Alcohol Markers
Learn how to use alcohol markers to color in this adorable cat!
Alcohol markers are a fun and easy medium to work with, because they allow you to create vibrant, gorgeous art in a wide range of styles!
On this site, you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started with alcohol markers, such as:
the best brands (for every budget)
basic blending techniques
basic brush strokes and nib types
detailed tutorials where you can follow along from start to finish!
Learn how to draw realism with alcohol markers!
I’ve been using alcohol markers for over 10 years, during which time I published over 30 coloring books that have sold over 3.9 million copies. Creating art for coloring books has given me the perfect opportunity to hone my alcohol marker coloring techniques. I’m excited to share with you everything I’ve learned! 😃
Whether your goal is to create realistic still lifes, manga portraits, architectural renderings, fashion design, cute colorful drawings, or to color in adult coloring books, alcohol markers are an ideal medium for creative self-expression!
But getting started can be daunting, especially if you’re a complete beginner. You might be wary of spending too much money on markers, especially if you’re uncertain about how to use them. Don’t worry—I’ve got you covered!
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Overview of Alcohol Markers - Start here if you’re brand-new to alcohol markers. Learn what makes alcohol-based markers different from other markers.
Alcohol Marker Brands and Reviews - Important reading if you haven’t purchased any alcohol markers yet. Learn about different brands and read my detailed reviews, so you can make the best decision for your needs and stay within your budget.
Best Copic Alternatives - If you’re interested in Copic Markers but they’re out of your price range, check out my top recommendations when it comes to affordable alcohol markers.
Alcohol Marker Tutorials - Uncap your markers and start coloring! With these tutorials, you can learn about blending to create colorful works of art.
Free 90-Minute Alcohol Markers Course - Learn the basics of blending in this free video course! Print out the line art and follow along step-by-step as you practice the alcohol marker blending techniques that I demonstrate in this free online art class.
Ultimate Guide to Using Alcohol Markers - This comprehensive self-paced video course is designed to take you from a beginner level to an advanced level, with printable line art included so you can follow along at home! Learn blending techniques, blending theory and more. Watch the course trailer to see everything you’ll enjoy in this online alcohol marker class!
Alcohol Marker Art - View a gallery of art made with alcohol markers, so you can see the possibilities of this fun medium!
Top 8 Tips for Using Alcohol Markers - Here’s everything that I wish someone had told me when I was first learning how to using alcohol markers over 10 years ago!
How to Refill Copic Markers and How to Refill Ohuhu Markers - The ability to refill your alcohol markers (and replace the nibs) means that you can use the same marker over and over! In my demos, I show you how to refill Copic and Ohuhu markers using their ink refill bottles.
Wizard Cat Alcohol Markers Course - Learn my favorite alcohol marker blending techniques for creating colorful kawaii art!
Custom Color Charts for Copic and Ohuhu - If you use Copic Markers or Ohuhu Honolulu Markers, my custom color charts will make it so much easier for you to choose colors for blending!
Draw Realism with Alcohol Markers - Watch my process and learn my techniques as I draw a realistic owl from scratch!
Overview of alcohol markers
Let’s start right at the beginning:
What are alcohol markers, and why are they called “alcohol” markers?
There are 2 main types of art markers: water-based markers and alcohol-based markers. The difference between them is the solvent. Water-based markers consist of dye suspended in water, while alcohol markers consist of dye suspended in alcohol (usually ethanol). In both types of marker, when the solvent dries, the color from the dye is what’s left on the paper.
Because this article is focused on alcohol markers, I won’t go too in-depth about the differences between the two. Instead, if you’re interested in learning more about their differences, check out my detailed Markers Buying Guide, which is perfect for beginners who haven’t purchased their markers yet.
Alcohol markers are usually double-ended, like the Copic Sketch Marker shown above. They almost always have a chisel tip (shown on the left end above) and either a bullet tip or a brush tip (like you see on the right side above). “Tips” can also be referred to as “nibs”. The purpose of different nib types is that they can each produce different types of strokes, as shown below.
Alcohol marker brush strokes
Below you can get an idea of the different types of brush strokes that each nib type can produce. Each nib type has its strengths and weaknesses. I prefer the brush stroke because it is the most versatile, allowing you to color in both large and tight spaces. You can also create variable width strokes, where some parts of the line are thick and other parts are thin, all without lifting the marker from the paper.
Almost every alcohol marker is dual-tipped (“double-ended”), and almost all of them contain a chisel tip on one end. So your biggest choice will be whether to purchase markers with a brush tip or a bullet tip on the other end.
If you want to blend your alcohol markers, then brush-tip alcohol markers are definitely the way to go. The soft, flexible nib is designed for easy, seamless blending.
If you care more about creating consistent line widths, and smooth blending is less of a priority for you, then you might prefer bullet-tip markers. You can still blend with bullet-nibbed alcohol markers, the results just might not be as smooth and seamless as what you can achieve with a brush nib.
What makes alcohol markers different from other markers?
If you’ve never heard of alcohol markers, then you might wonder what makes them so special—especially when they’re so much more expensive than water-based markers! Why do people enjoy using alcohol markers so much?
If you’ve read my Markers Buying Guide, then you understand the differences between water-based markers and alcohol markers. (If you haven’t read it yet, definitely check it out for a thorough examination of the differences between these two marker types.)
Simply put, alcohol markers allow you to create vibrant, beautiful art that can be as sophisticated as any other traditional art medium. You can create smooth gradations of color, either from light to dark, or from one hue to another. The wide range of available colors allows you to create realistic artworks, as well as use highlights and shadows to great effect in non-realistic art.
Once you get the hang of blending, there’s really nothing you can’t create with alcohol markers. Whether you work in a whimsical style, an anime style, or a photorealistic style, you can achieve all kinds of artistic effects with alcohol markers that can bring your creative vision to life.
An example of alcohol markers combined with paint pens (from my Woodland Mandalas Coloring Book)
Plus, they combine so well with other media, such as colored pencils, ink pens, paint pens, and more. When you combine alcohol markers with the qualities of other media, there’s no limit to what you can create!
Alcohol markers also a professional-quality medium, used for a range of different purposes across various fields, such as fashion illustration, graphic design, architecture, manga, storyboarding, landscape design, and more.
When it comes to the actual markers, some brands like Copic Markers are designed to last for years— even decades, with the right care! This sets them far apart from the markers that are geared towards children.
These are just some of the reasons why alcohol markers are better than regular markers when it comes to creating eye-catching works of art, whether it’s for professional purposes or for your pure creative enjoyment.
Ultimate Guide to Using Alcohol Markers
Once you’ve got your alcohol markers, it’s time to learn how to use them! In my Ultimate Guide to Using Alcohol Markers, I walk you step-by-step through everything you need to know to use your alcohol markers with confidence.
In 11+ hours of focused video content, divided into 65 bite-sized lessons, I demonstrate several alcohol marker blending techniques, starting with the basics and then moving into more advanced techniques like rainbow blends and underpainting. Practice printables are included, so you can follow along with me, at your own pace!
Once you’ve got the hang of blending, I walk you step-by-step through creating the three works of art you see below!
You’ll also get access to my personal library of over 250 Copic blends! You don’t need Copics to do this course though, because color swatches pop up on the screen every time I change colors, so you can match the color swatches to whatever colors you have on hand.
If you have Ohuhu Markers, a Copic-Ohuhu Color Conversion Chart is included for your convenience!
Be sure to watch the course trailer to see everything this course has to offer!
If you’d like to preview some of the content in my Ultimate Guide to Using Alcohol Markers, check out the free videos and lessons below!
My Top 8 Tips for Using Alcohol Markers
Top 8 Tips for Alcohol Marker Beginners - Learn how to use alcohol markers like a PRO!
Custom Alcohol Marker Charts
If you’ve ever struggled to find the right colors to blend together, my custom color charts for Copic and Ohuhu will save you so much time and energy! I organized the colors according to what they actually look like, placing similar colors next to each other, which can speed up your art-making process and make the whole experience even more enjoyable! 😊
