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InkShift – Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite to Golden Beryl Just for the fun of it, I occasionally resume my project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. A colleague of mine is entering retirement shortly, and I wanted to present her with a personalized greeting card for this occasion. For this, I am on the look-out for a moss-green style colour. And to make it even more personal, I decided to mix my own. So I turned to my ink-stash looking for some blue and yellow inks. I had a hunch that the blue-black Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite would mix well with Golden Beryl to create a fairly dark green. Well, only one way to find out, and that is to do the inkshift experiment. In the span between the two starting inks some nice moss-green colours appear. Up to the 1:2 Tanzanite:GoldenBeryl mix there is still too much blue in the mix (not immediately obvious from the scan, but absolutely noticeable to the naked eye). The mixes with 1 part Tanzanite and 2.5/3/4 parts Golden Beryl are more or less alike. I decided to go with the 1:2.5 mix which looks like a nice moss-green colour. This mix is not too dark a green, and has good contrast between the light and darker parts, which translates to an aesthetically pleasing soft shading. And it doesn’t use up too much of the Golden Beryl, which is a useless ink on its own, but a great one for mixing. Above, you can see the progression of the chromas from Tanzanite on the left to Golden Beryl on the right (2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 mixes between the original inks) . It’s quite clear that Tanzanite dominates the spectrum. I continue to enjoy these ink morphing experiments. Fun adventures in ink-land, and more often than not you are rewarded with a mix that beats the original inks. Fun guaranteed!

InkShift – TACCIA benizakura to sabimidori Just for the fun of it, I occasionally resume my project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. TACCIA Utamaro benizakura is too bright a red for me. On its own I would probably not use the ink again, so I decided to tone it down a bit. Fellow member @InesF suggested I try to temper the ink by mixing it with TACCIA Hokusai sabimidori. That made me curious… I had no idea what that would do to the ink. Well, only one way to find out, and that is to do the inkshift experiment. In the span between the two starting inks some muted purples appear – ranging from rose-red to more of a violet blue. No great discoveries, although I like two of the mixes: The mix with 10:1 of benizakura:sabimidori results in a soft rose-red that works much better for me than the bright benizakura original. That’s a mix I see myself using. The 1:5 mix of benizakura:sabimidori creates a nice muted violet-purple that I like a lot. But I enjoy the original sabimidori much more, and this mix would use up too much of that ink. So this mix is a no-go. By now, I have a hunch that the brighter TACCIA asahanada (an indigo-blue ink) will react nicely with the blazing red benizakura. Maybe some more vibrant purples or violets? But that’s a topic for another inkshift experiment. Above, you can see the progression of the chromas from benizakura on the left to sabimidori on the right . It’s quite clear that benizakura dominates the spectrum. I continue to enjoy these ink morphing experiments. Fun adventures in ink-land, and more often than not you are rewarded with a mix that beats the original inks. Fun guaranteed!

InkShift – kyo-no-oto imayouiro to Mont Blanc Royal Blue Just for the fun of it, I occasionally resume my project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. TAG Kyoto kyo-no-oto imayouiro (review coming shortly) is a nice enough ink, but it is pink and that's just not my type of colour. I do have a number of such pink/rose inks (as part of a series) that I maybe use once every few years just out of curiosity… “what did that ink look like again? Oh yeah! pink… nice enough, but back to the stash… see you in a couple of years”. Blue-purples on the other hand are definitely my thing. So I decided to morph imayouiro towards the blue end of the spectrum to create some lavender – blue-purple hues. Maybe there are some interesting combinations in the mix that would get more love than the pink imayouiro. Who knows… only one way to find out, and that is to do the inkshift experiment. In the span between the two starting inks some interesting colours appear, that certainly cater more to my taste than the pink original. The 1:1 mix results in a kind of lavender-type purple that looks quite nice. And the mix with 1 part imayouiro and 3 parts Royal Blue gives a slightly purple-leaning blue that I find really appealing. I continue to enjoy these ink morphing experiments. Fun adventures in ink-land, and more often than not you are rewarded with a mix that beats the original inks. Fun guaranteed!

InkShift – Pelikan Edelstein Apatite to Golden Beryl Just for the fun of it, I occasionally resume my project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. Pelikan Edelstein Apatite (review coming shortly) is the new Ink of the Year 2022. I knew it wasn’t my type of colour, but I collect these Edelstein inks, and so didn’t want to miss this one. Apatite is a really bright and in-your-face blue… a full page of it really is just too much for me. I got the feeling though that it might be a nice base colour for some ink mixes. So I resurfaced Edelstein Golden Beryl – a golden yellow that works well with wet & broad nibs, but not so well with my usual F and M pens. Could there be some nice looking greens in there? Who knows… only one way to find out, and that is to do the inkshift experiment. In the span between the two starting inks some interesting greens appear, that certainly cater more to my taste than the bright blue Apatite original. The 1:1 mix results in a fresh spring green that looks quite nice. And the 1:2 and 1:3 mixes of Apatite with Golden Beryl are more of a delicate lemon grass green. Overall, a few very appealing greens in the mix. Above, you can see the progression of the chromas from Apatite on the left to Golden Beryl on the right (with the 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 mixes in between). From these, you can already see that none of these mixes show any water resistance. It’s also clear that the mixes with a stronger presence of the yellow ink show a bit more complexity. I continue to enjoy these ink morphing experiments. Fun adventures in ink-land, and more often than not you are rewarded with a mix that beats the original inks. Fun guaranteed!

InkShift – Mont Blanc Lavender Purple to Royal Blue Just for the fun of it, I occasionally resume my project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. For now, I'm restricting myself to inks from the same manufacturer - mainly to avoid nasty chemical surprises. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. Mont Blanc Lavender Purple is a technically ok ink, but has that shade of red-purple that doesn’t really appeal to me. And so I ended up with a bottle that’s been collecting dust in my ink cabinet. Time for a change… I decided to see if I could morph Lavender Purple more toward the blue end of the spectrum, by mixing it with Royal Blue. Maybe there are some interesting combinations in the mix, maybe even a fairly decent violet-blue. Who knows... only one way to find out, and that is to carry out the inkshift experiment. In the span between the two starting inks more interesting colours appear, that certainly beat the original Lavender Purple (my personal opinion). The 1:1 mix is a blue-purple that looks quite nice. And the mix of 1 part Lavender Purple with 3 parts Royal Blue is my personal favourite: a soft blue-heavy violet that looks really appealing. For me, both of these mixes are a significant improvement to the original Lavender Purple. Another bottle of ink saved from oblivion! I continue to enjoy these ink morphing experiments. Fun adventures in ink-land, and more often than not you are rewarded with a mix that beats the original inks. Fun guaranteed!

InkShift – Pelikan Edelstein Jade to Onyx Pelikan Edelstein Jade is one of the few inks that I really hate – I simply cannot stomach its colour. So time to get creative and try to salvage my bottle. The Platinum Classic Black series gave me the idea to darken up the ink by adding some black. So I set out to try different ratios of two Edelstein inks: Jade and Onyx, shifting from one to the other. Below is a set of progressive mixes I used while looking for an interesting combination. Works great, and this is a technique I will surely use more often in the future. I liked the 1:1 and 2:1 Jade/Onyx mixes most, and finally added a final one in between with a ratio of 3 parts Jade and 2 parts Onyx. That became my favourite – a dirty dark blue-green - and I have named it “Murky Waters”. I will do a more comprehensive test of it in the coming days, which I will post here on this forum.

InkShift - Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin to Aventurine Just for the fun of it, I decided to do a project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. For now, I'm restricting myself to inks from the same manufacturer - mainly to avoid nasty chemical surprises. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. Mandarin (orange) and Aventurine (green) are regular Edelstein inks. Nice inks, but not really exciting. I decided to explore the territory in between to find out if something interesting turns up. As always, I start with 1:1 and 1:2 mixes to see what areas to explore. In this case, Aventurine clearly is the dominating ink, so I decided to zoom in more on the Mandarin side of the spectrum. In the span between these two inks, there are some interesting colours to be found. My personal favourites are:15 parts Mandarin / 1 part Aventurine : a nice sepia type colour3 parts Mandarin / 1 part Aventurine : an appealing moss greenI really enjoy these morphing experiments. You never know what surprises will turn up, and the resulting colours are often a lot more interesting than the standard ink colours you start with.

InkShift - Kaweco Ruby Red to Sunrise Orange Just for the fun of it, I decided to do a project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. For now, I'm restricting myself to inks from the same manufacturer - mainly to avoid nasty chemical surprises. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. Ruby Red and Sunrise Orange are regular Kaweco inks, but not especially interesting. The Ruby Red is definitely not to my taste, and the Sunrise Orange is just plain orange... I don't see the soft beauty of a sunrise in this colour. But maybe there might be some interesting combinations in the mix, maybe even a fairly decent red-orange. Who knows... only one way to find out, and that is to do the inkshift experiment. In the span between the two starting inks more interesting colours appear, that beat the original versions (my personal opinion). The ones that I liked the most are the following two: The first one is a soft orange-red, the other a decent sunset orange. I prefer these mixes to the original Kaweco inks, and will use them instead. I continue to enjoy these ink morphing experiments. Fun adventures in ink-land, and more often than not you are rewarded with a mix that beats the original inks. Fun guaranteed!

InkShift - Robert Oster 1980 Opal Green to Honey Bee Just for the fun of it, I decided to do a project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. For now, I'm restricting myself to inks from the same manufacturer - mainly to avoid nasty chemical surprises. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. Opal Green and Honey Bee are two inks from the Robert Oster 1980 series that I didn't like too much. Opal Green is just not my type of colour, and Honey Bee is too light to write with. Both are great for drawing, but for writing they didn't strike a chord with me. That makes them ideal candidates for an InkShift. You never know whether some interesting mixes turn up. In the span between the two starting inks, some interesting grass-green colours can be found. I personally like the mix with 1 part Opal Green and 1.5 parts Honey Bee... quite a nice one. One word of warning: Honey Bee is a chameleon ink: yellow under artificial light, sepia with daylight (and under the scanner). The same can be said for the "Honey Bee"-leaning mixes: under artificial light you get yellow-green colours, in daylight (and with the scanner) these look more like moss-green. I really enjoy these ink morphing experiments, the results are often surprising and a lot more interesting than the original inks. Loads of fun!

InkShift - Kaweco Palm Green to Royal Blue Just for the fun of it, I decided to do a project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. For now, I'm restricting myself to inks from the same manufacturer - mainly to avoid nasty chemical surprises. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. Palm Green and Royal Blue are regular Kaweco inks, but not especially interesting. As far as I know, Kaweco has no teal inks in its line, so I decided to explore if a decent teal is in the mix. Green inks appear to be very dominant ones, so I explored on the blue side of the spectrum. Some interesting combinations arise, certainly more interesting than the plain ink versions I started with. In the span between the two starting inks, some interesting colours can be found. My personal favourites are:1 part Palm Green, 7 parts Royal Blue : a Prussian Blue style colour1 part Palm Green, 4 parts Royal Blue : a blue-leaning tealI really enjoy these ink morphing experiments, the results are often surprising and a lot more interesting than the original inks. Loads of fun! Doing an inkshift is easy. All it takes is a couple of pipettes, some receptacles, Q-tips and a fountain pen. And a couple of hours of free quality time to run the mixing experiment. You should try it... a fun experience.

InkShift - Pelikan Edelstein Topaz to Ruby Just for the fun of it, I decided to do a project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. For now, I'm restricting myself to inks from the same manufacturer - mainly to avoid nasty chemical surprises. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. In this experiment, I started with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz and Ruby as base inks. My hope was to find some interesting purples. But no... I'm not impressed with the purples that appeared. I do like some of the blues though. Now I'm wondering if a more vibrant red like "Star Ruby" would have been a better choice... I'm hoping for more of a violet colour to turn up.

InkShift - Pelikan Edelstein Topaz to Star Ruby Just for the fun of it, I decided to do a project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. For now, I'm restricting myself to inks from the same manufacturer - mainly to avoid nasty chemical surprises. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. This particular combo is a follow-up to the Topaz-to-Ruby InkShift. I had a hunch that the more vibrant Star Ruby might result in more interesting purples. As far as I'm concerned that hunch turned out to be correct. This inkshift produced quite some interesting colours, even a few violets. This morphing project really is great fun... I am thoroughly amusing myself. Below is a side by side with the Topaz-to-Ruby InkShift. What a difference a "star" makes

InkShift – L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Heure Dorée to Noir With their Callifolio line of inks, L'Artisan Pastellier has produced some really nice ink colours. Some of them are better than others, though. I really like Heure Dorée as a drawing ink, and it is undoubtedly a beautiful ink for journaling with wet & broad pens. But... I'm typically using F/M nibs on my pens, and with these Heure Dorée is definitely too light for my taste. Time to darken it up a bit by adding a bit of Noir - the black ink of the Callifolio series, and see what this produces. Below is a set of progressive mixes I used while looking for an interesting combination. This mixing experiment turned out really well. In fact, I like almost all combinations. The mixes shift from a yellow- to a green-olive colour. I even like the dirty-green 1:1 mix. I have several favourites this time: The 1:15 mix makes for a very readable yellow-olive The 1:5 mix looks like a nice green-olive The 1:1 mix is an intriguing dirty-green I haven't made up my mind yet about my absolute favourite. I would be interested to know what people on the forum consider theirs - please let me know. My plan is to choose one of the mixes in the coming days, and do a more comprehensive review which I will post here on the forum.