Gel pens are the secret weapon in many colorists' toolkits. They add effects that no other medium can - metallic sheen, glitter, and smooth opaque color that works on top of other media.
Types of Gel Pens
- Classic: Smooth, opaque color in bold shades. Great as a primary coloring tool for small-to-medium areas
- Metallic: Gold, silver, copper, and colored metallics. These catch the light beautifully
- Glitter: Clear or colored ink embedded with fine glitter particles
- Pastel/Moonlight: Opaque light colors that show up on dark backgrounds - great for highlighting
- White: The most versatile single gel pen you can own. Adds highlights to anything
Techniques
Accent Work
The most popular use: color a page with pencils or markers, then add gel pen details on top. Gold gel pen accents on a colored mandala are stunning.
Background Fill
Use a dark gel pen to fill the background of a design, then add white or metallic gel pen details. This creates a dramatic night-sky effect.
Texture Building
Use dots, dashes, spirals, or crosshatching with gel pens to create visual texture within a colored section. This is especially effective for adding "fur" to animals or "sparkle" to fantasy elements.
Outlining
Trace over the printed black outlines with a colored or metallic gel pen to transform the look of a page. Try gold outlines on a mandala for an illuminated manuscript effect.
Tips
- Let gel pen ink dry completely before touching it - at least 30 seconds
- Work from top to bottom (if right-handed) or right to left to avoid smudging
- Store pens tip-down to keep ink flowing to the tip
- Shake metallic and glitter pens before use to mix the particles
Try your gel pens on our mandala and pattern pages - the geometric designs are perfect for metallic accents.