You were told “Ohuhu is the Copic slayer! They’re like Copic Markers but better!”
Is it true?
Every Ohuhu Marker has different characteristics based upon its unique ink formula. No matter how great they say the marker is, test results do not lie.
So are Ohuhu markers as great as you’ve heard?
Let’s look at Ohuhu RG030 to find out.
WARNING: Ohuhu markers have numbers on the cap but not on the body of the marker. We do not recommend coloring with both caps off due to the risk of accidentally placing the wrong caps on a marker.
Test results: Ohuhu RG030 Red Grey 03
REFILL WARNING! At this time, Ohuhu does not sell refills for RG030. To date, you must purchase a new marker when your current RG030 runs dry. Ohuhu is deceptive when they advertise that their markers are refillable when they only offer 50 refills in a line of 320+ markers. See Ohuhu’s current list of refills here.
Temperature: A warm reddish gray
Resemblance: diluted French Gray watercolor
Actual Value: N4
Unlike Copic, Ohuhu does not measure value— this is a glaring deficiency which makes finding blending combinations harder than it has to be!
All Copics are measured on a Neutral Gray value scale. The last number on the Copic cap indicates the value. We’re using the Copic scale to measure Ohuhu until Ohuhu releases a reliable value scale.
Cap Accuracy: The plastic on an Ohuhu Honolulu RG030 marker is a bit darker and cooler than 1 coat of BG050 ink.
I’ve seen numerous Ohuhu review videos where they complain about massive Ohuhu cap color inaccuracies. I’ve also read this mentioned in blogs and websites. To be honest, I’m simply not finding Ohuhu to be any worse than other marker brands. Yes, some caps are wrong but I don’t think cap accuracy is their biggest problem.
Copic Substitution: Much to my disappointment, Copic does not make Red or French Gray markers. The closest color Copic makes to RG030 would be Copic’s W3. W3 is warm but a green-gray rather than this rosier “greige” color. Kudos to Ohuhu for giving us a group of beautiful French Grays.
Note: similar colors rarely behave the same way. From experience I can tell you that Copic C3 is an easier marker for layering. See “buildup” and “overinking” results below for why I think C3 is a much better marker for those with a heavy hand or who make many blend corrections. See the test results for Copic C3 here.
Buildup: RG030 reaches a maximum value at 4 coats.
Normally, I rant in this section about how Ohuhu colors reach maximum value at two layers which makes blending harder than it has to be. Ohuhu markers tend to look oily very fast which makes many of their colors unsuitable for underpainting or beginner blending.
However, Ohuhu’s RG030 acts more like a Copic Marker in its ability to layer several times before turning oily. I have yet to test the rest of the RG family but I have high hopes for this group.
For the first time in this series, I can see a place for adding Ohuhu RG markers as a supplement to my Copic collection. The only reason I won’t is because I don’t like the Ohuhu brush nib but also, because to date, Ohuhu does not sell any RG refills. I’m extremely disappointed because I really want a set of French Gray markers!
Overinking: RG030 layers beautifully and the color did not develop over-inked blotches until 5 layers (which is more than anyone should ever do).
Shattering: This is definitely an ink blend. RG030 shattered into a brownish color with gray leakage.
Chromatography testing shows this ink’s behavior when it comes in contact with #0 Colorless Blender (solvent). High shattering colors may leak unexpected color when you make corrections or attempt to blend with any color that has a high solvent to colorant ratio. Shattering is not bad, it’s just something to be aware of.
Staining: RG030 did not stain the paper.
With alcohol markers, a staining ink is generally a sign of a low quality ink. Staining inks bond to the paper fibers and are reluctant to release. Staining inks make blending harder than it has to be!
Lift: RG030 is an easy lifting color. As with most Ohuhu inks, you can make some corrections with colorless blender but use caution because the ink creates dark dry lines which often look worse than the original mistake.
See staining swatch. Sample was given 6 stripes of #0 Colorless Blender, drying between each stripe. Results indicate how much lifting you can expect.
Lightfast: RG030 faded about 50% during the test period. This is far more than the average Copic. The closest Copic color is W3 which did not fade at all.
Samples were swatched on X-Press It Blending Card. 1 layer of ink was exposed to windowsill sunlight for 21 days. Approximately 10 hours of sun per day based on weather conditions. Note: we do not recommend displaying original marker art under these conditions.
Ink Color Family: RG stands for Red Grey which is usually called French Grey in other art supplies. French Greys tend to look brownish compared to other grays and for this reason, they’re excellent organic grays for landscapes, botanicals, and animal fur.
Ohuhu gives us six RG markers, three of which look like true Red Grays, hooray! The other three are Violet Grays which is disappointing.
Cap Numbering: As mentioned above, there are six RG markers which can be divided into two color groups, each with a light, medium, and dark version.
RG030 is the lightest member of the trio of true Red Greys. It can be blended with RG050 and RG080.
This is one of the few times when the numbering within an Ohuhu color family actually makes sense!
I’m still early in the Ohuhu testing process. I will add more info to this article as I learn more and when I spot behavioral patterns.
From what I’ve learned so far, I will not be working with Ohuhu markers and I will discourage students from using them in my classes. They’re simply not worth the frustration.
Learn more about RG030 Red Grey 03, a warm gray Ohuhu Marker. We swatch and test Ohuhu colors- layering, staining, lift, value, lightfastness, saturation, and cap accuracy. | MarkerNovice.com | How to blend alcohol ink markers.
