Thursday, July 08, 2010

Pen and Ink Question

http://paigekeiser.com/Paige_Keiser_Illustrations/Portfolio_files/Media/droppedImage_17/droppedImage_17.jpg?disposition=downloadHi all, I was wondering if you could help me out with a dilemma.  I've been attempting to dilute my inks to get a a softer look to my outlines.  However, when I do this, it changes the consistency of the ink so that it doesn't flow through my dip pen very well.  Does anyone know of any inks that come right of the bottle this way?  A soft gray, or brown yet are not 'watery'?  Any help would be much appreciated!

9 comments:

Aleksandra Chabros (aka Adelaida) said...

Inks from Koh-I-Noor are made in few colours (I use brown) - http://www.koh-i-noor.cz/en/produkty/tuse-inkousty-a-kancelarske-potreby/717-tus-barevna-20 there is only one on the photo, unfortunately

Hope I helped :)

You can also try making outlines with a sharp pencil - it makes them more visible but they still are there.

Paige Keiser said...

Thanks Adelaida, that is definitely a good resource for lots of good inks! I've been using pencil for a while which has worked fine, but I wanted to try something a little different with rougher papers.

Here's another product I found called "Liquid Pencil" that looks interesting.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/derivan-liquid-pencil/

If these work well with my dip pens I'll be very happy! :)

June said...

Hi Paige,
You might like to try out some of the bulletproof (ie: Waterproof and permanent) Noodler's ink. They have a Lexington gray that is softer than black, and you can dilute them with water a little to thin them down. They also do a brown (but I can't get that in the UK) and you can mix the same kinds of ink (bulletproof permanent range) and come up with a colour that suits your line best and remains permanent. The ink washes out of pens easily as it doesn't 'set' until it reacts with the cellulose in the paper.
Do a test first though, as I found the sizing on some watercolour paper sometimes prevents the complete setting of the ink, and a little bit of bleed happens if I work the line too hard when painting.

Hope this helps.
I'm off to check out the Liquid Pencil you mentioned.



http://www.noodlersink.com/samples.html
http://www.noodlersink.com/benefits.html

christine grove said...

Hi Paige,
I found some pens awhile back that I've been using, maybe for about a year. I really like them. They come in different sizes so you can alternate the thickness. Not sure if that would help-since your talking softening? But they are Faber-Castell Pitt Artists Pens. I believe I got them at Blicks but I'm not sure. Hope that helps:)

Cheryl Lynn said...

Since I use markers to make my outlines, I probably wouldn't be of much help to you. My materials are acrylic paint and markers. I thought about getting into pen and ink later. Sounds like you got some really good advices from the other comments, however.

I just wanted to tell you how cute your illustration is. It's really adorable. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Paige Keiser said...

Hi June, oh YEAH I forgot about that -I read a forum a year ago or so about a fountain pen ink that was actually permanent (the Noodler's, right?).Thanks for reminding me of that - and I can't wait to try to Lexington Gray!

Hi Christine, yes I own one of those! The tips are so soft though I end up preferring my dip pens, but I might give some of the smaller Pitt Pen sizes a try. It would be nice not to to have to dip my pen in ink every few seconds. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hi Cheryl, oh I wish I could use acrylics--but they involve so much extra wrist movement I get wrist pain when I do. Thanks for the sweet comment on my illustration :) Have a wonderful weekend too!

SILVER KNIGHT said...

Hi Paige,
This is lovely!
I like using "Sepia" Rotring Artpen inks. They are water soluble and you can control the consistency by adding water. I'm not sure if they're still available but you can check it on any art store. Sometimes, if I don't get the ink effect I want, I "fake" it with watercolor. I hope that helps. :)

Mônica said...

Hi Paige--

I use FW Acrylic Artist Ink, mostly sepia and black (water resistant). I have diluted it a bit with water and it seems to work fine with my dip pen (though sometimes I think I do get a bit of a watery feel.) For the most part I used it straight from the bottle and the effect is not very soft. They do come in many colors, though, so maybe some might give you the look you're hoping for.
:-)

Paige Keiser said...

Hi Silver Knight, oh I'll have to check those out too. Is Rotring still around? I thought they went out of business, which is sad because I loved their pens back in college.

Hi Monica, hey I have some of those...hmm....I didn't think to use them with my dip pens thinking they were an acrylic based ink, I'll definitely try that!

Thanks you guys! :0)