Everyone has become familiar with alcohol marker brands such as Copic and Ohuhu, but what about some other brands? In this post, I wanted to take a look at some lesser known brands. For those who are interested in trying these markers for themselves, I have included my Amazon and Blick ArtSupplies links down below.
ColorIt Alcohol Markers
The first brand I wanted to look at was Color It. I purchased the 24 color set of alcohol markers. I paid $38.99 for this set on Amazon.com. On their website ColorIt.com, this set used to be around $30. Since I bought this set about 2 years ago, ColorIt has expanded its product line to include coloring books, colored pencils, watercolor markers with refillable ink, gel pens, watercolor paper, journals, and marker/pencil cases.
On the back of the box all the colors in the set are listed with their names and numbers.
They have a nice marker case.
When I opened the cardboard box the markers were in another case. This case had a hard shell with a zipper closure and was very nice quality.
These markers were double ended and had a bullet and chisel nib. The barrel is triangular shaped and the color and number are written on the lids. The bullet and chisel nibs are labeled on the marker.
I swatched this set on Strathmore Drawing paper. They blended fairly well, especially the lighter colors. This set consisted of lighter more pastel-like colors, but there was a nice selection of rainbow colors with a few greys, browns, and black.
"Lighthouse Sketch"
by Ellie Taylor
I created a quick sketch of a lighthouse. The lighter colors blended well, but I needed a few more in-between colors to blend with the darker colors. There is a 60 piece set available on Amazon for around $50.
Art Alternatives Alcohol Markers
I purchased the first series of the Art Alternatives alcohol markers and they came in 5 sets: Basic Set, Gray Set, Floral Set, Sea Set, and a Nature Set.
These markers had a brush nib and a bullet nib with an oval barrel.
The Basic Set had primary colors and green, the Gray Set had warm a cool grays, the Floral Set had pastel pinks and purples, the Sea Set had blues, and the Nature Set had greens and browns. The markers had a letter and number for the names.
'Island Silhouette'
by Ellie Taylor
I painted a picture of an island silhouette on Strathmore Drawing paper with these markers. Although they were alcohol markers they didn't blend very well and the nibs wore out very fast.
Because the first sets of these markers had so many problems, the company redesigned them and they are much better now. They are sold open stock or in sets and are called Illustration markers now. They also have replaceable nibs and have a brush and chisel nib. However, beware, there are still old sets out there! Don't buy the old sets, try to find the new illustration sets. The new 24 set retails for around $35 on Amazon.
Shin Han Touch Twin Alcohol Markers
I wanted to try out the ShinHan markers, so I purchased a 6 marker set. I got the pastel colors set which retails for around $25 on Amazon.
On the back of the package there was a chart of all the colors that Shin Han makes for their line of alcohol markers. They have 204 different colors. These markers come in sets of 6, 12, 24, 48, and 60. They are also available open stock for around $5.25 at dickblick.com.
These double ended markers have a square barrel with a chisel nib and a brush nib. The color name and numbers are on the end of the cap.
This pastel 6 color set had some really pretty colors and they blended pretty well.
'Tree in Lake'
by Ellie Taylor
Of all the markers that are tested in this post, Shin Han is the most like a Copic marker. The alcohol ink blends very much like Copic ink. I think it might bleed a little more than Copic Ink, but not as much as Ohuhu ink. These markers are definitely a high quality alternative to Copics. They are a little bit cheaper than Copics and retail for around $5 a piece on dickblick.com
ShinHan Touch Twin markers do have replaceable nibs and can be refilled with ink. They don't have as many colors or marker product lines as Copic, but they are definitely a good alternative.
Brea Reese Alcohol Markers
I had never heard of Brea Reese markers before, but they were very economical at $14 on Amazon so I thought I'd give them a try. I purchased a 6 color set with Pale Yellow, Pink, Medium Magenta, Ocean Green, Lake Blue, and Ultramarine Blue.
These markers have a fine tip nib and a broad chisel tip nib.
The colors are bright, but they don't seem to blend very well. That could be because the colors are very different from each other, but I don't think so. Pink and Medium Magenta seemed to blend the best.
'Pink Butterfly'
by Ellie Taylor
So I tried to draw and color a whimsical pink butterfly with hands and tennis shoes. These are alcohol markers, but they just don't blend very well. You can see the hard edges even with similar colors. This brand is probably more suitable to be used like regular water based markers. However, unlike a lot of water based markers, Brea Reese markers don't peel the paper.
In conclusion, I would say the Touch Twin ShinHan markers are probably the highest quality and the most like Copic markers of these four brands. ColorIt markers are nice quality markers, but I would like them better if they had brush nibs. The second generation of Art Alternatives markers are much improved over their first generation. The Brea Reese markers are pretty much like regular markers, but would be okay for hobbyists. For professionals I would say the Shin Han brand is a valid alternative to Copics, but the rest of these brands are probably best for hobbyists.