Description
Alcohol Markers. I really like coloring and alcohol markers are fast-drying, blend smoothly, and have a great finish. You’ll hear many colorists refer to Copic Markers or Spectrum Noirs. I’ll admit, these are both out of my price range. I have Copic marker envy; I admit it. This set of Copic Sketch markers is nearly $300 (at the time of this writing). I look at this listing every once in a while and wonder to myself how to justify this purchase. LOL. There’s also a smaller set of Copic Ciao markers, which are much more affordable but still more than I want to spend on markers, sadly. Ciao and Sketch are the same ink formulation but just less ink in a smaller barrel. They’re also refillable like the Sketch. If you don’t do a lot of coloring, it may good option since it is cheaper.
I own a sum total of 4 Copic markers (impressive…not), but I do own a less expensive set of alcohol markers from Ohuhu. I got the 48 marker brush set, but if I had it to do over again, I would have sprung the extra bucks for the 72 marker set. When I did the dollars per marker calculation, it was just weird that buying the 72 marker set worked out to be more per marker than the 48. Typically, the more you buy of something, the cheaper the unit price (I shop at Costco; I know how bulk works.). So silly me, on principle, I got the 48 set since it was a “better deal”. I would recommend if it’s a price point you’re comfortable with spending, get the 72 set. For one, Ohuhu markers are not sold individually (like Copics). So if I wanted to get the colors I don’t have, I’d have to buy the entire set of 72 and be stuck with 48 duplicates. I also looked closely at the colors in the 72 vs the 48 and it didn’t seem like you get anything all that special — just a lot of greys and light colors. Little did I know… those additional light tones are useful for getting a smooth blending. And I use greys a lot. The set of 48 only has one warm grey. I did make the right call getting the brush tip markers instead of the bullet tip, which is ultimately what led me to choose Ohuhu. The brush tip really does help with blending. Most other alcohol markers in the same price range have a bullet tip instead of a brush tip, which makes it more like a Crayola marker.
So, my grand plan is this… I will use my Ohuhu’s and when I run out of a color, I’ll replace that with a Copic. That way I know I’m buying colors I use often. I blend my Copic and my Ohuhu’s together all the time — as long as you’re using the same base medium (water vs. alcohol), it doesn’t matter the brand. I will also note that even as someone new to coloring, I can feel and see the difference between Copic’s and Ohuhu’s. I don’t know that it justifies the price difference but Copics are certainly better and easier to use for sure.
