Twelve of POSCA's softest colours, rolled into a pouch you're meant to draw on yourself. This is the set I steer people towards when they want POSCA's signature opaque coverage in a gentler, more illustrative palette — the chalky pinks, lilacs, sky blues and muted greens that sit somewhere between poster paint and pastel chalk. POSCA paint started life in 1980s Japan as a way to mark up industrial surfaces. It was street artists and illustrators who realised the same water-based pigment that clung to a shop window looked just as good across a sketchbook, a plant pot or a pair of trainers — and the range never looked back. The workhorse here is the PC-5M, the medium bullet tip POSCA themselves call the most versatile in the whole line-up. Its 1.8–2.5mm nib is broad enough to fill an area without it taking all afternoon, yet controlled enough for lettering and outlines. The paint is opaque, water-based, low-odour and acid-free, so a pale colour sits happily on top of a dark surface — and once it's dry you can layer over it without the colours muddying. Give each marker a good shake with the cap on, then prime it by pressing the tip down on a bit of scrap paper until the paint flows into the nib. After that it's just like drawing. Let each layer dry before you add the next, and on smooth surfaces like glass or glazed ceramic you can wipe a fresh mark away before it sets if you change your mind. Works on paper, card, wood, stone, glass, metal, ceramic, canvas, fabric and most plastics. Specifications 12 POSCA paint markers in a customisable zip pouch 11 × PC-5M medium bullet tip (1.8–2.5mm) plus 1 broad-tip black for outlines Soft pastel palette, including black and white Water-based pigment paint — opaque, low-odour, acid-free Suitable for paper, card, wood, stone, glass, metal, ceramic, canvas, fabric and plastic
