Terrestrial Alcohol: Preclass

Welcome to the preclass lesson! The first video gives a quick overview of the supplies you’ll need for class; please see the description and links below.

Surfaces

At minimum, get photo paper, both 4×6 and 8×10 or so – the back side of photo paper can accomplish most of the lessons in class that are on the Yupo papers, but it’s not as sturdy, so I’d suggest treating yourself to a Yupo to play with too.

• Photo Paper – any brand is fine, it’ll be best if there’s no or limited watermarking on the back.
  • Office Depot 8-1/2 x 11 photo paper AMZ
  • Office Depot 4 x 6 photo paper AMZ
  • Epson 4 x 6 photo paper AMZ
• Yupo – there are lots of brands, here are a few suggestions and places to get them:
  • Legion Heavyweight 9×12 AMZ | Blick
  • Legion Medium 9×12 AMZ | Blick | Ellen Hutson
  • Ranger 8 x 10 Ellen Hutson
  • NARA Medium 9 x 12 AMZ
• Round Yupo – there’s a lesson on round paper but you can use any shape if you decide not to get round.
  • NARA Rounds 10″ AMZ
  • NARA Rounds 8″ AMZ
• Plastic paper – acts like a Yupo; many artists use this.
  • Graphix Craft Plastic 12″ x 12″ AMZ
• Tiles – grab a few from your local home improvement store. You can get glossy white ceramic tiles in a huge variety of sizes and shapes for very little money.

Inks

The class has just a yellow, red, and blue in it – these are primary colors. Beware of choosing colors that are just “off” of a primary — if your red is very orangey/warm, it may make brown when mixed with your blue because it’s red + yellow – and that’s the three colors together which become neutral. The Wild Plum in this trio set used in class leans a little toward the purple side, but that’s a little safer than something going toward the warm side. But – by all means try the colors you have in whatever brands you’ve got in your studio!

• Used in demos, this comes in one set:
  • Nature Walk set by Ranger – Stream, Wild Plum, Butterscotch AMZ | SSS
• Individual bottles:
  • Butterscotch, Ranger Alcohol Ink —- Ellen Hutson| AMZ
  • Wild Plum, Ranger Alcohol Ink —- Ellen Hutson| AMZ
  • Stream, Ranger Alcohol Ink —- Ellen Hutson| AMZ

Blending solutions

You can use whichever you have (you could do the whole class with just one), but I’d recommend a 99% as a staple. A bottle of Ranger and a 70% for some odd techniques might be of interest, Or you can do like I did in the video below and go crazy testing everything! These are linked here but try your local pharmacy or general store for very inexpensive bottles of isopropyls.

• Ranger Alcohol Blending Solution AMZ | Ellen Hutson | Blick
• 99% Isopropyl Alcohol medical grade
• 99% Isopropyl Alcohol
• 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
• 70% % Isopropyl Alcohol
• Denatured Alcohol (Cheaper at local paint stores)
• Glass jars (use anything but I suggest no plastic or metal lids because of the alcohol)

Tools and other

• MiniMisters – you’ll need four for this class:
  • Ranger Mini Mister, Individual —- Ellen Hutson
  • Ranger Mini Mister Set of 3 —- Ellen Hutson – AMZ
• Pipettes, 100 (you don’t need 100 but…they are cheap!)
• Freezer paper for table, slick side up!
• Gloves – whatever kind you’d like.
• Airbrush: I recommend the Copic airbrush system, which is what I primarily use; it requires a “gun” in the ABS3, a cord to connect it to an air compressor. The Copic ABS3 has been rumored to be scheduled for discontinuation but I don’t really trust rumors! A compressor provides significantly stronger pressure than other systems; and costs around $70. The one linked below comes with an airbrush, and that can be used for techniques in this class though it’s harder to handle than the Copic one. If the compressor you purchase doesn’t come with a cord to connect your airbrush, I’ve also linked that.
  • Copic system – ABS3: EH – AMZ – Blick
  • Air Compressor – don’t get it online, find a hardware store near you!
  • Cord, if it doesn’t come with the compressor
• Handheld airbrush – this one is less expensive than the Copic system and doesn’t work with Copic markers, but can provide air to blow alcohol ink around. A handheld will never be as good on pressure as a real compressor but it may be worth considering, depending on your budget.
  • Gocheer Airbrush $60ish

Comparison of blending solutions

This video is on my public YouTube channel so you might have seen it there.

That’s it for supplies – if you’re ready to sign up, click HERE!