Hi friends! I am back with a fun post featuring the newest markers from my friends at OLO Marker. I was honored to be asked to test out these new markers before they were released to the public a few years ago, and when they emailed to say that they were releasing new colors, I was overjoyed. (You can check out the video that I made when the markers were introduced HERE.) The OLO Markers color palette is beautifully rich and vibrant, but as my favorite color is pink, pink, and more pink, I was a little sad by the comparatively small options for pinks. However, the newest release from OLO Marker certainly fulfills all of my pinkest yearnings! You can check out the 32 new markers HERE.
In the photo above, I have filled out the chart for the entire line of 160 OLO Markers, giving a wonderful visual representation of the huge rainbow of colors available. OLO Marker has provided a great resource page so that you can print out different images on which to practice your coloring, as well as color swatch pages, like the one pictured above.
OLO Markers are a bit different from other marker brands, in that the way in which the ink is released from the barrel is free-flowing. Traditional alcohol markers have a foam core from which the ink flows, which perpetually retains some of the ink, meaning that you will only be able to use 60-70% of the ink in the barrel. The OLO Marker free-flow system utilizes over 90% of the ink in the barrel, saving you money! You can read more about the details on these marvelous markers HERE.
I have previously shared my color blends for the older markers, which I create by mixing and matching on scratch paper until I find a blend that I like. To do this, I select dark, medium, and light markers, sometimes from the same color family, sometimes from an adjacent color family, creating an ombré blend from super dark to very pale color gradients. Once I have a combination with which I am pleased, I color the blend on a piece of 2″ x 2″ white cardstock and place the finished swatches in a coin pocket holder, similar to an ink swatch book for ink pads. I have used the new markers in conjunction with the previously released markers to add some new color blends to my OLO Marker book. In the photo above, I used the 32 New Markers as a starting point to create additional swatches featuring some of my favorite color blends. I mixed and matched from the old and new markers to enhance the rainbow of color blends already in my collection!
These phots are showing the new color blends mixed amongst the older blends. You can see what a wide array of options that are now available to select a perfect color palette!
As I am creating, I sometimes will experiment with new color blends if what I have previously created does not quite match the creative vision in my head, and so I will add to my swatch book if I find a blend that I truly love!
I also have worked with OLO to curate my own collection of favorite colors, which you can check out HERE. OLO has generously provided a coupon code for this collection, as well, which will save you 10% on my collection only. Simply add code emilycolorpicks at checkout!
You can view all of the different options for collections and customizations HERE.
I thought perhaps you might like to see the new OLO Markers in action, so I created a few different projects with these vibrant new colors!
I love using alcohol markers to color my own illustrations in addition to using them for cardmaking, and I thought a really large illustration would demonstrate the gorgeous range of color from dark to light, so I illustrated and printed out this large, 8″ x 10″ ranunculus illustration and went to town coloring!
For this illustration, I used (from dark to light) R 1.8, RV 1.7, R 2.4, RV 0.2, R 2.2 for the bloom and G 1.8, YG 1.6, G 5.3, and G 5.1 for the foliage. To create this wide gradient, I mixed and matched from new and old markers as well as different color families. If you find that your colors aren’t blending super smoothly, (for any marker brand) you can try a couple of different tricks: continue working the color with the tip of your marker in order to make the colors blend together, or you can also try the “tip to tip” method of lightly touching your lighter marker to your darker marker and applying it to the paper. The darker color will eventually be transferred to the paper, allowing your colors the opportunity to blend very subtly and smoothly.
For this project, I pulled out some new-to-me dies from Concord and 9th (linked in the link list at the bottom of the post), cut them from white cardstock, and went to town coloring the images! I used RV 0.6, R 2.4, R 0.3, R 0.2, and R 0.1 for the flowers, as well as G 0.6, YG 1.6, YG 1.4, and YG 1.2 fro the foliage. These citrusy colors were so perfect for a bright summery card!
I arranged the flowers on a stitched plaid background, grounded by a vellum oval die cut, with a coordinating deep hunter green sentiment die cut and stamped greeting strip. A few coordinating gems finished everything off!
My second project is an homage to those spectacular new pink markers. Much the opposite of those pretty citrus-y tones from the previous project, I kept these colors cool and vibrant, using my new favorite OLO Marker combination for the magenta blooms: R 1.8, RV 1.7, RV 1.4, RV 1.5, RV 1.3, RV 1.1. I used BV 4.7, 1.7, 1.4, 1.2, 1.1 for the “blurple” flowers and berries, with G 1.8, 1.7, 1.5, and 1.4 for the large green leaves and G 0.6, 0.4, and 0.1 for the foliage sprig.
I used the coordinating stitched die cut flower arrangement to arrange my colorful floral die cuts, though I did take some creative license with the arrangement as I did not cut exactly the same florals and foliage as the background. I adhered the images with a mix of foam tape and liquid adhesive, tucking a hot foiled sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio amongst the flowers and finishing the card off with some sparkling gems!
Well, that’s all for my projects today. I’m so excited to formally introduce these gorgeous new marker colors to you; I have been using OLO Markers very frequently over the last few years, and I find them to be a staple in my craft room. I can’t say enough about the quality and the vibrancy. If you have any further questions, feel free to send me an email! I also will have the photos with the color swatches that I have listed above on the OLO Marker Swatch Tab on the top of my blog available for your reference. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!
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