7 Essential ALCOHOL INK Supplies For Art [2024]

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Here are the best alcohol ink supplies to create artwork. Alcohol ink is a beautiful art form to try, and you need certain alcohol inks and art supplies to get started. Luckily, it won't break the bank.

There are so many mediums that artists use to create gorgeous paintings, and a favorite is using alcohol ink to create beautiful alcohol ink art.

You can definitely recognize alcohol ink art right away: the wispy, flowing colors creating a fluid melody, reminiscent of smoke patterns in the sky, but captured with harmonizing colors from a broad spectrum of choice.

But, what is alcohol ink art and what supplies do you need to start? Let's go through this list together to find our own alcohol ink that is perfect for your craft products

What is alcohol ink?

Alcohol ink is a highly pigmented, solvent-based dye. Dye-based colors like alcohol ink are fully blended so there is no shaking necessary before use, as the color does not settle on the bottom.

Because alcohol is the base in alcohol ink, once exposed to air, it dries extremely fast as the evaporation rate of alcohol is much faster then that of water, which most other art medium bases are created from.

As you blow the ink around, the alcohol base evaporates and leaves a static shadow in wisps of color where that evaporation occurred, leaving only the dye.

How do you get started making alcohol ink art?

Well, you need to get some alcohol ink art supplies first. We are going to share which alcohol ink art supplies you need to start. These supplies are great for beginner artists and for professional artists.

Alcohol Ink Art Supplies

1. Tim Holtz® Alcohol Ink

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To start creating your art pieces, you will first need quality alcohol inks.

There are many alcohol ink colors and types out there, and you will have fun going through the brands and colors to find the perfect color combinations for your artwork.

One of the most popular are the sets from Tim Holtz®

Tim Holtz® Alcohol Ink:

• Alcohol inks by Tim Holtz® are acid-free, vibrant colors that are very popular among artists and are professional in quality.
• These alcohol inks are formulated to create colorful effects when layered together on non-porous surfaces.
• There are many alcohol ink supplies and colors to choose from when selecting from Tim Holtz® Alcohol Inks. You can choose base or primary colors, pearl colors, metallic mixatives. There are even colors that shift to different colors when blending and blowing.

Here is an example of an alcohol ink that gives you a color shift:

This alcohol ink art (below) was created using Tim Holtz® Eggplant which shifts from a purple to a blue and pink and Jacquard Pinata Gold.

Note the pinks, blues and violets that come from the one bottle.

• When looking to purchase supplies, we would suggest getting started with a few 3 packs of alcohol inks from Tim Holtz®.
• Purchasing a pack of three is the best way to truly get the best bang for your buck, and will give you a feel of trying out a few inks and playing with the different colors.

Here are the types of alcohol inks that we suggest trying from Scrapbook

• Alcohol Ink Pearls: Here are all the Pearl Alcohol Ink Colors by Tim Holtz® 
• Alcohol Ink Metallics: Here are all the Metallic Alcohol Inks by Tim Holtz® 
• Alcohol Ink Adriondacks: Here are all the Adriondack Alcohol Ink Colors by Tim Holtz®. The Adriondack line is really great because they are made to go nicely together no matter which colors you choose, you really can't go wrong.

See all alcohol ink by Tim Holtz® available on Scrapbook.com

You can buy individual alcohol ink colors for a great price as well.

 

2. Jacquard Pinata Colors

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Another very popular alcohol ink art supply brand that alcohol ink artists like, especially first timers, is the Jacquard Pinata Colors set.

The Jacquard Alcohol Inks are highly saturated, acid-free, transparent colors.

We recommend starting off with the Pinata Pack of 9 to get started from Amazon.

Check price of Jacquard Pinata Pack Of 9 on Amazon here

Why This Alcohol Ink Art Supply Is Great:

• This alcohol ink set includes their popular colors, a white, plus a pearl and two metallics, including "rich gold".
• Rich Gold is the color of alcohol ink by Jacquard we used in one of the above photos showing how the Eggplant color shifts from blue to purple to pink. The gold looks amazing on Yupo paper (another alcohol ink art supply we will talk about below).

3. Alcohol Ink Blending Solution

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We recommend the Tim Holtz® Alcohol Ink Blending Solution by Ranger for your alcohol ink blending solution supply. It has been specifically formulated to blend and lighten alcohol ink.

• The alcohol ink blending solution is a very important part of using alcohol ink art supplies.
• Blending solution is what you will put all over your substrate or surface to carry the alcohol ink around on.
• You can also use isopropyl alcohol. Typically, the higher percentage of alcohol, the better for using in alcohol art. This type of alcohol has also be used with alcohol markers too.

4. Alcohol Ink Substrate

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What can you paint alcohol ink on? There are a number of substrates you can paint alcohol ink on like glass or ceramic tiles. The most popular painting surface for alcohol ink is Yupo paper.

• Yupo is able to carry alcohol ink on it as it is non-porous, unlike paper made from trees. It has a very smooth surface.
• If you were to use actual paper with alcohol ink, it would absorb it and just would not work.
• You want an alcohol ink art supply that will allow you to push the alcohol inks around to create the wispy, beautiful alcohol ink effect you see artists creating.
• With Yupo paper it's easy to use paper towel to blot different sections of the artwork.

What is Yupo paper?

Yupo is a synthetic paper material known as polypropylene. Yupo paper works well for alcohol ink as it is not paper at all; paper would absorb the alcohol ink and this is not what you want when using alcohol inks.

Yupo is waterproof and very durable, and is non-porous. Yupo is a type of plastic, and is recyclable. It is a fantastic substrate to use alcohol ink on.

 

5. Safety Equipment For Alcohol Ink Art

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Protecting your body is an essential part of using alcohol inks. This is one of the essential alcohol ink supplies that you need. When using alcohol ink, we highly recommend protecting your lungs with the proper respirator mask.

You can opt for a half face respirator mask if you would like to save some money, or you can go for a full face respirator mask.

The difference being, is that a full face respirator also protects your eyes from alcohol ink fumes.

 

We recommend the respirator masks which we personally use for alcohol inks (and for resin art) from Parcil Distribution.

Here is the full face respirator. When you buy anything directly from them it comes with a 1 year factory warranty.

Check price of full face respirators here

 

• A half face respirator is great for working with alcohol ink. If you also like to work with resin art (we know there are a lot of crossover artists out there) then the full face respirator is recommended that you can use for both mediums. The choice is up to you though.
• Both the half respirator and the full face respirator mask are about as comfortable as you can get with a respirator mask. They adjust very easily all around the head with one pull on each self-fastening strap, and it creates a great seal around the face.

Here is the half face respirator, which also comes with a 1 year factory warranty when purchased directly from Parcil.

Check price of half face respirators here

Both the half face respirator and full face respirator protect your lungs from alcohol fumes. 

These respirators can be used to protect the lungs from things around the house as well, such as painting and for concrete dust.

Here's a video demonstration that we did for these masks. You can see exactly what they look like.

 

6. Ink Air Blending Tool

Check price of mini air compressor kit on Amazon here

Many people think that you can use any air blending tool for alcohol ink.

• People sometimes try to use a straw to blow alcohol ink, which we highly do not recommend. A straw is not strong enough and does not have a consistent air flow to achieve a good flow in the ink.
• People also have tried a hair dryer but the air flow would not be strong enough as the air is not concentrated and there would be a lack precision.

Alcohol ink artists typically use a mini air compressor kit which can be purchased from Amazon. The one we have is no longer listed, but we found one that is for all intents and purposes identical:

You can also use a heat gun to push your alcohol ink around, however, if you are working on Yupo paper, remember that it is a plastic and can melt or warp at higher temperatures.

7. A Craft Mat To Work On

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A craft mat is an alcohol ink art supply that can save hours of trying to scrub a stain of alcohol ink off of your working surface.

Tim Holtz® uses this specific craft mat when he works with alcohol ink to protect the surface he works on. Having a craft mat has saved our work station a few times now.

This alcohol ink craft mat is 15" by 18" and is perfect for using really under any craft projects you are doing. It wipes clean with water and a paper towel after you are done using it, and it can be used with:

• Mixing your inks
• Stamping
• Embossing
• Ironing
• Painting
• Baking & Cooking
• Waxing
• Masking
• Misting
• Clay Crafts
• Resins

We hope you enjoyed learning about the alcohol ink art supplies you need to get started with alcohol inks!

To see a full list of the alcohol ink supplies you need to get started, check out our visual Alcohol Ink Supply List right HERE.

VIDEO: How to use alcohol inks

And for a bonus, here is a video tutorial on how to use alcohol inks on the DIY Craft Club YouTube channel. Subscribe

 

Did you find some new alcohol ink ideas from this list?

Thanks for reading this article and being here with us today. We hope you found some alcohol ink colors and the right ink and blending solution.

If you would like to support our crafting and DIY blog, we would love it if you could share this alcohol ink article on your social media. 

You can also link back to this article from your own blogs, websites and Facebook groups.

 

More Alcohol Ink Articles

How to make your own alcohol inks

How to seal alcohol ink

Here's a pin that we made for you to share on your alcohol ink boards before you go so you can find us again!

Happy creating!

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