 |
| Digital drawing I like. |
Anyway, prior to going digital I was deeply invested in my art tools. I obsessed over pens and brushes and brush pens and papers. In the 2000s I found that my favorite combination was a mechanical pencil (HB) + PITT brush pen + PITT or Micron .05 pen + Prismacolor markers + Paris Paper for Pens. This was the winning combo on which I drew all of my Pan-Gea art.
I went digital and found it to be so convenient and forgiving I just couldn't bring myself to draw on paper again for years. I mean YEARS. I had a brief period in the 2010s when I was drawing on paper quite a bit, doing stuff for Goodman Games and what-not (they had a no-digital art policy). After that, I switch back and forth but mostly drew digitally. The entirety of GOZR and about 50% of Black Pudding was created using my tablet.
But in late 2022 I suddenly started drawing on paper again. I can't even remember what happened to
 |
| Snot slug with Pentel brush. |
make me switch. But since then, probably 95% of my art has been done traditionally. Almost all of the art I've created for ZSF (my space fantasy game) is on paper.
In the past week or two I've been sorting all my tools. I have a LOT OF TOOLS. Like, copious numbers of markers, pens, and brush pens. Nibs and brushes. Inks and papers. Some of these had to go away because they were dried out. But others were fine, some just needed a little TLC.
The tools on my desk right now that I'm favoring:
And I just revitalized an old fountain pen by Sensa and it has a deliciously smooth line... but it is unreliable as hell. In fact... it stopped working entirely and I can't seem to fix the damn thing.
I picked up a Kuratake brush pen (#50) and it's a dream too. Though, honestly, the line quality isn't any better than the much less expensive Pentel. The main difference is the Kuratake can take an ink converter so you don't have to rely on disposable refills. And it has a metal tube, which feels good.
 |
| Kuretake #50 brush pen (not my art or pic). |
But I really do love that Sailor Profit brush pen's feel. Though it is a plastic tube, it has the shape and thickness that feels best in my hand. The only issue I have with that one is that the brush tip itself isn't as fine and precise as the Pentel or the Kuratake. It's very strange how much variation there is between these common brush pens, even though, speaking honestly, you can't go wrong with any of them.
 |
| Sailor Profit brush pen feels very nice. |
In my opinion, if you are interested in trying a brush pen, you absolutely cannot go wrong with a Pentel Pocket Brush. They are very inexpensive and have wonderful tips. However, keep in mind that the Pentel does not take an ink converter. What this means is you'll have to rely on the Pentel ink cartridges.
But there are workarounds. You can refill those empty cartridges using a syringe. There is also a cool tutorial you can find that teaches you how to modify an ink converter to fit into a Pentel body, so you can just use that instead.
An ink converter is just a refillable ink cartridge. Typically you twist the top to suck up ink into the cartridge so you can put it into your pen or brush pen.
 |
| A very popular ink converter from Platinum. |
I plan to make a nice, hand-drawn version of my large-scale campaign map using sheets of entirely blank white paper (8.5" by 11"), black pen, and then colored in with markers. My question:
ReplyDeleteWhat is the best paper and what is the best black pen for doing fine detail and for being able to write in teeny-tiny letters? I need to make sharp and crisp lines that do not bleed, for sometimes the lettering will need to be teeny-tiny.
My two cents:
Delete1. Get some bristol board. Strathmore is good. Or Canson. If you want to do it in small sheets like that, they might make a 8.5 x 11 (I'm not sure) but 9x12 is typically the small size. Get SMOOTH bristol, not vellum. Smooth is great for pens and markers.
If you don't like bristol, try Paris Paper for Pens, which is extremely smooth but slightly less durable. Still a great, great paper.
2. For very fine detail, such as tiny lettering, you can't beat Micron pens. It sounds like if you picked up an 01, 05, and maybe a Micron Graphic 1 you'd be in business. If you want more in the thin line range, get an 005, 01, and 03. These are gold-standard pens, used almost ubiquitously by so many artists.
3. For some lush linework, if you feel comfortable, try a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. But I don't know your skill level and a brush does require a delicate hand. I mean, it's not rocket science or anything. But if you're not used to them, they take time to learn how to control because you can get a teeny tiny line all the way to big fat one with the tiniest of hand pressure. If you want control, maybe avoid the brush and stick with the pens.
4. Get something for black fills. A Pitt Artist Pen Big Brush is nice. Posca paint markers are also good for big fills. Cheaper options include Tombow brush pens.
5. You MIGHT benefit from white for corrections. Posca white pain markers are the best for this. Wait plenty of time before trying to go white over black, though, because it will look muddy. There's just no way around that. I wouldn't attempt to go white over black for at least an hour.
6. For markers... Prismacolor is famously good. Copics are the markers of choice for many a comic book artist. But expensive. Honestly a set of almost any artist's alcohol markers do the trick and generally won't bleed over Microns. Azure is a cheap brand you can get easily. Arrtx is another. There's a ton of them out there and they all work about the same. The key is to use waterproof, archival ink (Microns, Pitt, and Pentel all work). And it is really important to use good paper if you're going to use alcohol markers because they will feather. On a good quality bristol or that Paris paper, feathering is minimum. But if you use something like cheap cardstock, you will get bleed and feathering.
Hope this helps.
Of course, if you want to put in the time and effort, you can go for even more traditional media such as dip pens and brushes using a bottle of india ink or fountain pen in. These are messy and take a lot of practice. But they are pretty awesome.
Delete