Nature-Inspired Ink Color Pairings?

[LobsterRoll]

I saw a picture of a blue-footed booby and had the thought that it would be nice to find a blue ink similar to their striking blue feet and match it with a brown similar to their feathers. I like writing in my journal with alternating colors and keep 2-3 pens inked for that purpose. I've been thinking more about deliberately choosing the color palette. What are some good blues and browns to try for this? And what are other animal/nature colors that would be interesting to try to match?

 

I haven't been interested in brown inks before this, but I have ink samples of KWZ Cappuccino and Robert Oster Melon Tea, so I was thinking of trying those for the brown. I'm not sure that I have any blues that are right for the feet, though.

[ENewton]

I saw a picture of a blue-footed booby and had the thought that it would be nice to find a blue ink similar to their striking blue feet and match it with a brown similar to their feathers. I like writing in my journal with alternating colors and keep 2-3 pens inked for that purpose. I've been thinking more about deliberately choosing the color palette. What are some good blues and browns to try for this? And what are other animal/nature colors that would be interesting to try to match?

 

I haven't been interested in brown inks before this, but I have ink samples of KWZ Cappuccino and Robert Oster Melon Tea, so I was thinking of trying those for the brown. I'm not sure that I have any blues that are right for the feet, though.

 

 

I love this idea in general. I also usually have two pens inked, and I key my inks to seasons, which means matching colors I see in the world around me at a given time of year.

 

I wonder whether including a photograph of the bird or plant at the beginning of a thread would inspire interest and elicit participation. Yes, of course, one can do a Google search (as I just did), but an image would enhance the thread.

 

The only brown I have is Rohrer & Klingner Sepia, which I'd recommend for some future nature match, rather than for this one.

 

Good luck in your endeavor. I look forward to reading people's suggestions.

[LizEF]

Of the browns I've used, Visconti Sepia is the closest to the photos I found. Those photos showed quite a range of blues for their feet. For the pale, sort of baby blue color, the following might work: Iroshizuku Ama-Iro or Ebisu, Diamine Soft Mint, Herbin Bleu Calanque or Bleu Pervenche or Diabolo Menthe, Noodler's Bluerase or Lightning Blue, Colorverse Horizon.

[LobsterRoll]

 

 

I love this idea in general. I also usually have two pens inked, and I key my inks to seasons, which means matching colors I see in the world around me at a given time of year.

 

I wonder whether including a photograph of the bird or plant at the beginning of a thread would inspire interest and elicit participation. Yes, of course, one can do a Google search (as I just did), but an image would enhance the thread.

 

The only brown I have is Rohrer & Klingner Sepia, which I'd recommend for some future nature match, rather than for this one.

 

Good luck in your endeavor. I look forward to reading people's suggestions.

 

Good call, thanks. Here are some photos of the bird (courtesy of Wikipedia and NYTimes):

 

These are the only colors I have on hand that are similar, so I'm looking forward to suggestions.

Edited February 9, 2020 by LobsterRoll

[LobsterRoll]

Of the browns I've used, Visconti Sepia is the closest to the photos I found. Those photos showed quite a range of blues for their feet. For the pale, sort of baby blue color, the following might work: Iroshizuku Ama-Iro or Ebisu, Diamine Soft Mint, Herbin Bleu Calanque or Bleu Pervenche or Diabolo Menthe, Noodler's Bluerase or Lightning Blue, Colorverse Horizon.

I posted a photo above of the brown inks I have, and I think they are too green/yellow (or totally different) to look good with the baby blue. I looked up some reviews of Visconti Sepia, and that seems like a more neutral brown, with some red, that would look much better. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

Yes, there's a range of blues. I'm not wedded to a specific one, just something that pops a bit. Of the ones you suggested, I'm leaning toward trying Ebisu, Blue Pervenche, and Colorverse Horizon.

[LizEF]

I posted a photo above of the brown inks I have, and I think they are too green/yellow (or totally different) to look good with the baby blue. I looked up some reviews of Visconti Sepia, and that seems like a more neutral brown, with some red, that would look much better. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

Yes, there's a range of blues. I'm not wedded to a specific one, just something that pops a bit. Of the ones you suggested, I'm leaning toward trying Ebisu, Blue Pervenche, and Colorverse Horizon.

As I recall, both Anderson Pens and Goulet Pens will let you put ink swabs side by side to compare. I figure even if the photo doesn't quite match reality, since they were, presumably, taken with the same specs, the side by side comparison ought to still be valid. That said, Goulet appear to be behind on updating the swab shop - I couldn't find the Colorverse or Pilot ink from your choices. And Anderson don't sell Colorverse. Wheeeeee.

[Karmachanic]

Can anybody play?

 

I'll start with Zafferano/Apache Sunset somewhere in the bottom right.?

 

 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Karmachanic

[LobsterRoll]

Yes, of course! The more the merrier. Apache Sunset seems like it would be a lovely match. I hadn't heard of Zafferano but it also looks very pretty.

 

May I ask what kind of flowers those are? I'm not good at recognizing plants. The colors are warm and pleasant, I think they would be fun to write with right now in contrast to the snow we just got where I am.

 

Maybe a combo like this?

Edited February 9, 2020 by LobsterRoll

[Tweel]

I really like the combination of blue and brown. One I used to use a lot was Lie de Thé or vintage Skrip brown, and a 50:50 mix of Noodler's Navajo Turquoise and Waterman South Seas Blue. Not really Booby colors, but I like them.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Tweel

[Karmachanic]

I really like the combination of blue and brown. One I used to use a lot was Lie de Thé or vintage Skrip brown, and a 50:50 mix of Noodler's Navajo Turquoise and Waterman South Seas Blue. Not really Booby colors, but I like them.

 

 

Yes, of course! The more the merrier. Apache Sunset seems like it would be a lovely match. I hadn't heard of Zafferano but it also looks very pretty.

 

May I ask what kind of flowers those are? I'm not good at recognizing plants. The colors are warm and pleasant, I think they would be fun to write with right now in contrast to the snow we just got where I am.

 

Maybe a combo like this?

 

Thanks! Those colours are a good match. No idea what the flowers are. I saved the image some time because of the colours/combination.

 

I know Habañero has strong shading; I'll look into the others. One of the characteristics that drew me to the image.

 

I too enjoy colour contrast on the page in my journal. These days around a third of a page per two page spread. Also moving the placement of that third for addiitonal variety.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Karmachanic

[rudyhou]

I saw a picture of a blue-footed booby and had the thought that it would be nice to find a blue ink similar to their striking blue feet and match it with a brown similar to their feathers. I like writing in my journal with alternating colors and keep 2-3 pens inked for that purpose. I've been thinking more about deliberately choosing the color palette. What are some good blues and browns to try for this? And what are other animal/nature colors that would be interesting to try to match?

 

I haven't been interested in brown inks before this, but I have ink samples of KWZ Cappuccino and Robert Oster Melon Tea, so I was thinking of trying those for the brown. I'm not sure that I have any blues that are right for the feet, though.

 

RO Melon Tea ink has a nice and interesting shade of brown. it comes with a slight greenish shade in the beginning that disappears overtime.

Edited February 10, 2020 by rudyhou

[Karmachanic]

 

RO Melon Tea ink has a nice and interesting shade of brown. it comes with a slight greenish shade in the beginning that disappears overtime.

Reminds me of the Scriptus (KWZ Exclusive) Confederation Brown.

[taike]

A Taiwan ink designer has a couple of series of Taiwan Bird inks out. I like the stuff.

 

 

 

Recently they've expanded into butterfly and bear colors.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2020 by EDC

[LobsterRoll]

As I recall, both Anderson Pens and Goulet Pens will let you put ink swabs side by side to compare. I figure even if the photo doesn't quite match reality, since they were, presumably, taken with the same specs, the side by side comparison ought to still be valid. That said, Goulet appear to be behind on updating the swab shop - I couldn't find the Colorverse or Pilot ink from your choices. And Anderson don't sell Colorverse. Wheeeeee.

Thank you for the suggestion to use the ink swab tools! Very useful for this.

 

I really like the combination of blue and brown. One I used to use a lot was Lie de Thé or vintage Skrip brown, and a 50:50 mix of Noodler's Navajo Turquoise and Waterman South Seas Blue. Not really Booby colors, but I like them.

It's funny because I only occasionally use blue and haven't really been interested in brown inks before this, but somehow writing with both blue and brown is completely different and appealing. Lie de Thé seems lovely and I've been wanting to try it. I'll also keep in mind the other colors you mentioned.

 

 

RO Melon Tea ink has a nice and interesting shade of brown. it comes with a slight greenish shade in the beginning that disappears overtime.

I'm greatly enjoying my ink sample of Melon Tea, it's a beautiful color. I'm planning to eventually get a bottle of it.

Edited February 11, 2020 by LobsterRoll

[LobsterRoll]

 

Thanks! Those colours are a good match. No idea what the flowers are. I saved the image some time because of the colours/combination.

 

I know Habañero has strong shading; I'll look into the others. One of the characteristics that drew me to the image.

 

I too enjoy colour contrast on the page in my journal. These days around a third of a page per two page spread. Also moving the placement of that third for addiitonal variety.

I haven't used any of the inks I looked up on that ink swab tool, so I can't comment much on them. I've also heard that Habañero has good shading, though.

 

I'm not so systematic with color use in my journal. Sometimes I alternate colors every other day, sometimes I use one color for headings and another for text.

 

A Taiwan ink designer has a couple of series of Taiwan Bird inks out. I like the stuff.

 

 

Recently they've expanded into butterfly and bear colors.

 

Wow, I love the art on those Taiwan Bird ink boxes! The ink colors look nice, too. Bear colors sound fascinating. Not sure these would be easy for me to get, but interesting to know about.

[rudyhou]

A Taiwan ink designer has a couple of series of Taiwan Bird inks out. I like the stuff.

 

 

 

Recently they've expanded into butterfly and bear colors.

 

 

 

those are very nice packaging

[rudyhou]

Thank you for the suggestion to use the ink swab tools! Very useful for this.

 

It's funny because I only occasionally use blue and haven't really been interested in brown inks before this, but somehow writing with both blue and brown is completely different and appealing. Lie de Thé seems lovely and I've been wanting to try it. I'll also keep in mind the other colors you mentioned.

 

I'm greatly enjoying my ink sample of Melon Tea, it's a beautiful color. I'm planning to eventually get a bottle of it.

 

enjoy . it's a nice brown ink. JH Lie de The is equally nice. it's got a golden hue compared to RH Melon Tea, hence seems lighter/brighter.

[lgsoltek]

A happy coincidence:

[ENewton]

A happy coincidence:

 

 

Perfect!

[Willtato]

Back when I made an attempt to collect the Iroshizuku inks, I used to rotate between the Chiku-rin, Yama-budo and Kosumosu. I also used the Jentle waka uguisu. At the time, I was really into the bamboo-esque green, and so my favourite inks at that time were the waka uguisu and chiku-rin. The Waka Uguisu was much browner and earthier (and still my favourite earthy green; I also enjoyed watching the brown appear when drying). Chiku-rin looks much more lemony-limey imo, and quite bright, but more fun.

 

Every time I wrote with the Chiku-Rin, it felt open and bright, and always made me think of spring. With the Kosumosu (which I'd consider a relatively vivid pink), I used to always think of a flower or a blossom in springtime. I tried to think of a particular plant, but I couldn't - it seemed like my eyes and brain just liked that bright combination a lot. I'm waiting for spring to come again so I can use these two inks together again. (Maybe I'll try to find a less vivid, more pastel pink to match cherry blossoms in the future).