Review : Crayola Paint Brush Pens

I bought these Crayola Paint Brush Pens from the toy shop in the town where I spent my short holiday a few weeks ago. I was intrigued by them as I'd never seen anything quite like them before. As it turns out, they weren't quite what they seemed! So I decided to write a review.

There were five pens in the packet, coloured red, green, blue, yellow and purple. This product is obviously aimed at children (or parents of children!) with its emphasis on the no-drip properties and easy clean up. In fact, the words "no drip" and "no spill" are repeated several times on the front and back. This claim is true, and it's quite easy to make -- because these aren't actually brush pens, they're felt-tip pens! (Or textas, as we call them in Australia.)

I was disappointed with this obviously false advertising, and I may not have bought them (especially at such a high price of $13.95) if I had known. I already have plenty of textas of many different kinds in my art supplies stash. However, these ones have a flexible, brush-like tip, which I don't have any of, and they can create some interesting effects.
(Not the "great paint effects" promised on the packaging, but still....)

Writing with them gives a calligraphy-like effect, which I liked....

I can quickly and easily do some brush-style writing without having to break out the brush and ink. And yes, it's a lot less messy than mucking around with my inkstone!

Drawing symbols, patterns and random swirls with them also has some pleasing results...

And if you run out of other ideas, you can always use them on an oblique angle to add a layer of transparent colour over text, etc...

Although it's not good that this product is not what it says on the packaging, it's clearly aimed at parents who just want to give their kids something not-too-messy to muck around with, and don't care exactly what it is. I paid too much for this product, but I don't blame the independent, small-town toy store that needs to survive the tourist-unfriendly winter months. I can't comment on their longevity as I only bought them a few weeks ago. However, they have those annoying lids with air holes in them that prevent children from suffocating if they inhale them, so I don't expect them to last for years.

I would recommend the Crayola Paint Brush Pens if you are happy with what they are, not what they say they are.