Tell Me About Alcohol Markers!

It all depends on what you might want to use them for. I have a few alcohol inks that I use a lot but not any pens. I have several Tombow pens that I have had for years but don't use a lot. I do have some Posca paint pens in white, black and teal which I use a bit and also have some gel white pens and other black and white marker type pens (permanent ink ones). So yeah, I wouldn't consider the Copic pens a must have if you are only going to use them once in a while, maybe purchase just a couple in some fave colours to start with and see how much you use them.

 

Susie, they are mainly used to colour little things in, to outline stuff, draw things.............. maybe watch some youtube videos with them to see how they are used and whether you feel you would interested in doing something similar? For me personally I would class them as a non-essential as I have other mediums I can use instead but it all comes down to your own preference.

 

I love the Copics.. bought them when I could get them on sale while still working and I have a bunch.. Hubby uses them more than me though these days.

They blend into each other.. I love them for cards etc but I find if you do not have the correct paper they do not work as well.. at least for me.

Watercolor pencils are really neat.. I have dabbled with them too,

 

I use markers in my adult coloring books. Most of the people I follow on YouTube are into adult coloring and the biggest "perk" of alcohol versus the water based markers like Crayola are that the alcohol markers can blend together better and leave less streaks on your paper. I can't afford the Copics either, so I've been watching a lot of YouTube coloring artists that use alcohol markers and some of the more affordable brands that I've added to my Wishlist that they are using are:

Arrtx
Caliart
Bianyo (these are the ones I might get to try)
milo
Weisbrandt

 

Well, I cannot 100% answer the question on alcohol markers as I do not have high end ones like Copics.

I tend to think of the alcohol markers as being geared towards an illustrative style (manga, calligraphers, botanical line drawing + color fill). But....

Confessions of a pen junkie! I have a lot of pens. I've been collecting them for well over ten years. And many have lasted the test of time. My go to pens are Sharpies, especially the SUPER BIG paint markers in black and white. I am learning my voice as an artist, my signature so to speak, and these BIG paint markers keep showing up in my pages. Thus, they are becoming a part of my voice.

Next, although they are finicky, I love Slicci pens. I have two kinds, regular ink and metallic/gel. I use these for mark making. They do not work well on all surfaces. Gesso has to be 100% dry. They do not go over glue. And they will go over some acrylics - if the base layer is gesso or gesso over the acrylic paint.

When I am in stores like Walmart and Target, I often go to the pen isle and look for white ink and gel pens. Overall, I have 7 contains full of pens; Sharpies take up three of the containers.



Top left - my pen collection with my go-to brands in view: Slicci, Uniball White (I also have Gelly Rolls in white but prefer the Uni), assortment of alcohol-based Sharpies + the BIG black and white Sharpie Paint Markers (my loves).

The Slicci's and gel pens in general are great for mark-making (top right, example of circles made with pens and some with stamps). For me gel pens in white and metallics are very useful and used often (white and gold especially).

Under that picture, the white line-art on black gesso was made with a white gel pen (don't recall which brand at this point).

The blue pieces are truly MIXED media. Base layers were safety envelopes (the kind bills are received in). On top of that went gesso and acrylic paints. On top of that went markers and stamps. On top of that went outlines with pens (black, gold, and white). And using liquid glue, I fixed sequins to the art. So, pens, but not necessarily alcohol based markers, are part of my artists DNA, a part of my voice.

But (sorry, long post), I do use the Sharpies as the main feature. Here is a four page spread where I experimented with Sharpies as a base, layered with gelatos and a touch of acrylic paints. Sharpies WILL ABSOLUTELY bleed through paper (bug page). The journal here is 90lb paper weight. Either I do not care what the next page looks like (example shown, bugs), OR I gesso over the next page and make it white again. If using alcohol markers that bleed through, you have to be VERY cognizant of where in your journal you are creating. The bleed through can and will ruin previous art. When using Sharpies as a base, I make sure I have 3 - 4 buffer pages (blank pages). Again, I either don't care about bleed through, or I cover it up with gesso. I have used Sharpies over gesso. This has the potential of ruining the marker. I make sure I have scratch paper nearby. Marker over gesso - stop - clean marker on clean paper. Its tricky.



So, in summation, Susie, I would ask myself, what is my voice? What kind of art am I seeking to make? Is hundreds of dollars in markers a worthy expense?

For me, the answer is yes. But, not necessarily high end alcohol markers. I like mark making and doodling. I love the BIG paint marker Sharpies. I cannot live without white gel pens. Those are my voice. I have Posca water-based paint markers coming in today. I want to mark over some gel press acrylic creations. The water-based paint markers will do the trick better than alcohol markers. And, I make better marks with pens than with paint + brush.

To a budding artist, I recommend getting a few gel based pens for mark making (white, gold, colored metallics). These do not have to be artist quality pens (Walmart back to school is a good time to buy). I recommend the BIG Sharpie paint pens in white and black, IF one likes that type of mark making.

If one is going for more of an illustrative, graphic style - buy the alcohol markers. Would even recommend perhaps to mark over watercolor or water-color-like art. If collage and acrylic are your thing, not so much. I do not think the alcohol based marker are the best purchase (spend the money on a Gel Press plate or Gelli Plate).

 

When I was buying copics before I retired this was the begining of my stash. I have a unch more now with that whole thing filled with loose ones (took them out of the cases like the right side) and it is filled plus a bit more.. I made this page a very long time ago.. then I have on the photo below the pictures I colored in with the copics.. I really love them. They shade and blend so well.

 

@cfile Holy smokes! You have skills!!! I love that illustrative style! A goal I have for the next two years is to improve penmanship and drawing skills. Much, much love for what you shared here.

 

Oh, I got so excite about markers, I forgot to mention how brilliant re-purposing the gift basket was. I did mention I am a pen junkie, right?

 

Lol thanks Lisa!!

 

Pen junkie here too, it's the poet in me, I hoard journals too. But I'm just getting into markers mostly I color with colored pencils but I love the look of markers!!

 

I'm with Christa - @cfile Copics are the cream of the crop. I'm thanking the Art Gods every day that I still have all of mine. It took me so long to collect the number of Copics I own!!! In my opinion, there are no better than these.

 

Kiana, I'm a pen junkie too - Here's my new favorite pen - also Lisa @ArmyGrl -I only share these with my peeps. LOL

 

I was lucky because back in "the old days", I got freebies from DT's I was on - that started my obsession. Then, I added a few at a time until I got a good stash. There's nothing like them. They are expensive, but well worth it.

 

I love the S-Gels!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Aren't they the BEST?????

 

yesssss

 

I have a few colored pencils....was just thinking I don't use them enough...or crayons. I broke out the pencils; they are sitting on my desk as a reminder to "use me."

 

Way to be an enabler @Cherylndesigns Next time I go to the store I'll be looking for the Sharpie S-Gels.