Quick Sketch: Girls Painting Ceramics at the Park
A 5 minute sketch in pen and watercolour on a Stillman and Birn Pocket Alpha.
Tag: Drawing
Postcards
When my brother and I visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando we bought a pack of postcards and some postage at Hogsmeade and posted some postcards home. They have a little “Owl Post” booth where you can get your postcard stamped with an owl post stamp, and it’s a charming experience. We ended up with a few postcards left over, so we posted them from our Disney hotel. A few weeks after we got home the postcards arrived and made out day.
I was just at a Shalom Sebba exhibition at the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art and after my visit I went to the museum store and bought some postcards there. Later that evening I spent some time writing postcards for my family, with little sketches inspired by Sebba’s work:
I had no idea where I would post them, as most of the post boxes in my area have been removed, but I wanted to at least try to post them before my dad’s surgery this week. With today’s postal service sending them would be a bit like tossing a message in a bottle into the sea and hoping it would eventually arrive at its destination. Yet there’s something about not just the wonderful experience of receiving snail mail which I wanted to give to my family, but something particular about postcards that made me want make the effort to post these cards that I could more easily hand deliver myself.
More than letter postcards evoke some things to me – a break from routine, a holiday, exotic places, better days. There’s something creative about the selection you make, and they make me want to sketch in them, write in their margins, be creative in the tiny space I’m given to work with. The limited space, zero privacy and the need to withstand the elements at least somewhat makes them a creative challenge we rarely encounter in days where everyone is an instant message away.
Yet that’s what made them appeal to me, because more than anything postcards speak of hope, and these days I need all the hope I can get.
Dip Pens Part 2: Ink and Watercolour
This time I decided to combine testing out a new (to me) India ink, a new (vintage) nib and watercolours. The ink is US made Higgins Black Magic. The bottle shape is unique, and it’s a plastic bottle, not a glass one like my British made inks. While the very wide base of this bottle does cut down the possibility of you accidentally tipping it over, I don’t like the bottle design. The bottle opening is too narrow and tall, and it’s very easy to get ink on your nib holder and hands this way. The ink itself is less shiny and flows wetter than other India inks that I’ve tried, but that’s not a bad thing.
The nibs are Waverley Pen nibs, made in Birmingham (a British steel producing city), and made by Macniven and Camron Ltd.
The tin itself is a delight, with the Waverley Pen advertising doggerel on it (the Pickwick, Own and Waverley were all nibs made by the Macniven & Cameron company). I bought it for a few pounds at Spitalfields market, London, and would have bought the tin even if it was empty:
It’s not empty, but rather filled with dozens of Waverley nibs in excellent condition. I took one out, tested its flexing properties (medium flex), and then primed it as described here. To test a nib for its flexing properties you gently push the tines against your thumbnail (don’t ever do this with fountain pen nibs!).
Here’s the nib. It has a bit of kink to it that helps it hold more ink than it otherwise could hold:
I took one dip and tested out how much ink it holds. It’s quite a lot:
I decided to use it on a Moleskine Watercolour sketchbook. The paper isn’t ideal for dip pens (it’s not smooth and the properties that make it watercolour friendly mean that the ink will spread and feather no matter what), but I wanted to use it with watercolours. As in this case the line sketch wasn’t crucial to me (i.e. it didn’t need to be particularly accurate), I decided to accept some level of feathering and spread for a decent watercolour wash.
Here’s the ink sketch:
A closeup on the onion sketch shows how much line variation you can get from this kind of nib, just how expressive these nibs are, and some of the feathering and spread that I talked about earlier:
Watercolour brings these sketches to life, and makes the ink compromises worth it:
A closeup on the sketches:
The second page:
The group thumbnail:
There are a few things that you need to remember when combining dip pens and watercolours:
- You must let the ink completely dry or you’ll have a ruined drawing, and potentially a ruined brush (if this happens immediately wash your brush well, as India ink will destroy it if left to dry).
- The more cotton content in your paper the better the watercolour washes will be, and the worse the India ink will behave. I wouldn’t go over 25% cotton content.
- The rougher the paper the better the watercolour washes will be, and the worse the ink sketches will be.
- Hot pressed watercolour paper will give you washes with more sharp edges and hard transitions, but will be best for the India ink in terms of smoothness.
- Mapping nibs provide less dramatic lines, but they also lay down less ink and so the ink will dry faster and spread less. On the other hand they will snag more easily on rougher watercolour paper.
Have you tried combining the two mediums? If so, let me know how it went.
Dip Pens Part 1: Some Basics
It’s been a while since I used my dip pens, and since I had a project in mind for them, I thought I’d document parts of it here.
I was looking to draw a map, part of a series of maps for a D&D game. Since I was trying to get a certain look to these maps, I pulled out a mapping nib and a mapping nib holder, and some Sennelier Sepia ink.
The ink is shellac based and meant to be used in dip pens only. If you use it in a fountain pen it will destroy it upon first use. You only need to see how sticky these inks are once to understand that, but most of them helpfully provide warnings on the bottle.
The nib is a Leonardt 801 mapping nib, made in England by the British company Manuscript and purchased, together with the mapping nib holder at Cornelissen & Son in London. They have the largest and best variety of dip nib supplies that I’ve ever seen, and are used by many illustrators and cartoonists. The beauty of dip nibs, however, is that they’re pretty easily and cheaply obtainable. Speedball sells a kit that includes a wide variety of nibs, including a mapping nib, and two holders (a standard one and a mapping one, known as a crow quill).
What’s the deal with a mapping nib? It’s a small, round nib with an end that’s actually a cylinder, and you pop it onto the little peg at the top of the holder. Mapping nibs allow for very thin lines, and yet also a good line variety as the tines are sensitive to pressure.
If you’ve used a fountain pen before and then try to use a dip pen, you’ll likely be surprised by several things. The first is that most dip pen nibs, and mapping nibs in particular, are very sensitive to pressure. The slightest push down will give you more line variation that you’ll get from even the most flexible of flexible fountain pens. The second is that there’s no tipping material. That means more feedback from the page, and that you need to be aware of the directionality of the nib if you don’t want it to snag and spray ink everywhere. This is also why the paper you want to use will be smooth. Smooth surface cartridge paper is your friend.
India ink (the shellac based ink used for dip pens) lays on top of the paper and retains a level of gloss and a dimensionality that you just don’t get with fountain pen paper. You can feel the ink lines with your fingers once the ink dries. The ink dries quickly, and is sticky and staining when wet, so beware of nice clothes and wash your hands well once you’re done.
The nib itself needs to be prepared before you use it for the first time. New nibs are coated in oil and sometimes with wax before being packaged. This prevents them from rusting, and helps them not stick to each other too much as they’re being packaged. If you use a new nib without preparing it, you’ll be disappointed. It will carry little to no ink, and you’ll find yourself dipping the nib again and again. The map above was made with 4-5 dips only, using a new nib, but one that I prepared.
How do you prepare a dip nib? The simplest and safest way (no, don’t take a lighter to it) is as follows: gently clean the nib with water and dish soap (you can use a soft toothbrush if you want, but it doesn’t really require scrubbing) and then put it in cup with boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Then fish the nib out and dry it very, very, very well with a paper towel. You don’t want to air dry the nib at any point or it will rust.
You can use fountain pen ink with dip pens, but I don’t recommend it. Fountain pen ink is thin and water based, so it doesn’t cling to the nib like India inks. You’ll be dipping a lot more often, and your results won’t be as good. If you plan on using a dip pen to test out fountain pen inks, know that your test will only show the colour properties of the ink but not its flow (wet/dry). Also don’t use a mapping nib for that – mapping nibs are best used for small sketches, maps, things that require very thin lines and some line variation.
When I work with a dipping nib I keep the nib constantly wet with ink (not water!), and immediately when I’m done I either wash the ink from the nib and dry it very well, or I wipe the ink off with a cotton rag if I just plan to take a short break. Ink left to dry on the nib may clog it (particularly with mapping nibs), and soaking a nib in water will cause it to rust.
You may find dip nibs in flea markets for very cheap, usually in a pile in a little box. Check if they aren’t rusted (don’t buy rusted nibs), and then clean them as you would a new nib (water, soap, heat).
I’ll be going over various kinds of India inks and various kinds of nibs in future posts, but in the meanwhile if there’s anything that interests you in dip nibs let me know in the comments.
Two Traveler’s Notebook sketches.
I’m still working my way through the Inkvent inks (9 pens left to write dry), and I’m trying to sketch more even on busy weeks. So I dusted off an old Traveler’s Notebook that I set up years ago and didn’t fill, and I started playing with fountain pens.
Cafe Sketch
A quick cafe sketch in my Stalogy B5 with a Lamy Safari Diamine Merry and Bright.
Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Sketchers
If there’s a sketcher in your life and you’re looking for some stocking stuffers for them, here are a few ideas:
Sweat Bands
These are not only useful for tennis players, they’re great for Urban Sketchers or anyone who sketches on the go. You can find them very cheaply at any sports brand store, and they’re oftentimes discounted (so you can splurge on brand named ones). You wear one of these on your wrist as you use your waterbrush, and you can quickly and conveniently clean your brush on it. When it gets too “colourful” (pun intended) you just toss it into the washing machine. I have two pairs of these in rotation at all times (one from Nike and one from Lululemon, both cost about $5), and they’re an integral part of my portable watercolour kit.
Waterbrush
These are inexpensive and every sketcher can use one – even if they have one or two already. They can be used with watercolour or filled with a mixture of ink and water and used for sketches on the go.
Small Spray Water Bottle
These are great for anyone who uses watercolours. They can be used to quickly clean your palette, to wet your paint pans, to create effects on your paper, or even to play with ink. Plus, even if they have one, another one will still come in handy.
Fineliner Pens
My favourites are Staedtler but Sakura may be more widely available (Uniball and Zebra also make good ones). In any case a 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 will always be appreciated, even if they already have them. Buy black and not any wild colours, and avoid buying the Copic metal ones because they’re needlessly expensive.
Excellent Pencils
These can be a bit more expensive, depending on the quantity you buy them in, but Tombow Mono 100 pencils in 2B, B, H, F and/or HB or Mistubishi Hi-Uni also in 2B, B, H, F and/or HB would be greatly appreciated. Add a Tombow Mono Light eraser or a kneaded eraser for added thoughtfulness. If you can only purchase one harness, go for B or 2B, unless they work exclusively in watercolour, in which point go for F or H.
Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Pens
These are waterproof, and great for quick sketches. The tips wear down relatively quickly so even if they have them already, additional ones will be appreciated. Go for cool greys or just wild on the colours, and make sure that they’re brush pens, not fineliners (there’s a B on the end of the pen that denotes brush tip).
I’d skip the black, because for that there’s:
Pentel Pocket Brush (GFKP)
A favourite with sketchers, cartoonists and calligraphers, this is the best black India ink brush pen that you can find. Throw in a a few refill cartridges or a Uni-ball Signo Broad white gel pen if you’re feeling generous.
Stillman and Birn Pocket Alpha Sketchbook
A favourite among Urban Sketchers for good reason, this pocket sketchbook can take anything you can throw at it, has a plenty of pages, and can take a beating. Don’t be tempted by the Beta paper, it’s thicker but also contains fewer pages. Throw in a Fineliner or a Bic (you can splurge for a golden one if you’re bored), and a binder clip to keep the sketchbook closed and you have a complete Urban Sketcher set.
Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration in this list. If you have any more ideas for stocking stuffers for sketchers, please write them in the comments below. Happy holidays!
Kitten sketches and a dilemma
I’m torn between writing a post explaining why the calls for ceasefire are utterly disconnected from Hamas’s ceasefire record, the safety of the 240 kidnapped, and the safety of everyone living in the area, and creating an escapist post filled with cat nonsense and pen stuff. On the one hand I want to educate people, on the other hand if people wanted to be educated they’d spend 3 minutes googling before posting fictional maps of the area, calling for “ceasefire now” and ignoring Hamas leadership’s own disownment of their people, saying that they aren’t their responsibility, and having zero qualms about using them as human shield to provoke just the kind of reaction that they’re getting on social media.
So here are kitten sketches, and please take the time to fact check stuff you like and repost on the internet, even if it came from your favourite hairdresser or singer.
De Atramentis Document Ink Green Grey
De Atramentis Document Ink Green Grey is a waterproof fountain pen ink that could have easily been called “Sage Green”. It’s dry and offers a fair amount of shading, is quick drying and would be a good addition to any Urban Sketcher’s kit.
While I think that De Atramentis Document Ink Green Grey is much too light to be useful as a writing ink (see sample below) its subtlety, natural shade and waterproofness makes it very useful when coupled with watercolours.
When used by itself, particularly in wider nibs, DA Geen Grey gives sketches a “vintage” feel and a good amount of interest: it both shades and allows for dry brushing effects because it’s so dry. Want a dry brush effect? Just work fast, and the tendency of this ink to skip will suddenly be an advantage:
DA Green Grey truly shines as an under-drawing ink for watercolours. You can freely sketch guidelines and work directly in ink with it, and then add watercolour. It’s light enough to fade into the background, while still remaining permanent on the page and providing you with useful references.
Can you even see DA Green Grey lines in this sketch? (you can, from very close by and if you know what you’re looking for)
If you work with watercolours, especially if you’re an urban sketcher, I highly recommend adding De Atramentis Document Ink Green Grey to your kit. It can replace a pencil for the under-sketches of your work, and it doesn’t change the shade of the watercolours, nor does it need to be erased. A pen with this is going to be added to my sketch kit, though I will probably use a fine or medium nibbed fountain pen for this ink and not go any finer because it’s so dry.
Inktober 2023 Day 31
I never thought this was how Inktober would end. It’s been a bad day for my PTSD, so I’m just quickly posting this and going to spend some time taking care of myself.
Writing at Large 