Getting Into Water Brushing Ink.

[makeitnew]

As the title says i'm getting into water brushing ink. I was originally inspired to try this by a card in a goulet box that had an ink washed elephant on it. I wish i still had it because it was amazing. It may have been printed, but regardless it was neat. I recently stumbled on this channel on youtube that is very similar to the type of images i want to draw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpinq-LlclU

 

I figured out quickly I needed hot pressed watercolor paper and tried some cheap pilot petite1's with some old ink sample but sadly they are all to fine. My medium nib pen seemed to do the trick but I only have one. I need like 10 or more pens for the colors I want to use.

The twbi go or eco seem to fit the bill for nib selection and quality but price it to high. I don't know if Jinhao is going to quality enough to bother with, but i don't really wanna drop 300 plus on twsbi's are the preppys any good? I know they have decent reviews, but again limited nib selection. I though about using my lighter colors in broad or italic and then dark colors in medium, maybe a fine, but the petite's seem good enough for hash marks.

Any cheap recommendations besides a noodler ahab? Jinhao's good enough or should i just get a bunch of twsbi's over time? I was surprised to see a lot of budget pens only come in f or ef, and then use cartridges, thus taking their price up to high to replace nib or buy a decent converter. At that point i'm at the twbi price.

It's a vicious circle lol. The only thing that i found that seemed like an ace in the hole was the Rosetta Explorer from ipenstore.com. apparently they bought the company and revitalized them. it's super inexpensive, supposedly very good, but only comes in black and medium nib. So no color matching option or nib options.

clear would obviously be best.

Maybe some of you that have done this before or have been doing this longer might have a favorite combo for this type of pen use.

I'm trying to avoid dip pens or glass dip pens.

[Enkida]

Well, first off I haven't tried this technique before, and that's a cool link btw! (I was dumb enough to just put the ink right in the waterpen, haha. This way seems better!)

 

Secondly, like most things arty, I'm going to tell you waht every artist and their sister has said, will say, and will continue to say: the tools don't matter, it's the practice that matters. If you want to practice drawing like this and get good at it, you really don't need more than a set of 4-12 watercolour pencils and any brush (not even a water brush). Then sketch like crazy on any paper you can find, whether it wrinkles or not, absorbs the water or not, that's all part of the process.

 

Now, all that being said, I, too, know the allure of using cool tools, tools you are happy to use make doing things just a little more fun. I just want you to be hyper-aware than using a fountain pen, ink, and a waterbrush will not necessarily produce the results you want, because it's about the sketching repeatedly, not the tools, to get those results.

 

On to the actual answer: it sounds to me like you need a pen with a wet feed, a wide nib, and an easy way to tell what colour is in the pen. In other words, it sounds to me like you need a pack of WingSung 3008s, a couple of replacement nibs from Lamy in sizes either M, A, B, or any of their italic stubs, and any old waterbrush that you could get from any old store. That'll probably suit your needs, and won't cost you an arm and a leg to experiment with different nib widths. Plus you'll be able to see instantly what colour ink is in what colour pens because they're demonstrators with clear feeds.

hope that helps!

[makeitnew]

Yes for sure on the practice and the tools. Your point is solid. Just fyi i tried a jinhao i picked up on prime so i just got it. pack of 5. they all came fine but put down a pretty wide line....however they skip and again to dry. Not sure the number of the model but they are the transparent one with multi colors. Not the manga g swap able model. pretty sure it's a number 5 nib. I guess i'm spoiled since i started with nice pens. I've never even owned a lamy, but i appreciate their reputation. I'll look at the wingsung and check prices on the lamy nibs. perhaps they will fair better. I think i'll order one this time instead of a 6 pack. with the roughness of the paper, even hot press has some grain it seems, they don't fill the line out without serious pressure (for a pen that is). I feel like i shouldn't have to flex the tines to get a nice wet line.....but you hit the nail on the head and I'm thinking i should probably move up to the twsbi line for my practice makes prefect pens. If it doesn't work well it's kind of discouraging, but i should probably just learn more patience and accept more imperfection in my design until i have a trained hand. Definately an armature but i have produced some nice art in the past on selective whims. I even placed once in a local art show for pottery, but that's another story. I just feel like this a good way to get that bottled creativity "flowing" if you will

 

Thanks a lot cyborg. it's always nice to have a sounding board.

[Enkida]

You can also order replacement nibs for the Jinhaos you have if that suits your needs better; however, good replacement nibs can run you up to 20 USD / nib. Fountain Pen Revolution has some that might fit with a little jiggling for under 5€ (which I enjoy), but you need to have a bit of a deft hand to fit them in there - same as the G-hao (Zebra G in a Jinhao), which I have also made. There is a real danger of slicing your fingers up with the latter if you don't do it correctly!

 

If you want to save some money, I'd try modding your Jinhaos first, since you already have 5 of them, and they do have nice wet feeds. But try one with a Zebra G first, because if you can manage that, getting an FPR nib in there will be a piece of cake. And if you can't, the Zebra G is useful on its own in a dip pen.

 

*nb about the G-hao mod: the flow will be inconsistent. Fun pen, but you will absolutely need to use a very wet flowing ink and still stop and prime the feed several times per use. And, the nib - even the titanium coated ones - will eventually rust (or wear down first, if you draw enough with it). Replacing it after it has rusted will be difficult, so either get used to changing the nib regularly before it gets gummed in, or consider it a throwaway pen after the nib is finished.

[Mech-for-i]

well you would want to try different type of ink ; for the ink questions, take a look at the ink related sub forum ... you would want to use a water brush ; and if you are looking at using a fountain pen or wanting for a more controlled way of putting ink onto the paper , you are surely looking at getting one of those Chinese piston pen ( or the new vac filler ) from Wing Sung , and on top of that I suggest you look at their variant that offer a brush tip ( after all brush is the traditional writing pen for Chinese ) or those that come with a calligraphy nib ( aka fude )

[makeitnew]

One thing is for certain, my new twsbi go in medium with apache sunset is about perfect. expensive for this task maybe...but it is better. A Jowo fine seems to do a good job, but leaves to much line and not enough spread. Probably not wet enough. I like the wingsun idea but I don't think i wan to waste any more money on Chinese pens. you pay for what you get more often than not in my experience. Just updating on my results.