marker work, and a rant.

Cross posting this from my MarkerGuru Blog.
Scanning Marker art:
So I spend a lot of time adjusting my images once they're scanned to restore them to the original look because scanners do tend to kill some colour.
Whether you're scanning cards or illustrations the same type of problems can occur.
I just stumbled on this neat tutorial on dA and thought I'd share it with you. It follows the methods I mainly use to fix up my images.


Tutorial: My Scanner Hates Me by *Wolf-Suit on deviantART

Storing your Marker Art work:
Most everyone knows that dye based markers (all of them...) are not completely light fast. this isn't as detrimental as it sounds. No they're not light fast, but that doesn't mean they fade, and burst into flames like a (real) Vampire as soon as the light hits them. You can preserve your work with proper storage and care.
For storing my Marker Illustration I mainly use a variety of sizes of Itoya Profolio. The black paper and plastic sleeves are archival, and the book keeps the light out. There are a number of different items, these ones just happen to be available for me.
Key words you want to look for with storage products are Acid Free and Archival. I've previously created a blog post on that.
They Key is to keep them out of the light, and in an acid free environment.

There are varnishes on the market that are UV protecting. I've yet to try one on a marker drawing, but I hear they're available. I personally don't like the idea. I think if you need to do something like that, you're better off using a UV protecting class and a frame.

A little rant about blogs and misinformation:
Sometimes I google for information, and sometimes I come across something that really puts me off; Misinformation!
I do a great deal of research into what I post about in my blogs (all 5 of them) and I make sure my information is as accurate as possible by contacting the manufacturers and the reps for companies all the time.
(I seem to have a running contact with Copic LMAO). By doing this I'm getting my information from the source! Be very careful about how you speak about stuff in your blogs.
I came across one today that said "Solvent based markers are DANGEROUS to you and your art" then the post talked about markers that weren't even solvent based, and had information that was simply the person quoting something online without using the product and having a sensitivity to the product (something I come across OFTEN in my work).

Non Toxic:
Yes Non Toxic is a broad term. One thing non toxic does not mean is "you can eat and huff this forever". Very often people develop sensitivities to certain things. someone can react very badly to a non-toxic labelled product. That does not make the product necessarily "dangerous".
To someone who is allergic to shellfish for example, doesn't run around screaming about how Shellfish is "dangerous" and no one should ever have it because they almost died from eating it. That would get that person promptly labelled as a Loon by most, but a few ignorant people would run our and ban it for life. (This is of course referring only to the allergy side of shellfish, and not the mercury levels).
I guess my point is, don't take every statement at face value, especially when it isn't coming from the main source. Just let these sorts of blogs encourage you to look deeper into things!

TL;DR: Seafood is Non Toxic, but can kill people, Copics are non Toxic too, but some people get headaches because they're sensitive to it. Don't be a sheep- research!