Harmony Alcohol & Aqua markers from Hochanda

I can't believe I'm saying this but I've finally found alcohol markers I love more than Spectrum Noir, and waterbased blendable pens that I find better than Tombow! Those two brands were always my go-to pens to get amazing results, but Harmony trumps them both! These pens were developed especially for and sold exclusively on Hochanda, a relatively new TV channel in the UK for crafters and makers. I saw these pens being demonstrated one morning when I was getting my kids ready for school, and thought they looked really good. A quick email and a few days later, two sets arrived at my door to test out for all you lovely followers! 

First I'll start with the alcohol markers :) I was sent the 'Brights' pack, and there are three other sets available to buy: Basics, Neutrals and Tints. 

Brights

Basics

Neutrals

Tints

Each pen has a cylindrical barrel with slightly tapered caps, and is twin tipped: one a soft bullet and the other a wide chisel. 

The high-quality alcohol ink flows smoothly across any paper surface and leaves no streaks, giving perfect results and seamless blends. There are some fantastic and unusual tones available throughout the 96 colours, particularly the pastels in the 'Tints' set.
One great feature that sets them apart from Spectrum Noir is the lack of a complicated (and frankly puzzling) coding system. Each pen simply has its name on the lid and the colour- which generally aren't as bright and vivid as the ink turns out but are fine for selecting at quick glance when you have a colour chart to accompany them. Some of the names are really quirky and fun- Dragonfruit and Seafoam being among my favourites.

As I say, the blends these pens deliver are second to none. There are lots of similar tones to match together, allowing you to create vivid and consistent shading & toning. Look at the beautiful depth I was able to create on these flower petals using just two pens per flower. Some matches go better together than others, but as with all alcohol inks it's all about practicing and trial & error.

And now for the aqua pens! These are split into two packs: Basics and Brights.

Basics

Brights

Aside from their white barrel, these pens are physically identical to the alcohol markers at first glance. 

One end still has that soft bullet, but thankfully (I don't like chisel tips) the other side is a lovely dense brush nib. 

The watercolour 'aqua' ink is what makes these pens really interesting. Like with Tombows, there are so many ways you can use them! Colour normally, add water, use a blending pen or solution, put a water wash down first then add colour... the fun you can have with these is endless. And the results? Instead of that seamless colour you get with alcohol, these create the look of watercolour painting, all with one pen and the addition of plain old water.

Check out this short video I made using one of the techniques I just mentioned- the blending pen. You can get these under lots of brand names but I had a Tombow one to hand so that's the one I've used in this tutorial. The clear blending solution 'picks up' the Harmony ink and lays it down in a gradient from dark to light.

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​The thing about water-based ink is that you don't get that flawless block of colour with alcohol, so using them to colour with 'normally' does leave streaks- just like Staedtler Triplus or similar markers. You can see what I mean on the colour chart. These pens have so many possibilities it's hard to imagine just using them as they are! The Basics set has lots of earth tones, with shades you don't usually find in waterbased ranges (normally because they don't come in large packs). There are 48 colours available to buy, so you know you're getting an extensive variety of tones, especially when coupled with the alcohol set.

Here's my finished picture, just in case you can't view the video.

You can buy them all in individual packs or as one huge lot of 144 pens, the latter costing just £119. I know that is a lot of money to most people, but if you're serious about colouring and crafting it really does pay to invest in a quality system. Plus, one massive bonus to Hochanda products is that you can purchase them with Flexibuy in 3 installments of £39.98- a much more affordable option. With a delivery time of 3-5 working days, they *might* even come for Christmas if you order them now-- but no guarantees so don't shoot the messenger! 

If you're not quite ready to buy yet and want to see more of them in action, tune into the Hochanda channel on 1st January 2016 at 11am or 2pm to watch an in-depth demonstration of the pens.

                            SKY 663 (24/7) --- FREEVIEW 39 (6AM-9PM) --- FREESAT 817 (24/7)

Purchase links:
Full set of 144 alcohol and aqua pens  
​(flexibuy available through phone only)

Alcohol Basics

Alcohol Brights

Alcohol Neutrals

Alcohol Tints

Aqua Basics / Brights

I hope you've enjoyed my review as much as I've enjoyed bringing them to you! I'd love to work with Hochanda again so hopefully you'll be seeing more fab products from them in the future.