Fountain Pen
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My handwriting is always horrible, nothing to do about it unfortunately.
For nib sizes, I prefer medium generally too I think. Go play with whatever they have available at a store. One thing that can be a proeblem is that some nibs are just not good at working on regular paper, and they want special paper. The pen I linked to is wonderful on all paper that I have tried it on. But I have a much more expensive Conklin pen (in the $100 range) that is absolutely impossible to use on regular paper. It just gums right up. It has a medium tip that I like a lot, but it always clogs on regular office paper, so I rarely use it.
Chris
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Bold tip, best for on the spot client sketches. Learn to draw upside down. Royal Blue ink, because it is a classic color, and a little harder to photo copy. This is one the few things I am a snob about:-)
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+1 for Mont Blanc Meisterstuck.
Back when I drew comics I had (and I still have it) a great pen called "artpen" which had a gold nib and was able to use thick indian ink. Super soft lines and blackest of black lines.
I tried searching all over the world for spare parts but it doesnt seem to exist anymore.
(It's in my treasury now.) -
Here you go Jan, the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck:
yours for only $18,800 USD
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Of course I see now that previous meisterstuck is child's play compared to this Meisterstuck which will cost you $195,000USD:
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How can you pass up a deal like that?...they're even offering free shipping!
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Eric,
What about staying completely digital and going with a larger Wacom tablet and Corel Painter or Photoshop? I still sketch alot by hand but find doing things digitally give me many more freedoms that would be impossible with traditional methods. Just a thought.
Scott
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Well I could certainly do that but there is something about pen to paper that cannot be matched by a stylus IMO. Plus it is not as easy to go to the park with your young'n and lay in the grass and sketch.
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Eric,
I also still love to have the pen/pencil in the hand for that "personal" capture. My primary weapons of choice are in the photo. Love the fat Mont Blanc (vintage 1982) but almost scared to carry it around. Some of the cheaper pens do a good job. I liked those Lamy pens, but haven't seen them around lately. Having a variety of points is good, and I have always been partial to chisel points. You can get a skinny or fat line on demand by rotating slightly. In the photo is an "Osmiroid" about 8 years old, Has a variety of nibs. I use three chisels, fine/med/bold. Also - like to dabble in pen/pencil sketches. Really like the FaberCastell solid graphite sticks.Nothing like the rich darks from a well pointed 3B or 6B. Must be carefull not to smudge however. and for ink color, I am partial to darker sepia tones. The Mont Blanc has never seen black ink.
Keep the sketching up and you never have to be afraid if you are caught away from the laptop.
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Reading this thread made me go and buy a fountain pen!
I have not used one in 23 years!I enjoy writing and I do sketch for work, so I'm looking forward to try it out.
I ordered a Lamy Safari in Black. Not expensive, but has some great reviews.
http://www.thepencompany.co.uk/product/lamy_safari_fountain_pen_-_blackReading up on fountain pens, it seems the ink used can make a big difference. If I enjoy using it, I may consider buying a converter and some good quality ink, instead of the cartridges.
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Glad this thread inspired you Dylan. Unfortunately for me there is not a place in town for me to try out a decent FP. I guess I will have to order.
Is filling a FP messy? Just curious.
Also, what is the best ink to use with watercolor or markers so it won't bleed?
I am assuming Noodler's Eel. -
Can be. If you upend, and shake it (or just leave it upended), it may (most likely) leak into the cap.
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I agree with you. A tablet PC maybe? but I still like to break out the crayons and markers with our 2 year old as much as she does.
Scott
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I use the Noodler's Eel just because it is waterproof. But be forewarned, it is not at waterproof as many waterproof technical pens are. Its ink still tends to bleed more than I wish it did.
I have heard people say they use waterproof India ink (even though it is supposedly a no-no) in their fountain pens to get a better water-proof solution.
But that being said, I still like the Eel ink. It has a great feel to it.
And filling pens can be a little messy, you might get some on your fingers. But I wipe it off the pen with a paper towel, and it never makes a mess after that.
Chris
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Back when I used to do lots of pen & ink sketching I used inexpensive speedball nibs. http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_products.cfm?classID=1516&=SpeedballsubclassID=151610&brandname There are many different sizes with some better suited to lettering and some suited for sketching. They differ significantly from fountain pens in that fountain pens are designed for handwriting. With speedball nibs you can get much finer sizes than what is available in fountain pens. The speedball nibs slide into a simple wooden or plastic holder and are used with liquid ink. They wick up ink into a hole that acts as a small reservoir. With the smaller nib sizes it is surprising how much drawing can be done before refilling. When you are done you simply wipe with a damp kleenex. For the price of one decent fountain pen you could buy a lifetime supply of speedball nibs!
I attach an oldsketch I did with a speedball nib. (The colour was latter added digitally).
Regards, Ross
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Thanks for the info Ross, nice sketch and nice to see you are still around.
The Speedball nibs I can get locally. Constantly dipping while sketching might drive me nuts but it is worth a shot. Also, I talked with a couple friends who have some Fountain pens I can try. One is probably pretty cheap as I am told it is messy to deal with; the other is a Mont Blanc (Girl with an extravagant pen collecting boyfriend). She says it is "girly"
.Today I spent the better part of a day cleaning my old Rapidograph pens. 3 of the 7 had dried up, rather I should say I left ink in 3 of the 7
Right now I am sketching with Pilot razor point felt pens and like the results. However I plan on doing some watercolor soon and I am pretty darn sure they will bleed bad.
Anyway, here are some sketches I did a while back with the Rapidographs.
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No coffee stains, or ink spots on this one:-)
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I've had great luck with the Faber-Castel pens
http://artgraphic.fabercastell.com/products/product_detail.aspx?id=93AE8E0AD021495381C495ADB399EF7D
And also the micron pens, those are great and I'm 99% sure they are completely waterproof. And they have a large variety of pen tip sizes too, which is nice.
Chris
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Dont get the CROSS FOUNTAIN PEN _that is offered to you when flying, at least in BA (British Airways, that I always loved.).
just bought it and it fails___ ___ ____ ___ without ink after ten lines. You have to shake the deposit each time to follow.
Not too bad but uncomfortable. cheers all. -
First off thanks again for all the advice. I have had some time to try out some pens and I am not set on one I like yet. I have borrowed a (I know it's girly) Waterman Audace Evening in Paris pen which is nice and balanced well but the nib is too wide for me and it does not flow well as it hangs up quite a bit. Pav, I ordered the pilot V-pen disposable fountain and like it better than the Waterman but again, it is a bit too wide. The medium nib pens were free shipping, the fine point were not.
I am still leaning toward the Pilot Razor Point felt for my drawings although I am going to break out the Rapidographs again this week.
Unfortunately the only FP I have been able to try before I buy is the Waterman. I just might have to take a trip to the Artlite store in Atlanta.
I also got a few new Moleskine sketchbooks. They are very nice. Almost too nice to draw in
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