Basic Description
These are alcohol based markers with dual ends and a round shaped barrel.
There is a brush tip at one end and a fine bullet tip at the other end. The barrel has the Brand name printed on it as well as the word and symbol for Brush tip at the Brush Tip end and the word and symbol for the Fine end to indicate which end is which. There is also a light grey band on the Fine Bullet tipped end to help quickly identify the different tip types.
The markers have snap on caps at both ends with a small plastic ridge on the base of each cap to help stop the marker from rolling off of your work surface. There is a plastic color on the tip of each cap which is broadly representative of the marker colour. Each cap end has the color number and name printed on it.
These Markers can be purchased individually or in a variety of different sized sets. They come in a maximum of 363 colors.
I was gifted a set of Honolulu B containing 120 colors for me to provide my honest review.
Dual End Ohuhu Markers
First Impressions
The markers came packaged well in a zippered canvas bag with some structure to it. There are 4 compartments to the bag and each compartment can comfortably fit about 30 markers.
The bag has stiffened sides which help to keep the markers contained and upright.
Marker Bag
Markers in Case
This is a notable difference from some other markers I have where the canvas bag supplied has no structure and no compartments meaning the markers are not easily able to stand up in the bag unless all markers are in the bag.
The markers were not arranged in any particular order within the bag. That being said, I would have preferred if there were individual slots for each of the pens that could keep them upright and organised when not in use.
I think the bag will be quite useful for storing the pens if travelling but I will not be using it to store my markers for everyday use. I prefer to be able to store them in a more organised way by color or number in either a shelf or individual slotted container or Pencil Case where I can easily see and choose the specific color I may want to use.
There is a good range of colors in the set. The set also comes with a colourless blending marker which is in addition to the 120 color markers. This is a really neat addition as the colorless blender allows you to soften a blend of two colours together, lighten a brighter colour and even color-correct smaller areas of ink. If you’ve accidently colored outside a line for example, the colorless blender can help to neutralise the mistake.
The package of markers came with a small booklet that explains Ohuhu products, their different marker series and sets and their features.
Ohuhu Product Booklet
Marker Collections
Features
One of the very useful features outlined is that the marker tips are reversible. This means that if your marker tip is frayed or becoming a little flat after much use, you are able to reverse it and will have a new pointy tip within seconds! It’s almost like having two markers for the price of one.
Reversible Tips
The booklet contains a full color chart for each series and set.
Ohuhu Art Markers Honolulu Series - Honolulu B-02 (120 Pack) Color Chart
Another nice inclusion in the packet of markers is a plastic backing sheet that can be placed behind a picture you are coloring to absorb any excess bleed through marker ink.
Plastic Pad
Included in a slot in the back of the carry case are two swatch cards (approximately 6 inches x 5 inches or 15cm x 12cm) on thick card stock for you to make your own color swatches.
Ohuhu Swatch Cards
This is another well thought through inclusion. However, if like me, you prefer to have your own style of swatch charts, blank ones can be downloaded from the Ohuhu Website. I prefer to keep all my swatch charts in an A4 folder and prefer to use my preferred paper for creating my swatches. I was able to download and print a blank swatch chart containing all the color names for the Honolulu B 120 set of markers. Click this link to download a blank Ohuhu Marker Swatch Chart.
I completed the swatch chart using both ends of each marker.
Ohuhu Art Markers Honolulu Series - Honolulu B-02 (120 Pack) Colour Swatch 1
Ohuhu Art Markers Honolulu Series - Honolulu B-02 (120 Pack) Colour Swatch 2
The markers felt comfortable to hold. The ink flowed smoothly from both ends. I didn’t experience any catching or skipping in any of the markers. Mostly the caps were easy to remove although a couple required a little more effort, however I expect them to loosen up with use.
There appears to be a color family coding for these alcohol markers as there is for many of the professional grade alcohol markers such as
My Experience Coloring with these Markers
I decided to test these markers by following a tutorial for markers by www.KitandClowder.com. This is a paid subscription I have that provides me with monthly coloring tutorials. I chose the class called “Sunglasses” as it uses a wide range of colours and requires both fine and broader brush detail work.
I enjoyed using these markers a lot while doing this class. I found them to be smooth and easily blendable. As you can see from the photos of my progress through the class in the pictures below, I was able to achieve nice smooth blends in both the clouds in the sunset and in the arms of the glasses.
Sunglasses 1
Sunglasses 2
Sunglasses 3
I liked that the brush tip was flexible but has a nice fine point on it allowing for both fine and broad coloring. I also used the bullet tip in this picture and found it particularly useful for drawing fine lines and colouring finer details. I felt it gave me good control over my ability to get fine detailed results.
Overall, I really like these markers and will be using them frequently as my go to brush markers. In my opinion they are a very suitable alternative to
Pros
- Excellent color range from pastels through to vibrant and strong colors
- Round shaped barrel is comfortable to hold
- Color number and name is printed on the top of each cap
- Color indicator on cap although not always identical to the actual ink color is a reasonable indicator of the ink color
- Very smooth flow of ink
- Fast drying ink
- Dries without streaking
- Bullet shaped tip allows for drawing a fine line and for coloring in small spaces
- Brush tip is great for coloring large areas
- Permanent ink which can be used on most surfaces
- Ink is blendable and packs come with a colorless blender marker
- The marker barrel has a light grey band on the Fine Bullet tipped end to help identify the different tip types
- There are fine tip and brush tip icons printed on the ends of the barrel as well as the words “Fine” and “Brush” to indicate which end is which
- There is a notch on each of the caps that ensures the marker will not roll off of a flat surface when not in use
- Affordable professional grade alcohol markers
- Set includes Colorless Blender, Plastic backing sheet and blank swatch cards.
- Sets come in a black cloth zippered carry bag with handle
- At less than $1.25 AUD / $0.84 USD / £0.64 / €0.76* per marker, these are excellent value professional alcohol markers *(at the time of publishing Sept 2024)
Cons
- Being alcohol-based markers there will be bleed through on many papers.
- Due to bleed through, using them in coloring books with pictures printed on both sides of the page means one picture will be impossible to use
- Slight odour that some people may find off-putting
- Some caps were a little harder than others to remove
Price Range
- $ – typically AUD $5.00 or less / US $3.35 / £2.56 / €3.04*(at the time of publishing Sept 2024)
Comments / Recommendations
- An excellent value professional grade alcohol-based marker with a comprehensive color range
- These markers do not require any pressure to get the best out of them so if you have any fine motor, hand or arm problems these may be a suitable option
- They will bleed through most papers so best not to use them in coloring books that have pictures printed on both sides of the page
- When using these markers in coloring books, you will need to place the supplied plastic pad or another piece of paper, cardboard or laminate behind the page you are coloring to stop the ink bleeding through onto the following pages.
- I love these markers and would recommend them to anyone who wants a much more affordable alternative to
Copic markers.
Where to Buy this Product
