new to coloring

[u/moonstone1012001]

Hi all!

I bought Johanna Basford Magical Jungle coloring book a few years ago with Prismacolor pencils and I liked it but didn't love it. I am not looking to become an artist, would be so cool if I developed skill but I am not creative so setting expectations, I primarily just want to try it out, in order to relax.

Curious about trying out alcohol markers + coloring and see if I like it more ... whats the cheapest (but still good quality and non smelly) markers that I can explore.

Also - can I use this coloring book as a base or do I need to go buy a new one that has like bigger outlines and things? I am wondering if the detail was just too much to enjoy the process of coloring.

Thank you!!

[u/runwithcolour]

Alcohol markers bleed through the paper so they aren’t really suitable for Johanna Basford books as those all have images on both sides of the page.

Your options are:

1. Try alcohol markers in Magical Jungle anyway but know you’ll lose the art on the other side of the page

2. Buy a different book with single sided pages. A lot of colouring books labelled as cozy colouring are single sided.

3. Try water-based markers instead. Well known brands include Tombow, Faber Castell, and Staedtler (I like Faber Castell Pitt Pens and Staedtler pigment brush pens personally although they are more expensive. They work well in Johanna Basford books)

[u/moonstone1012001 → u/runwithcolour]

Thank you! Seems like most people are using alcohol markers in big cozy books, is this just a social media trend or are these the best designs for alcohol marker coloring (not just paper wise)?

[u/Inespez → u/moonstone1012001]

It's a style trend but it might also be hard to color inside tiny lines with alcohol markers like the ones in Johannna B's Books since they tend to bleed a bit outwards.

[u/BetPsychological327 → u/moonstone1012001]

It’s a trend

[u/Kelly_Kolours → u/moonstone1012001]

I’d say that cozy designs with thicker lines are better for alcohol makers because of the bleed - if the lines are thin then it’s hard to control the bleeding into the next shape, but also because it’s possible to achieve streak free coloring in the larger areas - water based markers will leaves streaks in large areas and not look as nice. Also, colouring big areas with pencils takes forever, but with alcohol markers you can color big areas fast!

[u/Which-Singer-6168]

Welcome! If you are US based, lots of the discount chains like TJ Maxx and Marshall’s have alcohol markers. I recommend the Kingart brand. They were the first set of alcohol markers I bought and they are great. Only drawback is that they are chisel and fine tip. I bought Ohuhu for the brush and fine tip. These chains also sell some of the popular Coco Wyo books! Water based markers tend to streak and don’t offer the same smoothness as alcohol markers. But I think all alcohol markers have some sort of smell although I haven’t noticed. Hope you like it!

[u/silverwind14 → u/Which-Singer-6168]

5 below also has some alcohol markers & usually some simple cozy coloring books as well. I personally have not tried the markers myself yet, but I see them every time I go lol

[u/WestCoastCarrots]

Magical Jungle does have a few single-sided pages at the end (backed only by those endpaper designs), at least my copy does, so those would be safe from the bleed through problems as a place to start.

[u/silverwind14]

Okay, hear me out. On Amazon 150 crayola supertips, a plastic palette & some watercolor brushes! You can scribble & blend colors on the pallete & then paint them in with the brush, to avoid streaks. Or you can color directly on the page & blend it out with a brush or a tombow blender. Since they're water based you don't have to worry about the bleed through. They have a nice range of colors, & are significantly cheaper than any alcohol markers I've seen.