Van Dieman’s Here Kitty Kitty

[yazeh]

Van Dieman’s Here Kitty Kitty

 

Ink Review # 204

 

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🧾 Description

 

Van Dieman’s is a prolific ink company based in Tasmania, Australia. 

 

Part of the Feline series, Here Kitty Kitty is a pale pink, beige ink with heavy gold shimmer. 

 

I don’t like shimmer inks in general, and this one is no exception. I made the mistake of reviewing it under artificial light. At times I couldn’t read what the “shimmer” I was writing. 

This is my first attempt at video. Many thanks @LizEF for feedback.  

 

 

 

 

Sometimes it was too bright, sometimes  too pale. It is legible once it dries. 

 

I could not ascertain if the flow was wet or not, at times it was, but then it stopped writing. It might be I didn't fill the pen enough or there was just too much shimmer. 

 

Yet, I can see some enjoying this type of colour for a secret journal or writing breakup letters to disappointing partners blinding them with fury.    

 

I most enjoyed it for drawing. It has a pleasing colour. 

 

 

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 🧪 Chroma

 

 

 

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 ✍️ Writing Samples (scan)

Rhodia  / Iroful

 

 

 

Midori  /Tomoe River 68gsm

Scan is off. 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb  

 

 

 

 📸 Photo

Rhodia/ Iroful

 

 

 

Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm

 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb

 

 

 

Close-up Shimmer

If there’s one image to remember, it’s this one!

 

 

 🔍 Comparison

 

 

 

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 💧 Water Test

 

 

 

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 🎨 Artwork

Romeo, Romeo

I used a bit of Herbin Gris Nuage, and a touch of Noodler’s Eel Red Rattler, Paper is Talens Mixed Media. 

 

 

 

 

 

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- Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno EF,  Kaweco (EF/F/M/B/ BB, Stub 1.9) , Kanwrite with FPR Flex nib. 

- What I Liked: The base color. Drawing. 

- What I Did Not Like: Too much shimmer, hard stops, too bright under artificial lights. 

- What Some Might Not Like: Shimmer, pale. 

- Writing Experience: Shimmer hell.

- Pros: Lovely base colour, shimmer. 

- Cons: Pale color and shimmer.

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

 

- Shading: I don’t know. 

- Ghosting: Faint. 

- Bleed Through: A hint with BB

- Flow Rate: I’m not sure. 

- Lubrication:  Below average. 

- Nib Dry-out: Not sure. 

- Start-up: Depends. 

- Saturation: Really?!

- Sheen:  I think not. 

- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line:  Did not notice.

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen): No. 

- Clogging: At times I had to use a waterbrush. 

- Cleaning: Because of shimmer I went with pen jacuzzi. 

- Water Resistance: Ok. 

 

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 🛒 Availability

 

-  Available in 30 ml bottles worldwide. 

 

 

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 💬 Closing

 

While I don’t like shimmer inks in general, in retrospect I found the colour soothing and peaceful, especially for drawing. 

 

No fountain pens were hurt in preparing this review.   

 

Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier.  

 

 

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oh, I LOVE that kitteh/mousie painting!

 

The cnroma is lively.  The ink color is really pretty.  The shimmer is pretty.  My brain is going, 'Ooooo, pretty!'  

 

Yet the writing's too hard on my weak eyes )which need a new set of eyeglasses).  And I know I won't use this ink.

 

But, oh, my, @yazeh… thank you for this Monday Pretty.

[yazeh]

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Oh, I LOVE that kitteh/mousie painting!

Thanks. I sort of like it too.

 

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

The cnroma is lively.  The ink color is really pretty.  The shimmer is pretty.  My brain is going, 'Ooooo, pretty!'  

West Side Story, I feel pretty? 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

Yet the writing's too hard on my weak eyes )which need a new set of eyeglasses).  And I know I won't use this ink.

I was surprised by how the glitter had a blinding effect on my eyes, under certain lights, more than the paleness of the colour. 

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

But, oh, my, @yazeh… thank you for this Monday Pretty.

Glad, I brought you joy.

 

[LizEF]

Thanks, @yazeh, for putting up with a shimmer ink long enough to bring us a very cool video!  

 

The flow issue sounds right - you probably had a "glitter dam".  In my experience, they're normal and to be expected from glitter inks.  I know of at least 3 ways to unclog them.

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

blinding them with fury.

 And getting glitter all over them!

 

The chroma is kind of cool - I see glitter-rimmed eyes and below it, a nose angled to my left / the face's right.  And flaming pink and yellow hair...

 

The color is tolerable for writing. Love the quotes. The shading is less dramatic than I expected.  And those shimmer images do look a bit blinding.  Ricochets of light...

 

Fun swatches.  Mousey needs a bigger umbrella!    But the artwork!  Oh my, @yazeh, this one's exceptional!  Fabulous cat, charming scene.  Well done! 

[yazeh]

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Thanks, @yazeh, for putting up with a shimmer ink long enough to bring us a very cool video!  

Thanks. Ironic for someone who analyzed so many films, to be shy of camera work.

 

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

The flow issue sounds right - you probably had a "glitter dam".  In my experience, they're normal and to be expected from glitter inks.  I know of at least 3 ways to unclog them.

Flossing, water brush. It's funny how I'm not afraid of pigment/ iron gall inks, but shimmer makes me shudder.

 

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

 And getting glitter all over them!

 There was this guy who during COVID, created an over engineered (his words) shame packages to punish people who stole his package. There was a glitter bomb and a camera inside.

 

 

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

The chroma is kind of cool - I see glitter-rimmed eyes and below it, a nose angled to my left / the face's right.  And flaming pink and yellow hair...

 

The color is tolerable for writing. Love the quotes. The shading is less dramatic than I expected.  And those shimmer images do look a bit blinding.  Ricochets of light...

Like a funky garden gnome.

 

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Fun swatches.  Mousey needs a bigger umbrella!    

 

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

But the artwork!  Oh my, @yazeh, this one's exceptional!  Fabulous cat, charming scene.  Well done! 

Thanks. Some works are effortless, like this one. I wonder if it's color related. The color is so soft and pleasing to do ink washes.

 

[LizEF]

4 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Thanks. Ironic for someone who analyzed so many films, to be shy of camera work.

 No need to be shy any more!

 

4 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Flossing, water brush. It's funny how I'm not afraid of pigment/ iron gall inks, but shimmer makes me shudder.

The techniques that have worked for me are: flossing, dip in water, and (sometimes) flood the feed with ink (while the pen is nib up) and then suck the ink back into the ink chamber (assumes a piston converter or piston-filler).  Water brush would presumably do the same as dipping in water.  

 

4 minutes ago, yazeh said:

 There was this guy who during COVID, created an over engineered (his words) shame packages to punish people who stole his package. There was a glitter bomb and a camera inside.

 Yes, I've seen it. 

 

4 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Like a funky garden gnome.

 Yes!!

 

4 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Some works are effortless, like this one.

 You were inspired!

[yazeh]

14 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 No need to be shy any more!

 

14 minutes ago, LizEF said:

The techniques that have worked for me are: flossing, dip in water, and (sometimes) flood the feed with ink (while the pen is nib up) and then suck the ink back into the ink chamber (assumes a piston converter or piston-filler).  Water brush would presumably do the same as dipping in water.  

 

Thanks! it would help. ! I'm feeling reckless, as I'm reviewing another shimmer ink.  

 

[LizEF]

25 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I'm feeling reckless, as I'm reviewing another shimmer ink.  

Good luck!

[inkstainedruth]

@yazeh This is mostly too pale to be legible, and my opinion of shimmer inks has gone down a LOT (especially when I realized that the "shimmer" doesn't stay on the page when the ink dries).  But love the artwork.  So thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[AmandaW]

Oooo shiny. Illegible, but so pretty, maybe reading is over-rated anyway.

 

Not for me though. I have enough trouble with dried out pens from hot dry locale, so adding shimmer... I don't think so. 

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

@yazeh This is mostly too pale to be legible, and my opinion of shimmer inks has gone down a LOT (especially when I realized that the "shimmer" doesn't stay on the page when the ink dries).

Oh, I didn't know that about shimmer inks, but it makes sense, now I think about it.

 

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

 But love the artwork.  So thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Most welcome and thanks for the kind words. 🙏

[yazeh]

52 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

Oooo shiny. Illegible, but so pretty, maybe reading is over-rated anyway.

 it is legible under the right light/ angle it without shimmer.

52 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

 

Not for me though. I have enough trouble with dried out pens from hot dry locale, so adding shimmer... I don't think so. 

Same here. I have few  shimmer inks to review. I'll be relieved.when they are over. Give me IG inks any day, but not shimmer.

 

[LizEF]

FWIW, in my experience, glitter ink is nothing like other forms of glitter - including the glitter on greeting cards.  Other forms of glitter get absolutely everywhere.  It multiplies as it comes off whatever it was previously attached to - it's worse than bunnies!

 

Fountain pen inks with glitter don't seem anywhere near as bad, especially if you're not trying to remove the glitter from the page. 

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

FWIW, in my experience, glitter ink is nothing like other forms of glitter - including the glitter on greeting cards.  Other forms of glitter get absolutely everywhere.  It multiplies as it comes off whatever it was previously attached to - it's worse than bunnies!

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

Fountain pen inks with glitter don't seem anywhere near as bad, especially if you're not trying to remove the glitter from the page. 

Why would someone want to do that ?

 

[InesF]

On 9/22/2025 at 2:40 PM, yazeh said:

Romeo, Romeo

Ohhh! That's wonderful! 

It's the allegory of Here Kitty Kitty!

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for this ink review, for making a hokus-pokus-shimmer-come video, for taking all this trouble dealing with a shimmer ink and for your stunning artwork! 👌 👍

 

I have to admit, this time it's me having a hard time reading the quotes.

Van Diemann's inks are hard to get in Europe and your review now saves me from extended searches (and from the need to make room in my ink drawer). 👍 No secret, this ink is not for me, not even for calligraphy.

 

Looking forward to your next ink art!  

[yazeh]

8 hours ago, InesF said:

Ohhh! That's wonderful! 

It's the allegory of Here Kitty Kitty!

8 hours ago, InesF said:

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for this ink review, for making a hokus-pokus-shimmer-come video, for taking all this trouble dealing with a shimmer ink and for your stunning artwork! 👌 👍

Thank you, Frau professor. 🙏

 

8 hours ago, InesF said:

 

I have to admit, this time it's me having a hard time reading the quotes.

Yes. It is on the pale side. 

8 hours ago, InesF said:

Van Diemann's inks are hard to get in Europe and your review now saves me from extended searches (and from the need to make room in my ink drawer). 

Then I'm glad, I was helpful.

 

8 hours ago, InesF said:

👍 No secret, this ink is not for me, not even for calligraphy.

 

8 hours ago, InesF said:

 

Looking forward to your next ink art!  

Me too. I'll be posting the review in early Inktober, as I used it for some of the drawings.