The Search for Metallic Silver Alcohol Ink

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Piñata Brass? CHECK.
Piñata Gold? CHECK.

…but what about SILVER? Why is the perfect silver so hard to find?!

Metallic Silver Exists

I have the answer you’ve been searching for! It took me a while to find an awesome metallic silver to ink with. The reason? The perfect silver (for the effect I wanted) didn’t exist at the time. I began creating with alcohol inks in 2018, partially because I LOVED seeing the fine metallic line work mixed with scattered chunks of the metallic. It’s so beautiful.

My search for metallics began with Tim Holtz Ranger Mixatives. I thought this was what I needed to create those shiny lines. It turned out that Mixatives are just that – they mix. Mixatives “blend” with the coloured ink and become uniform with whatever shape your ink takes on.

I had also purchased some Jacquard Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments, thinking that mayyybe this is the solution, since the powder was quite popular at the time. I will tell you this: the powder rubs off, so be sure to seal it well afterwards.

While both the Mixatives and the powder were fun to play with, neither medium hit the mark for me.

While I quickly figured out that Jacquard Piñata was the brand I needed for the gold…and then the brass (which instantly became a favourite!), the silver wasn’t quite what I wanted.

I enjoyed creating with gold and brass, and I was quite happy to do so for a long time. I still love them both! Silver moved to the back burner, but I still hoped I’d find some.

Now, in the meantime, I did see a silver that became popular; however, it was a little on the pricey side. It’s called Molotow Liquid Chrome Refill. It’s tempting to purchase since it’s gorgeous! If you give it a go, please let me know if it works with alcohol inks!

Then, in 2020, came Tim Holtz Alloys. THIS, my friends, is (pretty much) what I needed!

I say “pretty much” because they’re not quite the same as Piñata’s brass and rich gold metallics. The Alloys are a little more like molten metal to me (what I would visualize it as, anyway). They work ever-so-slightly different, but WOW, they’re super nice! To top that off, there’s a few Alloy colours to choose from! And yes, silver is one of them! It’s called “Sterling.”

Here’s a list of the Alloys. If you can, try them all and let me know your favourites! My personal favourites are Sterling and Foundry.

Sterling
Foundry
Gilded
Mined
Statue

“Map of Stars”

When using a cool colour palette, such as in my artwork above, Sterling fits in perfectly. It wouldn’t be quite the same with brass or gold.

Let me know your thoughts on Sterling below. Would you try it, or have you already tried it?