip and a fine tip for whatever you’re looking to create.
These 48 pastel markers come in their own carrying box with a lid that serves a dual purpose as a stand to keep your box perfectly angled to help you find the right color.
You can blend and layer these markers to create a more visually interesting design without worrying about bleeding or smearing.
Be sure to let each layer dry completely before adding the next layer.
6. JavaPen Rainbow Pastel Highlighter Brush Chisel Tip Pens
This 12-pack of pastel highlighters from JavaPen are the perfect choice for those looking to try out some pastel colors without investing a large amount of money.
For a small price, you’ll get 12 different colors to test your pastel coloring and create artwork with light, soft features.
While they may smear depending on the ink you’re layering these on top of, they work great without any pre-existing ink underneath and have a nice color vibrancy to make your drawing pop.
7. BIC Brite Liner Grip Pastel Highlighters
A great thing about these BIC pastel highlighters is that BIC is a reputable brand, so you can trust that this set will have top-quality ink, beautiful pigments, and a solid design.
These pastel highlighters have rubber grips where you hold them to make them easier to use. They come in 12 different colors with a smaller chisel tip to give you more range with your art.
With no smearing or bleeding issues, you can trust these pastel highlighters to help you execute the drawing exactly as you see it in your head without ruining your paper.
8. COLNK Pastel Highlighters With Chisel Tips
For another smaller, cheaper set of pastel highlighters just to test the waters, try out this 8-color set from COLNK.
These highlighters have a chisel tip that’s great for any larger application. To get some finer detail work done with a chisel tip, simply rotate the marker and use the highest point of the chisel.
The COLNK pastel highlighters are easy to hold, have beautiful colors, and don’t smear or bleed through your paper.
9. Ooly Pastel Liners Double Ended Markers
For those looking for a brighter and more vibrant pastel look, these Ooly pastel liner markers are perfect.
They have a dual-tip with chisel tip and fine tip options.
They’re definitely the most saturated color option we have listed, but for those who want a rich pastel and not a washed-out or too light look, these will be perfect.
Up Next: What Are Pastels? – Complete Beginners Guide
