Fountain Pens For Ink Drawings

[ArtofEricGunty]

Hi, I'm new to the forums so I'm sorry if this has been asked before. Does anyone have any suggestions for fountain pens that would be good for ink drawing? I was told that Sheaffer pens with a fine nib would work well for outlines. Any other suggestions for a fine line look with ink that flows easily but doesn't drip or run? Also, I'm assuming I'd need another type of pen for shading or filling in areas. Any suggestions for that as well? Thanks in advance for any advice. This has to be the most knowledgeable forum I've ever visited.

[Pickwick]

Can you be more specific as to the style of pen and ink drawing? Do you only want to produce outlines with a fine pen? What style of shading, cross hatching which will produce shading effects with line width variation with a pen, or diluting ink to provide a series of tones which ca be applied with a brush?

[northstar]

I use Sheaffer 100 and Intensity this days with M nibs, as Pickwick said it depends on the style you use, my suggestion is to try different pens and see what works best for you.

 

Example of my drawing using a sheaffer 100 with Medium nib:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/316958-dont-just-tell-us-about-the-pen-youre-using-show-us-2017/?p=3786971

 

 

Best regards.

[bogiesan]

Yes, the topic comes up regularly. Have you tried to search for the term?

Problem with making recommendations is that there are a million pens, a million inks, not quite so many different types of papers but almost, and a million styles of drawing. Rather like asking, "Which brush shoudl I use now that I'm starting with gouache?"

Are you sure you want a hard nib? What about refillable brush pens? Do you need a flexible nib that can lay down varying widths? Do you want to play or do you need precision? Disposable? INexpensive workhorse or high end attention getter? Do you want to re-ink often or do you need a big tank of ink?

 

You can find large supplies of inks and many pens on the clearance links at all the major online pen retailers but I encourage you to shop locally if at all possible. Your local arts and crafts suppliers may have some cool stuff. They'll have Sheaffer calligraphy sets and maybe some other beginner pens. Caution: Your local art supplier will have pigment calligraphy inks which must not be used in fountain pens.

 

You will find dozens of great pens mentioned for drawing if you just search around the forums a bit. IN related threads you will find many recommendations for pens for beginners. Just go easy on your budget! Like any other art tools, these can be quite dear and you will always want just one more.

 

Oh, and welcome to the family.

[bogiesan]

Forgot to mention my own recommendations: The Sheaffer calligraphy set has three pens, three nibs, and some cartridges. Less than $50. But these are cheaply made and the nibs can dig into drawing paper easily. Good training, though.

Lamy Safari comes in a huge selection of colors for about $30 each. Get the extra fine nib first. Sheaffer's entry level fountain pens are inexpensive.

Pilot makes a disposable pen that is available in sets of five or more on a card at most of the big box office stores.

 

Once more, try not to spend much until you know more about the techniques and the different types of nibs.

[BillH]

I use Platinum Desk Pens with Platinum Carbon Black ink for fine line stuff (EF nib is my most used drawing pen). Also Lamy Safaris, mixed nibs, with both Carbon Black and Noodler's Lexington Grey for lining. Those inks are waterproof and will take watercolor washes if you're into that. De Atramentis Document inks are also quite good and waterproof.

 

For shading or washing, there are lots of pen and ink combinations. But one pen I've really come to enjoy and use frequently is a Sailor Fude pen (from Amazon, $10-ish). I have the green one, 55 degree nib, and keep it filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same which is a lovely complex grey ink that shades and washes quite wonderfully.

[BillH]

Do I need to warn you that you stand on the edge of the abyss? Ever been to the Grand Canyon? There is a little twisting path that takes you to the bottom and out the other side... but the scenery is awesome. The fountain pen abyss is like that except for the little signs before every turn that say "Perfect Pen Just Ahead"

 

Enjoy the trek!

[Inksomnia]

I would say TWSBI 580 Diamond EF. That it what I use for line drawing. But it's more like 05 micron pen (or any fineliner). So If you want finer nib, you should look japanese ef or custom grinds. I have also TWSBI eco with custom needlepoint and thats more like 01 in micron pens. I don't use fountain pens to fill large areas, I find brush pens better for that. Like Kuretake brush pen can take platinium cartridge and works just like fountain pen, except it has brush.

[Mech-for-i]

Before finding the pen I would recommend you looking into the inks first. For drawing fountain pen ink can be a PITA as most can easily break down into dofferent hue when watered down and not to mention they mix oddly. That is why thrre are specifically artist materials say liquid watercolor.

 

As for pens I think any Asian F/EF would do as they typically have constrained ink flow for the language in concern and like wise any of Asian calligraphy nibbed aka Fude nibbed pen would be great for the filling and broad stroke need.

 

You might want to consider maintenance also. When used as drawing meed it might require a more frequent cleaning , disassembly so ease of doing such would help

[ArtofEricGunty]

Forgot to mention my own recommendations: The Sheaffer calligraphy set has three pens, three nibs, and some cartridges. Less than $50. But these are cheaply made and the nibs can dig into drawing paper easily. Good training, though.

Lamy Safari comes in a huge selection of colors for about $30 each. Get the extra fine nib first. Sheaffer's entry level fountain pens are inexpensive.

Pilot makes a disposable pen that is available in sets of five or more on a card at most of the big box office stores.

 

Once more, try not to spend much until you know more about the techniques and the different types of nibs.

Thanks for the advice and the suggestions for fountain pens. There's a lot to learn about the topic for sure and I appreciate the help. Have you tried any of the glass dip type pens?

[ArtofEricGunty]

I use Platinum Desk Pens with Platinum Carbon Black ink for fine line stuff (EF nib is my most used drawing pen). Also Lamy Safaris, mixed nibs, with both Carbon Black and Noodler's Lexington Grey for lining. Those inks are waterproof and will take watercolor washes if you're into that. De Atramentis Document inks are also quite good and waterproof.

 

For shading or washing, there are lots of pen and ink combinations. But one pen I've really come to enjoy and use frequently is a Sailor Fude pen (from Amazon, $10-ish). I have the green one, 55 degree nib, and keep it filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same which is a lovely complex grey ink that shades and washes quite wonderfully.

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to check in on the Sailor and the ink.

[ArtofEricGunty]

I use Sheaffer 100 and Intensity this days with M nibs, as Pickwick said it depends on the style you use, my suggestion is to try different pens and see what works best for you.

 

Example of my drawing using a sheaffer 100 with Medium nib:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/316958-dont-just-tell-us-about-the-pen-youre-using-show-us-2017/?p=3786971

 

 

Best regards.

Fantastic drawing!!! I'm mostly sketching ideas out, not necessarily looking for a finish look to any of my artwork for use with pens. Someone had suggested a Sailor Fude De Mannen so I've got one of those in my Amazon cart and Sheaffer has also bee suggested so I'll probably check the 100 out as well. Thanks for the feedback.

[inkstainedruth]

I've used a variety of pens. There was a thread a couple of years ago where people posted stuff for "Inktober".

The pens I liked drawing with the best were a Rotring Artpen with a firm (stiff) EF nib and a Pelikan M400 with a springy and wet F nib.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[flummoxed]

@[member='northstar'], that is a super rendition, well done.

 

@[member='ArtofEricGunty'], I've used a variety of pens for different sketches ranging from a a needlepoint nib to a medium nib depending on the style and the nature of the sketch (and paper). I've been practicing lithography style using a dip pen for a while now. I've posted a few at https://www.instagram.com/flumm0x3d/