The Neuland BigOne® Art Cover is a fantastic fiber-nib marker that comes with rich white pigmented ink. It’s perfect for working on dark surfaces and creating stunning artwork. With its extra-large brush nib, it effortlessly carries the pigments, making the whole process of visualizing your ideas an absolute delight.

In our UnderCover series, we’ve explored the blendability of the Cover ink with our water-based color inks, offering you additional imaginative colors to ignite your creativity if you’re up for some experimentation.

Interim Results Indicate Clear Favorites

During our trials, we discovered that a 4:1 ratio is the ideal mixing ratio – 4 parts Cover ink to 1 part color ink. This specific ratio creates the perfect ink mixture for the UnderCover inks. It is worth noting that this ink mixture is almost precisely enough to fill an empty Neuland BigOne® Art marker, as it requires exactly 4.5 refill units.

During our UnderCover experiment, we tested various ink combinations. We didn’t factor in the subtle differences since the ink mixtures always lean towards a pastel shade, thanks to the significant amount of white in the cover ink.

Our UnderCover Favorites

Some colors from the testing stood out as our favorites, based on their sharp results on black paper.

Here is our top Neuland color inks we found produced the best new UnderCover ink colors:

  • 104 Grey 1
  • 200 Red
  • 201 Dark Red
  • 300 Blue
  • 304 Denim Blue
  • 305 Ocean
  • 400 Green
  • 402 Olive
  • 703 Dark Violet
  • 705 Blackberry

We discovered that yellows and browns could be blended together, but they didn’t produce satisfactory results on black paper. Fortunately, most of the other colors did mix well with the Cover ink and the contrast against the dark background was impressive!


Insider Tips

When done with your UnderCover markers you should put them “back to rest”. The proper storage and handling is vital to producing quality consistent results. 

1. For longer storage, it is recommended to lay them horizontally. 

2. Before using the markers, make sure to store them upside down with the nib facing downwards.

What is the reason for this? If you were to store your UnderCover markers with the nib facing downwards for a long time, the white pigments would pool in the nib and cause it to become clogged, resembling dough. However, to make sure that the white pigments are readily available in the nib when you start drawing, it is recommended to store them upside down in a Novario® box for example, just before use.

Closing Thoughts

We encourage you to tap into your imagination and create your own unique UnderCover colors. Have fun testing and experimenting through trial and error, and you may discover the perfect ratio for an intriguing standout color you can use for your next project!  Don‘t sweat it if doesn’t work out, but if it does, the satisfaction will be all the more enjoyable and rewarding!  Happy mixing!