Chameleon ColorTones Pens

I bought this set of Chameleon ColorTones pens about a month ago, and since then I've had the opportunity to use them quite a few times and get a good feel for how they work. Firstly, I'll tell you exactly what they do and the process of using them, which is unique in the marker world as far as I know. Another huge consideration is the cost, which is quite substantial. 

The pens can be bought singular, in packs of 5, or the 22-pen deluxe set on Amazon & the Chameleon website. The cost is significant; each individual pen costs £4.99, the 5-pack £24.99, and the 22-pack a penny shy of a whopping £90. Are they worth this much? In my opinion, no, but we'll get to that later!

Inside the chamber

The two nib sizes

The idea behind the pens is that you are able to get multiple tones from one pen, cutting out the need for 100+ alcohol blending pens like Copics or Spectrum Noir. How, you ask? Well, each pen sports its own 'Mixing Chamber', which is basically blending solution in a separate part of the pen. This chamber has a nib, onto which you are supposed to hold the tip of your pen to 'soak up' the toning medium. The range of shades you can make all depends on how long you hold your pen to the chamber; so 5 seconds makes a fairly short gradient whereas 35 seconds will start at a 'hint of a tint' and get darker as you colour. 

All the pens are refillable, but at the moment I can only see UK purchase options for the colourless blender on the Chameleon website. Nibs are also replaceable, which is handy because you will almost definitely need to replace them at some point. I haven't over used the pens in the slightest, but already some of the nibs are starting to fray. Not great when you've already spent a large amount of money, but a 10-pack of nibs is only £4.99 so it's not a massive deal.

They're super long! This is next to a length of A4 paper

There is a nib on each side of the pen: a bullet tip and a softer brush tip. It's the brush tip that seems to fray, and I think it's mainly due to having to push it up against the hard blending nib so often. You must hold the pen vertically with the mixing chamber ABOVE the pen, not the other way round, otherwise the ink will flow into the chamber which would ruin the nib and basically the whole pen. I guess you use a little common sense and let gravity do its thing, but it's a little annoying to sit there holding it for a length of time before you can do each blend. This is a major factor against these pens, as it really is time consuming and a bit of a pain to be honest. Plus, you've no way of recreating a certain shade without going through this whole process. This is why I think should be used for small areas only.

The gradients you can acheive

It should be said that only 20 of the pens are coloured, the other two are consist of a blender and a detail pen, which allows you to draw fine lines with a different ink that will not be disrupted by the coloured pens. This pen has .4mm and .6mm nibs, which are quite square and a little scratchy. I barely ever use it, but it might be handy for someone who draws their own colouring pages and wants to colour them with the Chameleons.

Detail pen

The pens do take a lot of getting used to, and I don't think I'm there yet. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube that make it look like a breeze, so maybe I just need more practice. The fact that you can't just pick out the shade you want and use it is the main thing making me stick with my Spectrum Noir. They are alcohol based, so you WILL have bleed through most types of paper, which is something to consider if you're thinking of using these in colouring books. Below are some pictures I've coloured with the markers. As you can see on the Unicorn hair and the ball pit, you can create some cool shiny effects with a little practice. They can come out streaky though, and it will definitely take a while to hone the technique it takes. My verdict? If you've got the money to spend and like to colour small areas (like card making), go for it. Otherwise, I advise you stick with regular alcohol markers so you can quickly pick out the shade you want, without spending lots of time waiting for Chameleon pens to infuse and then timing it just right to get that same colour.

You can find the pens on Amazon here:

Chameleon 22-Pen Deluxe Set