Octopus Write and Draw - Grey Merkat

[yazeh]

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  

[lapis]

Nice! I really like this one. Once again, it reminds me of our Old Daddy Winter, although I don't see the green (in your art) which I think I see in the chrom.

Also the guitar... it reminds me of a cover of a Franz Zappa LP like Cruising With Ruben & The Jets (1968) or Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981). Not tryin' ta show off, just tryin' ta confirm that I also collect other things than inks....    ♪ ♫ ♬

[Sailor Kenshin]

What a delight this is, from review to writing to chroma to drawings.  And who doesn't love meerkats?

 

The water test—-looks like no actual water touched paper!  That combined with the meerkat symbol really has me tempted, though I swore off new inks.

 

Thanks, @yazeh.  This one's really cool.

[yazeh]

11 minutes ago, lapis said:

Nice! I really like this one.Once again, it reminds me of our Old Daddy Winter, although I don't see the green (in your art) which I think I see in the chrom.

I was surprised too I might do the chroma once again

11 minutes ago, lapis said:

Also the guitar... it reminds me of a cover of a Franz Zappa LP and/or CD.

The image is actually inspired from the photo of Audrey Hepburn playing the guitar in Breakfast at Tiffany's but I'm fine with Zappa

 

[yazeh]

4 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

What a delight this is, from review to writing to chroma to drawings.

Thanks!

4 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

 And who doesn't love meerkats?

They are so funny

 

 

4 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

The water test—-looks like no actual water touched paper!  

It's truly waterproof  

4 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

That combined with the meerkat symbol really has me tempted, though I swore off new inks.

It's a tempting one

 

4 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks, @yazeh.  This one's really cool.

A pleasure 🙏

[LizEF]

Fabulous review, @yazeh!  The chroma is very interesting, particularly how the green seems to separate sideways before climbing up the column...  Anyone else see a bit of purple off on the right side, too?  Very cool that it works for every nib - that's a rarity!  And is it me, or is that unattributed quote Poirot?

 

Most importantly of all, you outdid yourself with the artwork - water-test meerkat is adorable as all get-out!   Thinking he should be a recurring guest in your drawings. Singing meerkats are fabulous!   And Moon River meerkat is very, um, hep...  

 

Thanks for bringing us one that was so enjoyable!

[yazeh]

21 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Fabulous review, @yazeh! 

 

21 minutes ago, LizEF said:

The chroma is very interesting, particularly how the green seems to separate sideways before climbing up the column...  Anyone else see a bit of purple off on the right side, too?  Very cool that it works for every nib - that's a rarity! 

I was surprised too. It's nice, well lubricated a tad wet though

 

21 minutes ago, LizEF said:

And is it me, or is that unattributed quote Poirot?

Yes, Agatha Christie, Sherlock

 

21 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Most importantly of all, you outdid yourself with the artwork - water-test meerkat is adorable as all get-out!  

Thank you!

21 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Thinking he should be a recurring guest in your drawings. Singing meerkats are fabulous!  

 

They are very comical beast

 

21 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

And Moon River meerkat is very, um, hep...  

 

21 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Thanks for bringing us one that was so enjoyable!

A pleasure 🙏

[InesF]

All cats, all Octopus and all Merkats are grey (in the dark)   

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for the ink review and especially for your entertaining and funny artwork!  I love the Merkat-pipe organ the most  

Since first use, I love this ink. However, I use it for drawing only.

[yazeh]

5 hours ago, InesF said:

All cats, all Octopus and all Merkats are grey (in the dark)   

 

 

5 hours ago, InesF said:

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for the ink review and especially for your entertaining and funny artwork!  I love the Merkat-pipe organ the most  

Glad you enjoyed it  

 

5 hours ago, InesF said:

Since first use, I love this ink. However, I use it for drawing only.

I would be honoured if you post some of your Grey Merkat art work on this thread

 

[yazeh]

I decided to redo the chroma. 

I left it a bit longer than usual. There's no green, only blue, purple

 

[lapis]

Tadaaa!

[InesF]

On 4/18/2024 at 8:53 PM, yazeh said:

 

On 4/18/2024 at 3:19 PM, InesF said:

Since first use, I love this ink. However, I use it for drawing only.

I would be honoured if you post some of your Grey Merkat art work on this thread

 

Thank you! 🙏 You are most welcome.

 

I did the 2023 Inktober drawings 01 to 09 with Grey Merkat and some urban drawings during my stay at the health resort:

 

[yazeh]

4 hours ago, InesF said:

Thank you! 🙏 You are most welcome.

 

I did the 2023 Inktober drawings 01 to 09 with Grey Merkat and some urban drawings during my stay at the health resort:

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing them for me. You made my day. They are so imaginative and lovely.  🙏🙏🙏