An Artist's Comparison of Seven Pen Types 

A detailed review of so many pen types in a short-ish video was a big task, but you achieved it admirably Marc. I learnt stuff !

There was a time when I exclusively used Bic pens to draw (mostly because I couldn't afford anything else). One interesting thing I found out back then was that blue Bics are way better than black Bics for drawing. I don't know why but I never could find a black Bic as good as a blue one

I like your review. I am a big dip and fountain pen fan, but also like all kinds of brush pens. Years and years I loved the pitt artist brush versions. Quite recently I started to use fude nibs on fountain pens and refillable brush plastic hair fountain pens to imitate chinese / japanese landscape drawings. they are my new favorites now. I like very soft and responsive brush tips and the random element they give to a drawing

Super detailed and unbiased video!

Thanks for such a great demo, Marc. All very informative for sure!

That is a huge effort put into pen variation with all that sketching. As a beginner sketcher I appreciate your personal comments from your experience. Thank You.

I am actually a huge fan of the humble BIC Cristal. The ink is nice and I can get a huge variation in line. I use them in several colours just for fun. I've used everything you showed (I'm an utter maniac when it it comes to art supplies), but I tend to like dip pens and technical pens - probably because my father was an engineer, and it's what he had for me to learn with. I have yet to find a fountain pen I adore, but I'm working on it. Thanks for another fantastic and thoughtful video! 😊

Thanks for this thorough comparison. In one of your older videos you mentioned a TWSBI fitted with a Fountain Pen Revolution (FPR) Ultra Flex nib. It’s become a favorite of mine as it combines the benefits of a fountain pen with the flexibility of a dip pen.

So helpful! Thank you.

Beautifully done! Thank you

Marc, you are such an underrated artist…I enjoyed your comparison and, while I have an extensive fountain pen collection, I’m going to explore the Bic crystal and the dip nib you suggested. Thank you…no need to abuse anyone..I prefer kindness and honesty. Very glad to see your Venmo classes…(sigh) I’ve purchased so many different classes that I need to buckle down and complete some…I just need a regular art habit in the middle of life's complexity. Thanks again.

superbes comparaisons, merci pour ce beau travail ^^

Thanks for the excellence video. IMHO the resuability of pid pen and fountain pen is an ecological and economical plus and a big differentior to the throwaway pens.

I think you've made a highly persuasive argument for the Bic ballpoint. Admittedly it amuses me to annoy fountain pen fanciers by extolling their virtues, but they're a favourite with industrial designers for good reasons. Other than that the dip pen is the big no compromise winner for me, in part because of the non-fountain pen friendly media you can use: India ink, watercolour, gouache, watered down emulsion paint, masking fluid, bleach, gilding medium, blood ... pretty much anything wet.

Marc, another detailed and very clear demonstration for the various options! I can't imagine how much time it takes to plan and make these comparison videos. I for one am very appreciative and wish I could give you more than one like. I personally like fountain pens for the line and wash urban sketching that I do. It provides the best combination of portability and line variation and allows me to lay down the least amount of lines to convey the form in one tool. I appreciate being able to keep my kit as minimal as possible. I'd say my second used line tool is a brush pen with bristles such as the Pilot Brush Pen rather than the felt tip type you demonstrated. It gives even more line variation and allows me to be very gestural and you can fill the cartiridge with whatever fountain ink colour you wish. Down side is that it's very hard to use while in transit like on a bus or train compared to a fountain pen. It's blobs galore! Unless that's the look you're going for... 😁

Excellent comparison. I had not come across the Zebra yet. New toy. ☮️🙏

Amazing 👏. This is what we need. ❤

What a detailed review 👌 , I tend to use all of those pens but I find myself comeback a lot to the gel pen

Marc, your pen reviews are one of the best! Have you heard about Ackerman Pens? They seem to work with any type of ink with addition of a dip nib. Would be very interested in your review from an artist viewpoint!

Mark, greetings from Kharkiv. I watched your video with pleasure. You're on top as always. Thank you for sharing your experience.

good info, thanks.

Thanks Marc for yet another great and interesting video! I had always assumed that a cheap ballpoint pen would not be great for drawing but, while taking a drawing class this year and trying to keep drawing wherever I was and with whatever drawing implement was at hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the great amount of line variation available from one just by varying the pressure and speed of my strokes. I wonder if anyone has done any testing of the lightfastness and permanence of various brands of ballpoint pens. I also wonder how the ballpoint pens that are made to take fountain pen inks would perform for drawing. I have one made by J. Herbin. I will have to try it out for this. A TWSBI with a stub nibble is still my favorite for writing but I also found this year that I really like drawing with a very inexpensive set of Pilot Varsity pens. $18 gets you seven different colors. I really enjoyed using them with very fast, light strokes. With the vibrant and somewhat transparent colors in those pens I got a very lively look to my sketches. And even though they were a fine or medium sized nib, I got a great variety of line thickness and darkness of color from them. I have always used a Varsity as my travel pen since I have never known one to burp, even when flying. And, at $2.50 a pen, if one got lost it wouldn’t be a big deal. The essentially eye-dropper filling of the Varsity holds a great amount of ink so I never had to worry about it running out while I was traveling.

Hi Marc, what do you think of Herbin glass pens? Nice that you included the Bic Cristal, it is such a modes and easy going drawing utensil!

While I love fountain pens and have many custom tuned I still have many mechanical pencils, rollerball, markers, and ballpoint pens for use. Each suited for different tasks.

Marc, thank you for super video! May i share my opinion: as I'm lefty, and technical pens (rotring and others), most comfortable for me in daily drawing practice.

🥰😍🤩Thankyou