"water Coloring" Pens And Fountain Pen Ink

[Darkbulb]

This is a two-part question, sorry, but I have something I'd love to try my hands at but I don't have the knowledge yet on how to proceed.

 

I love some of the colorful drawings people make in their notebooks and planners - strong ink outlines filled in with watercolor/light coloring.

 

Examples (not content so much but for the idea of coloring):

http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7392/16594636202_91d7a9c85f.jpg

 

Now I'm interested in doing something very similar in my notebooks and/or Hobonichi but I have some concerns about usage of fountain pen inks and low-effort way of getting 'water-color' effects through pens.

 

Questions:

1) FP Ink question

I'd like to use a fountain pen for the sketches and I prefer black ink

What type of black ink would you recommend that could stay dry and not smear when exposed to some coloring efforts.

I have read about something called "Waterproof pigment ink". Is that a recommended way to go and if so what brands are good?

 

2) Water coloring "pens"?

I love the light, non-solid look of water color but I also shy away from using it traditionally (water and brush) as it is something I'd like to do when I'm also away from home.

I've been looking at products like the Kuretake brush pens which seems really nice but I worry that it will be very wet and there will be a lot of bleed through...

 

Video showing how they work;

 

Another option that seems 'less wet' is the Faber-Castell PITT brush pens

 

I think this looks more like what I'm after but have no real first hand experience of course.

Video:

 

 

So in summary: What fountain pen ink should I use that wouldn't smear when using something like this - and any suggestions on pens such as these?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RMN]

I would suggest perusing the following Mega Topic and it's predecessors.

 

There are several pen artists showing their work there. Often they use a combination of techniques.

 

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302473-dont-just-tell-us-about-the-pen-youre-using-show-us-2016/

 

 

D.ick

[Darkbulb]

I would suggest perusing the following Mega Topic and it's predecessors.

 

There are several pen artists showing their work there. Often they use a combination of techniques.

 

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302473-dont-just-tell-us-about-the-pen-youre-using-show-us-2016/

 

 

D.ick

I'm sure there is a lot of good information but very hard to go through. I just went over the first 50 posts and couldn't find anything that touched the two things I asked about

[RMN]

They come in waves. Every now and then some of the regulars there show some pen art in between the writing samples, and they usually also talk techniques. Often it's a mix of FP, dip pen and brush pen.

 

On page 3, 4 and 5 I saw some line drawings.

I haven't been following the topic since a few weeks, as life is keeping me more occupied lately.

Do also follow the link to the old (locked) topic. (link is in the first post there) There are several posts, but sometimes you have to fast-forward (or backward) through the posts to the next one.

 

 

 

D.ick

[Algester]

actually what I read in Shuumi no Bungu Hako there is no way you can blend FP ink with water effectively

your going to use a 2 step process

1. involves water color pencils

2. layering your dark lines and high lights with FP ink near the same color range

 

optional but will depend on your preference after layering your water color pencil smudge and or blend with a water brush I'll post the picture about this segment

http://i.imgur.com/W7GEcg0.jpg

 

alternatively you can "smear" ink with water but this would most likely warp your media if it can't withstand water very much this is similar to what Leigh Reyes does

 

another one would be through water brush method however again it has it's own down sides you can use diluted ink for this if you wish to do so but not all inks would work well with dilution

Edited March 22, 2016 by Algester

[Polanova]

Ink: Rohrer & Klinger Documentus & R & K Super 5

Waterbrush: Try some of them out (haven`t found the perfect one yet)

 

Use the right paper! Thin paper does become wavy when water color is applied. Either that doesn`t bother you or you`ll have to use relatively thick water color paper.

How wavy paper becomes is also dependent on how much water you apply.

 

I had no bleed through with Midori, Life & Tomoroe River, also none with Clairefontaine.

[Darkbulb]

Ink: Rohrer & Klinger Documentus & R & K Super 5

Waterbrush: Try some of them out (haven`t found the perfect one yet)

 

Use the right paper! Thin paper does become wavy when water color is applied. Either that doesn`t bother you or you`ll have to use relatively thick water color paper.

How wavy paper becomes is also dependent on how much water you apply.

 

I had no bleed through with Midori, Life & Tomoroe River, also none with Clairefontaine.

 

Thanks, how well does the R&K hold up when being subjected to color from a waterbrush pen? Does it stay or does it bleed?

[amberleadavis]

actually what I read in Shuumi no Bungu Hako there is no way you can blend FP ink with water effectively

your going to use a 2 step process

1. involves water color pencils

2. layering your dark lines and high lights with FP ink near the same color range

 

optional but will depend on your preference after layering your water color pencil smudge and or blend with a water brush I'll post the picture about this segment

http://i.imgur.com/W7GEcg0.jpg

 

alternatively you can "smear" ink with water but this would most likely warp your media if it can't withstand water very much this is similar to what Leigh Reyes does

 

another one would be through water brush method however again it has it's own down sides you can use diluted ink for this if you wish to do so but not all inks would work well with dilution

 

Well, not exactly, I draw in my notebooks and then do water washes, BUT, I have notebooks with great paper. I also write in my notebook ...

 

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/2016-Ink/Washes/slides/20151228_142716.jpg

 

And then, I wash it completely....

 

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/2016-Ink/Washes/slides/20151228_142827.jpg

[amberleadavis]

Sometimes, I doodle over washes, other times, I write over top.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/album/Journal/GatzBCN/20151107_143731.jpg

[amberleadavis]

On this one, I used a waterbrush.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/album/Journal/GatzBCN/20151107_143405.jpg

[amberleadavis]

Anyway, I use regular fountain pen ink when I do my doodles and washes.

[Darkbulb]

I just ordered a pack of Faber-Castell's PITT artist brush pens...will be fun to see how they work

 

@amberleadavis - that is some really impressive, creative work there!

[amberleadavis]

@Dark, thank you! I think you will have fun.