India Ink For Watercolor Painting ?

[Kerry25]

Hello I am new here.

 

I been lurking and reading some threads here ( even googled on art forums ) but I do not seem to find the right answer. I am looking to buy india ink to use with my watercolor paintings. I want to know what inks are really waterproof on 300 gsm paper ?

I will be using a watercolor brush and not a pen so no need to worry about clogging etc... I did purshase a kohl-I-noor radiograph set. I will use the set for doing watercolor work also but I am using the kohl ink that comes with set. ( is this ink good to use with a brush. I am having a hard time finding it in bigger bottles )

 

I went to amazon ( looking for larger bottles ) I saw they sell speedball super black in a larger bottle. I also went to dickblick and saw a brand called Sennelier India Ink I am trying to keep the cost down. I am not sure would would be worth the money.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

[Pickwick]

I expect Noodler's Bullet proof ink will be useful for one. Other members can point you in the right direction You may need to stretch the watercolor paper before you do any work. This is done by immersing the paper in water allowing saturation and then laying it on a drawing board using art tape all around each edge. Wait for the paper to dry out. This will prevent distortion when applying ink and paint.

[Seele]

If by "India Ink" you mean pigment ink in an adhesive matrix solution, then it is a definite yes: the Chinese have been at it for a few thousand years, so there should be no problem. Please note that when the ink is still wet, the wash technique can be used, but once dried it is pretty much permanent.

 

There are some beginner's kits for Chinese painting and writing including a solid ink stick and an ink grinding stone: put a little water on the stone and then gently grind the ink stick away to produce your freshly-made ink. Certainly, some ready-made liquid ink like this are available; they are often of lesser quality as they use cheaper glue for the matrix, but they are totally usable, no need to splash out on pigment inks for fountain pens as they are especially formulated to ensure smaller pigment particles, and higher resistance against drying inside the pen.

[Paddler]

Higgins "Black Magic". It is available in big-box office supply stores. It is relatively inexpensive and you can wash over it without having it run. If it dries on a pen or brush, water won't dissolve it. I don't know about large bottles of it. Look it up on Amazon and then try their drop-shippers. A place like Shoplet might have it in larger bottles.

 

I have a bottle of Sennelier Indian Ink. It is waterproof as it comes from the bottle, but becomes less indelible if diluted with water. If it dries on your pen or brush, you need to use a solvent to remove it. I just let it dry on a dip pen nib and then chip it off. It would make a real mess in a brush. Sennelier makes a slovent for it.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Paddler

[andymcc]

Most ink labelled as India/Indian ink will be waterproof on watercolour paper as the paper is designed to be absorbent and once dry the ink can't be removed. Be aware that although you're using a brush the ink can still dry and damage the bristles so if the brushes aren't cheap clean them out really well when you're finished, the ink accumulates at the ferrule and ruins the brush. W&N make a good Indian ink but you can find cheaper makes by Jackson's.co.uk and many others depending on what country you're in..

 

300gsm paper is really easy to stretch, I use a staple gun and put a staple at each corner then wet the paper and leave it to dry and the paper will stay flat while you work on it. You can do do the same using bulldog clips too, as they're reusable you save on tape

[pajaro]

I have used the Higgins India ink, using a sharp stick to draw on the watercolor paper and then run the washes over it. Sharpening the stick differently produces a different line each time. I don't see any point in agonizing over the ink when Higgins makes such a great ink. Agonize over the watercolor pigments.

[Kerry25]

I don't see any point in agonizing over the ink when Higgins makes such a great ink. Agonize over the watercolor pigments.

 

 

Well if I knew higgins was a great ink I would not have asked or joined the forum

 

Anyways Thanks for all the replies everyone. For the suggested inks do you have pictures of reviews on the inks? I guess I should have said I am looking for a ink that is really a rich dark ink. I have been trying to see reviews on this forum ( this is why I joined but the search funtion is not what I am used to using via other forums)

 

 

 

 

 

[Johan.Witt]

Kerry, John Neal is an outstanding resource for calligraphy supplies. He has a whole three-page section on just black inks : http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/128

 

Read the descriptions and look for the waterproof inks.

 

You might also ask advice in the Pen & Ink Forum in WetCanvas : http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=67

 

Be sure to test the watercolor/paper/ink combination that you intend to use before you begin your masterpiece. There are some papers that simply do not absorb all the ink (even waterproof ink) and show a ghost smear when an ink line is worked over with watercolors.

 

Have fun!

[ANM]

When I was an art teacher, before we began watercolor paining, I introduced the class to basic watercolor techniques using india ink. Basic techniques included flat wash, graded wash, wet in wet, color pick-up, and dry brush.

 

Watercolor is water solvent and india ink, when dry, isn't. The only time I'd combine the two is if I was going to watercolor in a cartoon that had been inked with india ink first and I didn't want the black to bleed into the colors. For a realistic style painting, I wouldn't normally combine black or opaque colors with watercolors.