Most of the alcohol ink training has fast results. Full-blooded colors, satisfying flowers, that Wow when all is thrown about on the surface. It is awesome on previews, but once you get the use of it everything goes out of the hand within no time. Colors turn muddy. In nothing does he die away. You end up wondering what you have lost. Click our recommended reading about this page!

I have observed novices being critical of their resources. Poor cheap ink, improper paper, poor instruments. Sometimes that’s true. Nevertheless, more often, it is the way course teaches the process.

The alcohol ink course that did transform me was the one that actually transformed me the other way around and made me slack in some places and speed up in others. This balance was the difference.

Neither did it start with wild and uncontrollable drops of ink but rather it cared about placement first. It has less to do with the amount you put in it than where you put the ink. This is a given, though the majority of people will pass over it. They jump right into pouring and tilting hoping that something interesting will take place.

This course had brought you to a stop. Just for a second.

You would put in a little bit of ink, and see what happens, and you would see what to do then. It is easy that it can be said to be even dull yet it creates awareness within a short period. With some attempts, you begin to predict the movement of the ink.

Then things change.

There is also the emphasis on airflow. No invented instruments–only suppressed explosions. With a straw, a blower, or simply by trying to incline the surface a little, the principle is the same, that is, to push the ink instead of trying to wrestle it.

The difference is seen in the fringes. Novices are usually subjected to coarse lines or smokey mixes. The changes are smoother, more controlled with some airflow. Even though you did not intend it, almost like you planned it that way.

The manner in which the course managed mistakes was one of the things that I liked. It did not argue that they would not happen. It tilted towards them in reality. When a piece of art would be going off instead of wiping it all off, you would draw some lines, negative space, contrast or just leave some of the area to dry and work with.

It is only this type of mentality that rescued much aggravation.

The other thing I recalled was time. Alcohol ink is impure. It is a second by second alteration. The course made you watch such slight shifts, when the surface is still shiny, when it starts to become dull, when the time to apply another coating comes.

I had been making guesses before that.

With time, you are no longer thinking in stages, but you start to act upon instinct. This must be the cause that beginners improve over night. It’s not magic. It is natural that they are now getting to see what is happening instead of simply pouring more ink.

And yes, the outcomes are improved. But of greater importance, they are intentional.

You no longer wish that you will get a good outcome. You are more or less running it.