36-color permanent marker collection - now what?

September 24, 2007 6:54 AM

What kind of fun can I have with 36 colors of permanent markers?

A friend of mine recently gave me a fantastic gift - the BIC Mark*It Color Collection. I've got 36 different colors of fine-point permanent markers at my disposal. I love just looking at them (all the colors!!! arranged so nicely!!!), but obviously I'd like to use them for something, too. Unfortunately I'm not artistic enough to create anything worthwhile by drawing free-hand. So, I need ideas that will give me more guidance than simply "draw a picture." What can I do?

posted by vytae to media & arts (12 comments total)

trace things! in color!
no, really.
get a cool source image, some transperancy/thin paper/et cetera, and trace it just like you would aynthing else (by putting lines where there are color shifts), except use a buncha different colors.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 7:03 AM on September 24, 2007

Practice. My sister replicated a Van Gogh with a few different colors of pudding. It just takes time, practice and patience to get good.
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 8:00 AM on September 24, 2007

Take any two pens that appeal to you and tie them tightly together with a rubber band. Now write your name on a large sheet of paper. The effect is like calligraphy on the cheap.
posted by rongorongo at 8:01 AM on September 24, 2007

Coloring books?

I realize you're probably not 5 years old, but there are some nice, more adult-feeling coloring books that allows the colorist to play. I see these sorts of coloring books at places like Michael's and independent art shops. Possibly at small, independent old school toy shops as well. But you won't find them at the supermarket or Toy's R Us.

Some of them are pretty neat, and looking at them makes me want to sit down and just color, even though I love to draw.

Also, seconding TeaTimeGrommit's suggestion to give drawing a chance. Seriously, it really does just take practice. Also it takes a bit of an alteration of mind-set. You'd be surprised at how fast you can start to pick up drawing if you learn to really observe the thing that you're trying to draw, instead of relying on symbols and what you think you know about the object.

If you're interested in giving drawing a chance, I recommend reading Danny Gregory's Everyday Matters and/or The Creative License. Or if you're a bit more eager about the idea, there's Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
posted by Squee at 8:32 AM on September 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

Gah, I just remembered something...

When I was a kid my grandmother got into stamps. She bought a whole bunch of various designs and images, and would use them to create personal stationary, greeting cards, invitations, etc. She'd usually stamp the image using black ink, then would color in the design with her beautiful collection of markers.

I completely forgotten about that sort of stamp fad that went around during the time (early 90s?) Wow, they had entire stores devoted to selling just stamps.....Stampa Barbara? I think was one, in Santa Barbara....

Heh, thanks, your post brought make memories I had completely forgotten about!
posted by Squee at 8:40 AM on September 24, 2007

you could buy a white pair of trainers/sneakers and put some designs on them. I remember adidas bringing out some plain white adicolor trainers a while back complete with pens. Obviously have an idea of what you would you like to do first but it could be fun.
posted by ClanvidHorse at 8:42 AM on September 24, 2007

first of all, i am jealous.

t-shirts are great for permanent markers. whatever you doodle won't last forever, but should last through at least 20 washings or more. i have a 5-year-old t-shirt with the word "red" written in green marker (clever, aren't i?) that looks nice and worn in.

think of other things besides paper to unleash your creativity on- that's the beauty of permanent markers. tennis shoes like clanvidhorse suggested, white furniture, glass vases, lamps, lamp shades, tupperware, underwear, bananas, canvas bags, pimp cups... really the possibilities are endless!
posted by kidsleepy at 9:19 AM on September 24, 2007

man, i totally want that!

i have a set of papermate flairs that i bought because i am an office supply whore and like pretty colors.

they're not very useful for the most part, but i amuse myself by writing out envelopes and such in the pretty colors. especially to pay my rent and other bills.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 11:11 AM on September 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

Meet your new god: Tanino Liberatore [you tube]
posted by magullo at 12:47 PM on September 24, 2007

The Anatomy and Physiology Coloring Books.
posted by eritain at 1:11 PM on September 24, 2007

Other than your art projects, you can display them in a REALLY cool way by hanging curtain wire between two surfaces and clipping your markers to them

I know someone who collects pens and he has a wooden frame strung with curtain wire and that wire is covered with rows and rows of pens clipped onto the rows. It looks like art. so freaking cool.
posted by jeanmari at 3:39 PM on September 24, 2007

As soon as I read this, I thought mandalas! If you're new to mandalas, there are heaps of great colouring books ranging from simple to intricate or just design your own.

I adore the anatomy and physiology colouring books mentioned above. There are also ones on biology, microbiology, botany, zoology, , marine biology, the human brain and more, even one on human evolution!
I have the anatomy, physiology, biology & botany ones, and as well as being fun and interesting, they really helped me absorb the information on a different level to regular text books. I also have this musculoskeletal one.

Oh, now my fingers are itchy to go get out my beloved tin of 72 Derwents!
posted by goshling at 5:21 PM on September 24, 2007