Hello again everyone!

   Today, I thought I would chat with you all about my first experiment with alcohol markers. To be honest, I had no idea that there were different types of markers until I started my deep dive into the art community on Youtube. Once I started watching videos on the differences between alcohol and water based markers, I became extremely interested in testing them out but I had no idea where to start choosing a brand to buy from and I really didn’t want to blow tons of money on something that I wasn’t sure I would enjoy using so Copics were a big no. After lots of research, I settled on Ohuhu to be my test subject as they had some of the best reviews among the budget markers and I definitely felt like I would get my money’s worth even if I didn’t end up enjoying alcohol markers as much as I thought I would.

 

Luckily, my incredible partner surprised me with a 60 set of the Ohuhu markers with a fine and chisel tip for Christmas. Once I got my grubby little paws on them, the first thing I did was swatch out the various colors both on the color cards the company provided and in the mixed media sketchbook I planned to use them in. The colors were absolutely beautiful and the process of swatching them was hella satisfying. Then it was on to my first actual project!

 

I am absolutely obsessed with flowers and floral prints, especially sunflowers so I hopped on good old google and pulled up three or four photos to use for reference before I sketched out a quick outline. First, can I just say that I absolutely adore how easy it is to blend with these markers! I know as a beginner, the blend on my petals and the center of my sunflower is not perfect but you can see the subtle folds of the flower petals and the color shifting of the seedy center in a way that I don’t think I could replicate with normal water based markers. I also enjoyed the changing color of the sky in the background although the shift from the mid toned blue to the darkest isn’t quite as smooth as I’d like but I know that is likely just user error.

 

My one and only real complaint about the completed piece is that the colors bled outside of the lines more than I expected them to. I also noticed after I was done that the marker ink bled straight through the page and on to the one behind it. My guess would be that I bought the wrong kind of paper to use for markers. For this reason, I decided to buy one of the Ohuhu brand sketchbooks to see if that paper will contain the spread of color a little better and I will be using the little protective plastic slip that came with the marker set in the future to keep the pages separate. Overall, I really enjoyed this little experiment and look forward to learning more about the medium to share with you guys in the future!