I've been experimenting with different markers, to see which ones work best for me. One of the things I like to do is to write on the bottom of a figure's base, labeling what it is supposed to be and where I got it from.
Black ink on a white base-bottom would be most practical, but to my mind looks bad and the white easily shows any wear and tear.
Therefore, I decided to try the relatively new Sharpie pen with silver ink on a black background. Here are the pens, as well as my "volunteers" (you may remember them from the Workbench article - I am basing them now).
The pens come two to a package. Here you can see the writing tip:
Here is what I could write on the base bottom:
Not too bad – the ink covers excellently, doesn't run or drip, and the pen is easy to hold. I wish it had a finer tip, though.
I imagine that in certain situations, you might be able to "paint" with this pen too...