Pen Report! (i.e., "What Pen Do You Use?")

Folks following along since the start of DD4 will know this is the first time I'm using ink to… ink my comic pages. Previously, I just drew real clean pencil lines, the way they taught us in animation school.

Now, I'm kind of lazy, and I like to keep things clean, so I have naturally gravitated toward using brush pens instead of nibs and real brushes. There's some info online about the different characteristics of the different pens available, but nothing compares with real experience, so I started experimenting. I've ended up trying three pens so far: Sakura Pigma brush pens, Zebra brush pens, and Tombow brush pens. Here's some thoughts.

Your mileage may vary.

SAKURA PIGMA PENS

This type of pen came in a three-pack from my local art store. Shame, because between the Fine, Medium, and Large sizes, only the Fine is useful to me, and the local store doesn't carry them individually.

But! The Fine ("FB") has a really nice flexibility, and it has held its point very well. It might have my favourite tip shape and feel. Unfortunately, the ink doesn't seem to have lasted very long. Regardless, I will probably seek out somewhere to get them individually and stock up.

ZEBRA "ZENSATIONS" (ugh) BRUSH PENS

Hard to find in my local shops, but easy to order direct from Zebra online. Showed up quick, and the prices were good. Above, the blue is the "Super Fine" tip, and the grey is the "Fine" tip. I ordered two of each.

Ink quality and flow seem good in these pens, but I was disappointed by how quickly the "Super Fine" tip wore away its point. As a result, the line loses some of its good initial thick-and-thin properties. I will probably not be ordering more.

TOMBOW FUDENOSUKE PENS

Also from my local art store, these pens came in a two-pack. The blue pen has a "hard" tip, the dark green has a "soft" tip. Again, I was frustrated at having to buy them in a two-pack, because I assumed that I would only find a use for one of the two. Turns out, though, I really like the effects offered by the two tips.

I haven't been using these as long as the others, but I like the tip shape, and if it manages to stay sharp until the ink runs out, these might become my go-to pens. I like their size and weight, too. Unfortunately, flow might be an issue, as the "hard" tip pen seems to run dry more than it ought to. Though I might also have gunked it up by pushing it through some Posca ink.

With all these pens, the ink quality has seemed to be roughly equivalent, as far as I can tell. It stands up to water and eraser. None seems to bleed more than another on my soft drawing paper.

SECRET BONUS! PENTEL POCKET BRUSH PEN

I bought this a long time ago on a lark, and it has turned out to be just fantastic. The bristles keep a good shape. The line variation is very good, and it has been an excellent tool to learn — putting in time with it, I can see my use of it improving. I like the drybrush effects you can whip out of it.

The only downside is having to fill it up using proprietary cartridges, and the ink seems like it's on the runny/watery side. That wouldn't be a problem if I were just going to take the pages and crush them down to solid black/white, but I want to keep some of the grey values, so we'll have to wait and see how much I end up fighting with the black fills I made using this pen.

Still, it's really rewarding to find new ways to use it. 

COMING UP NEXT WEEK: 

Inks for Chapter One will be finished!

And I'll be experimenting with a new method to digitize those pages. Which will win out: my trusty old scanner? Or my new camera? The scanner still does a good job, but the camera might offer more dynamic range, which should give me more control over those middle-values I want to preserve. I suspect the scanner will still be the winner, but I'm excited to find out for sure.