What brand of ink should I use? Comparing Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks to Jacquard Piñata Alcohol Inks

Which brand of alcohol ink is best you ask?  Here is a quick comparison of Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks to Jacquard Piñata Alcohol Inks

I love to play with alcohol inks! One question I get all the time is, how do I know which brand is best:  Jacquards Piñata Ink or Rangers Adirondack Ink?

Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink vrs Jacquard Piñata Alcohol Ink

Well, to this I say it really is a personal matter. I tend to make my decision based on the project I want to do. The major differences between the brands seems to be in the color pallet, and viscosity (or the fluidity) of the inks. Depending on your project, you may want to use the brand that moves faster or slower.

Here is a quick break down…

Jacquard Piñata comes in 19 colors they are very shinny rich and vibrant, and can be quite bold. Jacquard Piñata Ink tends to be a bit thicker and spreads less and slower.  This often allows for less blending and the results can have more of a layered look and may allow for more control of color.

Jacquard Pianta Ink chart

Where as  Ranger’s Adirondack Ink comes in over 55 colors they tend to be very calm rich earthy tones. Ranger is also nice enough to produce 3 packs that offer color pallets that work well together. Ranger Adirondack Ink tends to be more fluid and tend to spread more drop by drop.  This often allows for more blending of colors and more muted effects.

Adirondack ink chart

Adirondack 3 packs of coordinating colorsAdirondack

You can find these fun products and more at Linda’s Art Spot.

Textures of nature: A great free tutorial for polymer clay artists

Some times we just need a field trip to open our minds and creative ideas.  And this tutorial is giving me a perfect excuse to take a walk and pick a few weeds. LOL!

It appears she has used alcohol inks in this pendant.

I love the textures that nature offers and am often inspired by them so when I found this tutorial by Russian artist Julia Titova I just had to share.

Now let me back up and say, I believe that to be the artist’s name.  Since the entire blog is in Russian and the site, the best I can tel,l is a forum of artists in the region I can’t be sure. So hopefully I have given the proper credit.

The best I can tell (using google translate) is that she is using air dry clay to make the relief of the flowers both fresh and dried and makes the pendants reinforcing it with resin. You could also use polymer clay or silicone mold making kits for a more stable longer lasting mold.

relief molds

After the mold base had been made she then makes the relief imprint, and adds color  in the form of  my personal favorites alcohol inks or thinned acrylic paints.

And finally she adds a layer of resin to offer a tremendous depth to the piece.  My favorite is ProTec Powder Paint.

For me this is just another excuse to play with nature and of course alcohol inks.

If you would like to see the full tutorial follow this link

Now for the shameless promotion. Looking for some fun supplies to help you with this or other crafting projects?  Be sure to check out my shop.

Have a happy crafting weekend!