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There are plenty of reviews about the Desiderata out there, but most of them are from the POV of a copperplate calligrapher, which is this pen's intended use. There are few reviews that focus on drawing, which is a shame, because I think this is a nice, and also an overlooked art tool. In case you haven't heard, these are made by hand by a fine fellow named Pierre Miller in Chicago, and they take disposable Zebra G manga dip nibs. I won't re-iterate the information already available on Pierre's site, but instead I'll dive right into the stuff about drawing, that isn't widely available. Below is a sketch test with Platinum Carbon Black in an eyedropper-filled Desiderata shorty, with some white grease pencil for the highlights, and red marker in the eyes. The sketch is on gray cardstock. Initial results are very favorable. I have read one comment online claiming that, in sac-filler configuration, the pen does not flow enough to keep up with the demands of drawing. My pen does not accept a sac, so I cannot confirm or deny that claim, but an eyedropper-filler provides plenty of fluid pressure, and easily provides enough flow to keep up even with my frenetic drawing pace. The pen did not railroad at all, nor did it exhibit the belching and vomiting mishaps that eyedropper pens are known for. Maybe that's just because, if you draw quickly like I do, the heavy demand tends to stay ahead of the belching. But one way or the other, I did not have the problem. That being said, I'm not ready to junk my dip pens just yet: the Desiderata only accepts the Zebra G, and will not feed inks meant for dip pens such as Speedball Super Black. There are other nibs that I need to use sometimes for different effects, and sometimes I need to use inks that won't work in the Desiderata, and let's not forget I still need a brush for big black areas. But the Desiderata is nevertheless poised to become the workhorse of my comics inking. In comics, speed is everything, because you have to draw so much to finish a book. If you don't have to keep stopping to dip, you can go so much faster. You can also get into a mental flow that is harder to get into when you have to keep dipping, which is why Sergio Aragones has drawn all his strips with a fountain pen for the past 50 or so years. The other tools are useful, but they will be held in reserve to do the things the Desiderata can't do. The Desiderata is also going to cause all my other fountain pens to get demoted from cafe-sketchers to mere writers. For sketching on location, where carrying an inkwell is inconvenient or impossible, the Desiderata is the best pen I've ever used. The biggest technical hassle you are going to run into is nib cleanliness. If you're used to dip pens, you're no doubt familiar with the machine oil with which new nibs are coated, to protect them from rust. You also know that this stuff has to be cleaned off. Well, a nib that's clean enough to dip into a pot of bone glue and lampblack, is not clean enough to use in a fountain pen. I myself learned that I didn't even know what clean was. If there is any trace of this protectant on the nib, the ink will find any other way to flow rather than traversing a hydrophobic surface, if it flows at all. Pierre has videos posted about how to clean a new nib, and how to start the flow for the first time. Watch them. Then watch them again. The devil is in the details, as our pal Old Scratch so kindly points out in the sketch below. Oh, one more thing; make sure you carry a full Desiderata with the tip up. The feed channel is necessarily very large, to accommodate the flow demands of a flexible nib. Also, the sac filler pens can be converted to eyedropper by removing the sac. That's all in the instructions. So that's the review. Happy sketching!

The Boston Globe recently interviewed Crane & Co. creative director John Segal. http://postscript.crane.com/paper-habits-boston-globe/http://postscript.crane.com/paper-habits-boston-globe/ Reminds me of visiting my Uncle John's print shop as a kid. Happy reading and writing.

Hi there! After more than one year of intense usage (mainly for drawing) of my Lamy Safari(s) I am thinking about buying a "next-level" fountain pen. In terms of performance do you think it is worth spending money on a better one (gold nib, better construction, etc.)? Is there significant difference between a budget and an expensive pen? (My budget is not that fixed, I can be persuaded - but let's say $150 is the ceiling.) What I've observed with my Safari is that 1) the feed sometimes does not give enough ink when drawing really fast sketches (maybe it is just the ink? used only Lamy and Diamine so far) and 2) I have a slight guess that there must be better performing nibs as well. My requirements of the new pen: - great feed and nib; - reliable workhorse pen - still remains a good pen after 10 years; - reverse writing - at least as good as the Safari; - classic look, the less plastic feeling the better. So far I've these pens in my mind: - Platinum 3776 PTB-5000B - Platinum 3776 PTB-10000B / PNB10000 - Pilot Namiki Falcon (maybe a too big jump?) (- Faber-Castell Loom) Maybe I should try lots of different inks (just ordered Sailor jentle) before boastfully believing I am ready to "leave behind" Safari? Thanks a lot for all the answers in advance! Kind regards, Kristof

Here is the next doodle in our saga of doodles your renditions of what lights up your world (lights/lamps). Both lamps are from my local coffee shop, First has a shade made out of ties, Second is an inverted planter.

Any recommendations for a small sketchbook for drawing with fountain pens? I like A6 (or B6), since it's easily transportable, and probably wire bound. I realised I have no idea what to look for when buying art paper. There are papers for oil, acrylic, watercolour, bristol board... the list is seemingly endless and often don't work with pen and ink. Even a Clairefontaine sketchbook I bought feathers badly. In theory I might dabble in watercolours to try some line and wash, but my main priority is smooth-ish paper, white or light cream, that works brilliantly with fountain pen (usually Platinum Carbon pen and ink, which aren't known for feathering much).

(( Please feel free to guide me to a different post if necessary, I'm an FPN forum newbie C': )) So here's my dilemma, I have no way of trying any of the aforementioned pens. So I hope based on my preferences you guys can guide me to what you think would be best for me. I currently own only two pens, a Lamy Safari and a Pilot Metropolitan. I love how lightweight the lamy is, but definitely prefer that gelpen-like feel the metropolitan provides as well as the size, the lamy sometimes feels like a large pen in my hand regardless of the weight, and took a bit of getting used to. I use both pens for writing, however, have decided to add a third one for sketching, and sometimes doing the lineart on my drawings. I should mention now that I do not get along with dip pens, I tried them and hate the scratchiness and the constant dipping on the ink bottle (also having to travel with an ink bottle). This is why I'm resorting to fountain pens, I love writing with them, and that super smooth feel. Which brings me to what I think are my affordable options in that regard. Noddler's Nib Creaper Noodler's Konrad Noodler's Ahab Twisby Eco I'm mostly considering Noodler's because of the flex nibs that would help me provide a bit of line weight to my drawings. However, the Eco with a fine nib, would give me a have large ink capacity and I know will work right out of the box, unlike Noodler's which I've read can have some issues :/. Also consider that I would mostly be using permanent inks on these, do any of these pens work better or are known to have issues with permanent inks? I'm really confused as to what to choose, I've been taking pens in and out of my cart for a week. Mostly because regardless of my choice, for now I can only afford one. Or do you have any other recommendations around that price range? Thanks for reading through all of that! I hope you can help me!

Video about the Swedish illustrator Mattias Adolfsson and his instruments of choice. Neat encapsulation (at the end) of the slippery slope we all fall down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8ln5PIDaC0

So, Im new to fountain pens, and I was was wondering what would be a good fountain pen for drawing and sketching? I have seen in other websites that for someone new to this the lamy safari and pilot metro are kind of the way to go, but i really dont like these all that much. I dont want a pen exclusively for drawing, but I am gonna use it for that a lot. My budget would be around $100 but the price varies here in my country with some pens.

Hi, I'm new to the forums so I'm sorry if this has been asked before. Does anyone have any suggestions for fountain pens that would be good for ink drawing? I was told that Sheaffer pens with a fine nib would work well for outlines. Any other suggestions for a fine line look with ink that flows easily but doesn't drip or run? Also, I'm assuming I'd need another type of pen for shading or filling in areas. Any suggestions for that as well? Thanks in advance for any advice. This has to be the most knowledgeable forum I've ever visited.

Im new to fountain pens and I want to get a fountain pen. After some research I kind of narrowed my options to Pilot MR, lamy safari and monteverde limonada. The thing is I dont really know the difference between these three other than the looks and in the Pilot Mr the nib, I really dont know anything about the monteverde limonada though. Im going to use this pen for sketching, but not only for that. I dont really like too much the pilot MR and the Lamy safari, but I've heard a lot of great things about both. The question would be what would be the best of these pens? and what are the pros and cons of each? thanks a lot!

Im new to fountain pens and I want to get a fountain pen. After some research I kind of narrowed my options to Pilot MR, lamy safari and monteverde limonada. The thing is I dont really know the difference between these three other than the looks and in the Pilot Mr the nib, I really dont know anything about the monteverde limonada though. Im going to use this pen for sketching, but not only for that. I dont really like too much the pilot MR and the Lamy safari, but I've heard a lot of great things about both. The question would be what would be the best of these pens? and what are the pros and cons of each? thanks a lot!

So, Im new to fountain pens, and I was was wondering what would be a good fountain pen for drawing and sketching? I have seen in other websites that for someone new to this the lamy safari and pilot metro are kind of the way to go, but i really dont like these all that much. I dont want a pen exclusively for drawing, but I am gonna use it for that a lot. My budget would be around $100 but the price varies here in my country with some pens.

Here is a very simple way to draw a wooded area using simple scribble stroke. Watch the video demonstration and follow along. This simple fun drawing can be done anywhere and is always enjoyable. If you like the experience and want to adopt drawing simple landscapes with pen and ink as a creative and relaxing hobby, then check out completely free tutorials I have created for this purpose. Have fun, Rahul www.pendrawings.me

As a pen and ink artist, my aim is to help people discover drawing simple landscapes with pen and ink as a creative and relaxing hobby. I have created completely free tutorials that help absolute beginners get started drawing with pen and experience the pleasure of putting your creative expression on paper. Let this be your new year resolution In the following, you can see how easy it is to draw simple bark texture and trunk with pen. Learn to draw other elements of nature with pen and ink and get started today. Have fun Rahul www.pendrawings.me Drawing a tree trunk with pen and ink Add a horizon with distant tree line and a scattered trunk or two and you have a simple landscape.

Here is a quick sketch I did in pen of winter landscape in my neck of woods....Learn to draw such simple landscapes with completely Free, fully illustrated step by step tutorials at my website www.pendrawings.me/getstarted. Also subscribe to receive Free daily templates to practice doing simple landscapes with full instructions. My goal is to promote pen and ink drawing as a simple, fun, relaxing and creative hobby. Join me.

Week 2: Practice Scribble and Loop Stroke Last week we looked at how parallel lines are used to create tones in P&I drawing. This week we will look at scribble and loop strokes and how they can be used to create tree foliage. This is a very fun stroke that can be used to create pleasing trees as shown below. Scribble and Loop Stroke: These strokes are used to create tree foliage, bush, background foliage etc. In a scribble stroke, you ‘scribble’ and create feeling of small interconnected loops as shown below. In a loop stroke, each ‘loop’ is created separately by lifting the pen between strokes and because of this scribble is much faster than doing loop stroke but loop stroke gives a more open airy feel. Make sure the orientation of the scribble and loop is random and in different sizes to give it a feel of foliage. As with parallel lines, we also need to create tonal variations when using these strokes to bring out the volume of the foliage. This is done by adding more strokes where darker tone is desired. You can use smaller loops and scribble to add tone easily. Practice this stroke extensively as it is usually part of any landscapes with trees and bush. Following are some example of trees done using this stroke. First, a uniform tone of foliage is added. Next, add some dark using the stroke to bring out depth and volume. Download the outline of trees here that you can use to practice scribble stroke. Practice this stroke and create simple pleasing trees using it this week. This is part of my weekly posts to learn drawing simple landscapes in Pen and Ink. You can visit the course at pendrawings.me/course. Have fun, Rahul

I am very happy to announce release of completely free course for learning to draw pen and ink landscapes. You can get an overview of the course in this video and access the course here. Starting today, I will present activities from this course in my weekly posts. Do follow along and start your creative journey today. We start by looking at some of the choices for pens to use for drawing. As you become more proficient, you can try different choices, but to start with, it is sufficient to have a quality gel pen and a small sketch book to practice. In this video, I discuss some of the choices. Understanding some of the simple pen strokes that are used for drawing landscapes is very useful and we will do this next. In this online tutorial and video, you can study some of the basic pen strokes for drawing landscapes. Following is an overview of 'parallel line' stroke that we will practice this week. Do practice this stroke extensively this week as this is the most basic stroke in P&I drawing. ********************************************************************** Parallel Lines:This is the most important and basic technique to create a tone in P&I. Practice drawing lines equal distance from each other. It is important to make sure that your hands are not hesitant when drawing a line. In other words, DO NOT draw a line very slowly and deliberately. This will cause the line to have edges and bad impression. Instead, slowly bring your pen down to the paper and create a confident FLOWING line with a swift stroke. Don’t hurry it either. Key is to find the balance between slow deliberation and fast impatience to create a line that is confident and inviting. This will come with practice as every person has their own rhythm. Practice often and find your own rhythm. You will know when you get it. The lines also don’t have to be exactly parallel and equidistant. The key is to create an impression of ‘uniform’ tone with a set of lines. In other words, the deviations in the distance between the lines should be small enough so that our mind and eye don’t notice them. Instead our mind should instead see and focus on the lines as a whole to see a uniform tone. Initially, don’t attempt to draw longer parallel lines as this requires movement and control from the shoulder that takes more time to attain. Lines an inch or so long can be drawn using the movement of wrist and should be attempted initially. ********************************************** Have fun, Rahul

Based on suggestions by FPN members who like to use their pens & ink to draw but find they lack motivation, I am starting this thread to encourage sketching. There are no hard and fast rules on how much time participants should spend on their work, nor how skilled the sketchers must be. This is about setting a personal goal to take time every week and draw an object. The benefit is to the individual as they hone their skills one line at a time and take pleasure in the act of creating. 1. Each theme will run Sunday - Saturday. 2. Themes will be posted on the first Sunday of each Month, for the entire month. 3. You may post your sketch at any time you wish during that week. 4. Each theme will be numbered. Please include that with your post. 5. Do not post a drawing prior to the date set for the theme. 6. If you are unable to post the week of the theme but still wish to do so later, you are free to post the image. 7. You may participate in as many or as few themes as you wish. 8. Include the materials (pen, ink, paper, etc.) you used for the sketch. Thoughts on the process are encouraged if you are willing, as we can learn from each other. 9. If you have any suggestions for themes, please email me. 10. Have fun!

Try this simple landscape and follow along with the video...You can see lot more demonstrations of how to do simple landscapes on my YouTube channel. Also I have completely Free, fully illustrated tutorials to help you get started drawing in pen and ink and adopt this relaxing and creative hobby. Have a creative weekend, Rahul www.pendrawings.me

I have put together few videos that show drawing a simple landscapes in pen and ink in under 30 minutes. In addition there are also fully illustrated completely free tutorials to learn drawing landscapes in pen and ink. Here is a simple drawing that you can watch and try it yourself. This is completely drawn with a fountain pen. Any feedback and comment most appreciated. Have a creative weekend, Rahul

Hi, as a pen and ink artist, I am passionate about helping others adopt drawing simple landscapes with pen and ink as a relaxing and creative hobby.To that end, I have written a complete tutorial for beginners that I shared in this forum earlier. You can find it at here I have also created videos that show step by step drawing of a simple landscape in under 30 minutes. Here is a link to a video that demonstrates drawing the following. I would appreciate any feedback on the content and presentation in the video and if this is something you would like more of to help you in learning to draw with pen and ink Thanks Rahul Link to video showing drawing of following

Hi, I have created over 20 mini landscapes that can be used to practice drawing with pen if you have never done it before. They are really fun to do and can be completed in little time. I also provide 'templates' with faint outline of the drawings that can be printed and used as a starting point. Fully illustrated step by step tutorials are also available to help you with your attempt. As a pen and ink artist, my aim is to help people discover the joy of doing simple drawings with pen as a creative and relaxing hobby. I invite you to try some of them today. Any thoughts on the content and suggestion for improvement is most welcome. You can access them here Enjoy Rahul www.pendrawings.me

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 :-)

Hi everyone. I just took posession of my new book on fountain pens, and would love to share with you. Alain VANDERAUWERA, is a swiss architect , and a talented artist. He lives and works at Yverdon-les-Bain, in Switzerland. He has a passion, though. Could you guess? Yes, you're right: fountain pens. He has started, long ago, a wonderful, and much complete, fountain pen collection which he exposes at the LIttle Fountain Pen Museaum he has opened. http://vanderauwera.org/category/stylo-plume-fountain-pen-musee/ He likes to write his journal, and make illustrations of all the pens he buys, or comes across. All his illustrations are fountain pen and ink made, as well as their colouring, using watercolour technic. This first volume, of several others to come (we, passionate ones, hope so), was released several days ago. It is a Limited Edition of 500 copies, all of which numbered and posessing an Authenticity Certificate signed by the author / artist The pages are loose cards (24), each with a fountain pen model drawn on it. You can keep the cards as a book, or you can frame them. The back of each page is blank - you can write about the pen drawn on it. The possibilities are endless, the book, a beauty. Its dimensions are 20cm x 12 cm - quite handy to carry around. Fountain pen lovers, if you are interested, you can contact Alain through his mail, and order your copy: vanderauwera@hispeed.ch http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/538/TWr5wf.jpg http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/661/CWz96n.jpg http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/538/IhY00D.jpg You can see his presentation on his site, too http://vanderauwera.org/2015/04/19/fountains-pen-volume-01-alain-vanderauwera/

I'm looking for a pen that I can draw very quickly with somewhere around the $80-150 range, as most of the pens I've used cannot keep up with me. I'd like to have the nib as fine or finer than the Lamy EF - incidentally, the Safari's also the only pen that can keep up with my drawing speed at the moment. The TWSBI EF nib was too fat - I was surprised it was even labeled as "EF". Pilot F nib was pretty nice, but I might go for an EF next time. I borrowed the one I used so I didn't get to test it out for as extended a time as I'd like. What allows me to draw faster? Is it the stiffer nib? I am not super concerned about flex or softness, but it would be a nice bonus. I do not mind a bit of feedback either, as it is something that is to be expected with such fine nibs. By the way, the other pens that I have used so far are: Pilot Custom 92 SM, TWSBI 580 EF, Pilot Petit1, Pilot Prera, Pilot custom 72 F. I tried out a lot of Pilots since I'm aware that Japanese nibs are finer. The pens that I'm currently looking at are Platinum 3776, Namiki Falcon, Pilot Justus 95, Pelikan 140. Any opinions on these pens, or other recommendations? PS, I accidentally spilled a bottle of acetone on my Lamy Safari while doing my nails the other day and the matte finish came off and it looks atrocious. Don't try this at home, kids!