Alcohol Marker Crash Course with MysticSparkleWings

As an artist that enjoys mixed media, alcohol markers are one of my favorite tools to use.
They can create smooth colors and blends on their own or make an excellent base for other
tools such as colored pencils or pens. But it took quite some time before I truly understood
these kinds of markers, so I’m here to talk about some things I wish I’d known when I was
first learning about them!

What are Alcohol Markers and How Do They Work?

Alcohol-based markers are different from, say, your typical Crayola markers (which are
water-based). For one thing, alcohol markers tend to be more expensive, in large part
because of the ink.

The ink in these markers is made up of a dye suspended in an alcohol solution. Because the
ink is dye-based, alcohol markers are typically not lightfast, meaning the colors can fade,
shift, or otherwise change when exposed to light. So photographing and/or scanning your
artwork made with alcohol markers is the best way to preserve it. However, markers from
different brands, the type of paper you use with your markers, and how you store/protect
your artwork can all affect how artwork ages.

Alcohol marker inks dry quickly as the alcohol evaporates, which is good because you’re less
likely to smudge the ink and, unlike water-based markers, the texture of the paper won’t
change. With a few layers, water-based markers will cause most papers to start to tear up
on the top layer; alcohol markers don’t do this. Likewise, you can layer freely to create new
colors or effects.

Because of how the ink soaks into the paper, alcohol markers are also better at producing
flat color and smooth blends compared to water-based markers, provided you work quickly
since the markers blend better while the ink is still wet.

Of course, as with all art supplies, not all alcohol markers are created equal and can vary
slightly in how they perform.

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 Spoiled For Choice: Differences Between Marker Options

Copic is the name most known when it comes to alcohol markers, and for good reason;
they’re one of the brands that have been around the longest, they offer refill inks, brush
nibs and replacement nibs, and among marker brands, they offer one of the widest variety
of colors: 357 + a Colorless Blender.

The downside to Copics is that they’re often pricey, even for alcohol markers. Big Box art
stores average around $8 per marker, and even online outlets like DickBlick.com or Jerry’s
Artarama average around $4-$5 per marker.

However, more and more brands have come out with alcohol markers over the years to try
and compete. Prismacolor, Winsor & Newton, Spectrum Noir, Chameleon, and Ohuhu are
just a few examples.

Most alcohol markers are dual-ended like Copics, but not all brands offer the same nibs.
Some brands (like Winsor & Newton or Ohuhu) offer both markers that have a chisel nib and
a bullet nib, and markers that have a chisel nib and a brush nib. Many artists, myself
included, prefer markers with a brush nib, as you can get more line variation with the brush
and it often makes blending a bit easier. But some artists prefer the chisel and bullet nibs,
too. There is no right or wrong—which nibs are “better” comes down to personal preference.
Be warned, though: Markers with brush nibs tend to be more expensive, and some cheaper
nibs will wear out more quickly over time.

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Similarly, only some brands offer options that can make your choice of markers more
cost-effective in the long term. (If you’re just starting out with alcohol markers and you
don’t know if you’ll be interested in using them in the long term, these factors may not be
as important to you.)

Copic markers, as I mentioned, offer replacement nibs and bottles of refill ink, with one refill
bottle costing about the same as one marker, but it can refill one marker multiple times. You
can also purchase single markers, as opposed to having to buy a larger set. So while Copics
are a big investment up-front, they’re more cost-effective long term when the markers run
out of ink or need replacing.

Arteza Everblend Brush Markers, by comparison, cost about $2-$3 apiece, but you can only
buy them in sets at the time of writing this, and Arteza does not currently offer replacement
Brush nibs or refill inks. So once your marker runs out of ink or the brush nib needs
replacing, you’d most likely have to buy a whole new set of markers.

Tip: While Ohuhu does offer replacement brush nibs, they also have designed their brush
nibs so that if your nib starts to fray, you can pull the nib out and flip it around to get a
fresh one, so you may not need to buy replacement nibs from them as often as other
brands!

Additionally, not all brands offer the same or as many color options. For example, Winsor &
Newton Promarkers come in 148 colors, but their brush-tip markers only come in 72 colors.
Or, Chameleon markers only come in 50 colors, but they have the added gimmick of a
toning chamber that allows you to get more color tones out of a single marker.

If you’re interested in a more in-depth comparison between Copic markers and alternative
brands, I recommend this video by Baylee Jae or this video by Kasey Golden. Neither are
exhaustive lists of all the marker options out there, but they can give you a good idea of
how different brands may vary from each other!

Of course, you’re never restricted to only using one brand of markers. I myself use a variety
of brands interchangeably, as different brands offer different colors, and building a collection
from a variety of markers can be (but isn’t always) a cheaper and/or faster solution as
opposed to curating an entire collection of only one brand.

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Tip: If you use multiple marker brands, it can be handy to make swatch charts of the
various markers and colors you have. I like to do this for all my supplies, so I’ve made a
plethora of blank swatch charts that can be used for pretty much anything. Swatch charts
don’t have to be fancy though; any piece of paper with a sample of the colors that you can
refer back to will do just fine!

Putting Marker to Paper

Once you have your markers of choice, there’s one more thing to consider before using
them: Paper!

There are dozens of paper options out there, but once again, which one works best comes
down to personal preference. In general, for markers, a paper that’s relatively smooth—as a
rougher surface can wear the marker nibs out faster—is a good option. Many artists like
bristol board, cardstock, or simply “Marker Paper” best.

I myself prefer mixed media paper—the thicker the better. I find that thicker paper makes
blending easier, as you can add more layers of ink and the ink takes ever so slightly longer
to dry as it soaks into the paper.

As a mixed media artist, I also sometimes like to add some colored pencils or other
mediums to my marker drawings, and most mixed media paper has enough texture to allow
me to do that, meanwhile other options like cardstock or bristol board may be too smooth.
Additionally, thicker mixed media papers can usually handle a fair amount of watercolor or
acrylic paint if I want to use those alongside my markers.

You can even use regular printer paper for alcohol markers if you want to. Just be aware
that not all printer paper is acid-free, and may yellow or otherwise degrade over time. Most
printer paper is also relatively thin, so the alcohol ink is more likely to bleed both through
and across the page.

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Tip: All alcohol markers will bleed through any paper with enough layers. Usually, thicker
papers or marker papers take more layers before the ink bleeds all the way through onto
the paper underneath, but it’s a good idea to always keep another piece of paper
underneath your work just in case.

If you want a little more insight into different paper types for markers, I highly recommend
this video by Baylee Jae!

Okay, so how do I actually use them?

You can find plenty of much more in-depth tutorials and guides on how to use alcohol
makers, but here I’ll touch on some of the tips & tricks I wish I’d known sooner:

● Beware of Ink Smudging. Many artists like to color in ink drawings with alcohol
makers. There are pens like the Copic Multiliners or Sakura Micron pens that are
supposed to be water- and marker-proof, but even these pens can smear or smudge
with alcohol makers sometimes. It depends on the markers, the paper, and
sometimes the pens just feel like smudging. There are a few different ways to avoid
this:
○ Draw the lines for your illustration with colored pencils instead

○ Lightly sketch your lines in pencil first, color the drawing, and add the lines in
ink afterward.

○ If your lines tend to be thick, try starting with thinner lines, color the drawing,
and thicken the lines afterward.

○ Try not to color over your ink lines with the markers. For example, if you
make the pupil of an eye black with pen ink, instead of coloring across the
pupil with a marker, color around it.

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 ○ Draw the ink lines for your illustration a few hours or even a few days before
coloring; this gives the ink time to dry/settle into the paper so it’s less likely
to react to the markers.

○ Make a copy of your ink drawing using a printer. Some printer inks won’t
smear with alcohol markers.

● You can get a few different tones out of one marker by layering. Start by using one
layer of the marker; this is your lightest tone. Wait about 30-60 seconds to add a
second layer on top, and you’ll get a slightly darker tone. Most markers can show 3-4
different tones by adding layers this way.

● You can touch two marker tips together to create a gradient between two colors. This
takes a bit of practice, but can be helpful with blending. Hold one marker with the tip
pointing upward, then take another marker pointing downward and gently touch the
two tips together. How long the gradient lasts will vary based on how long you touch
the two tips together—you can do as little as 2-5 seconds or as much as 30 or more
seconds. You can use colorless blender markers for this too!

● The more transition shades, the better! One of the main reasons having a wide
selection of colors is important: If you’re trying to blend two colors together, the
more colors that are similar to each other you have, the easier it is to get a smooth
transition from one color to the other. For example, when blending yellow and red, it
helps to have 2 or more orangey shades in-between to bridge the gap between the
two colors.

● If you’re new to alcohol markers and have a hard time blending or coloring certain
things with them, don’t be afraid to combine them with other supplies you’re more
familiar with! Personally, I really enjoy adding colored pencils on top of my marker
art to adjust the shading or add a different texture.

● Don’t be afraid to mix & match different markers and techniques to find what works
best for you!

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 Go Forth and Make Art!

I hope I’ve been able to provide some useful information to those of you out there that are
curious about alcohol markers. If there’s something I left out or any questions you have, I’m
more than happy to try and answer them.

As you can see, for a medium that seems so simple from the outside, there’s quite a bit to
learn about alcohol markers when you look more closely. And there’s even more to learn
than what I’ve covered here, but as I mentioned, this was meant to be a crash-course of
sorts to get you started. I’ll be linking to some additional resources below so you can keep
on learning!

Additional Marker Resources:

Alcohol Markers (Youtube Playlist)

Alcohol Marker Comparison Spreadsheet
Marker Testing Workshop (Printable)
The Wonderful World of Markers
Tools for taking care of Copic Markers
Tips for Blending with Markers
Sharpie Coloring Secrets (Youtube Playlist)