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 RV070 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 RV070 Sakura Pink
REFILL WARNING! At this time, Ohuhu does not sell refills for RV070. In fact, they don’t currently sell any RV pink refills— a glaring problem given the popularity of RV markers in the papercrafting community! To date, you must purchase a new marker when your current marker runs dry. See Ohuhu’s current list of refills here.
Temperature: A cool shocking pink
Resemblance: Opera Rose watercolor with an added shot of something florescent.
Actual Value: N6
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 RV070 marker is lighter and less florescent than one layer of RV070 ink.
Copic Substitution: Ohuhu RV070 is more day-glow but otherwise fits inbetween Copic’s RV04 and RV06
Note: similar colors rarely behave the same way. From experience I can tell you that Copic’s RV-zero family is an easy blending marker group, as are most Copics that start with a zero. The big difference I see between RV070 and Copic RV04 or 06 is that the Ohuhu marker doesn’t have any natural partners to blend with. This leads to partnering it with a high-solvent pink which badly damages RV070 and turns it slightly orange. The same thing does not happen with Copic’s hot pinks. Proof that two similar inks can behave radically different in usage. See Copic RV04 test result here.
Buildup: RV070 reaches a maximum value at 3 coats.
Overinking: We do not recommend using more than 3 layers of RV070. As with many darker Ohuhu markers, four layers looks incredibly over-inked and oily.
Shattering: RV070 did not shatter in testing, indicating that this is likely a single color ink formula.
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: RV070 staining color which leaves the paper with a distinct pink glow.
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: RV070 moved a bit but didn’t lift the way I expected. Compare the lift shown here with Copic’s RV06 here.
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: RV070 has an extreme and odd reaction to light. The sample faded by more than 50% and it also turned an odd peach color. Copic's RV06 also faded a lot but did not turn yellowish. See the results here.
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: Ohuhu oddly places most of their magenta markers within the R family rather than the RV family. There are also a few stray pinks marked as RP, possibly “red-purple” although they look very magenta and not purple.
The Ohuhu letter-number system is complete garbage and doesn’t always make sense. I’ve tried to understand the pattern and have decided there is no pattern.
Cap Numbering: I suppose RV070 falls into a group we can call the RV000’s which are all florescent pinks. The group isn’t cohesive though becasue 010 and 080 are cool while 030 and 070 are warmer. The markers also don’t work well as a blending group because 070 and 080 are too close in value while the other two markers are far too light to blend with them. I feel like my analysis in this paragraph is more than Ohuhu bothered to do.
As stated above, the Ohuhu numbering system makes no sense. The markers are not arranged in chromatic order so you can not trust the numbers to tell you whether this marker is lighter or darker than other Ohuhu markers with similar numbers.
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 about RV070 Sakura Pink, a magenta Ohuhu Marker. We swatch and test Ohuhu colors- layering, staining, lift, value, lightfastness, saturation, and cap accuracy. | MarkerNovice.com | How to color with alcohol markers
