N00b: Inks And Pencils

detritus · My First Post! Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 1

hello there, i'm new (duh) to this site, though hopefully not to drawing. have submitted three pictures which are pending approval so hopefully they'll be up soon. dozo yoroshiku and all that. =)

i'm mostly a traditionalist, sketching in pencil and cleaning up by inking. does anyone have any recommendations pertaining ink and pen types, as well as inking techniques? currently i ink with the same pen i use for writing, my trusty 0.7 poilet g1, which is great for writing but frankly makes inking a chore, because it's a little too fine. i get by but the frustration tends to show.

also, with regards to inking technique, how do you make an inked picture look more, well, 3-d? because most of my inked pieces resemble those you'd find in colouring books. clean, yes, neat, yes, but a little... empty. i'm quite lousy at gauging where shadows and stuff should be despite three years of practice.

thanks for your help, and it's great to be here.

KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

My biggest suggestion for inking is to invest a realitively small ammount of money and buy a crowquill pen and lots of nibs. They are an inkers best friend, as they have varying widths, stiffness, and wells. Also, only use waterproof ink for inking. Non-waterproof runs like you wouldn't believe, and obviously, if the paper gets damp, the picture bleeds out.

For showing depth, try crosshatching, stipling, or an ink wash (that's where you'd use the non-waterproof stuff). For just showing depth alone, work from light to dark going "back" in the picture.

-KF

Ogrim_Doomhammer · Oldbie Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2116

i use sakura pens... they are really cool and they come in many widths...
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rikuschick · Very bored Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Posts: 148

same here, I have a pack of about 6 sakura pens, but I've heard that some professional artist use nibs & brushes in order to get smoother lines. but for people who don't have that kind of money or are just too lazy (that's me Laughing

) just use pens. to make your lines more 3-d, I suggest going over the whole pic with a thin pen, erasing the penciling & deciding where your light source will be. you can make thinner & thick lines depending on what parts of the pic will have more shadow.

Lizkay · Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:52 pm Post subject:

Copic, Micron and FaberCastell - Mainly these filled with UV resistant India Ink.
Micron is the thing for Comic-Inking and used in the Studio I am working for too. I personal prefer the FaberCastell ArtistBrushPens called "Pitt" these aren't that expensive and you can use them really long. They are available in art-stores accross europe, but I am not sure if they sell them everywhere. Copic is also pretty good stuff, I just had it once, they are good but too expensive for my taste.
An important point... NEVER ERASE before inking! Or just erase very very Gently! Because that makes the paper rough and your lines will not be clear on the erased parts! And also a good tip is to use the different sizes of the pens in the right order, thinner ones at first Wink

because if you make mistakes with them you can stil make the line thicker on that part or use white ink to kill it.
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army19791031 · Rookie Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Posts: 32

ok here is my advice. Pigma Micron, they sell them at michaels and other arts and craft stores. they are great becuase they come in many sizes. if those are too exspensive i found a decent knock off in the walmart craft section under the scrap booking area. and a little more advice erase with a good gum eraser or invest in a lightbox. makes inking a drawing look better.

KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

I agree -- lightboxes are teh joy.

If you can't afford one (they are extremely expensive, especially for a poor artist), you can make a fair one with some glass or clear plastic, a large shoebox or small crate, and a desk lamp (preferably one with a bendy neck). You cut the bottom out of the shoebox, cover the top with the plastic/glass, and put the lamp under it. This admittedly works better with frosted glass or a "white" desk lamp, but clear is okay, too. The tracing paper evens things out in the end.

On the subject of erasers.

Especially important if you're inking, though handy for penciling, as well, is the electric eraser. This is essentially an electric hand drill with an eraser stuck in it. Though, buy one off the market, do not try sticking an eraser in a REAL drill. ^_^ They can erase most pen and india inks, and even work for guache and some limited transpearant watercolours. So, if you mess up while inking, it's not the end of the world.

-KF

Fayore · Moderator Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 6195

Eh. You don't *need* a lightbox; it just helps a bit when you're trying to ink something. ^^;

I prefer the *extremely* fine pens, because if I need to make lines thicker, I can go back to it. I usually work with stuff like 0.3 pens. :3

I've never tried Copic (although I've heard that they're quite good) because they're just too expensive for me. ;_;

And on erasing... the best way to erase without ruining the page would be to just poke the lines with the eraser (like you're stamping or something) rather than rubbing. :3
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army19791031 · Rookie Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Posts: 32

[quote="Fayore ()"] Eh. You don't *need* a lightbox; it just helps a bit when you're trying to ink something. ^^;

I prefer the *extremely* fine pens, because if I need to make lines thicker, I can go back to it. I usually work with stuff like 0.3 pens. :3

I've never tried Copic (although I've heard that they're quite good) because they're just too expensive for me. ;_;

And on erasing... the best way to erase without ruining the page would be to just poke the lines with the eraser (like you're stamping or something) rather than rubbing. :3 [/quote]
well pigma micron has a numerous amount of sizes...I personally have .20mm-.50mm

But for large black areas I mainly use shapes..they fade with time but I haven't found any large acid free marker/inking pens.

Oh the pens I got from walmart are called...Zig Memory System...Millennium they are made for memory books...what ever that is. they also have color ones but i am starting to color in photoshop so i am avoiding colors. WOOT, WOOT.

Oh I also don't have a light box I just use a good eraser it usually leaves guidelines. Light box is good but I'm in Iraq right now kind of had to get.

Rindi_chan · Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 10:41 am Post subject:

I've been using Millennium pens for years, and they work great. I just got a Micron pen the other day, and so far they seem pretty much the same.

I've found Staedtler Mars Plastic erasers to work really well - they are white and come with a blue piece of cardboard-stuff wrapped around them. As long as you keep the eraser clean, it will erase beautifully. In any case, white erasers are much better than pink erasers. It took me ages to figure that one out!

Fayore · Moderator Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 6195

Staedtler makes all the best [i]affordable[/i] art supplies. Smile

Just about anything I use to draw is made by them. X3
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Brianhjh · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:30 pm Post subject:

Prismacolor's better

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Fayore · Moderator Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 6195

And more expensive.

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kazushi_shinomiya · My First Post! Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 1

Prisma colors arent that expensive now and days or you could always by some other good markers on like ebay or something for a low price ya know. XD

falkonns_flight · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:48 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I use a nib set u can buy at Michaels, or your local art store (Aaron Bros is great if u can find one). And use Permanant Waterproof india ink on a heavy paper. Also, inkwashing is really fun, so get an inkwell with a dropper. My snazzy avatar right there is an inkwashed pic (larger size in my gallery). I'd be happy to walk u thru inkwashing if u like. Just e-mail me or leave a msg on my profile Smile

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Brianhjh · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:47 pm Post subject:

Why does it feels like everybody is using pens so much?

>Brian, you never do linearts

Oh yeah...
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falkonns_flight · Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 12:14 am Post subject:

Actually, I just use the pens for sketching, or drawing fine lines. In the long run, I actually prefer using a paintbrush. I use the soft nylon ones, like you would use for something like water coloring. The brushes are far more versitile Razz

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Demothi · Rookie Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 30

I generaly use fine, felt tip pens... what I am usint right now are the triplus fineliner by Staedtler... but then again I just grab what ever comes my way... I am not very picky. I like felt tip pens because if you draw lightly you get thin lines, if you put more pressure when drawing you get thicker lines ^^

As far as the Light box thing goes... I don't have any room for one so what I do is I have a clear clip board and I hold it up to... say... my computer screan and draw like that, or I use charcol, or just regular lead/graphite, and rub it on the back and place sheet over the sheet I am going to use for my final, and draw over the lines I want, then ink the cheep crabon copied peice ^^

I generally use Marvy medium tip watercolor markers, they are pretty good, don't leave many of the layer lines, except when you get into the flesh colors... and they can be really unforgiving, you get to close to an inked line with a yellow or something and your yellow just got shaded darker -.- but I have no money for art supplies.... I am a starving artist basicly... so I make do with what I have.

Mikagami · Rookie Joined: 22 Jun 2005 Posts: 40

I used to use ordinary ballpoints, wich are kinda ok for inking but there are better ways.
But this christmas mum got me a special inking sorta pen. It's an import japanese inking thingy. Its got an inkt cardridge, AND it's got a penciltip wich means you can make really fat linesand lines as thin as a hair.
I'm still experimenting with it but I love it already.
Here's a link to whatthe tip looks like: Penciltip
They really are a joy to work with Laughing

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Jaduna · Member Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 70

I use micron, or copic liners, but I have a NeoPiko liner, and it works fine too. I also owned one of those Penciltip pens as well, and I agree that they work well, but you need to be careful when putting pressure on them. I squeezed mine a little to hard while inking a picture, and it gushed ink out all over the picture. . . . .