When you are just getting started with alcohol inks, don’t feel like you need every color in the rainbow. There are so many brands and colors out there, you could go nuts! My suggestion is to just start slowly with a few colors that you like and white and black. I prefer Ranger’s Snow Cap for my white but I do use Pinata’s Blanco Blanco also. Every brand has colors that move differently based on their alcohol content properties. That means that if you start experimenting and don’t like the results, add more alcohol/blending solution/claro extender and try again. My other suggestion is to limit your ink in the beginning. Some of the colors are so vibrant (which is a beautiful attribute) but when you have too much ink, it will turn murky. Of course, there are ways to use the murky areas to your benefit, but that is something we will talk about in the future.
The other thing I must discuss is safety. Alcohol can affect some people in a bad way. Please use a mask and only use in a well ventilated area. There are many videos on You Tube addressing this issue. The inks can stain the fingers for a couple of days so I also recommend using latex gloves and covering your work surface with freezer paper.
As for the substrates, you can use any non-porous surface. That includes glass, metal, yupo paper, Duralar, Mineral Paper, ceramic tiles, and canvas if you prep it with Kilz2 Latex Primer. Obviously each surface will provide different and unique effects.
Alcohol inks are all about experimenting! If you want to let your creative mojo loose, then this is for you! Let me know if you try it!
