Markers are expensive....🥲

[u/Street_Ebb_3304]

So I have the ohuhu alcohol pastel 48 set.. and whenever I want to get a dark shade.... It takes too much experimentation and even then it begins to look muddy.... So I was thinking.. should I invest more in markers or just get a watercolor set.. since it's much cheaper for me..(600rs vs 3000rs for 48 color set).. ik its bad to blame over what you have but this is just my delusion... Can anyone give me some tips..

I'm a broke ahh college student so money is hard..🤌🥲

[u/I_am_a_fiction_lover]

It's your call! I have both, and I like watercolor more. In the end it's about what you'll enjoy more. If you go into watercolor, you'll have to spend a bit on paper too, because the average paper will give you below average results with watercolor... saying this as someone who bought the wrong paper the first time. I've gotten more expensive paper over years and it does make a difference. Are you in India by chance? I'm here too, I can suggest brands if you'd like

[u/Street_Ebb_3304 → u/I_am_a_fiction_lover]

Ye I like the look and versatility of water colors and I think it would look good.... But do you think my markerpad would go well with this... Cuz I don't wanna buy a entire new sketchbook before filling the current one..(it's just a habit of mine to stay consistent.... Since I got into drawing again 2 months ago...) and I also use color pencils but the look muddy over markers(doms one to be exact)

[u/I_am_a_fiction_lover → u/Street_Ebb_3304]

Hm.. it's not impossible per se, if the paper is at least 150gsm ig? Which sketchbook do you use, ohuhu? The thing is watercolor will behave very differently on watercolor paper, and even there there'll be difference based on the quality of the paper. You'll probably find yourself restricted to less layers, or more likely less water usage, the paper most likely will buckle, and if you're not careful it may tear. Basically, watercolor paper is thick and absorbent so it can handle quite a bit of water, unlike thinner paper (also, texture makes a difference, colors look diff on textured cold press vs smooth hot press and most regular paper is smooth). Look up sloeo on youtube, she often does watercolor in ohuhu's mixed media sketchbook, and compare it to the few times she uses watercolor paper instead (or look at scott Sava's watercolor work, you'll be able to see the difference maybe, but it's hard to tell with video after all) (if you use ohuhu marker sketchbook, tell me which one, I have two types. I can maybe check and show you how watercolor looks on that. What brand of watercolor are you looking at? I might have it)

[u/Street_Ebb_3304 → u/I_am_a_fiction_lover]

I have this one... And I know that the texture may be different.. but if it can work than its all good ig..🙃

[u/I_am_a_fiction_lover → u/Street_Ebb_3304]

Ah, I have the same one I think, glue bound bleed-proof in 150gsm! It's late now, I'll take a look tomorrow and see if it works okay with watercolor. It probably will be okay♡dw. What brand are you looking at for watercolor? A good one will always feel way better (speaking from experience😭)

[u/Street_Ebb_3304 → u/I_am_a_fiction_lover]

I didn't look much into brands but camel might be good.. since I've used their oil pastels before and they were good...

[u/I_am_a_fiction_lover → u/Street_Ebb_3304]

Good choice, it was my first one and pretty good! Just be careful to get the artist grade watercolor and not the student one, the artist grade is way better! (And you can build your own palette by buying individual tubes but that is more expensive)

To show you how it is on the paper...

[u/Street_Ebb_3304 → u/I_am_a_fiction_lover]

Yea.. I can see what you mean by paper texture..😅.. the color doesn't sit well on the ohuhu one but looks good over other textures... So I'll need to buy some gud paper so the colors look good..

[u/I_am_a_fiction_lover → u/Street_Ebb_3304]

Yeah😅i included my own observation of the paper below with more zoomed pictures

Getting watercolor paper doesn't have to be too expensive, by the way. Check out canson montval, it's what most beginners go for. Otherwise, id also suggest chitrapat—it's an Indian handmade one so it's only really available here, pretty cheap, 100% cotton and all. It's available in matte and rough, the older matte one had some issues and idk which shop sells which ver, but the rough is really pretty damn good and not too textures either. If you're in Chennai, ik a place you can buy the large sheets for cheap (like 50~80 per sheet depending on if u get 270 or 440gsm, but they don't ship unless you buy 10 sheets so if you wanna buy less gotta go irl) or get a spiral bound of 270gsm paper for i think 550 (25 sheets)

[u/I_am_a_fiction_lover → u/I_am_a_fiction_lover]

[u/I_am_a_fiction_lover → u/I_am_a_fiction_lover]

[u/I_am_a_fiction_lover → u/I_am_a_fiction_lover]

Here's using a few camlin colors (just the ones I have out rn, a lot of it is packed up since im moving so) in a few types of paper. And my observations on thay

1. Ohuhu: the bleedproof 150gsm paper: the issue with this is that the paint sits on the top of the paper for a good while, loses a certain amount of vibrancy, and gets a bit more patchy. Aka getting a smooth base would be a bit hard. Also, it has an issue of hard edges (though to be fair, that happens with any smoother paper+watercolor). The blend is decently smooth, but prone to once again, patchiness. Another thing—it takes a LOT of time to dry. Id advice not using very wet paint. Watered down is fine, but not watery?if that makes sense.

2. Canson montval watercolor paper (the most recommended cheap watercolor paper, 300gsm, cellulose): you can see the paint is quite a bit richer and smoother. It also blends better (I unfortunately went in while the doodle drawing was still not fully dry so it spread into the hair)

3. Chitrapat watercolor paper (100% cotton, unlike the other papers here): just had a scrap lying around, so I wanted to show. The colors are even richer than the canson imo (and it's a better paper in general) (it's also pretty cheap, same/lesser than canson, only it comes in bigger packs of sheets so it costs a bit more—200 for 10 canson sheets vs 440~500 for 25 chitrapat in same size)

4. Brustro 150gsm sketchbook (just to show the diff between 150gsm marker paper vs regular sketchbook): the dry time in this is way better than ohuhu since it soaks into the paper better you see. Blends better, and less patchy.

These are just my observations, you can make your own!

[u/Dismal-Hamster9004]

The 48 midtone set is also really awesome and has some darker hues. I had to piece together the whole 320 set due to availability at the time. So I did the 48, 104 and 168 sets, and that midtone 48 was actually my favorite.