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Friday, September 7, 2018

Things To Know Before Learning How To Use Alcohol Ink

By Daniel Allen


Everyone the world over have a creative streak running through them. Whether this streak lasts for a lifetime or it is there intermittently, people use different mediums to express themselves. You reading right now may be thinking of how to use alcohol ink to express your own artistic interests. Before you do start out in using this medium, it may be good to know a thing or two about it may be good to know a thing or two about it in this article.

This kind of ink is a dye based ink. This basically means that whatever colorant is used to give specific tints and colors is fully dissolved in the liquid. It just basically means that due to the even distribution of colorant, you can use the ink right away without any need for shaking it first. This is with exception of inks with metallic or pearl essence, where you need to shake it first to get the settled particles remixed Into the solution.

As this ink is basically alcohol based, this will mean that this kind of ink will dry up very quickly, sometimes within seconds of touching the surface. Once it does dry, it will be basically be waterproof and will stay on for a very long time, if not forever.

The use of non porous surfaces is essential for this medium. This is because it requires a flat surface for it to glide across and really show off its potential and so called magic. Using a porous surface such as wood or paper will not bring out the full potential of this ink and the beauty that it creates.

These inks come in general standard colors of light pastel sets, bright jewel colored sets, and earth tone darker sets. Lighter colored ones have more alcohol in them and thus then to spread out more. Darker colors have more dye in them and will not spread out as much. It goes without saying that lighter colors will tend to dry up faster than darker ones, which is a trait that you should keep in the back of your mind.

If you are just beginning to dabble with this kind of medium, it is best that you just buy any of several starter packs that are out in the market. Starter packs come in one half ounce sized bottles with a few colors. Do not buy four ounce bottle packs as the one half ounce ones last for quite a while. Also you can extend your color range more by buying darker colors and diluting with alcohol to get other lighter shades.

As you begin to play around with this medium, you will notice that these are inks that do not mix well. In fact they will push each other apart and leave distinct edges with each other. One can compare the effect to that of a stained glass painting so one should keep this characteristic in mind when thinking of an overall design.

It is also very important to remember that once your artwork dries it becomes resilient and waterproof. However it is not bullet proof. Thus if it comes in anyway with alcohol again, or alcohol based liquids, the inks will be reactivated. Once reactivated the inks become wet and will move around and destroy the original image.




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