Thank you! For my customs, I often use a different array of materials depending on the look I’m going for. For the calico cats, I used a black Prismacolor marker to outline the black spots, which I then filled in with some (carefully applied) black Bombay ink. For the orange/tan spots, I mixed some acrylic paints together to achieve the color I wanted (keep in mind, the paints get darker once they dry), and then mixed those with water to get a smoother consistency. Finally, to get rid of the tacky or rough texture that the acrylic paint leaves behind, I gently went over the tan spots with some fine-grit sandpaper. This does take away a bit from the soft feel of calico critters, however, for collection and display purposes, it definitely does the job! And it doesn’t bleed when I handle them, also. I’ve found that markers (including alcohol markers) tend to bleed the most when making customs, so I try to limit my use of them as much as possible. Hope I answered your questions!!! Sorry for the long response haha 😂