Ohuhu alcohol markers for coloring: which line, which set, and what to expect

The Ohuhu lines at a glance

Ohuhu names its marker lines after Hawaiian places. They share one ink (dye-based alcohol, refillable) except Maui, which is water-based. What changes between them is the pair of tips, the barrel and the ink load.

Sources: Ohuhu's own pages and refill listings, Thaneeya McArdle's Ohuhu review, Parka Blogs, and Amazon US prices on October 28, 2026. Honolulu and Honolulu B each run to 344 colors and Oahu to 320, according to Art is Fun. Ohuhu also sells Honolulu Plus, with a rubber brush nib; Thaneeya McArdle hasn't tried it and reports that reviewers compare it to Copic quality. We have not tested any of these markers ourselves.

Which line for bold-and-easy pages

A brush tip, then pick the second tip by taste. A bold-and-easy page is mostly big closed shapes: a body, a mug, a rug, a wall. The brush covers those fast and keeps the ink wet, which is what gives the flat, even fill you see in color-with-me videos. Kolorio's set guide says the same: Honolulu for big open areas, Honolulu B for more control on details, Oahu as the budget pick.

• Honolulu B if your pages have faces, dot eyes, flower centers and small patterns. The fine tip handles those without a separate pen. Both brand collaboration sets are B.
• Honolulu if you like crisp straight edges (shelves, window frames, tiles) and wide strokes. The chisel does both.
• Oahu if the budget is $25. You lose the brush, but the chisel still fills big shapes well: Shrimpy's short on blending with the chisel tip has 21.5M views.
• Maui if you color on copy paper, in a double-sided book, or with children. Water-based ink rarely bleeds, but it doesn't blend like alcohol ink. The retailer listing calls it "no bleeding"; that is a seller claim.

Brush, chisel or fine: what each tip does

Shrimpy's first point in his beginner video is that the fine tip is the wrong tool for filling, and that buying a fine + chisel set by mistake is the usual first error. Read the tips on the box: a listing that says "fine and chisel" is an Oahu-type set, whatever the photos show.

Set sizes and what you actually need

Ohuhu's own Honolulu prices in October 2026, with the cost per marker:

Sources disagree on size, because they color different things. Thaneeya McArdle, writing for artists in general, suggests at least 120. Bobina Loves Portraits tells new colorists that 12 to 48 colors is plenty, and one of the most liked comments under her video says "300+ markers for this is kinda wild". For bold-and-easy pages, where 3 to 5 colors and an accent make a finished page, 48 is the sweet spot. Our marker guide explains how to pick those few colors.

What to add after a 48: Kolorio lists skin tones, muted greens, warm and cool grays and deep shadow colors as the usual gaps. Caro's Art Studio, one of the most watched cozy colorists, works from a 48 Mid-Tones and a 48 Pastel set alongside her big sets, and shades with matching grays (a green gray for greens, a red gray for reds).

Kitten in a Christmas Stocking

40 spaces · Easy

Snowman Holding Hot Cocoa

41 spaces · Easy

Cat in a Santa Hat

42 spaces · Easy

Polar Bear Hugging a Penguin

40 spaces · Easy

The Bobbie Goods, Coco Wyo and Jade Summer sets

The brands that made bold-and-easy coloring popular each sell an Ohuhu set. All are 48-color Honolulu B (brush + fine). The markers are the same as in a standard Honolulu B; the difference is the palette and what comes in the box.

Bobbie Goods markers: searches for this set roughly quadruple in November. The first run sold out in under 24 hours, it was restocked in December 2025, and while it was out, resellers asked $75 to $150 on eBay. If it is out of stock, wait for the restock instead of paying double. The 48 colors are not published as a text list; colorists sell swatch charts and blending guides for the set on Etsy (about EUR 7 to NZ$13).

Coco Wyo markers come as a kit with pages, which makes it the easier gift: everything needed to start, in one box. Coco Wyo's own advice for printing its pages with alcohol markers is 120 to 140 gsm paper.

The 2025 color code change

In 2025 Ohuhu gave every alcohol marker a new code: Honolulu, Honolulu B, Honolulu Plus, Honolulu S, Oahu, Kaala, Kaala B and Molokai. Ohuhu's FAQ says the new numbers follow color families so similar colors sit together, and that the ink formula, pen and nibs are unchanged. Acrylic and water-based pens are not affected.

What it means in practice:

• Videos and palettes from before 2025 use old codes. A green called one thing in a 2024 tutorial may be another number on your cap. Thaneeya McArdle notes the old system was confusing anyway, with codes that differed between lines.
• Old and new stock are both on sale. A buyer of refill ink reported getting some bottles with old codes and some with new ones, and Parka Blogs noted refill codes can differ from the markers.
• Converting: Ohuhu has a lookup tool and a PDF conversion chart for the 320 Honolulu and Honolulu B colors, and offers free blank stickers to relabel caps. Coloring Bliss publishes swatch charts in both systems and a 10-page old-to-new chart (free with a free membership).

Refills, nibs and dry markers

To refill, Parka Blogs pulls the nib out with a scrap of paper or a nib remover, then adds ink. Clean the remover between colors or it carries one ink into the next marker. Their conclusion: the nib usually wears out before a bottle runs dry.

Dry on arrival: uncap and test every marker the day the set arrives. Both Thaneeya McArdle and Parka Blogs report that Ohuhu replaces dry markers if you contact them. Drying in use: a nearly empty marker is the most common cause of streaks on flat fills, so refill your most used colors before a long session, as Mr Chris Art Studio does. Store markers lying flat, a tip from Bobina's comment section.

Paper, bleed and ghosting with Ohuhu

Ohuhu ink behaves like every other alcohol marker: it goes through thin paper. On a typical 80 gsm coloring book page it will reach the next sheet. Thin paper also soaks up ink, so your markers run dry faster, which is Bobina's main complaint about cheap books. Neither brand kit promises "bleed-proof" coloring.

The full bleed table by paper weight is in the best markers guide, and printer settings for cardstock are in how to print coloring pages.

Common complaints, and what to do

These come up again and again in reviews and colorists' posts about Ohuhu sets:

Ohuhu offers blank color cards to download for swatching. Print one on the same paper you color on.

Ohuhu vs Copic, honestly

Copic is the premium alcohol marker, and "ohuhu vs copic" is the question every new colorist asks. What matters is whether the difference shows on a bold-and-easy page.

Thaneeya McArdle started on Copic and expected little from Ohuhu; she writes that they "really blew me away" and calls Ohuhu a strong competitor. Parka Blogs' summary is about money: the same budget buys roughly twice the colors. The comment under Bobina's video with 6,000 likes makes the same point less politely about using Copics on cheap Amazon coloring books.

When Copic makes sense: you color most days, you want very light tints for skin and skies, and you plan to refill the same markers for years. For coloring pages with thick outlines and big shapes, a 48 Ohuhu and good paper get you most of the way; the money is better spent on paper and a few extra grays.

The blank page: 41 spaces

Colored with a short palette

Try your set

Swatch your markers, then start on a page with big shapes. Our bold and easy pages have 1.7 mm outlines that hide a little ink spread, and every one is a free PDF in US Letter and A4 that prints at Actual size on cardstock. In December, the Christmas pages are a good way to test a new set. Then read how to color with alcohol markers for flat fills, blends and simple shading.

Cat Hiding in a Gift Box

60 spaces · Easy

Kitten Playing with Christmas Ornaments

46 spaces · Easy

Gingerbread Man with a Rolling Pin

50 spaces · Easy

Snow Globe with a Tiny Cottage

51 spaces · Easy