Inks for Art's sake

[krz]

I thought it would be nice to have a thread concerned with fountain pen inks used for art of any kind. And possibly a running list of the inks that work the best.

 

There are certain qualities of inks for art that may or may not be a concern for writing.

 

Ink qualities that might apply to art (I'll start off but chime in if I miss any):

 

Color vibrancy: Above all else we want it to look nice.

 

Color fastness: We also want our work to last, and not fade.

 

Drying time: The length of time you have to wait for your ink to dry to move on to the next process. (This is being covered well in a thread by Romebot, but could also be covered here.)

 

How waterproof?

The artist will often draw with ink and lay in a color wash over the line.

There are differing degrees of how waterproof some inks are.

 

For writing, waterproof may mean that if the paper gets wet there will be enough ink left to remain legible. With artwork we want as little "wet smear" as possible.

 

Examples: Noodler's Black when dry can take a wet wash and some scrubbing with a brush before any "wet smear" happens.

 

Noodler's Walnut and Noodler's Aircorp Blue-Black are lovely colors and have pretty good waterfast qualities for writers , but used as an artist line they both will "wet smear" when a wash is applied. The red in the Walnut will "wet smear" and the Blue in the Aircorp will "wet smear" (the blue looks to me like Navajo Turquoise ).

 

Both the Walnut and the Aircorp are favorites of mine, and any Noodler's ink will be lightfast but neither of these inks work well if you're planning to go over them with a wash.

 

Ink flow is probably a characteristic that is equally important for writers and artists.

 

Are there ink qualities of concern for artists that I've missed here?

[krz]

Some of the inks I use for line drawing with good success at not "wet smearing":

 

Noodler's Black is my mainstay. Once dry it's very hard to get any color to leach if at all. I find my linework will tighten up with N.Black no matter what pen I use.

 

Swishmix Tahitian Pearl Blue-Black takes a wash very well too and is a fast dryer, but a little more prone to feathering. I find my line will broaden a bit with this one.

 

Swishmix Seminole Sepia works great for linework, a fast drier and takes a wash well. I find it separates in the pen if the pen has been idle for a week or so, but that's not a big problem for me.

 

I've had good luck with Legal Lapis for linework too.

 

Private reserve Burgundy Mist is a nice subtle shade of Burgundy, and was lightfast in my unscientific ink fade test, but the ink mutes in the bottle to a dull brown color.

I spiked mine with Noodler's Navajo Turquoise (Cyan) and Shah's Rose (Magenta) which made it nice to look at again, but took away it's waterproof qualities for art applications.

 

Inks I've tried that are unacceptable for me as an art ink:

 

J. Herbin Cyclamen Rose (Violet Magenta). A very vibrant color that you just want to use! It was not waterfast at all which I could accept, as I could use it as a fill color. But then I found it to be a very fast fader which took it off my list as an art ink.

 

Another shade I love but can't use for art is Private Reserve Tanzanite. A great Blueish Violet color that flows better than any other ink, but it too is a fast fader.

 

Anyway, if you have inks that work well or poorly for art let us know!

/:)

[*david*]

Have you visited inksampler.com? Lots of your information is already there.

[Margana]

Now this is interesting. I hadn't thought to try Noodler's Black for line work with a color wash. I had been leaning toward Platinum's Carbon Black knowing full well it would make a mess of any fountain pen I used. Noodler's Black would be a much more sensible choice.

 

Seminole Sepia is a great idea for a vintage look. I was playing with brown inks yesterday and only one really achieved the look I was seeking. Unfortunately it doesn't work at all well in the pen I selected. Seminole Sepia might be just the ink to work.

 

Thanks, KRZ!

[Lloyd]

Private reserve Burgundy Mist is a nice subtle shade of Burgundy, and was lightfast in my unscientific ink fade test, but the ink mutes in the bottle to a dull brown color.

I spiked mine with Noodler's Navajo Turquoise (Cyan) and Shah's Rose (Magenta) which made it nice to look at again, but took away it's waterproof qualities for art applications.

Is PR burgundy mist waterproof? How long until it turns brown in the bottle? Does this occur if stored in the dark?

[krz]

Now this is interesting. I hadn't thought to try Noodler's Black for line work with a color wash. I had been leaning toward Platinum's Carbon Black knowing full well it would make a mess of any fountain pen I used. Noodler's Black would be a much more sensible choice.

 

Seminole Sepia is a great idea for a vintage look. I was playing with brown inks yesterday and only one really achieved the look I was seeking. Unfortunately it doesn't work at all well in the pen I selected. Seminole Sepia might be just the ink to work.

 

Thanks, KRZ!

Margana, I didn't know about Noodler's Black great properties until I started hanging out on FPN.

 

I was using W & N pigmented Black in one of my Rotring Core gushers along with other colors on the Winsor & Newton list. Now I only use a Rotring Core XL with this ink, and I really only use it now if I want to apply OVER paint. Not to be used in any special, expensive, or vintage pen.

 

I used to think all blackline just had to be India Ink. Now I seldom use it, usually in a 000 "3060 Rapidograph".

 

And yes, the Seminole Sepia does have a nice old fashioned look to it.

 

Thanks David. The Inksampler is fabulous!

 

Lloyd, my Burgundy Mist was already turning when I bought the bottle. I used it for a subtle shadow color for a while until I spiked it back up with Noodler's. If I remember correctly it did do pretty well under a wash so I'd say it did have some waterfastness.

 

Another great Noodler's shade is the new waterproof Lexington Gray. I use it in my driest Sheaffer Sentinel with a M nib for shading. I think I'm also going to dedicate a fine point for this ink too for when I want softer outlines. And it will probably end up as a wash in my Ackerman Penbrush.

[Margana]

That's a good idea for the Rotring Core I never used. Thanks!

[Nimrud]

By the way, PR has a new formula for Burgundy Mist which has brighter magenta tones than the old one. Not sure about water-fastness though.

[Romebot]

The Inksampler Page is great...

 

As for inks, I have to say that of all the Noodler's Browns I've seen, none match the beauty and uniqueness of the one they make specially for Pendemonium (http://www.pendemonium.com)

It's called eternal brown and it has a lovely antique gold untertone....and it's "waterproof" (see Noodler's Smear thread for more details on what that's about).

 

That's all I have to add as far as fountain pen inks...if you're interested in drawing inks for dip pens or brushes, I've got some suggestions, let me know.

 

Best,

 

Romebot

[Margana]

I would love to hear your suggestions. Want to send an email since it's a bit off-topic?

 

Thanks!

[Romebot]

I should have added actually that the Eternal Brown I mentioned, while nice on many papers, really has that beautiful golden tint on the Moleskine Sketch Notebooks.

[krz]

The Eternal Brown has been on my list "to try" for a long time, but missed it this round.

 

I finally got around to trying Noodler's Ottoman Azure Blue and Widow Maker Red though.

 

Pendemonium had a July 4th special going, so I had to bite.

 

Everyone is right. Ottoman Azure Blue is a very vibrant middle to deep Blue. It's not waterproof and won't hold up to a wash, but it's a great stand alone color, and my new fav. Blue.

 

Antietam Red is another favorite of mine but I needed something a bit cooler as well. The Widow Maker Red is a deep Crimson Red that again, is not waterproof for outlines but another good stand alone color that's not as warm as the Antietam Red.

 

I'll try to post a scan of my wash/brush test when I can.

 

These colors make me want a Sno-Cone!

[krz]

Here's one of my latest ACEO drawings (2 1/2 x 3 1/2). This was drawn entirely in Noodler's Walnut, and I used my Sheaffer's Sentinel Touchdown XF Triumph nib.

 

This pen is one of my fav.'s as a jotter. It was fun to draw with it for a change.

 

The paper is a bristol.

"The Throne of Naught":