In this article I’m going to show you one of the ink painting classes techniques I use, combining alcohol based inks and coloured pencils.

Going Wild with Marker Refills
Long ago I used to make illustrations with markers, but the medium wasn’t really my thing after all, so I was left with a fairly large stock of partly used Copic Various Ink refills that I no longer needed. Some years later, during one of the Inktober challenges I participated, I suddenly felt an urge to try something completely different with ink. I remembered my leftover Copic inks and dediced to start experimenting with them.

Smooth Uncoated Drawing Paper
At first, I just grabbed whatever drawing paper I happened to have in my studio at that time. Since then, I’ve made experiments with various different papers, and each reacts a bit differently with alcohol ink. My favorite papers for this technique are uncoated fine-grain drawing papers with a smooth surface, around 200 gsm, give or take. One of the papers I use is Hahnemühle Nostalgie 190 gsm, for example. Alcohol-based ink doesn’t warp or bend the paper, so there’s no need to attach the paper on a board with tape-it stays flat on its own.

Contrary to a very usual assumption, I never use watercolour paper for my alcohol ink paintings-no water will be used in this technique. I don’t use any of the coated/glossy/bleedproof/plastic papers either, which are often recommended for alcohol inks. I’m partial to smooth, uncoated drawing papers because of the whimsical shapes and gritty yet rich and soft textures the paper fibers create.

Painting Techniques
I allow color to drop right from the ink tube onto the paper. Using the few precious seconds during which the color is wet, I hold the paper carefully at its sides and turn from side to side, depending on what the ink does.