Ink Shading

[kansaskyle]

I posted the image below in another thread and someone commented the ink and pen provided some nice shading. I assume shading is the contrast of light and dark portions of the characters? Can someone explain what causes it, and why it is desirable?

 

 

 

 

 

[ac12]

It gives an added dimension to the writing, than a mono-toned ink.

 

If used with a flex nib, the heavy downstroke is much darker than the lighter upstroke.

 

On non-flex nibs (like your example), the dark would be where the pen slows down or stops or changes direction, and more ink is deposited there, making for a darker spot of ink. For this you need a pen that is wet enough to put down the darker spots of ink and yet not so wet that it can't write the lighter parts of the letter. IOW, the ink flow has to be just right, not too much nor too little.

 

But, with some pen/ink combos, some will argue that the shading looks UGLY.

Someone not into fountain pens, may say about your example that something is wrong with your pen. There are dark spots in the writing.

 

So beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

[AG_ORD]

I concur with ac12....variety is the spice of life. Too much monotone, you might as well be writing with a ballpoint or rollerball...not that there's anything wrong with that! Besides, the light/dark variation adds character to your writing.

[HalloweenHJB]

Quite right. Depending on saturation, dilution, and other factors, the "shading" (variation in shade and hue) gives depth and complexity to otherwise less interesting inks. Some inks are famous for shading, some have almost none, depending on pen and nib, as well as paper. Expensive (dense) papers allow more shading because the ink pools before being absorbed, and flex nibs allow for more or less ink flow according to pressure. It's both art and science!

 

One of the most (in)famous of shading inks is Noodler's Apache Sunset:

[Runnin_Ute]

I see a pretty major OOPS! there Halloween....

 

Noodler's makes Apache Sunset not Diamine. Just to clarify for the OP.......

[HalloweenHJB]

I see a pretty major OOPS! there Halloween....

 

Noodler's makes Apache Sunset not Diamine. Just to clarify for the OP.......

 

Oh, man! You caught me! Draaaaat!

[migla9]

I came across this interesting video showing ink flow under a microscope (Pilot Namiki Falcon, Lamy 2000, Waterman 52 1/2 V, Noodler's Ahab, TWSBI Diamond 580, and Lamy Safari). You can see the way pooling ink leads to shading, although I wish they wouldn't smear over each sample at the end..

 

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eaEfczY9Ts

 

Microscope: Motic Dual View
Camcorder: Sony HDR-SR10

Edited April 14, 2015 by migla9

[amberleadavis]

Thank you! I love the ones with J Herbin Rouge Hematite, seeing the sheen come to life is amazing.

[Frank C]

I came across this interesting video showing ink flow under a microscope (Pilot Namiki Falcon, Lamy 2000, Waterman 52 1/2 V, Noodler's Ahab, TWSBI Diamond 580, and Lamy Safari). You can see the way pooling ink leads to shading, although I wish they wouldn't smear over each sample at the end..

 

 

Thanks for posting this; it is very interesting.