How To Use Alcohol Inks on Watercolor Paper | 2 Paintings | Alcohol Ink Tutorial (Beginner Friendly)

This tutorial shows you how to paint with alcohol inks on watercolor paper, with explanations of how it is different to yupo paper etc. Normally people don't recommend using a porous substrate, but this video will show you my technique.
If high humidity is making it difficult to work with your alcohol inks, try painting on watercolour paper!
Some examples of work on watercolour paper:
Style similar to roses: bit.ly/2OooJBk
Greeting cards: bit.ly/3sVAWwu
Black and gold: bit.ly/3us5Ywo
My Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Alcohol Inks:
www.coyasauce.com/post/beginn...
My Amazon storefront with products I use/recommend:
USA: www.amazon.com/shop/coyasauce/
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/shop/coyasauce
Follow me on Instagram: / coyasauce
Thanks again for watching!
- Sequoia
www.coyasauce.com
Music: Biscuit (Prod. by Lukrembo) • (no copyright music) l...

[@TheNormExperience]

This is EXACTLY the tutorial I’ve been looking for - I just hope mine turns out anywhere NEAR as gorgeous as yours. Thank you for the upload!

[@Coyasauce]

Wow thank you so much! That's so kind!

[@1149larue]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[@shrug_shrugsly]

Great video!! Thanks so much for the tips!! ❤

[@juliegoldspinkart8039]

Looks fabulous, many thanks for the Demo.

[@debbiegolding4498]

I am so glad I found your tutorial. I would definitely like to try on watercolor paper. Thank you.

[@judyhosch672]

Fantastic ! Beautiful & informative. Thank you.

[@elmariejansevanrensburg2952]

This is exactly what I needed. I just love this. I also am fascinated by the fact that you said I can use my watercolors on it.

[@CatGetsCrafty]

Really beautiful. Thanks for the video - gives me creative ideas!

[@roxanneparsons3847]

Beautiful technique!

[@deborahdecker4161]

Absolutely gorgeous effects on watercolor paper!

[@Coyasauce]

Glad you think so!

[@annettehovestol7003]

Very cool technique. I’m excited to try this when I get home from wintering in FL. Thanks for this video. Have a wonderful day!😊

[@mdwms6152]

I'm new to alcohol inks. Definitely going to try this soon! I've been wanting to do flow painting and this looks like it's v fund and easy. Thanks for the video - cheers!

[@allisonjames2923]

Beautiful effect!

[@kingyoutube156]

THANK YOU! I have been looking for tips on heavy paper and ink.

[@raisashaikh109]

Oh my God! That is beautiful 😍

[@timeenuf4200]

So beautiful. I have always been told you needed special papers and you do to get the standard alcohol ink effects. This method shares many of the qualities of using alcohol inks without the hard lines. So soft. So pretty. Thank you for opening my eyes and mind.

[@MichelleColeCreates]

These are beautiful!!!

[@EC-lq3qw]

@Coyasauce thank you so much for this, I've just got my first alcohol inks and really didn't know where to start but have learned so much from you and some of the comments. I'm looking forward to playing with these now!

[@Coyasauce]

Awesome, happy to hear it :)

[@susanwelch9087]

I just came across this video. Thank you! So helpful. And your 'painting' is beautiful.

[@cherylstephens4268]

Wow! AMAZING.

[@amandaweegram798]

Absolutely stunning, I struggle with what to do with Yupo paper art but with this I can make alsorts xx

[@wildlightarts]

This is gorgeous! 😍 Thank you for sharing this process!

[@Coyasauce]

No problem!

[@MaterMaleficarum]

thank you soo much for this tutorial!!! this is what i was looking for! amazing art!

[@Coyasauce]

Glad it was helpful!

[@louiseadams5437]

Awesome tutorial learnt a lot today thank you 😊

[@melodiejames3540]

Love it!!,

[@adele6592]

That was great. Thank you.

[@carolalucena]

I love it! So beautiful 😍

[@Coyasauce]

Thank you so much 🥰💞

[@MrsBeasleys1111]

Beautiful painting and great tutorial.❤

[@Coyasauce]

Thanks so much!

[@posiesutton2009]

Thank you!!!❤️

[@ntyler71]

@Coyasauce I would also REALLY love to see you do a tutorial on ink and watercolor together. It sounds amazing!

[@Coyasauce]

Great idea, thank you!

[@rebeccamoore4177]

Excellent tutorial! I also live in an area with high humidity so this is definitely going to be something to try.

[@Coyasauce]

Glad it was helpful! Good luck, let me know how it goes :)

[@rocki_bb]

I live in an extremely humid area, and I'm super excited to try this! I don't want to invest in special paper just for alcohol ink, especially if it won't work as expected here

[@debvoso9490]

Awesome Thank you

[@sandricabello2608]

Thank you so much for your tutorial...You made it look fun and easy. Ill give it go...Cheers

[@Coyasauce]

Awesome, I hope it goes well!

[@Nagoyasansan]

Thank you so much!!!!

[@Coyasauce]

You're welcome!

[@normalaming3943]

Thanks this is fascinating and v useful- everywhere else says not to use watercolour paper but now I can see there can be real advantages

[@Coyasauce]

Right?! It goes against your instincts but can be fun to experiment and play around with if you are aware of the limitations!

[@lajuaniadorman4568]

Can’t wait to try this. Had no idea that I needed to start with isopropyl alcohol! No wonder all my efforts to date look like crap! LOL!

[@meenuranaa4716]

Gorgeous

[@Coyasauce]

Thank you!!

[@LaTressaSmith]

Thanks for sharing! I can't want to pull out some watercolor paper and give it a try!

[@Coyasauce]

Have fun! 😊

[@juliebergacker5680]

Awesome

[@leeojascastro711]

V v cool!

[@HeiderosesPhotograph]

I WILL TRY THIS TOMORROW, IT IS HUMID HERE NOW. TFS :)

[@Coyasauce]

Hope you enjoy! Did it work? Just uploaded a new tutorial that you can do even with a bit of humidity :)

[@evazsazsa8670]

Love ❤

[@leilakirkdietzolsen6741]

Pretty. ❤️😍🇩🇰

[@k8marlowe]

Beautiful! Can’t wait to give this a try. Thank you for sharing all of these useful tips. Just had a thought: have you tried sealing the back of the watercolor paper with a gloss medium or even glue/Mod Podge?

[@Coyasauce]

That's a really interesting idea! I haven't tried that but definitely could be worth exploring :D

[@rainforme1850]

Extremely helpful. I bought a lot of art supplies not knowing what the heck I was doing and then I would just sit aside because I was too fearful to use them.. So today April 19, 2022 I decided to take them out and try them and it was a disaster. I forgot the hairdryer method of moving them around and saw the color she’s pretty much stayed a little dots. Thank you so much for taking your time to show us how to do this

[@willbephore3086]

I just want to say that the disasters are some of the most important parts of making things. They suck, don't get me wrong. But they're really really important.

[@EC-lq3qw]

@Rain for me Hi, it's 14th April 23 and I've just got my first alcohol inks, an a tad overwhelmed! Would love to hear how you got on with yours in the meantime.

[@Coyasauce]

Hope you figured things out and had fun experimenting!

[@bethbenson1931]

Had no idea you could do this with watercolor paper. Absolutely gorgeous results. Thanks so much!

[@barryteghtmeyer5466]

Creates some beautiful results. Can you enhance what you have done with watercolors when the inks dry? Just curious.

[@aileenryan9552]

Thank you soooo much for doing this, I was under the impression that watercolour paper was no good at all with alcohol inks so I can't wait to try. We have very humid long summers here and so using alcohol ink has always been limited. The two pieces are totally stunning. One question, what thickness is the watercolour paper, I honestly thought it would just turn to pulp. Thank you

[@Coyasauce]

Hi and so sorry I didn't see this sooner! I use quite thick paper but no matter what thickness it shouldn't turn to pulp - after all, it's made for handling large amounts of water, so a small amount of alcohol should be fine 🙂

[@shashiprasad9684]

😍😍

[@elenapotonidou2111]

Huge thanks for sharing! How will the technique work in case when some areas must be covered with masking paint?

[@Coyasauce]

Since the paper is porous, masking it off wont work well (because the inks will seep through the paper and under the masking tape/fluid. Might still make a bit of a difference so feel free to experiment!

[@katerinamaranova2978]

Velmi krasne, prosim co je to za vodicku bilou?nez tam date ingoustove barvy❤❤❤❤dekuji mnohokrát

[@ntyler71]

@Coyasauce what happens if you use blending solution?

[@Coyasauce]

I have never tried blending solution so I can't tell you I'm afraid! Should work fine I think :)

[@emptycicada4184]

Do you think it's possible to use some sort of masking in the paper? like frisket film or masking fluid 🤔

[@Coyasauce]

Hmm it's possible on Yupo paper! On watercolor paper the inks get absorbed into the page and spread out a bit. So I think it might work but not as well as on some other surfaces. But the best way to find out is to give it a go 😊

[@lauurennbxo]

Great video! Does anyone know the best way to digitizie alcohol ink art? E.g. Photocopy or photograph the art to then turn into a digital print? I cant find any info on this anywhere! Any help would be greatly appreciated

[@pearlwhitecrow8001]

Depends on if you are using metallics or not. If you ARE using metallics, I would suggest photography with a good high res camera. If you are NOT using metallics, using a scanner would be the best way. I say this because scanning almost always retains better detail, BUT when you scan a piece that has metallics on it, those areas just end up looking bright white because of the glare of the metallic. By taking a photo, it still reads visually as metallic/shiny.

[@lauurennbxo]

@@pearlwhitecrow8001 Thank you so much. I will give this a try! I appreciate you answering my question

[@jude1515]

Very helpful. Is alcohol and and blending solution the same thing?

[@Coyasauce]

Very similar, blending solution seems slightly thicker to me? But I only tried it once, isopropyl was always cheaper to buy so that made my decision for me 😂

[@ipekeyalcin7745]

l loved it. whats the name oglf the alcohol that you use right after putting the ink?

[@Coyasauce]

Isopropyl alcohol 99% 😊

[@ceciliayoung5094]

Than you great video...how do you seal inks on watercolour paper?

[@Coyasauce]

Heya, I personally haven't done so as these have mainly been made for fun and not to last forever. But I imagine typical alcohol ink varnishing techniques would work! The main thing is to keep it out of direct sunlight as that can make the inks fade 🙂

[@SomethingImpromptu]

Wow gorgeous. I might have to try this when my Yupo runs out (I have heard great things about a certain kind of opaque craft plastics you can get online too). I do just want to mention (I’m not sure you did in the video, & since it has “beginner” in the title I just want to put it out there for anyone not aware): breathing in isopropyl alcohol fumes for prolonged periods is extremely bad for you. Same with anything you may be using epoxy & some other resins for. So if you’re doing this indoors (which isn’t ideal), you should ideally wear a respirator & have highly effective ventilation. Additionally, it’ll just make your room REEK like isopropyl alcohol, because large amounts of it evaporate as you work & need somewhere to go, & that will longer if there isn’t a window open letting in fresh air & releasing the fumes. Even outdoors, I find myself inhaling over my shoulder to get fresh air if I’m using a straw to blow the ink; otherwise, I’m wearing an N95 at all times just in case, but if I absolutely HAD to use alcohol inks inside (if I lived in an apartment with no balcony or anything, no parks I could go work in, no friends place with an outdoor space, or anything, for instance) then I would 100% definitely investing in a full-on respirator, because there is no other safe way to work with volatile chemicals in a closed space… Even then, sooner or later you’d be taking the respirator off, & if there isn’t ventilation then the fumes will still be in the air. You really don’t want this stuff (especially epoxy resin- you can hear others’ horror stories about its effect on their health on here- but also alcohols & such) accumulating in your lungs or soaking into your skin excessively. It’s an amazing medium, but safety first so you can enjoy it for a nice long time to come!

[@EC-lq3qw]

Thanks for that info - I'm just about to start using these inks and only have a small room for a studio. I'm 71 and don't want to suffer for my art!

[@ArtbySusanKing]

She did mention in the video to use a respirator.

[@Coyasauce]

Thanks for the important reminder, I always try to let people know to use a respirator, it's so important 🙂 Safety first friends! ❤

[@shamas.a]

Link to those ink from where you bought it, please? So pretty!

[@Coyasauce]

Thank you! www.coyasauce.com/post/alcohol-ink-materials

[@HeatherAyers1]

Have you tried pre-mixing the ink/iso/brass in a squeeze bottle or cup? Wondering how that would work…

[@Coyasauce]

I have tried it on Yupo, not on watercolour though. Personally I prefer this way but definitely give it a go to see if you prefer mixing it first. I know some people do!

[@rocki_bb]

Have you experimented with doing alcohol painting on a non-porous surface and then using watercolor paper to "lift" it off? I'm thinking about trying this with some large tiles I have.

[@Coyasauce]

I haven't tried it, let me know how it goes!

[@shesocrafty113]

Can the straw method be used instead of a hair dryer for middle schoolers? It would be difficult blowing 15-25 dryers at one time.

[@Coyasauce]

I really don't recommend inhaling alcohol fumes! I suppose if it was a once off event and done outside or in a well ventilated area, it might be ok, but I personally always wear a respirator mask as the fumes are toxic!

[@zulaikhakazmi8195]

How is the watercolor paper not curling up when alcohol is added?

[@Coyasauce]

I think it's because it soaks through completely so it's equally wet on the top and bottom! Just my guess ☺️

[@nanalovesyounana5489]

Question you use a hair dryer doesn't it dry out your paper too fast?

[@Coyasauce]

I guess that would depend on the ambient temperature, thickness of the paper and the temp of your hairdryer! On a cold setting mine works fine :)

[@swv4695]

Couldn’t I achieve the result using watercolour?

[@Coyasauce]

You can certainly get something similar! I personally find watercolours not as concentrated so it requires much more layering 🙂 and I enjoy the accidental and organic shapes created by alcohol inks

[@dianadevlin3717]

So what's the benefit of using watercolour paper instead of yupo? Doesn't it use a ton of ink? Lovely work btw 😊

[@HeatherAyers1]

I don’t know that there’s a “benefit” - just something different. Also she mentioned that if humidity is an issue with Yupo, this could be a good alternative.

[@Coyasauce]

It's just a different effect, I find it helps with humidity! It uses more isopropyl but not more ink IMO :)

[@Coyasauce]

Thank you Heather! Exactly right :)

[@lindanoyola2526]

Volume, Volume......too low

[@propergunjah8726]

Your sound is very bad. I can't hear you.

[@catherinehigh8173]

I love your technique. But, the music is an awful, repetitive distraction. If you paid for the music, you were cheated. It is only one bar of music played over and over again. Music behind you art demonstration either adds or distracts.

[@Coyasauce]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm testing out no backing music in my new video 😊 Sometimes I feel self conscious if it's just me talking and then bouts of silence though ahhaha

[@195516Z]

Nice technique but you need to speak up! Even with the volume way up it's very difficult to understand what you are saying.

[@HollyRosePhoto]

Really? I can hear her crystal clear.

[@bhornannawindeedeigh5007]

Gorgeous! I can hardly wait to try my hand at this technique. I don't have a hair dryer, so I'm wondering if a heat gun set on low would work. 🤔

[@Coyasauce]

It would probably warp the paper if you're using Yupo or any synthetic version, as it cant handle the heat! But worth trying in case yours isn't too hot 😃