Sketch of the Day

[spqrblues]

Pens! The current arsenal:



Faithful Reader Jim rewards my pen obsession by telling me, It seems to me that you don't have too many. Each pen behaves differently, so each is suited for different tasks. You know what this means, of course. I MUST BUY MORE PENS.

There are a few others I haven't taken out of their packaging and inked up yet. The three silver ones on the bottom, the Copics, are what I've been drawing SPQR Blues with, replacing the Micron pens I started out with. Both have very little variation to the width of the line, which was an intentional choice. In case anyone was curious.

Testing out the pens (don't ask me why I'm drawing feet, because I honestly cannot tell you):



I'd better get back to work-work, but I'll see if I can finish up the next SPQR Blues installment during lunch, or at least before dinner :)

Comments

More pens!

[(Anonymous)]

Reader-Jim is quite right. You need more pens... lots more pens. It's like having too many battleships... can't be done. If you don't believe me, just ask Kaiser Wilhelm II. Keep drawing purty pitchers. Romans too!

Re: More pens!

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

I need enough pens to fill a battleship... only then will my desire to acquire be slaked...

[corvideye.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I don't see a Faber-Castell Pitt pen there. The best felt tip brush pen, in my opinion.

If you want to go really wild, Yasutomo makes a cartridge brush pen with actual sable bristles... haven't tried it yet, but I've heard it is the bomb...

(yes I am a supplies geek why do you ask)

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

I do in fact have a Faber-Castell Pitt pen :) I had a bunch but gave most of them away because I was using the Copics more and they were going to waste, but I kept the one with the finest line. I was using it to write labels on the page above ("fine pens," "extra fine pens") then forgot to do an actual drawing with it :P

The Kuretake No. 40 sable-bristle pen is on my wish list for when I feel bold enough to invest in fanciness. My favourite local art store carries the Yasutomo line, so I'll have to see if they have the sable brush pen. On the disposable side, I want to try the Akashiya pens, though I read mixed reviews about all of them.

I will draw feet with my Faber Castell today, mark my words!

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Aww, I tell a lie: it was the Sakura Pigma Sensei that I was using for the labels, and that I gave away a batch of to a friend. The Faber-Castell Pitt has dried up, poor thing, never even got a chance to play. I'll pick up another one soon.

[corvideye.livejournal.com]

It occurred to me that I haven't tried all those other Kuretakes, so I don't know how Pitt compares to that... you must report! I just find the Pitt springier and more responsive than the Copic or Tombow or especially Micron (ugh, so mushy) brush pens.

Did you switch to the Copic liners because they're refillable, or do you find them preferable in other ways too? At least one person I know thought their ink was blacker than Microns. Others insist on the Staedtler version...

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

I didn't even realise the Copics were refillable until about a month ago :P But, yes, I switched to them because I find their ink blacker, that it holds up well to erasing underlying pencil marks, and their finest-line pen is finer and sturdier than the Micron. The Micron tips fray more easily, and I consider myself to have a gentle touch. I didn't like the Micron brush pen. I didn't give it much of a chance, but I wasn't enjoying working with it.

I should do more erasing tests with all of the new pens. I've only really tested the Kuretakes and the Tombow.

Even mostly-dried-out, the Pitt feels nice and springy. The Tombow is pretty much a hard, stiff tip, but I like it for precise work. Except that it needs to air out each time I uncap it, or it's wet and sloppy. (I don't know if that's from taking it to high elevation--the plane trip did a serious number on the blue-black Tegami.)

The Kuretake No. 7 feels great--smooth and springy and alive--but I'm not entirely happy with the resulting line. The Kuretake Fragrant Ink and Clean Color are synthetic-hair brushes and very loose, a bit dry, not suited for my sort of drawing. The Pentel Pocket Brush calligraphy pen also has synthetic bristles but gives a little more control.

I could see drawing a whole comic with the Kuretake Bimojis, especially the fine tip--if I drew at a larger size. It's smooth, stays just wet enough, and I can give the line a lot of personality. I tried it on a couple of SPQR Blues, but it doesn't fit in with what I've been doing so far, so it's waiting for the next project.

I've been calling the Uniball and Pilot Brush Sign Pens my "wet" pens--they're very slick and put down a lot of rich ink with a very variable line. The ink with the Uniball is a bit shiny, the ink with the Pilot is very black. I like the feel of them, but they aren't good for my drawing style. I'd like to do more sketches with them, though.

Staedtler: at the moment I'im only using their erasers :)

[corvideye.livejournal.com]

I like that the Copic nibs are also replaceable.

My fingers hunger (yes, they can do that) to try these other pens...

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

I may have been unfair to the "loose" brush pens (the Clean Color and the Fragrant Ink). I did a bunch of sketches with them last night and had fun drawing Iusta's loose hair. I'm probably defeating the purpose of the pens by trying to draw fine details with them :P

I'll sketch-of-the-day-ify the drawings sometime during the week.

[texascarl.livejournal.com]

Re: your drawing. I think you were channeling Sherlock Holmes. "Watson, the game is afoot! Or maybe just lots of feet!"

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Not to mention, "The game is on my foot!"

Which is the catchphrase of another famous sleuth--well, aspiring to be famous: Hamisher the hamster, which series I am now contractually obligated to plug :D

(http://graphicuniverse.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/hurrah-for-guinea-pigs/)

[amedia.livejournal.com]

That is SO CUTE!!!

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

I think it's the CUTEST kids' book series ever and every household should read it :D Also, Sasspants the Guinea Pig and Hamisher the Hamster should be played by Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr. in the movie version. It'll be a bit of a stretch for Johnny Depp, seeing as Sass is female and six inches tall, but, hey, he just played a lizard.

[ndgmtlcd.livejournal.com]

I don't know why, but I find this massive display of feet and "topless" people intriguing, compelling. Maybe because I think I'm getting the viewpoint of a character successfully hiding under a big oxcart?

Anyway, you never have too many pens.

It's like clamps if you have a wood craft workshop. You never have too many clamps, as my former boss (a government bureaucrat by day) used to say.

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

I took all this encouragement as leave to place another pen order yesterday. And a side order of sample ink vials (http://www.gouletpens.com/Ink_Samples_s/851.htm), which seem set to replace my obsession with BPAL sample perfume vials. I love bitty packaging. I feel like the queen of a miniature world where every decadent possibility is mine to indulge in.

There will, of course, be more "view from under the oxcart" drawings of feet when the new pens arrive.