I tried three things this month: watercolor book from Pen&Ink and Hero fountain pen (Hero M86 Calligraphy Pen) with Noodlers Lexington Gray Booletproof ink. The combination of all three is a major failure...
Pen& Ink paper is not taking watercolors well and all Lexington Gray is blotching ugly. Even the thinnest line in a few seconds becomes a lichen-covered stick. And no booletproof ink is waterproof or water resistant on this paper. It's not even smudge proof! So I am very disappointed with this sketchbook and will not use this paper again. Though ballpoint works great on it :)
Hero pen is something I need to learn how to use - but it's a lot of fun to experiment with! Variety of lines is amazing!
I do not have anything to say about Lexington ink as I am waiting for a better paper to try it on :) My previous experiments included watering down black inks to get some gray and they worked fine - but this might be more consistent in the long run.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Three Experiments
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Nina, I had looked at those sketchbooks a while ago and decided the paper was not good enough...glad to have the report of your experience. I'm sorry it didn't work for you, though! I love the drawing. The composition is very pleasing.
ReplyDeleteI have been using a Hero bent up nib calligraphy pen for sketching for about a year now, along with the amazing #360 degree nibbed pen, and its possible to get so many different effects when drawing and sketching with these pens! There is a learning curve, of course, but these pens are so flexible once you get the hang of them and exploring the possibilities is great fun. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of yours as I get out of mine!
ReplyDeleteDrat, I closed this window without posting my comment! Trying again...your sketch is WONDERFUL, Nina. It reminds me of Chinese brush painting.
ReplyDeleteI like to sketch with calligraphy pens too, including my ancient Shaeffer...the line variety is exciting. (The Hero was a tad heavy for me, but it's a wonderful pen.)
SO sorry the paper didn't work out!
I do find Bulletproof inks NOT to mean waterproof, on a number of papers and under a variety of conditions. Lexington Grey is the most dependable, for me, but even it will sometimes resist drying. I found yesterday that if I flush out the pen and re-fill it, the ink dries more readily. NO idea why...
So glad I've found this blog. So many exciting suggestions of things to try. Thank you all.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura - the book is almost filled with ballpoint pen sketches - so it's not a loss - but definitely my expectations were different :)
ReplyDeleteSpinningDownUnder - I will definitely try Hero 360 one day - playing with the pens is a lot of fun :)
Kate;
thank you for the feedback on the sketch :) Hero pen has a very heavy cap indeed - but pen is joy to play with :)
I think bulletproof ink binds to cellulose - perhaps this paper is not entirely natural - not enough substance to bind to... But smudging is too much!
Lynn;
Glad you found us here :)