Ohuhu Kaala Markers
Learn why Ohuhu Kaala Markers are one of the best options when it comes to affordable fine-tip alcohol markers!
Ohuhu kindly sent me 4 complimentary sets of their double-ended fine and chisel-tip Ohuhu Kaala Alcohol Markers (Amazon affiliate link) to test and review. I’ve been using alcohol markers for over 10 years, but since I mostly use brush nib alcohol markers, I was really excited to try out these fine-tip alcohol markers! Read on to learn more about these Ohuhu markers, and find out how these budget alcohol markers compare to their more costly competitors, Copics. Plus, you can see some of my art that I created using these markers!
All 4 sets of Ohuhu Kaala Markers
What are Ohuhu Kaala Markers?
Ohuhu Kaala Markers are double-ended, with a fine tip on one end, and a slim chisel nib on the other, as you can see below. The oval-shaped barrel is larger at the chisel end, and narrows a little towards the fine tip end.
The color name and numbers is written on the wider (chisel) end, which has a color-coded cap to match.
The color name and number is also included on the side of each marker, which is handy when the markers are sitting on your table.
A gray line indicates the chisel end of the marker, as shown in the pic below. You can also easily tell which end is which because the chisel end is wider and the fine tip end is narrower.
Ohuhu Kaala Markers feature a comfortable oval barrel, which I actually prefer over the round Ohuhu Honolulu barrels (which feel a bit too large for my taste). Barrel shape and size is a very personal preference, as some people (like me) prefer narrow, oval barrels, while others prefer larger barrels. If you like like oval barrels, then you’ll probably find these markers to be incredibly comfortable!
Another thing I like about this barrel shape is that the markers don’t roll around on your table, which can be a problem with some round markers.
The fine tips of Ohuhu Kaala Markers are perfect for coloring in tight spaces, creating precise lines, creating consistent line widths, and outlining. They’re not ideal for coloring in large spaces, but the other end is perfect for that!
The chisel nibs of Ohuhu Kaala Markers are ideal for coloring in large spaces, as well as quickly saturating an area with color. Although I don’t normally use chisel nibs when creating artwork, I found the chisel nibs of the Kaala Markers extremely handy whenever I wanted to color in an area that would have been impractical to color in with the tiny fine nib.
Ohuhu Kaala Markers come in 150 colors. Some of the colors in the sets are repeats, which I discuss below.
Ohuhu offers another line of dual-tipped alcohol markers with fine and chisel nibs, called Oahu markers. The difference between Kaala markers and Oahu markers is that on the Kaala markers, the chisel tip is 1.5mm longer, and it’s also narrower. Another difference is color range. At this point, the Oahu markers are available in 320 colors, while the Kaala markers are available in 150 colors. I haven’t tried the Oahu markers so I can’t comment on how these differences work out in practicality, but felt it was worth mentioning in case you want to explore it further on your own.
Ohuhu Kaala Marker Sets
Ohuhu Kaala Markers are available in 4 separate sets. Each set comes with:
a hard plastic carrying case
a blank color swatch card for you to fill in
a pre-filled color chart
a Colorless Blender
a transparent plastic sheet for you to put under your paper to prevent bleed-through
Below you can find a description of each marker set, as well as the color swatch card that I filled in for each set. I’ll also include my thoughts about each set.
Ohuhu Kaala Basic Marker Set - 24 Colors
The Ohuhu Kaala Basic Marker Set contains 24 colors. As you can see above, it’s a nice range of colors, but in my opinion it's lacking certain colors that would be handy to have: yellow-orange, orange (the orange that’s included is more of a reddish-orange), pale/light green, purple, medium brown, and light gray. While the colors in this set are nice overall, if these are the only alcohol markers that you have, then you'll be kind of limited if your goal is to achieve smooth gradual blending. You’d need to supplement with other sets to have enough colors to create smooth blends. If smooth blending isn’t important to you, then this might be a good starter set to consider.
Four of the colors in this Basic set are also included in the Illustration set below (WG140, B883, G750, 120). One of the colors, E190, is also included in the Skin set below. Just something to keep in mind. In my opinion, unless you wanted to collect all the Ohuhu Kaala colors, you can probably skip this Basic set and just buy the 3 sets described below.
Ohuhu Kaala Illustration Marker Set - 60 Colors
The Ohuhu Kaala Illustration Marker Set contains 60 colors. This is quite a good range of colors—almost everything you would want in a starter set of alcohol markers. These vibrant colors are ideal for manga, cartooning, comics, and coloring books. I wish this set contained a bright yellow, a yellow-orange and a dark purple, but other than that, this set of colors is great for beginners.
If you’re trying to choose between this set and the previous Basic set of 24 colors, I’d suggest you go for this set if you can afford it, because having more colors will allow you create more blends and more sophisticated art overall. Plus, 4 of the colors that are in this set are also in the Basic set, so you don’t really need both sets, especially if you’ll be supplementing with the 2 sets described below. Two of the colors in this set (R195 and E294) can also be found in the Skin set.
Ohuhu Kaala Landscape Marker Set - 60 Colors
The Ohuhu Kaala Landscape Marker Set contains 60 colors. The theme of this set is colors found in nature, which makes it an ideal set for coloring landscapes, seascapes, skyscapes, forests, flowers, gardens, etc. This set contains a fabulous range of greens, blues, yellows, tans and browns. You’ll also find some pinks and lavenders, a couple of bright reds, and a couple of dark reds. The range of grays are also well-suited for use in coloring in natural scenery and plants.
I think this set combines well with the other sets, as it contains a broader range of blues and greens. Overall, the colors are a bit more muted than in the Illustration set, which contains more vibrant, vivid colors (especially when it comes to reds, oranges and pinks).
Only 2 of the colors in this set appear in other sets. 120 (black) is also included in the Basic set and the Illustration set, while E194 is also included in the Skin set.
Ohuhu Kaala Skin Tones Marker Set - 24 Colors
The Ohuhu Kaala Skin Tones Set contains 24 colors for depicting a range of skin tones. There’s a nice mix of light, medium and dark colors that will allow you to create highlights, mid-tones and shadows for a variety of skin tones. This set is essential if you’re planning to color a variety of portraits, whether realistic, manga, cartoony or whimsical. While each of the other 3 sets do include a few colors that can be used for coloring skin, this set provides the most comprehensive range of skin tones.
Two of the colors in this set appear in the Basic set (E190 and WG140). E194 also appears in the Landscape set, while three of the colors (R195, WG140 and E294) also appear in the Illustration set.
Which set(s) should you buy?
If you want to collect all the colors and you can afford it, go ahead and purchase all 4 sets. You’ll have plenty of colors to work with to create gorgeous alcohol marker art! 😍
If you want to save yourself some money, you can probably skip the Basic set. As I mentioned earlier, the Basic set includes colors that are fairly similar to colors that are found in the other 3 sets. That said, I do really like the Sky Blue (B290) that is included in the Basic set, which funnily enough, is not one of the blues in the Landscape set. I also like the yellow in the Basic set, Y397.
If you want to color in a lot of portraits, then it makes sense to get the Skin Tones set. Otherwise, you can probably skip it.
In general, the two most useful sets will be the Illustration set and the Landscape set. If you can only afford one of them, take a good look at the color swatch cards I’ve provided above. Compare the different colors in each set and purchase the one that appeals to you the most, depending on the subject and style of art that you like to create.
You can always start out with one set of Kaala markers, and if you find that you really like them, then purchase the other sets!
Ohuhu Kaala Marker Cases
Ohuhu Kaala Marker sets come in a really handy plastic case with a flip-top lid and a handle for easy carrying. The inside of each case is divided into 4 sections, which helps keep your markers organized to some degree. There aren’t individual slots for each marker, so the markers will move around a bit as you remove them to make art.
I like the Kaala cases much better than the cloth cases that the Honolulu markers come in. It’s nice that the case is included in the price of the markers, so you don’t have to worry about buying a separate case if you’re happy with the one that the set comes in.
One cool thing about these cases is that you can lay them on their side on your table, as you can see in this pic. When you’re making art, it’s a lot easier to find the colors that you’re looking for when you can view the markers straight-on like this, rather than looking over the top of the case to find the right colors.
Organizing your Kaala markers
Ultimately, if you’re a professional artist and you purchase more than one set of Kaala markers, you’ll probably want to buy a case or desk organizer that allows you to organize all the markers together, rather than keeping them separated according to the set they originally came in. For example, it would be handy to put all the yellows together, all the blues together, etc, because that would make it so much easier to find colors for blending. Otherwise, you have to hunt for each color across 4 different cases, and either write down or remember which color belongs in which set. This can really slow you down and when you make art for a living, time is of the essence.
If you do put all of your Kaala markers together into a new case or desktop organizer, you’ll probably want to create a custom color chart and put all the similar colors together (yellows, reds, blues, greens, etc) so that you can easily see and compare all of the colors that you own.
Blending Ohuhu Kaala Markers
If I want to blend alcohol markers, I normally prefer to use brush-tip markers, so I was eager to see what it was like to blend with these fine-tip alcohol markers. To my surprise, they actually blend quite well!
Just like with brush-nib alcohol markers, in order to create smooth seamless blends, you’ll need lots of colors. In order to create gradual blends, I found it necessary to combine the colors from all 4 sets.
Here you can see some blends that I managed to achieve using just the colors in the Basic Kaala set of 24 colors. For the most part, these are not the type of smooth, gradual blends that I like to create, so this was the best I could do with such a limited number of colors.
But when you combine all four sets, you have 150 colors, which is an excellent range for creating a variety of different blends!
Below you can see an example of a page I colored in from my Power of Love Coloring Book. I was quite pleased with the blends I was able to achieve using markers from all 4 Kaala sets! 😍
Art from Thaneeya McArdle’s Power of Love Coloring Book
Learn How to Use Your Markers
If you'd like to learn how to create awesome alcohol marker art, check out my Ultimate Guide to Using Alcohol Markers! I take you step-by-step through several alcohol marker blending techniques and explain blending theory so you'll know which colors to blend together. Then you'll learn advanced blending techniques so that you can create any genre of art with your alcohol markers!
Quality of Ohuhu Kaala Markers
Overall I’m quite impressed with the quality of Ohuhu Kaala markers. They tick all the boxes:
they feel very comfortable in my hand due to the size and shape of the barrel
they’re easy to cap and uncap
the caps snap on with a satisfying click, which assures me that the marker is well-sealed
the nib quality feels good
the ink quality seems good
Below I’ve taken a pic of a random Ohuhu Kaala marker next to fine-tipped markers from Arrtx and Copic, which were also randomly selected. Based on this pic, the Copic Original appears to have the finest point. The other marker nibs are a bit more rounded.
So far I haven’t experienced any major fraying of the tips of the Ohuhu Kaala markers, but I’ll update my review if I note any fraying.
Overall, I think Ohuhu Kaala Markers are excellent quality considering the affordable price tag!
What if you have any problems?
If you happen to get a dried-out marker in your set, or your marker runs out of ink after just a few uses, Ohuhu offers a very generous replacement policy. All you have to do is contact them and they’ll send you a replacement! That’s pretty amazing customer service, in my opinion.
I’ve included a pic of the FAQ that is included with every marker set. (You can click on it to view a larger version.)
As you can see, Ohuhu is a brand that is eager to please, so if you have any problems, just send them an email and they’ll be happy to rectify the situation.
Whether your issue is related to dried markers, receiving duplicate colors, or a bag/case that’s defective, Ohuhu encourages you to reach out to them so that they can have the opportunity to correct the issue for you, free of charge.
Performance of Ohuhu Kaala Markers
Example Artworks
Detailed Mandala Coloring Page from Thaneeya McArdle's set of 10 printable Detailed Mandala Coloring Pages, colored in with Ohuhu Kaala Markers
Now let’s take a look at some more artwork that I created using Ohuhu Kaala Markers! For the examples above and below, I printed the artwork onto Neenah Exact Index 110lb Bright White Card Stock, which is one of my go-to papers for printing my coloring pages. (I like to use marker paper as well, but when I want to save money, then card stock is my paper of choice!)
Both artworks are from my sets of printable coloring pages. I colored them in using flat coloring, with no blending. If you don’t feel like blending, then these fine-tipped Ohuhu Kaala alcohol markers are a wonderful option.
I like the consistent line widths that can be achieve with these markers, which makes them perfect for outlining. If you take a close look at the artworks above and below, you’ll be able to spot areas where I outlined with the markers.
Whimsical coloring page from Thaneeya McArdle's set of 27 printable Happy Hodgepodge Coloring Pages, colored in with Ohuhu Kaala Markers
As you can see from these examples, Ohuhu Kaala Markers worked really well for coloring in small, tight spaces. To create the background of the artwork above, I drew in the colorful circles first using a variety of colors, and then used the chisel nib of a purple marker to color in around the little circles. When I needed more precision, I switched to the fine-point nib.
A whimsical coloring page from Thaneeya McArdle’s Power of Love Coloring Book, colored in with Ohuhu Kaala Markers, with dots added on top with Posca paint pens
I also used Ohuhu Kaala Markers to color directly onto a coloring book page from my Power of Love Coloring Book, and was surprised at how well these markers worked on coloring book paper! 😍
For the most part, there was hardly any feathering if I only applied one or two layers of color. “Feathering” is when the alcohol marker ink spreads farther than you want it to. Feathering is a common problem when using alcohol markers (of any brand) directly on the pages of adult coloring books.
When I only applied one or two layers of color with the Ohuhu Kaala Markers, I didn’t experience any feathering! But when I blended multiple colors together, I did experience a bit of feathering, especially in the really tight areas. But, since this commonly happens when using alcohol markers in coloring books, it didn’t bother me.
All in all, I really enjoyed the experience of creating art with these markers, and I had a lot of fun with the color range!
Are Ohuhu Kaala Markers worth it?
Yes! If you’re searching for an inexpensive set of fine-tip and chisel-tip alcohol markers, then Ohuhu Kaala Markers are a fantastic option! They’re an excellent choice for art enthusiasts and hobbyists who like to make art or color in adult coloring books. They’re budget-friendly, so they’re even perfect for kids and teens who want to try alcohol markers. They’re also a great choice for adults who have never used alcohol markers before and wan to try them out.
The only downsides to this line of alcohol markers is that if you’re a professional artist, then you might be frustrated that these markers aren’t available open stock. They’re only available in sets, so if you run out of your favorite color, you either need to buy a whole new set or replace it with a similar color by a brand that does offer open stock markers (like Copic, Prismacolor or Blick).
Nib replacements are currently not available for Kaala markers, though I’m happy to report that Ohuhu ink refills are now available! The ability to replace nibs and top up the markers with ink is one of the main factors that sets apart the cheaper brands from the more expensive brands, so these Kaala markers are halfway there. For most people, not being able to replace the nibs won’t really be an issue, but people who use their markers a lot might want to consider starting out with an inexpensive brand like Ohuhu Kaala and then upgrading to brands that offer the perks of open stock availability and replacement nibs.
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ultimate Guide to Using Alcohol Markers
If you’d like to learn how to make amazing art with alcohol markers, check out my Ultimate Guide to Using Alcohol Markers!
In this online video course, I demonstrate several different blending techniques and explain blending theory. You’ll go from beginner to advanced as you learn how to color in the 3 works of art shown below! Printable line art is included, so you can follow along step-by-step.
Click below to watch the course trailer and see everything that you’ll get in this fun online alcohol marker course! 😍
Keep learning!
Visit the main Art Markers page to get an overview of this fun medium!
If you’re interested in budget-friendly brush-tip alcohol markers, check out my detailed review of Ohuhu Honolulu Markers.
Check out my Alcohol Marker Tutorials, with detailed step-by-step lessons for creating eye-catching art.
If you’re interested in Copic Markers but can’t afford them, check out my recommendations for best Copic alternatives.
Browse my Alcohol Marker Art gallery and get inspired by the possibilities of what you can achieve with alcohol markers!
If you’re interested in markers and you’re not sure what type or brand of markers to buy, check out my in-depth guide to art markers which will help you understand the different types, learn what they can do, and decide which ones you want to try!
Learn how to refill Ohuhu Markers using Ohuhu ink refills!
