Seek Joy: Using "The Good Stuff"

While prepping to begin another coloring page, I was picking out marker colors and found myself frustrated with the swatch papers that came with my marker set. In principle, they’re great. Thank you, Ohuhu, for including papers so we can swatch your markers!

In practice, I can’t hold different colors up to each other and see how I like them together. So, yesterday, I started marking out some mixed-media anti-bleed paper and cutting it into strips to make a swatch chip collection of my Ohuhu markers.

Working on the new swatches for my Ohuhu markers. Cut strips of papers with three intensities color.

Examples of my new swatches for my Ohuhu markers.

My OCD tendencies are thrilled with this project. They’re running around throwing crepe paper, celebrating, and planning to swatch ALL my markers, colored pencils, and paints this way. (Settle down, friends. Let’s finish this set first and see how we feel.) And, as with any tedious project, it is taking much longer than I would like. 

So, let’s drag you along for the ride, shall I? It’s quite meditative, the repetition of measuring, drawing lines, and cutting along them. Here are some of the thoughts that drifted my way.

Many years ago, I began my young adult marker journey with Copic. To my knowledge, they were the industry standard for illustration and the only refillable marker available. Being as expensive as they are, I would buy one marker every time I had a coupon for a discount, unless I was working on a commission and needed specific colors for the project. 

I didn’t use them for anything other than “professional” work. I had cheap “for fun” markers that I used instead. Along the way, I’ve had many sets of “for fun” markers that have either been used up or wandered off. I still have a mismatched collection.

Ten or fifteen years ago, I consciously decided to stop saving “the good stuff” for special occasions. We got rid of our Wal-Mart-bought plates and began using my great-grandmother's tableware, which I inherited. We started using the “guest towels” in our everyday lives. We sold our flatware and used great-grandma’s silver instead.

Doing these things brought me so much joy. Using these special objects in my everyday life made them feel even more meaningful. Yet, I still struggled to incorporate this lesson into my artwork. I wouldn’t use my Prismacolor pencils in coloring books or to doodle. I wouldn’t DREAM of using Copic markers in such a flippant way.

It has taken me a long time to use my supplies for their intended purpose, no matter the project's seriousness. I still cringe inwardly when I run a Copic low and scramble to purchase an expensive refill. However, using a “professional” quality art supply for fun has reminded me that art is supposed to be enjoyable—all art, even the quote unquote silly stuff.

As a middle-aged adult who still does not have more money than she knows what to do with and whose eyes bulge every time she sees the price hike of an art supply, I have 47 Copic sketch markers. Perhaps a third of that number have refills. So, when I started to hear about Ohuhu, my ears perked up, especially when mentioned that they now produce refillable markers. 

Let me pause to mention that I am not on TikTok and am blissfully unaware of trends. I did not realize that Ohuhu had recently gone viral and was struggling to fill orders. I saw the price point, watched and read serious comparison reviews from artists I trusted, and decided to go for a 320-count set of Honolulu Bs. 

I placed my order and waited. And waited. Aannd waited. I finally went searching for the reason I wasn’t getting my order. Dang whipper snappers and their TikTok! (I jest, of course.)

I eventually received my set and have been extremely pleased with it. They’re just as lovely to use as a Copic Sketch marker. I never use the chisel end of my Sketch makers, so the option to choose a fine point end instead was glorious for me. My only complaint is the color coding system; it is seemingly meaningless. 

Copic has a specific code so you can tell, at a glance of the cap, which reds, blues, greens, etc. are the same color family, blending group, and intensity. Ohuhu’s caps have the appearance of that color coding, but don’t seem to follow it. 

Left: Copic marker codes E79 Cashew and E74 Cocoa Brown. Right: Ohuhu marker codes Y13 Chestnut Brown and E400 Cocoa Brown.

This leads me to where I am today: creating a new swatch set for my Ohuhu markers to see how colors group together best and in order of intensity so that I can color in a coloring book. Because it brings me joy.

What "silly" things do you do because they bring you joy? And what "good stuff" have you chosen to use in your everyday life, rather than save them for special occasions?