For this blog I dived into the world of alcohol based markers. Back when I started this blog they were still pretty new to me, so I decided to start an #inktober project to get better at drawing with these markers. Like the nerd that I am it turned into a big swatch and comparison project;-). By the time I'm updating this blog (4 years later) alcohol markers have become more and more mainstream for illustrators and hobbyists a like. So in this blog I'm answering one of the most asked questons: which marker brand is the best? It's a battle between the brands: the pros, the cons and of course the prices!
*This blog is updated in 2024
Small disclaimer in advance: yes, there are many more brands of alcohol markers. To keep this project somewhat manageable (for my own bank account and mental health), I chose these 5 brands.
Do you want to see a big (almost ;-)) scientific comparison of (almost) all brands of markers in the world? Then I definitely recommend you to watch the vlogs of the Australian Jazza (part 1 and part 2). I'm a big fan of his videos anyway, because he combines his creative skills with a great sense of humor.
Enough talking: here they come! The markers in order of price:
1. Twin makers (dollar stores)
When I wanted to try alcohol makers for the first time I bought a few Twinmarkers at the dollar store. For only a few euros I could see whether I'd even liked these kind of markers to begin with. Because of the low price, I didn't have too high of an expectation of these markers.
To be honest, the markers weren't as bad as I expected. But does it come close to the 'artist quality' the packaging is promising? Definitely not! Is it a nice sets for your kids or when your on a budget? Yes, they are. But you will start noticing the difference when you compare them with other brands. It starts with small things like: the colors often don't quit match the cap, no color name on the barrel of the marker, the markers are sometimes skewed and that’s annoying to hold when you’re coloring with them.
And in terms of use? To get an even color you have to use multiple layers. With these markers the color is quickly saturated, it's difficult to add more depth. Blending also doesn't go as smoothly as with the other brands. In short: okay markers to start with, but if you have a bit more budget, I would pass on these.
+ very cheap
- beginners quality
€24,95 for a 100 marker set // converted €0,25 per marker
2. Ohuhu markers
By now these might be one of the more well-known alcohol marker brands (which definitely wasn't the case yet when this blog first launched). The brand Ohuhu. These markers have the reputation of being the best alternative to the famous Copic markers. So I had to try them and actually: I haven't looked back since. These are my go-to favorite markers! If you want visual proof and a deep dive into these markers, definitely check out this and this YouTube videos I made with my colleague Anne.
When I first bought the Ohuhu markers started with a set of 48 markers, but quickly added the pastel- and skintone set to my collection. By now (after a collab with Ohuhu) I've upgraded to the 320 set. Back in 2020 you could only order sets, but by now you also have open stock of the markers as well as refills available.
So what's so great about the Ohuhu, besides being very affordable? First plus point: included with your markers comes a firm storage bag and a sheet to put behind your paper against bleeding. Second plus: they look stylish and are comfortable to hold. Even more points: the brush tip is sturdy and all nibs (chisel-, brush- and/or the bullet tip - depending on your set) have a really nice ink flow. Blending and layering is pretty smooth sailing with these markers. I also didn't run into the issues that I had with some other markers, like unexpected ink bleeding or dried out nibs due to small cracks in the cap. Ohuhu seems build to last! Are there any disadvantages? A few minor ones. There are no color codes or names on the marker, only on the cap. So it’s a bit of a hassle to match all caps and markers at the end of a drawing session. Colors don't always match with the color on the cap, so swatching is advised. The swatching cards included in the bag aren't printed on marker paper, so I make my own. Another disadvantage: the storage bags don't have many compartments, so you need some hacks to keep them organized (as I've shown here how to :).
By now Ohuhu expended their range of products, including fineliners, several markerpads and bleefproof sketchbooks. In The Netherlands the brand is sold by the independent owned shop BeCreativeshop.nl. Since I rather shop there than at the big players like Amazon, I definitely recommend them! If you use the code 'NienkeVletter', you always get 5% discount on your order!
+ very affordable
+ good quality
+ fine ink flow
- small practical things with the color matching and bag organizing
€ 1.99 for individual markers, but about 70ct per marker if you buy the bigger sets
3. Winsor & Newton Promarkers
When I wrote this blog the Winsor&Newton Promarkers were my favorite brand. I'd still highly rank these - I'll explain why they shifted to the second place. Back in 2020, because I liked the Promarkers a lot, I approached Winsor&Newton for a collaboration around my online courses Illustrative Portraits and Illustrative Characters. Winsor&Newton then spoiled me BIG TIME and completed the marker set I already owned to their full collection Promarkers. Of course I still have this set in my studio and will probably never part with it.
Why? The markers, like most W&N products, offer great quality at a good price. The ink flow is juicy, the colors are beautiful and the biggest plus? From of all the alcohol marker brands I've tried these markers give the most evenly coloring result. Where Copic and Ohuhu can have a slight speckle on paper, Promarkers creates full colored strokes. They are available in sets as well as open stock, so you can always restock your favorite colors.
Any drawbacks? The markers aren't refillable, so they're less durable than Ohuhu and Copic markers. And the reason why they were disrupted from first place by Ohuhu markers? I prefer working with a brushmarker and the tip of the Promarker is thick, but too flexibel for my taste. When you put pressure on it, the tip of the nib flicks up. If Winsor&Newton would provide a more firm tip, these would be an even bigger competitor again! The set I own mostly consists of the chisel-and bullet nib combination. If those are your preferred nibs to work with (or if you actually do prefer a. more flexibel brush nib), these are a great, high quality buy.
+ good price/quality ratio
+ nice smooth result
+ large choice of colors
+ available separately
- not refillable
- would prefer a firmer brush tip
About € 3.50 per marker (open stock sale), lower in price when bought in a set.
4. Tombow ABT PRO markers
After the cheap Twin Makers, the Tombow ABT PRO markers were the first professional brand I started working with. Because I made several workshops and tutorials for Tombow, I gathered a good collection of colors for testing as well.
Although I still think these are okay alcohol markers, they aren't in my top favorite compared to other brands. The main reason? The price and the ink flow. At around €4 these markers cost more than Winsor&Newton and as much as the cheapest variant of the Copic markers (the 'student priced' Ciao marker). If the quality would be clearly better than in other brands, I'd understand the higher price point. But personally I don't think they they're better than Ohuhu or the Winsor&Newton Promarkers. Mostly because they have less ink in the (smaller) barrel and the ink flow is on the dry side, they don't always have an opaque coverage at the first layer and blending is a bit less smooth.
Nevertheless, the Tombow PRO marker also has a few nice advantages. First of all, the marker lies comfortably in your hand due to the narrower barrel. It feels totally familiar if you're used to ABT dual brushpen, because the size of both the markers and the brush tip is the same!
Since the marker is more narrow than other brands (also with a smaller chisel tip), you can deliver more detailed work. In short: if Tombow would drop in price and have a better ink flow, they would go up in my book.
+ fine brush tip
+ great for detailed work
+ available separately
- dry ink flow - higher price
Around € 4 per marker (open stock sale)
5. Copic markers
Here we are, arriving at what used to be the undefeated champion of alcohol markers. For decades Copic has been the go-to for architects, product designers, art students and world wide fans. But with the growing market of alcohol markers, they’ve now got some serious competition. For this blog I couldn't resist trying the Copic markers as well. I know: it’s a tough job. Why? First of all, the Sketch markers (the professional quality brush marker) come in no less than 357 colors. Yeah, that’s makes selecting your favorite colors a challenge doesn’t it? I think I spent at least an hour in the store. Sorry to the employees at my local art store ;)
Secondly, I allowed myself to buy a maximum of 10 markers. Why the limitation? Well, these are the most expensive markers on earth. I bought them while they were on sale, but normally these markers cost about €6 to €8. Ouch. The nibs of the markers are replaceable and all markers are refillable. With a refill of €8.26 you’re supposed to be able to refill the markers 5 to 6 times. In the long run the price of your marker will drop considerably. But still...ouch.
So the number one question: are they worth their price? Well, they are if you can afford it, they might. My first impression was good. The ink flows well, blending and layering is no problem at all. I also got gifted a small set by a client, so I had more colors to try. But when I grabs these markers a few months later, several markers had completely dried out! Even though I had the cap firmly closed. It means I have to buy new nibs and a refill to get them working again. Looking into this I read online that this is a known issue. Apparently the cap is either not closing well enough or small cracks in the cap can occur (sometimes hardly visible to the eye). And that should NOT be an issue if you're the most expensive marker on the market.
So if you'd ask my advice (and many of you often do), I would always choose Ohuhu or Winsor&Newton Promarkers over the price of Copics.
+ a high quality marker
- the price
- several dried out markers
PS A quick review of the Chameleon markers
In my search for reviews I also came across the Chameleon markers. These have a system with not only regular markers, but also so called 'color tops' that you click on top of your original marker. The colors then blend into each other, allowing you to create a nice gradient. I figured I tested these while I was at it.
The brush nibs from Chameleon are initially very firm, but quickly become softer because the tip frayes a bit, especially when you put a color top on it. In the manual they say that this fraying is intentionally, so the brushtip will feel more and more like a real brush. To be honest, this feels a bit like nonsense to me. With the fraying you lose the option to work in fine detail. And the brush nib is the smallest of all the alcohol markers I have tested. So it's not like you can color in huge areas with it.
Then the color tops. Marketing wise this might seem a smart choice, because Unique Selling Point. But in reality it's a gimmick instead of a plus.First of all: you can blend alcohol markers with each other anyway (on paper or nib-to-nib). You don't need special color tops for that. Secondly: if you specifically want the color of a certain color top, you first have to blend it into another marker first, you can't use the tops individually. Which is just such a hassle. It takes more time. More different caps of multiple markers to put on and take off. Constantly looking for the right combination. So my conclusion: it's a no for me.
"So what paper should I use with alcohol makers?"
The second most asked question after which brand is the best: which paper should I use? Check out my previous blog where I wrote about paper for alcohol markers. Would you rather work in sketchbooks than on separate sheets of paper? In this blog you can read about the different sketchbooks I tested!
"One more question: how exactly do you draw with alcohol based markers?"
I think I can better show than tell you! That's why I've launched 2 online courses 'Illustrative portraits' and 'Illustrative characters'. In these courses I'll tell you all about working with alcohol markers, how to draw people and how to build these illustrations step-by-step using reference pictures.
Do you want to stay posted when I launch new workshops and get monthly updates about what I’m working on, things that inspire me and get creative tips & tricks? Sign up for my newsletter.
PS The links in this article are affiliate links. Do you want to buy the markers? It would really help me if you order using these links! It won’t cost you anything extra, but I’ll earn a small percentage of the sales made. Which will help me writing more of these blogs. Shopping at BeCreativeShop.nl? Use the code NienkeVletter and you will get 5% discount on your materials! Thank you so much!
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