Recommendations for sketching fountain pens?

[Colin M]

Hello all, I am pretty new to fountain pens but have been drawing and sketching for quite a while.  I've usually used charcoal or Conte crayons and, for ink, just soft nib pens.  I've picked up a couple cheaper fountain pens that I really enjoy writing with, but seem more challenging to draw in come cases.  I wanted to see if the collective wisdom of experience that is present here has some suggestions.  The pens I have are from Fountain Pen Revolution.  I have two of the Darleeling pens, one with a fine nib and one with the "ultra flex" nib.  The ultraflex is super fun for writing, but in drawing, if I'm using a really light touch and off-angle (so to speak) it isn't laying down any ink.  The fine nib is certainly an improvement in this regard, but still with a very light, kind of skating touch (especially drawing circles or ovals) it can skip a little compared to a fine liner.  Is this just going to be inherent in the design of a fountain pen or are there some models that can do the light touch, variable-angle type of thing?  I like all other aspects of the pens and I like the solid feedback feel of metal directly on paper, including any noise and scratchiness.

Thanks for any input, Colin

Edited March 1, 2023 by Colin M

[Sailor Kenshin]

You don't mention your location or price limit.

 

I'm going to suggest any of the Wing Sung piston-fillers (3008, 3009, 3010 and so on) for their nice ink capacity and generally excellent nibs.  You can find them on Amazon but they force you to buy multiples.  
 

And then, maybe a Jinhao Shark fude.  These curved nibs take a little getting used to, but flip them curve-side up and you also have an ultra-fine line.

 

Lamy Safari, Pilot Metropolitan.  Both reliable cartridge/converter pens, and the Safari has a ton of nib options.  Good luck!

[Colin M]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm in the US and price range is flexible...I'd pay up to $200 or so for a really good candidate.

[Catpaws]

I recommend the Pilot Kakuno. 

[jandrew]

Personally, I like a very fine, firm nib for sketching, tuned to write with the lightest touch in all directions.  I have a Pilot CH912 with a PO nib that is great for sketching (that's around the 200 dollar amount), and a custom Kirk Speer PO nib (from Penrealm) in a Franklin Christoph model 20) that is terrific (a little over 200 USD altogether). These PO nibs are downcurved and firm and nicely fine (xxf), and allow you to flip it over and use the curved nib surface for brush like strokes.

 

On the cheaper side, I have a Midori MD pen, which has a slightly downcurved nib that functions like the above mentioned PO nibs --- only available in M, so I ground mine to a F. That is around 40 USD.

 

That said, I've done plenty of sketching with Pilot Kakuno EF and Platinum Preppy (0.2) pens, which are considerably cheaper (and the Kakuno pens have a smiley face on the nib). Hard to beat.
 

[Colin M]

Thanks all, I am going to research those suggestions.  Also that's the first time I have heard of a PO nib, so looking into that as well.....Colin

[corniche]

Hi Colin,

 

I don't like to be contrarian, but the best advice I can give you is don't ask a Volkswagen to pull 7500 pounds... and don't use a Peterbilt to pull a dirt bike trailer. In other words, use the right tool for the job.

 

Sketching involves broad, sweeping strokes ... the kind that are great for getting a load of paper lint trapped in your nib. For sketching, use what's best... soft pencils and brush pens.  Just my 2¢. 😉

 

- Sean 🐯

[Sailor Kenshin]

44 minutes ago, Colin M said:

Thanks all, I am going to research those suggestions.  Also that's the first time I have heard of a PO nib, so looking into that as well.....Colin

Sort of like an upside-down fude…

[WalterC]

You might find Mark Kompanets' youtube videos helpful. He is an artist/art professor. Many of his videos are about using fountain pens in art. https://www.youtube.com/@mkompan

       Perhaps you would be well served by a cheap fountain pen whose nib has been tuned to be rather wet. If you want to try tuning the nib yourself, inexpensive pens like Sailor Kenshin's suggestion of Wingsung piston fillers is good; indeed you can get extra nibs on ebay for lots of experimentation. 

[AmandaW]

I will echo WalterC's recommendation of the pen needing to be wetter. Look first to adjust the pen/s you have - in normal pressure the ink should glisten a little as it goes on the page and to get light-spidery lines for variety just adjust to using  a lighter touch. And that flex nib: woah, should be great. Yeah, your pens are just a bit too dry.

 

Also a fude can be a good inexpensive drawing pen because it gives variety based on the angle so is pretty easy to learn to use. A Sailor fude de mannen - the ugly green one - should be easy to get. And fun.

 

 

 

[dipper]

5 hours ago, Colin M said:

in drawing, if I'm using a really light touch and off-angle (so to speak) it isn't laying down any ink ....snip ...... with a very light, kind of skating touch (especially drawing circles or ovals) it can skip a little compared to a fine liner.  Is this just going to be inherent in the design of a fountain pen or are there some models that can do the light touch, variable-angle type of thing?

 

Inherent in the design of a fountain-pen is the fact that the nib and feed must be adjusted "just right" if the pen is to lay down a consistent fine line with the lightest touch and with possibly rapid sweeping strokes.

The selection of ink and paper used also had an effect.

 

A cheapo fine-liner with a fibre tip is less pernickety. If it has ink it will write, and it will write at any angle .... but the line has a very different quality to that laid down by a fountain-pen, as you know.

 

Price is no guarantee that a pen will write as you wish "out of the box" without adjustment.

Some pen brands have a better reputation for being well setup than others.

Two regular features of discussions here on the FPNetwork are selecting a suitable pen to buy, and "adjusting" nib / ink choice / etc to give the result you want.

 

Welcome to the club!

 

Personal tastes do vary. The Mark Kompanets videos mentioned previously are excellent education, and in those videos the presenter takes care to explain why certain pens are better for his personal sketching technique. (Preferring fine tip dryer writing pens because he does a lot of overlaid cross-hatching to build up tone values. A wetter pen would make a soggy mess of the paper surface.)

 

My pen sketching techique is very different from that above. (For delicate tonal work I would use a pencil or charcoal, or a fine tip flex dip pen with india ink.)

In fountain-pen work I use wet bold solid black strokes in a completely different style, employing a lot of solid black fills. So I need a different type of fountain pen. (Duke 209 "bent" Fude-nib hosepipe, or vintage wet Parker Duofolds with broad nibs.)

 

I hope you will find, as I do, that all the range of different fountain pens (wet, dry, broad, fine) and the many inks available will be an ongoing source of adventure and inspiration in drawing.

 

 

 

 

 

[Colin M]

4 hours ago, WalterC said:

You might find Mark Kompanets' youtube videos helpful. He is an artist/art professor. Many of his videos are about using fountain pens in art. https://www.youtube.com/@mkompan

       Perhaps you would be well served by a cheap fountain pen whose nib has been tuned to be rather wet. If you want to try tuning the nib yourself, inexpensive pens like Sailor Kenshin's suggestion of Wingsung piston fillers is good; indeed you can get extra nibs on ebay for lots of experimentation. 

I'm enjoying that youtube channel, thanks!

 

Dipper, my thought exactyl on the difference between a fine liner and metal nib pen.  My stye of sketching is also a lot looser and more sweeping than Mr Kompanets' , and other videos I have found showing fountain pens for sketching follow that more detailed, short-line. hatchy-style. (which I could see posing less challenges for a fountain pen, being more in line with consistent drawing strokes and less random angles.)  Iim definitley up to experiment with my pens.  They are cheap and extra nibs are pretty cheap as well.

Edited March 2, 2023 by Colin M

[Sailor Kenshin]

We'd love to see some of your sketches!

[Colin M]

14 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

We'd love to see some of your sketches!

👍 I'll upload a few  pics soonish.  Don't expect Da Vinci! 😋

[Maurizio]

Ditto love to see some sketches. 

 

From what you write, it seems that you prefer a looser drawing style, with broader strokes. If that is the case, I suggest you try two pens, and when I  say try, I mean go to a brick & mortar shop and actually try the nibs on these pens. If that is not possible for you, then read as many reviews (and watch videos)  as you can to try to get an understanding of how these nibs write and the differences between them. 

 

1. Pilot Falcon with a broad nib

2. Pilot Custom 742 with an FA nib

 

 I don’t have the 742 with the FA nib yet, but I just ordered one from a Japanese seller which should arrive in a few weeks from Japan. The FA nib is supposed to be quite soft and flexible and able to yield the greatest range of line variation from thin to broad of any modern standard production fountain pen. From my reading reviews and seeing videos, including by the above-mentioned Marc Kompaneyets, this appears to be the case. 

 

I had a Pilot Falcon with a broad nib about 7 years ago, before I became interested in drawing and sold it because, at the time, the line it wrote was too thick for everyday writing. I really regret selling it now and want to get another one. That pen laid down a nice broad wet line; it was almost like using a brush the way it smoothly & consistently laid down a juicy line of ink. 

 

I’m a fledgling sketcher and still developing skills and I like to use a variety of nib sizes when I practice. My current favorites are a Pilot Falcon with an EF nib, a Sailor 1911 EF, and a Pilot Custom Kaede with a medium nib. 

 

On second thought, i don’t think the Pilot 742 or 743’s are available at any retail store in the CONUS. You could however try out a Custom 912 FA at some stores. 

[Colin M]

I've uploaded a few sketches from the past couple years.  I don't know if this is too many images..?  I hope you guys like them....they are a mix of Conte, charcoal, some ink and wash and pen (fineliner or fountain pen).  I am practicing Loomis heads a lot these days.  The tree I did a day or two ago, after watching Marc Kamponayets' video on drawing trees with fountain pens.  I'm really loving his feed and the variety of tutorials there.  Learning a lot and appreciate  his teaching style.  Any feedback and critique welcome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by Colin M

[JulieParadise]

5 hours ago, Colin M said:

I've uploaded a few sketches from the past couple years.  

 

Oh, wow, your sketches are stunningly beautiful! Thank you! 

[Maurizio]

Nice work Colin. Thanks for sharing with us. 

 

Every artist develops their own style. I think your head and hand studies are very good. Loomis is an excellent source to learn from. I have Loomis’ figure drawing book  but haven’t tackled head or figure drawing yet. Kompaneyets has some fun-to-watch videos and is, in my subjective opinion, good on faces and figures, not so great on landscapes or trees. I watched his tree video and was a bit underwhelmed. 

 

I’m still learning. Here are 2 books I have found helpful for trees:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Trees-William-Powell-Learn/dp/1633227790/ref=sr_1_5?crid=P3MSIN7JOUQL&keywords=drawing+trees&qid=1678010514&sprefix=drawing+trees%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-5

 

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Painting-Trees-Landscape-Claudia/dp/1440305374/ref=sr_1_3?crid=T4S2NVL200C6&keywords=drawing+and+painting+trees&qid=1678011367&sprefix=drawing+and+painting+trees%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-3

 

The Claudia Nice book is - unbelievably - out of print but you can still get a used copy. Her style is interesting because she incorporates pen & ink into watercolor paintings. Even though she uses a technical pen instead of our favorite fountain pens, we can still learn from her. 

 

Keep up the nice work and I hope you find a decent pen to use for your sketching. 

 

I don’t want to threadjack so I’m not posting some tree sketches here. Anyone interested can look at my album where I’ve posted a few more images of tree and branch studies. 

 

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

@Colin M, thanks for showing us your sketches.  Impressive!

[Colin M]

Thanks all for the great  feedback.
 Mauritzio, I took a look at your pics and I’m really liking those recent trees.  Especially the large one and the one with  bare branches.  The big one has a real wood quality to it. 
On heads and hands: 
I was so frustrated with loomis heads a few years ago that I pretty much gave up and was really trying to find any other style of construction just to avoid them. I am now just forcing myself to do a certain number fo them a day and finally feel like it makes **some*** sense 🙃.  
I was noticing the way Marc made circles with his fountain pens and I feel like I do a similar hack.  About 2/3 of the way around counterclockwise snd then “patching in” the rest clockwise.  I continue to look for a pen that will give a continuous line on one large ccw circle.  I’m still checking out videos of some of the pens rec’d above.  
Thanks!

Colin