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Octopus Write & Draw Green Ostrich A very nice waterproof, lightfast bright murky-ish Green, with slightly below average lubrication. If you want a darker one, go for Crane Green. A note about Ostriches. It’s a common misconception that Ostriches hide their head under the sand, it couldn’t be further from truth. Apparently they look for food on the ground and when they lay their eggs, they have to turn them regularly, hence giving the impression that they are hiding in the sand. If they are in danger, they run instead and very fast. However, human often hide their head in the proverbial sand of denial The scans are off on Midori and Tomoe River 68 gsm paper. The other papers are alright. Chroma: Writing Samples: I used a reverse Ef for the Ultra Extra fine line. As I mentioned before the scans of Midori and Tomoe River GSM are off. Photo: Midori and Tomoe River 68 gsm Comparison: Water test: Left side 10 seconds under running water. Art Work: Walk on the Wild Side Paper is Canson Mixed Media Octopus Write & Draw inks used: Ostrich & trees: Green Ostrich Orange: Orange monkey Tree trunks: Brown Seahorse Other inks: Jacques Herbin: Turquoise de Perse, J Herbin, Lie de Thé (eiffel tower)and Noodler's Lexington Gray · Pens used: Lamy (Reverse EF/Ef/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1), Osmiroid Copperplate. · What I liked: Colour, drawing ostriches. · What I did not like: Nothing much. · What some might not like: Fear of pigment inks? · Shading: Yes · Ghosting: None on cheap paper. · Bleed through: A bit depending on cheap paper. · Flow Rate: Wet · Lubrication: Slightly below average. · Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. · Start-up: Ok · Saturation: Not saturated. · Shading Potential: Ok. · Sheen: Silver sheen on Iroful, like most octopus W& D inks. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): No. · Clogging: Did not notice. · Cleaning: Easy, but as it’s a pigment ink YMMV. · Water resistance: Excellent. · Availability: 50 ml bottles, Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

Octopus Write and Draw - Grey Merkat I’m not sure why they made a “mistake” with the spelling. I’m sure meerkat’s won’t mind I post this information systematically on all Octopus Write & Draw ink reviews: They suggest that the shelf life of their ink is two years, which is a bit surprising. The ink is ISO 12757-2 and DIN ISO 14145-2 Here is the list of complete line up: https://www.octopus-office.de/shop/en/creative-inks/write-draw-ink/?p=1 And warnings: https://www.octopus-office.de/info/en/write-draw-ink/ Now to the review. This is a nice, wet, juicy grey, like a 6b pencil. The chroma, shows some green surprisingly : It writes wonderfully with all pens, especially the Japanese Ef nib. It might be too wet for some. It’s waterproof and especially great for sketching and washes. I saw shading with a B nib. But the scanner disagrees and sees it all over the place Writing Samples: It seems I'm a bit dyslexic and have inverted the name It's Grey Merkat. Also my automatic spell check has corrected the spelling There was a hint of ghosting on this paper: There's some ghosting/bleed through on copy paper but it's much much better than Herbin inks Photo: Comparison: Water test: And finally an artwork, inspired by Meerkats, entitled: Art of the Fugue and another one a prompt of Inktober yearly challenge: River It's a nod to the song Moon River from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Yellow ink is J Herbin Bouton d'or · Pens used: Pilot Kakuno Ef, Stub, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/Stub 1.1), Osmiroid Copper flex nib. · What I liked: Writing, drawing, washing. · What I did not like: Liking it so much. · What some might not like: It’s a pigment ink, it might be too wet for some. · Shading: If you scan your writing · Ghosting: Faint on Tomoe River 68 gr paper. · Bleed through: With F nibs onwards on copy paper. But much better than Herbin inks. · Flow Rate: Wet · Lubrication: Above average. · Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. · Start-up: Did not notice. · Saturation: Gorgeous grey. · Shading Potential: With M/B nibs and dry pens. · Sheen: Did not notice. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): Did not notice. · Clogging: Nope. · Cleaning: Easy · Water resistance: Excellent. · Availability: 50 ml bottles. Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier