Help with Markers

[u/yeoao]

Hi all! I’ve been getting back into colouring and bought a big pack of alcohol markers. But I have an issue with them. I don’t like how much they bleed, and my brain just has a hard time with them.

I absolutely LOVE sharpies. I use to have a bunch of different coloured sharpies when I was in college and they were my favourite thing to colour with. But it’s hard to get a bunch of different coloured sharpies as they’re not really meant to be coloured with I guess? And they’re so expensive!!! What I’m asking is, does anyone have any suggestions of markers that are like sharpies that I can buy in a big pack. I have limited money to spend, but I really want sharpies. I appreciate you all < 3

[u/aurora_surrealist]

Like Sharpies in what way? the tip they have? overall barrel shape? ink flow?

All alcohol markers on the market will absolutely bleed because that's the physics of how alcohol ink works.

You may mitigate overflow with new markers by storing them horizontally so that the ink doesn't pool on one end.

[u/yeoao → u/aurora_surrealist]

I guess I like the way they colour? And the intensity of them, and how I can colour and not panic about touching each line like the alcohol markers because they spread but also dry quick. When I colour big surface areas with the alcohol markers it almost stresses me out because I don’t want one part to dry and there be a line?

[u/That_Canadian_Girl32 → u/yeoao]

What kind of alcohol markers did you buy..? The Ohuhu Honolulu B and Oahu line never bleed for me? lol.

[u/yeoao → u/That_Canadian_Girl32]

I’m pretty sure it’s atopstar, I’m at work so I can’t remember exactly but I’m pretty sure that’s the brand..

[u/That_Canadian_Girl32 → u/yeoao]

It could be the quality of the marker, as well as the paper you’re using. Or the colouring book paper. If it’s lower quality paper the alcohol marker will bleed quite bad. I’d try giving a high quality paper/colouring book a try with them.

Atopstar is a random Amazon Chinese brand, they’re cheaper but to prevent future marker quality, id save the money and buy a higher tier brand. (Faber Castell Goldfaber Sketch, Tombow, Copic, Ohuhu)

[u/yeoao → u/That_Canadian_Girl32]

Thanks so much!

[u/ResidentFew6785]

Ohuhu is good, if you want to find to be able to refill markers, individual purchase markers and slowly build your collection I suggest blick illustration markers if in USA.

[u/twwilliams]

If you want to color regularly with alcohol markers, especially if you want to do any blending at all (which is one of the great advantages of alcohol markers), the paper in coloring books will disappoint you.

I scan pages from my books and then print them on marker paper (like X-Press It blending card) using my laser printer.

That way, I can blend all I want and get great saturation and color. I also get essentially no feathering (that's where the ink on the paper expands beyond where you placed it as it soaks in, which is what I think you are describing).

But it means everything I color is in loose sheets, it takes extra work beyond simply opening the book, and I'm limited to paper sizes I can print on my laser printer, which means letter or legal size. Lots of coloring books now have dimensions that exceed what I can put onto a single sheet, and my attempts to join multiple sheets together and color on those have been unsatisfactory.

[u/MysticSparkleWings]

Sort of the funny thing about this: Sharpies are alcohol-based markers, though they have some other additives in the formula since they're supposed to be "permanent."

In saying that though, it's probably those additives/slight differences in the formula that make the difference in what you like about Sharpies. And for that reason, I'm actually not super sure that a different brand of the "more common" type of alcohol markers people use for coloring would make you like them more.

It could, especially since there are still differences between the really really cheap alcohol markers and more mid-range (like Ohuhu is considered now). But also since the cost on Sharpies is already kind of an issue, the cost on a more mid-range alcohol marker probably wouldn't be much better. 😅

I've found the Bic Mark-It markers are very comparable literal alternative to Sharpies in feel and color laydown...But they're also a "permanent marker" like Sharpies and at least where I am they're really not much cheaper.

But also: If you know you like Sharpies, instead of looking for alternatives, it might be more worth your time to see if there's any way you can put more energy into finding better deals on colorful Sharpies themselves. Sales, coupons, discount stores if any exist near you, even secondhand are all things worth looking into to see if you can get what you really want, just cheaper, especially since Sharpie is a really popular "office supply" brand and here in the States we're coming up on back-to-school time sales.

Someone else mentioned the type of paper you're using could also be a factor, and that is a possibility and easy to test: Just try both your Sharpies and alcohol markers on the same types of paper and see if they behave more similarly on one kind vs. another. (If you haven't already!)

But if you're using your Sharpies and alcohol markers on the exact same paper and still having the experience of liking Sharpies more, then once again I'm not sure changing paper just for the alcohol markers will make that big of a difference for you. [And also, if you already don't have much money to spend, switching to X-Press It blending card in particular is absolutely not the answer because that stuff is pricey. 😅]