Fountain Pens And Inks For Artists

[janeblundellart]

I can't find a similar thread, so I thought I'd start one here.

 

Artists who use fountain pens to draw have different needs from those who are using them to write. Personally, I need ink to be waterproof so I can add watercolour, lightfast so it doesn't fade if hung on a wall, and work in a fountain pen with a very fine nib, since that's what I prefer to use.

 

I thought perhaps other artists in the network may like to share their best finds.

 

Pens for sketching also need to be lighter as I may be drawing solidly and cross-hatching for some time, so I tend to go with plastic rather than my lovely heavier pens. My favourite pens for drawing are Lamy Joy with an EF or EF gold nib - great for fast sketching and smooth for writing; Namiki Falcon EF and F - such lovely expressive lines (I use the EF for black and the F for brown), and Sailor 1911 EF for drawing lots of details and really fine lines.

 

I have used the Sailor Nano ink but have found the De Atramentis document black to be a wonderful fast-drying and waterproof ink. The Document brown is also lovely for drawing and writing. I am excited about the idea of CYMK waterproof inks for fountain pens - a great idea that has been missing to my knowledge.

 

For inks that don't like fountain pens, I love a dip pen and post office nib. I also like to use inks that are not waterproof so they react with water. Noodler's Polar Brown is rather lovely for this, as is an Aussie ink Art Spectrum Burnt Sienna, and Higgins Eternal for black.

 

I've attached a photo of the pens and the nibs though many of you will be very familiar with them. I just like visuals!

 

Love to hear from others :-)

[playtime]

Look for a waterman artist nib. It's a safety pen.

 

Or any pen with a flexible needlepoint nib.

[77kath]

Noodlers has a brush fountain pen.

[watch_art]

Or get one of those new carry around dip nib pens from Desiderata. I like mine.

[napalm]

Not an artist here, but I did some experimenting with inks and watercolors, here are some of my findings that could help:

 

- Platinum Pigmented inks are lightfast however they will slightly dissolve/smudge when brushed over with water(colors)

- The Faber Castel PITT markers resist water even better than the Sakura PIGMA

- Pentel Technica won't work well with watercolors

Edited November 12, 2014 by napalm

[janeblundellart]

Or get one of those new carry around dip nib pens from Desiderata. I like mine.

Now that sounds cool - I'll look it up. Care to add a photo please?

[watch_art]

I'll add a whole review.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/277769-desiderata-green-wood-nikko-g-nib/

[Kataphract]

I'm waiting on the crowd review of the Noodler's Neponset before I commit to a Falcon EF. But once you remove flex from the decision making, any fountain pen will do. It just starts to be more about balance, weight, reliability, consistency, and capacity. My usual conditions are:

 

It must start and not skip. Which means the feed needs to keep up with fast strokes.

I prefer demonstrators. I want to see at a glance how much ink I have left.

Large capacity. So I don't have to lug around the actual ink.

Postable. In the field I don't want to lose the cap, and that's a lot easier to do if it doesn't post securely and the balance isn't thrown off.

No leaks or burps. Should be obvious why in a work of art.

 

Weight, balance, girth, length all tend to be personal, so that's just something you have to figure for yourself. I prefer my Twsbi to my Pilot Metro for several of the reasons above, for example, even though the Pilot has the smoother nib. Likewise, I opted for the Twsbi over the Pilot Prera because of ink capacity, though otherwise the Prera and Mini were very similar.

 

And thanks for mentioning the De Atramentis ink! Never heard of it before, and I've been looking for lightfast, really yessir no caveats waterproof ink that won't destroy my pen for a while.

[balson]

i have grown to love using inks that are not waterproof for sketching. it allows you to take a water pen and do instant washes.

 

i am definitely going to look into De Atramentis document black. i have been using noodlers bullet proof black and like it well enough but i am always on the hunt for more options. my biggest problem with the bullet proof black is how long it takes to dry. does the De Atramentis document black dry faster?

Edited November 13, 2014 by balson

[janeblundellart]

i have grown to love using inks that are not waterproof for sketching. it allows you to take a water pen and do instant washes.

 

i am definitely going to look into De Atramentis document black. i have been using noodlers bullet proof black and like it well enough but i am always on the hunt for more options. my biggest problem with the bullet proof black is how long it takes to dry. does the De Atramentis document black dry faster?

Yes - it dries in seconds! to be fair I am in Australia and usually working outdoors, but it basically dries in seconds not minutes. So if you want to add a wash while it's wet, you basically can't. That's fine by me - if I want to do that I'll use a water-soluble ink. I am delighted with it - lightfast, waterproof, bulletproof, but still wet and very liquid. I had trouble with the Noodlers but this is lovely drawing ink and fantastic for adding watercolour washes.

[janeblundellart]

I'm waiting on the crowd review of the Noodler's Neponset before I commit to a Falcon EF. But once you remove flex from the decision making, any fountain pen will do. It just starts to be more about balance, weight, reliability, consistency, and capacity. My usual conditions are:

 

It must start and not skip. Which means the feed needs to keep up with fast strokes.

I prefer demonstrators. I want to see at a glance how much ink I have left.

Large capacity. So I don't have to lug around the actual ink.

Postable. In the field I don't want to lose the cap, and that's a lot easier to do if it doesn't post securely and the balance isn't thrown off.

No leaks or burps. Should be obvious why in a work of art.

 

Weight, balance, girth, length all tend to be personal, so that's just something you have to figure for yourself. I prefer my Twsbi to my Pilot Metro for several of the reasons above, for example, even though the Pilot has the smoother nib. Likewise, I opted for the Twsbi over the Pilot Prera because of ink capacity, though otherwise the Prera and Mini were very similar.

 

And thanks for mentioning the De Atramentis ink! Never heard of it before, and I've been looking for lightfast, really yessir no caveats waterproof ink that won't destroy my pen for a while.

I am loving the Falcon though I haven't tried the Neponset, or, in fact, the other pens you mentioned so can't offer any suggestions there. My previous favourite was a Lamy EF but this is so much finer :-) I've had no problems at all with skipping with either the F or the EF, using the D.A. Black and Brown Document inks. I haven't tried them with any other inks (and am not going to bother!) I tend to use them without pressure most of the time, but the flex is there when wanted and I really like that. They are light and comfortable and the cap posts securely. I also enjoy the Sailor for really fine line work but the Falcon is a joy to draw with.

[cpmcnamara]

I am loving the Falcon though I haven't tried the Neponset, or, in fact, the other pens you mentioned so can't offer any suggestions there. My previous favourite was a Lamy EF but this is so much finer :-) I've had no problems at all with skipping with either the F or the EF, using the D.A. Black and Brown Document inks. I haven't tried them with any other inks (and am not going to bother!) I tend to use them without pressure most of the time, but the flex is there when wanted and I really like that. They are light and comfortable and the cap posts securely. I also enjoy the Sailor for really fine line work but the Falcon is a joy to draw with.

The falcon is the only fountain pen that I've used that I REALLY like drawing with. I don't like my Sailor 1911, Lamy 2000, TWSBI, Prera, or 3776 much drawing - the line quality is too stiff. I have a Pelikan 600 which is an acceptable pen for drawing - the nib is really wet which gives a reed pen like experience.

 

Generally, I'd rather just use technical pens if consistent line quality was my goal.

 

The "beak" of the falcon makes it feel like a dip pen, and the slight flex keeps line character interesting. For outdoor sketching, I have a case always filled with an EF, F, and M Metal Falcon (note that I like the metal falcons more than the resins. You mentioned that "pens need to be light for drawing" - I think this is a preference).

 

That said, I've got a Justus 95 coming that may cause me to sell the Metal F if anyone is interested.

 

The Neponset looks nice and I look forward to trying it. Noodler's is really building based off a community. I mean, why are we always forced to pay twice as much for a different color ebonite pen (yeah, I don't care if only 50 were made.) The Neponset is priced well by any standard assuming it works, and they don't charge you twice as much for anything other than the black version. I'm supporting it, even if it doesn't match up to some of the higher priced gold nibbed pens (above.)

 

 

All of this said, I think it's really hard to recommend a single pen for drawing. A lot of this depends on drawing style. If someone makes long sweeping lines (i.e architects, industrial designers, or engineers), the best suited pen will be much different than someone who primary works in small, detailed patches. Also 1) Brush pens rule all but require the most practice. I wish I practiced more and 2) Flex pens offer some line character but don't trump dip pens for anything but convenience and portability

Edited November 13, 2014 by cpmcnamara

[yannori]

I really like using the Platinum Cool FPs in fine. The nibs have just a touch of flexibility when I want line variation and still hold a nice thin line when I'm scribbling quickly on a plein air sketch.Plus, they are inexpensive (compared to the Falcon, Justus, etc) and are easy to clean up. I use Platinum Carbon Black ink without worry in these pens, and have no problem letting them knock around in my sketch penroll.

[janeblundellart]

Thank you! I wonder if it would fit my Post office nibs - they are very large. But I have hundreds of them and they are very robust. Hmm - searching to be done.

 

I'll add a whole review.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/277769-desiderata-green-wood-nikko-g-nib/

[salmonerosee]

Hi,

I try to re-up this post because I have questions really close to what what was discussed here;

 

I used for several years rotring art pens for sketching and this time I would like to try something else.

What I liked about art pen is that I can turn the nib upside down, with the whole of the flat nib dragging along the page and get very broad, erratic lines.

So, I would like a pen that allows me to do that.

I read about the Falcon and I read that with its beak nib it allows that, but I'm afraid that I would ruin it very fastly, and it is a little bit pricey so I'm not sure about it.

 

Has anyone who own the falcon tried this? is it resistant?

I mainly use it for gesture sketching of people, on my notebook; I draw very fast lines and I'm concern about having to handle it "too carefully" to preserve the nib, I would like to find a pen that allows me to sketch fast and without too many concerns about breaking the pen while doing that.

 

If someone has any tip or personal experience to share it would be great.

 

Ps. in case I'do go for the falcon i'm not sure about F or M nib, just in case someone who owns it has a suggestion about that

[Kataphract]

You can do that with a Falcon. Shouldn't hurt the nib beyond if you get carried away with pressure or really sloppy with the angle. If you are going to flex the nib from the normal position, you are going to have to slow down your strokes a bit, however, or the feed will have trouble keeping up.

 

The finer the nib on a Falcon, the more it maximizes the difference between thick and thin line variation, but if you are sketching larger and quicker, you might prefer the medium. Another thing to consider using is a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, which I often use for bolder statements in addition to the Falcon.

 

To go back to the original post and respond to that, I use a Pilot Falcon SF, Platinum 3776 SF, Desiderata Daedalus prototype, Modified Ahab (fuss, fuss, fuss, adjust, curse, heat set, fuss some more, oh hey, it's working great for the moment but no guarantees about tomorrow), and Preras have won out over the Twsbi (just plain smoother and more reliable start up). De Atramentis Document Black and Brown. The later of which kicks Noodler's Polar Brown from one end of the paper to the other (Polar Brown may be waterproof, but that's about the only positive thing I have to say about it). Zebra G (same nib as Desiderata), Hunt 102 and Hunt 512 EF are my usual favorite dip nibs with my long time favorite Pelikan Drawing Ink A. Plus the aforementioned Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, which is more a self contained brush than a pen.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Kataphract

[sidthecat]

I wonder if my (maybe) Waterman Artist's nib was originally on a different pen.