Alcohol Markers

Arrtx ALP Alcohol Marker

The Arrtx ALP markers are generally quite nice to use. These are the chisel and bullet range from Arrtx, so if you’re looking for a brush tip, you’ll want to purchase the OROS (below) instead. When testing these, I found that a lot of my colours weren’t well matched, and these seem to have become lighter over time, which is not something I’ve seen with any of my other alcohol markers. They’re water-resistant and easy to hold and have nice caps that uncap easily.

Set Sizes available: 36, 80, 90
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Arrtx Oros Alcohol Marker

The Arrtx OROS are the same as the ALP, but these include a brush marker. Personally, I prefer them over the ALP markers from Arrtx. They are easy to lay out with even colour, and there’s a nice variety of colours, including light, muted, bright and darker colours. They are water-resistant and have a similar smell to other alcohol markers. The set I’m testing is a few years old now, and instead of drying out, the colours seem to have become lighter over time. You can see my first-impression review of these from a few years ago here.

Set Sizes available: 48 / 66 / 80 / 90
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Artify

I found the Artify alcohol markers to be very inconsistent in their quality, moisture and feel of the nibs between markers. They are clearly a cheaper marker, with the assembly seemingly being rushed. Some of the nibs were pushed in too far, making them frustrating to use, and the chisel nibs all face different directions between markers – which isn’t an issue with their performance, but is frustrating (I opened the marker a few times, expecting it to face a different direction). The actual performance was good. Despite all this, they were better at blending than I expected, and had a good range of colours and a mix of saturations.

Set Sizes available: 24 / 48 / 80 / 108
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Bianyo Classic Alcohol Marker

The Bianyo Classic Markers didn’t give a great first impression in my testing. The fine tip is squeaky and not very nice to use. There is a huge lack of lighter colours—the colours they do have are muted or dark and many of them leave a yellow stain when they bleed through the paper. They are water-resistant and have a moderate smell (slightly more than most alcohol markers). I tested the “Classic” range with the chisel and bullet tip, but apparently there’s also  the “Professional” range with a brush tip. I’m unsure if this is the same quality marker.

Set Sizes available: 36 / 72
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Caliart Art Marker

The Caliart Art Markers produce very vibrant, saturated colours, with a decent colour range, although not many lighter colours. The chisel nib feels nice, being slightly soft, and would be a good markers for colouring books if you don’t mind losing the picture on the back of the page (they are alcohol markers after all). They claim to be water-proof and water-resistant but during my water testing, these did run a bit making them NOT water-resistant.

Set Sizes available: 40 / 81 / 100 / 121
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Chartpak AD

I really didn’t like these markers. It was impossible to test them because the smell was so strong (like drawing directly with turpentine!) This is because they are a xylene-based marker and not alcohol-based like the others tested in this category. From what I did test, I found that the lids were incredibly stiff and the colours did not produce an even coating on the paper anyway, and they are not water-resistant like other alcohol markers.

Set Sizes available: 12 / 25 / 100
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Chartpak

Copic Ciao Alcohol Marker

The Copic Ciao are my oldest markers. I bought a small set of 12 when I first started adult colouring, and they’ve lasted really well! They have a huge variety of colours available, although not as many as the other Copic ranges. They feel very good to use, with the brush tip really hitting that sweet spot between too soft and too firm, giving excellent blending and layering results. The Ciao range are intended to be a “beginner” range, with the caps even having air holes to reduce choking hazards with young artists. They don’t hold as much ink as the other alcohol markers from Copic, but they are also much more affordable.

Set Sizes available: 5 / 6 / 12 / 24 / 36 / 72
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: Yes
Where to Buy: Amazon

Copic Classic Alcohol Marker

The Copic Classic markers are some of the most well-known and high quality markers available. They are excellent for both layering and blending. They have a huge range of colours with plenty of variety and the colours are slightly muted, making them great for realistic art and building up layers of colour. They are water-resistant, refillable, and easy to find replacement markers or tips. For many years, these have been the “holy grail” of marker, with a price to match their reputation. The Sketch marker (below) is slightly more popular among Copic users, due to a larger colour range and more affordable price.

Set Sizes available: 12 / 36 / 72
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: Yes
Where to Buy: Amazon

Copic Sketch Alcohol Marker

‘Coming Soon’

Set Sizes available: 3 / 6 / 12 / 24 / 36 / 72
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: Yes
Where to Buy: Amazon

Faber-Castell Goldfaber Sketch Alcohol Marker

These Faber-Castell Goldfaber Sketch markers are a thin dual tip alcohol marker with a really nice fineliner and brush tip. They were some of my favourite alcohol markers tested, even though they are quite different to a “traditional” alcohol marker. They are water-resistant and only have a mild smell to them. They are easy to blend, however the brush tip is sometimes squeaky to use. Overall, I found them to be quite good.

Set Sizes available: 6 / 12 / 24
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Mont Marte Premium Alcohol Marker

The Mont Marte Premium markers layer quite well, but aren’t too good for blending. The chisel nib is decent, but the bullet nib is quite squeaky. Being an alcohol marker, this should be waterproof, and was advertised as such – but I found it wasn’t completely water resistant during my tests. I found them a bit hard to apply colour evenly on the page and I didn’t love the triangular shape of the markers, but that is a personal preference.

Set Sizes available: 12 / 24
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Ohuhu Honolulu Alcohol Marker

The Ohuhu Honolulu B markers are my choice for the best alcohol markers on the market. The chisel and brush nibs hit that nice sweet spot—not too soft, not too firm. They are easy to control and produce a consistent, even colour, that is water-resistant. They are not quite as easy to blend as the Copic, and are slightly less suited to realism, but they are amazing for comic book art or colouring, especially with the huge range of vibrant colours. These markers come in both brush & chisel, and brush & fine styles (though I only tested the brush & chisel here). For the quality of these markers, I’d normally expect to pay premium prices—but somehow Ohuhu has delivered a premium-feeling product at a reasonable price point. Therefore these are, in my opinion, the best alcohol markers out there, and also the best value for money.

Set Sizes available: 48 / 72 / 104 / 120 / 168 / 217 / 320
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: Yes
Where to Buy: Amazon

OLO Alcohol Marker

The OLO Dual markers give a great first impression. With their unique half-marker concept, you can choose what marker nib combo you want to use. The brush nib hits the sweet spot between too soft and too firm, but the chisel nib is a bit smaller than other brands. They are excellent at blending and layering, offer a huge range of colours, and are water–resistant. I was able to create some of my best marker work ever with these markers, and was able to layer many times to create a realistic portrait. Overall, these are very nice markers, coming in as my 2nd choice for the best alcohol marker overall, and they’re easily one of my new personal favourites.

Set Sizes available: 16 / 32 / 64 / 128 / 160
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: Yes
Where to Buy: OLO Marker

Prismacolor Premier Alcohol Marker

I had high hopes for these markers, since the Prismacolor Premier coloured pencils are among my favourites. These markers are great for layering, and pretty good for blending. The felt bullet nib is quite nice—though I didn’t get a chance to try their brush tip. The chisel is much larger than other brands, and I found it hard to lay down evenly. The lids were very firm, and a bit difficult to remove—and once I got them off, I was greeted with a very bad, strong smell, that made them difficult to use for longer periods. I wanted to love these, and overall they are good markers, but there are other marker brands that I prefer, so I’m not sure I’ll use these again.

Set Sizes available: 24 / 72 / 98 /156
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Shinhan Touch Twin Alcohol Marker

Not to be confused with the bajillion cheap “Touch” markers out there, these are the real deal. They perform similar to Copic, and are priced accordingly. There is a brush tip available (see below) but the chisel and bullet marker is also quite nice to use. The chisel still lays colour down and blends surprisingly well. They have a good range of colours that are water-resistant, but their specific range marketed as “skin tone” only includes extremely light tones. Overall, these are a great quality marker.

Set Sizes available: 6 / 7 / 12 / 60
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: Yes
Where to Buy: Amazon

Shinhan Touch Twin Brush Alcohol Marker

The Shinhan Touch Twin Brush markers are a very high quality marker. The brush nib hits the bullseye between ‘not too firm’, and ‘not too soft’, making both blending and layering a pleasure. These are some of the best alcohol markers money can buy, but they’re also some of the most expensive. I couldn’t find anywhere to buy replacement nibs, but you can buy single markers if you need replacements. I’d love to try these markers more. I was really impressed, and just wish they were a little more affordable.

Set Sizes available: 6 / 12 / 36 / 60
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: Yes
Where to Buy: Amazon

Shuttle Art Alcohol Marker

‘Coming Soon’

Set Sizes available: 30 / 60 / 100 / 205
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Simpleoa Alcohol Marker

The Simpleoa markers were… well, a disappointment. They are a very affordable marker, but the low price reflects the low quality. The tips are squeaky, the chisels aren’t always assembled properly, and they have a worse smell than other alcohol markers. The lids are stiff and the marker build feels cheap overall. A few of my colours even seemed like they weren’t mixed properly, with many feeling like they had more filler than colour. I can’t recommend these markers, or the other “Touch” markers that this brand promotes on Amazon.

Set Sizes available: 262
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Spectra AD Alcohol Markers

‘Coming Soon’

Set Sizes available: 6 / 12 / 24 / 48 / 96
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: Yes
Where to Buy: Chartpak Ad Markers

Spectrum Noir Illustrator Alcohol Marker

‘Coming Soon’

Set Sizes available: 4 / 12 / 36
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available:  No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Tombow ABT Pro Alcohol Marker

‘Coming Soon’

Set Sizes available: 5 / 10 / 12
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Touch Chenji (Oolong) Alcohol Marker

‘Coming Soon’

Set Sizes available: 80
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

TOUCHFIVE Alcohol Markers

The TOUCHFIVE Markers are one of the cheaper markers I tested. They fall into the category of “cheap price, cheap quality” and are one of many “Touch” markers on the market. The lids don’t seal well, they are squeaky to use, and the colours aren’t as vibrant as I’d hoped. They layer really well and have a very nice amount of moisture. However, they aren’t nice to blend, are slightly squeaky to use, and the colours aren’t very saturated. Other than the real Touch Markers from Shinhan, I haven’t yet found any other “Touch” markers worth buying.

Set Sizes available: 80
Available as open stock: No
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Winsor & Newton Promarker Alcohol Marker

The Winsor & Newton Promarker range is quite nice to use due to their unique barrel shape, which is lovely to hold in the hand. The bullet and chisel nibs are both really nice to use, and they have a separate range called “Promarker Brush” with a brush tip available. Overall, the Winsor & Newton Promarkers are nice to use, especially if you’re wanting to build up layers. Their one big downside is that they aren’t water-resistant like other alcohol markers.

Set Sizes available: 6 / 24 / 96
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon

Winsor & Newton Promarker Brush

The Winsor & Newton Promarker Brush markers are excellent at layering, quite good at blending, have high-quality tips, and feel very nice to use. Their slightly muted colour range and lower moisture level make them easy to blend and layer for realism. Their one big downside is that they aren’t water-resistant like other alcohol markers. The brush is much softer than other brands that made it to my finals, but this is something that comes mostly down to preference. They are a very good quality marker overall.

Set Sizes available: 6 / 24 / 48
Available as open stock: Yes
Refills Available: No
Where to Buy: Amazon