reconsidering pens

 

Knowing what I now know about wet pens and how they behave, and in spite of what I said at the end of the last post about being a dry pen guy, I decided to go back and try a couple of pens I had so to speak written off..

Starting with the above, done with my first fountain pen, the Pen&Ink Sketch Extra Fine. In some ways I like it, it does handle somewhat more like a ballpoint, but I had forgotten how often it stops drawing and needs to be scribble-cleared, fussed with, de-clogged, and occasionally opened up and checked. I notice in spite of all this high-mainteneance gobbldygook though it made quite a nice drawing in many regards. Came back in later and finished it up with the Pilot Precise Grip rollerball for a similar look and a wetter line but no trace of high maintenance BS. If I could get one of those P&I pens to work smoothly for any length of time I'd have a possibly perfect pen. 

In reaction against all the trouble I switched to Copics and Tombows for this, plus a bit of waterbrush wash. Very nice as well. Much more controllable. 

Switched to the cool little Pilot Petit3, the dwarf brush pen that I love like no other because the nib is the perfect size and stiffness. It allows me to draw just like with a felt tip but get totally controllable line thickness. It's not as black as the Copics and not waterproof at all, but great for gestures. Tombows don't seem to smear it. Finished with the Copic BM for darker heavier outlines. 

.. And finally I just decided what the hell - time to bust out the Falcon. I just have this feeling that when I learn how to handle it it's going to be the best pen I have. And the rollerballs have been something of a training tool for it. I tested and dispelled a myth that had lodged itself in my mind about it too, which was inhibiting me - this notion that I need to keep it moving constantly and at a good speed so it won't make big ink blobs. It doesn't. I can stop with it on the paper and draw slowly, whatever I want really. So some of the problems with it were just in my head, if not all of them. 

On a similar front, I've had a brainstorm and decided to order some extra-fine rollerballs for doing the initial gesture marks. I'm starting to feel really good about all these pens.