Ohuhu Alcohol Markers Review: Honolulu 320 Set

The carrying case is divided into six compartments. Each of the 320 markers (plus the colourless blender) are stored randomly in one of the compartments. That means you have to organize the markers into colour groups. One. By. One.

It’s kind of a bummer that the case doesn’t have individual slots for each marker, but it’s not a big deal. Just be careful if you plan to keep all your markers in the case because the markers will move around when you take them out of the case.

Overall, it’s up to you to you to decide how you want to organize the markers. At first, I divided the markers into six main colour groups: yellows/oranges, reds/purples, blues, greens, browns, and greys.

Then, I stored the markers in the three bamboo organizers in the order that each colour appears on the swatch cards (more on the bamboo organizers in the next section).

As a result, when it came time to colour in the swatches, all I had to do was take each marker out of the organizer and then swatch them. It was easy-peasy!

The Ohuhu Bamboo Storage Organizer

Before we deep-dive into the meat and potatoes of this Ohuhu alcohol markers review, let’s take a quick look at the three storage containers that I was generously sent. Here are the details:

• Each container holds up to 126 markers
• The organizer is made of 100% natural bamboo
• There is no assembly required
• In total, there are 18 storage units with 9 on the left side and 9 on the right side
• Metric: 22.2cm height x 13.7cm width x 24.5cm length + 1.8cm per unit
• Imperial: 8.74in height x 5.39in width x 9.64in length + 0.70in per unit

I absolutely love these storage organizers for several reasons!

First of all, I didn’t own anything to store my markers in, so I was grateful that Ohuhu kindly sent me these marker organizers to review.

Each one is a great organization unit for the Ohuhu markers, but you can also store your pencils, pens, coloured pencils, and other art supplies in them if you want to. I give these storage units bonus points for the convenience they offer!

Secondly, you have two options in terms of how to position the organizers. For example:

• Vertical storage saves space on your desk to store your markers, so you can stack the organizers on one another. The weight makes it difficult to move them by accident, so you don’t have to worry about knocking the organizers over
• Horizontal storage allows you to store your markers horizontally so that the ink remains evenly distributed within the marker

I have a small workspace (unfortunately), so optimizing my limited space is very important to me. I’ve experimented with storing the organizers both vertically and horizontally, and both work well for me!

Lastly, the bamboo wood feels nice and smooth. The construction of each organizer is solid and sturdy, so the product feels high-quality.

If you have a large range of markers, then I advise you to get your hands on one (or more) of these organizers. It’ll make your life so much easier, trust me!

Honolulu Alcohol Markers: Design & Swatch Cards

Now let’s have a look at the Honolulu alcohol markers in greater detail. To start, I’d like to point out the main characteristics of these markers:

• Each marker has dual tips with a brush tip on one end and a chisel tip on the opposite end
• A thin grey band makes it easy to identify the end of the marker with the brush tip
• The brush tip is soft and flexible, so it can colour small details and tight corners
• The chisel tip is big and sturdy, so it can colour large areas
• Colour-coded caps have unique names which makes it easy to identify each marker colour
• The round barrel of each marker is a good size, so the markers are easy to grasp in your hand

After I organized the alcohol markers in the bamboo organizers according to how they’re categorized in the colour swatch charts, I sat down and swatched all of the colours.

To do this, I used the colour swatch cards that came with this set. Each card has small empty boxes that are prelabelled. All you have to do is match the correct marker to each box and colour it in. It’s easy and straightforward to do.

As you can imagine, swatching 320 colours was a BIG undertaking. It took me roughly 2.5 to 3 hours to fill in all four swatch cards.

This task takes time to complete, but it’s absolutely worth the time and effort because you only have to do it once. Then you can refer to these colour swatches over and over again.

Honolulu Alcohol Markers: Colour Selection

With 320 vibrant colours to choose from, the Ohuhu Honolulu markers are incredibly diverse! So let’s discuss the pros and cons of this massive selection.

I’d like to start by saying that I love the wide range of colours across the different colour groups.

For example, there’s a huge selection of blues, greens, pinks, reds, browns, and greys. The range of yellows is fairly decent, too.

However, I feel that the weakest category of colours are the oranges. But that isn’t too much of a letdown because you can easily blend yellow and red to create some lovely orange hues.

So if you’re a seasoned artist, you’ll probably love this gigantic set of markers!

But if you’re a beginner, you might feel overwhelmed by such a large selection of markers. So use your discretion when choosing to buy the set that’s right for your needs.

As for the wide range of colours, you can find any colour you want to use in your artwork.

Nevertheless, I find that certain colours are a bit too similar to one another, thus making them redundant.

For instance, MG020 and B220 (light, pale blues) look nearly identical. And R18 hardly looks any different than R19. Both are light rosy colours.

But these minor cons aren’t that big of a deal because I feel that “duplicate” colours are not common in the 320 set. And wherever you see two colours that look very similar, they’re mostly in the light range of colours.

Ohuhu Alcohol Markers Review: Honolulu Markers

Now let’s have a look at how these markers perform!

The markers feel juicy, and the tips are well-saturated with ink. So I had no problem applying the ink onto the marker paper.

And none of the markers were dried-out, so that’s a positive testament to the quality of these markers.

When I applied the ink onto the paper, the ink dried quickly. That’s a great sign because it means you can colour confidently without worrying about smudging your artwork.

And because the ink lays down smoothly onto the paper, it was very easy to blend the colours together.

All it takes is a bit of overlapping (using flicks, circles, or whatever method your prefer) and a gentle hand to create some lovely colour blends.

That means you can create smooth gradients with these markers. And layering colours on one another to create shadows, depth, and dimension is really easy, too.

As for the appearance, most of the colours retained their vibrancy after the ink dried.

And like most alcohol markers, the ink dries lighter on the paper. So keep that in mind while you’re colouring. You might need to go over a section two or three times to get the desired hue.

Take a look at the image below to check out some of the experiments that I conducted with these markers!

In the first four rows (labelled Brush Tip, Chisel Tip, 1 Colour, and 1 Colour + Layers), I used the following markers:

• R4, Y10, Y070, G1, B64, V270, and RV080 (the order from left to right under 1 Colour)

In the fifth row labelled 2 Colour Blend, I used these markers:

• PB6 and PB8 for the blues
• RV320 and R5 for the pinkish-red blend
• Y2 and Y10 for the yellowish-orange blend

In the sixth row labelled 3 Colour Blend, I used these markers:

• V250, V270, and V320 for the purples
• GY7, GY4, and GY5 for the greens

The Ohuhu Spiral-Bound Marker Pads Sketchbook

The spiral-bound Ohuhu marker pads sketchbook worked nicely for me. The paper is smooth and flat, so it worked well for blending markers.

The pages are 10in x 7.6in and the paper is 120lb (200gsm), which is classified as heavyweight paper. It contains white, acid-free paper that won’t turn yellow.

Altogether, there are 60 sheets in the sketchbook. That means there are 120 pages in total if you use both sides of the sheet.

Unfortunately, while I was experimenting with the sketchbook, a lot of the marker ink bleed through the paper. So I doubt anyone will be using both sides of the sheet if they’re only using markers in this sketchbook.

That being said, this sketchbook comes with a plastic sheet that prevents bleeding. So I put it under the page I was working on.

The plastic sheet did its job well because it protected the bottom page from being soaked with ink that bled through the page on top of it.

The last feature to point out is that this Ohuhu sketchbook comes with perforated sheets. That means you can easily take out any of the pages from the sketchbook if you want to remove your artwork.

I rarely do that, but it’s a convenient option for artists who want to scan their artwork or display their art someplace else.

The Final Verdict: To Buy or Not to Buy?

As a beginner with alcohol markers, I wrote this review with a blank slate.

Having no prior experience with alcohol markers allowed me to dive deeply into the Ohuhu Honolulu set with curiosity, excitement, and a passion to explore this new art medium.

Now that I’ve coloured with these markers over the past six weeks, I can confidently say that the Ohuhu Honolulu set of 320 alcohol markers is worth its weight in gold!

For your convenience, here is a summary of all the strengths and benefits of the 320 set of Honolulu markers:

• A set of 320 colours offers a diverse and complete range of markers
• The ink dries quickly and appears vibrant on paper
• The ink lays down smoothly
• It’s easy to blend multiple colours together
• The pre-made swatch cards are super convenient and an excellent way for artists to get to know the markers
• The set—complete with the carrying case and swatch cards—is especially useful for beginners, hobbyists, and professional artists

That being said, I’d like to take a moment to point out a caveat that you should be aware of before you invest in these alcohol markers.

Keep in mind that as of May 2024 when this blog post was published, Ohuhu only has refills for roughly 50 of their markers.

Hopefully Ohuhu will expand the range of refills for their markers because I believe that’ll increase the overall value of each individual marker as well as each marker set.

So what do you do if you run out of one of your favourite colours and there isn’t a refill option? Well, luckily you can buy the individual marker on open stock.

Each individual marker is $2.50 USD, which is very affordable in comparison to other marker brands on the market.

So even though not all of the markers have refills, you still have options to help you replace any used-up or dried-out markers.

For these reasons, I believe the Ohuhu markers are definitely worth the investment for any artist who’s interested in marker art and colouring!

Lets also give credit to the bamboo storage organizers because they’re fantastic for their sturdy construction and organization. The spiral-bound sketchbook also performed well.