I ordered the Aen Art Outline Markers (affiliate link) from Amazon because I was in a “must try all the outline markers” kind of mood and wanted another brand to compare to Crayola. And honestly? These won round two.
Right away, I noticed how much smoother these markers write. The ink flows better, which makes drawing feel less like a battle and more like fun. One of my favorite things is how clean the lines look when you cross them to make interlocked shapes. Everything blends together seamlessly—no weird lines slicing through the middle. You can even fill in shapes, and while it’s not perfectly smooth, it still looks really good.
The outline itself is a bit thinner than I’d prefer. I personally love a bold, chunky outline, so this wasn’t my dream thickness—but it’s not a deal-breaker. Just something to keep in mind if you’re Team Thick Lines.
Now for the annoying part: you still have to shake and press these markers to get the ink flowing. I know some people don’t mind this, but for me it’s an instant ugh. I’d happily trade that feature for instant ink any day.
To add to the drama, the markers arrived with already-opened packaging, and the pens were loose inside the envelope like they were trying to escape. One marker was broken and didn’t work at all—and of course, it had to be my favorite green. Rude.
Packaging chaos aside, the Aen Art Outline Markers definitely outperformed the Crayola ones when it comes to smoothness and clean line connections. If you don’t mind thinner outlines and the shake-and-press routine, these are a fun set to play with—just fingers crossed your favorite color survives shipping.
