Help in choosing Pen & Ink!

[chickadee]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum. I mostly do watercolors (not much though), and a bit of sketching. I like pen and ink drawings and thought of giving this medium a try. May be I can use them in my watercolor paintings. :p

I have no idea about the inks & the pens used for amateur as well as professional renderings. :(

Can you guys help me out in selecting the best pens & inks? (Ofcourse, I will be interested in water proof inks). While going through the threads, I found a lot of mention of indian ink. Is this a brand name or the product name? :confused:

Any pointers will be very very helpful. Even if you mention what instruments you use and how do you like them, it will help me choose. :D

This wetcanvas community is great. I was so glad when I discovered that this kind of place exists on earth! :clap:

Thanks a lot.

[artdude]

Hello Chickadee :) Glad to hear you are thinking of working with some pen and ink. It does goes very well with watercolors. You're right in assuming you need waterproof inks. India ink is just a type of ink not really a brand name. I use a "Rapidograph" technical pen from "Koh I Noor" (that is the brand name). You can get them in a variety of nib sizes also. A good size to start with would be a .25mm nib for details and a .50mm nib for filling in areas. These pens have re-fillable cartridges. There are a few brand names to choose from. These pens have a stainless steel nib that will last for years. I also use their brand name india ink called "Universal Black India". This ink should withstand vigorous brushing with watercolor washes. A good quality, cold-pressed watercolor paper of 125 to 140lbs would be a good paper to use.
Hope this has helped you in getting a start on your ink work :D Be sure to post some of your work when you get a chance. We would love to see it :)

[chickadee]

Thanks a lot Artdude!
I heard about Rapidograph pen before and it seems I am going to get that one only. Thanks for suggesting the nib size to start with.

Hope to start with pen & ink soon and contribute something in this forum.

[RuthT]

Hi chickadee - your question came just at the right time for me. I also do watercolors and am new to pen and ink. I'd planned to go to the art store today to buy some paints, and pens and ink.
I got the .25 and .5 as Artdude advised - just have to put them to use :D

Welcome to the p&i forum. I look forward to seeing some of your work :)