#especially if ur like me and draw it all on mixed media paper instead of actual watercolour paper jfkdLJKDLFKDS its a race against time...

[maareyas]

Hello sensei i request guidance

I have recently been reminded on my packet of ohuhu markers i bought a while back. Funny thing though,

I dont know how to use them (never used markers before let alone the alcohol ones or whatever the ones i got are)

Your use of markers is majestic, if i may ask, can you bestow upon me divine wisdom and show me where to start so i can learn please? Theres a lot of stuff online and its incapacitating me

Thank you for your time O great one!

*strokes fake beard* ah yes. my divine wisdom which i most certainly have and not my haphazard "winging it" XD

in all seriousness I'm really also still pretty new to markers;;;; So I wouldn't say I'm great at them yet ahdhhedjjd. I can only give a few points of advice:

1. Paper - I'd argue this is the most important part bc 70% of the art quality WILL be based on how well your paper takes ink. The papers I use are either Ohuhu's own marker sketchbook or watercolor/mixed media paper (about 200 gsm).

I would recommend the marker paper since it's actually specialized for markers and makes the color pop more. Watercolor paper also works, but it makes the colors look a lil duller. In my experience, it's blending markers on watercolor paper dries slower, which makes it easier to blend smoothly/with less streaks. I heard it also sucks up your marker ink more, but I haven't been using markers long enough to know.

2. Blending - There should be a colorless alcohol-only marker in ur set. You use that for blending (mostly). Lay down the colorless "ink" first, AND THEN draw over it with the colors you want to blend--while the alcohol is still wet ofc.

This is difficult to explain without visuals--but, I also tend to use the lighter/fainter colors as a "blending color" also. Blending colors in the same hue or are analogous is easier. Mostly. Meanwhile I had to fight for my life trying to blend orange with blue or even just a cooler gray without looking muddy.

3. Bleeding - THESE THINGS LOVE TO BLEED FR. On both marker paper and watercolor paper, I always have to compensate for how much the ink bleeds/feathers once it actually touches the paper, especially when you're using brush tip markers. I hate it ✨

Also if Ohuhu includes this plastic? film? thingy with their markers iirc. You put that on the back of the paper you're drawing on to catch any ink that bleeding through the page.

4. swatch your markers - imo markers are WAY more rigid in terms of color and blending. Yet frustatingly, they also can look very different when wet vs. when dry. SO! it helps alot to make swatches of your markers so you can get a consistent idea of what they'll actually look like.

5. Use colored pencils instead of markers for drawing details - After doing the broad colors with marker, I like to go back in with colored pencils to add detail and for some color correction. I can't do details in marker. I'm not powerful enough for that hfhrhehe

6. Ohuhu's marker caps DON'T match the color they are. It's dumb and another reason why you should make swatches fhhdjej

Aside from that I don't think I have much else. The rest of my knowledge comes from watching other artists' tutorials:

in summary: i have no idea what im doing 👍 hope this helps! ✨

[bmpmp3]

artfight aka the month where i agonize for hours about whether or not my colouring style counts as “rough colour” or “clean colour“