For anyone willing to stick with dip pen, I can recommend Dr. PH Martin 'Pen White'. You may have to dilute it occasionally to combat evaporation, but it's a good strong opaque white. (Their Bleedproof White is even thicker, good for brush - though even then you'll probably need to dilute.)
I just found a very rare bottle of ink online, made by DeAtramentis. I own alot of their inks, but alot of people don't know that DeAtramentis makes " Artists inks ", and they are made by 1 person by hand, and in small batches. I bought their 50Ml bottle of " Sepia Artist Ink " and it's an exclusive, waterproof, lightfast, Archival and AMAZING. It's got a picture of a Squid on the bottle... I snatched it up FAST, it was the last 1 available. Ive been on the hunt for a nice Sepia ink, and this is it! I've been looking for years for the perfect Sepia ink.
Good to know! So far the only waterproof brown I have is DeAtramentis Document Brown which is great, similar in color to traditional walnut inks. I too have been looking for that perfect sepia ink and have amassed quite a collection of them. Looks like I'll have to track down this rare DeAtramentis Sepia Ink and give it a try. I'm a jinx when it comes to artist supplies however. As soon as I fall in love with something, it's discontinued.
@@mkompan ahhhh yes, artist PROBLEMS lol. I feel the exact same way! As a professional artist and Bookbinder, I use so many different supplies. All Different types of mediums ( basically everything but oil ) and I've run into the curse of discontinued pigments/supplies alot, and the mad rush for the remaining stock left out in the market. Watercolors, colored pencils, pastel pencils, gouache, high flow acrylics, inks, etc etc. For me, it happens the most with watercolors and gouache! I do however get lucky quite a bit too! A couple years ago i went into a small, old and musty smelling Art shop in Rhode Island visiting my brother. And i actually found 2 tubes of 15ml Daniel Smith " quinacridone Gold with pigment PO49. I was in utter shock, and snatched them up faster than fast. But yeah, I have the DeAtramentis Document brown too, and this is COMPLETELY different. They call these thier " DeAtramentis limited edition Artisan Artist inks " and they have one person making small batches and bottling them in the large, thick and round glass bottles. The bottle is perfectly round, and the bottom is super thick glass.... like the bottom of the Pilot Iroshizuku Ink bottles. Well it's actually like a round version of a J. Herbin 1670 ink bottles. It also has a metal cap, I wish I could put up a pic of it in the comments... YT should do that lol. I was searching for YEARS for the perfect Sepia ink that is waterproof, and after 25+ different bottles and samples... I gave up, and pushed it to the back of the shelf. Then as soon as I gave up on it, it basically jumped into my lap lol. I actually found it on Amazon sold by a pen and ink shop. I forget the name of shop, I'll have to go back into my purchas history to see if I can get their name. It literally is the best sepia Ink I was looking for!! you can get so many different values from it. It also shades beautiful if you write with it as well.
@@danieljamesbinderystu2968 I've lived through the grief and mourning for a discontinued art material quite a few times. In college I was using a dip pen nib that I could only find in one little neighborhood art supply shop and when they stopped selling it, I stopped drawing in pen and ink...for years. Silly I know but there was something about that nib's fineness smoothness and flexibility that I couldn't get over. I managed to find a seller on amazon that had the sepia in stock, but I'm about to go on a long trip and can't buy it now. Hopefully it'll still be there when I get back. Let me know how I can see your work!
For those interested in DeAtramentis ARTIST Inks: Vanness has them in stock, bottles and samples, in about 14 colors. Moving forward I intend to use them exclusively on anything that might go up on the wall, keeping the faders in sketchbooks that protect them from the sun. Hopefully I can adjust to the rather limited palette, and/or get better at mixing colors.
That’s good to know. Rohrer & Klingner also produces light-fast ink. That said, there’s a reason that works on paper are usually displayed for short periods of time, in darkened rooms. Paper itself is not a very archival material, and nothing done on it should be put on a wall for extended periods of time. If you want things to last, seek out more permanent substrates.
@@mkompanDang I didn't want to hear that. However my bar is quite low, as I only insist that my stuff lasts as long as I do, which stastically would be about 20 years from now.
@@ichirofakename I think we artists obsess too much over this stuff. Ars longa, vita brevis, but art is also fragile. You can go to great pains to work in an archival way, but the fact remains, unless your work is lucky enough to receive expert care and attention once it has left your hands, it will disintegrate.
thanks for your thoughts! it’s so hard to find a white fountain pen ink, i think this is the only one tbh. noodlers made one but it’s not available anywhere!
You're welcome! Yes, this seems to the only white ink out there. I think the made by Noodler's isn't actually white, but is transparent, only showing up as white under ultraviolet light.
Thank you for this! I just discovered the De Atramentis white ink existed and came to RU-vid hoping I'd find out more about it. Your video is so helpful! A quick subscribe for me, look forward to watching more.
Have you ever used De Atramentis Document Ink Black or brown or white on thinner smoother paper? What is the line quality (feathering, ink drying time for marks (eg does it take long to dry and will it blend together if cross hatched quickly?)) when being used with watercolor paper rough, smooth or smoother paper such as Rhodia G especially with a pointed nib such as a Nikko G or a Gillot 404.
I’ve used both the black and brown on a large variety of artist papers and it consistently works very well, drying quickly, without feathering or strike through. I can’t speak for Rhodia paper since I’ve never used it.
For months now, I have spent over 100€ experimenting with ways to paint very very thin white lines (0.2 ish) on an acrylic surface. I am trying to paint a 1cm royal monogram on a model of a horse. I still haven't found anything that makes anything thinner than 0.7 ... that's way too thick. Can I use a fountain pen for this, or one of those feathers with a metal fountainpen tip? Any recommendations would be appreciated!
I wouldn't use a fountain pen for this purpose. A few suggestions: a crow nib such as the Hunt 102, pared with white drawing ink, such as Higgins white. But for 3D objects, a very thin sable brush with diluted acrylic white paint, should work well. Or even better, oil or alkyd paint, which stay very sharp when diluted with a tiny amount of paint thinner.
Hi Mark. Your video is great. I want to ask you. How do you use it in your work Kuretake Brush Pen №13? Is this tool just for ink? Can I pour mascara into it? Thank you very much. I am from Ukraine.
Thank you! The Kuretake can be used with any fountain pen ink, though I believe you have to buy a converter separately. I have a video on brush pens on my channel that shows you the many ways brush pens can be used. BTW, the word mascara refers to makeup applied to eyelashes. вітання з Лос-Анджелеса!
Дуже дякую. I will find these videos and will definitely watch them. All your videos are wonderful. I watch them and learn from them. Thank you very much for sharing your skills. I have a Platinum pen, so there will be no problems with the convector.
@@mkompan Hi Mark. I still bought it for myself Kuretake №13. Now I'm mastering it and I like it. I also tucked ink of different colors into a few pens and do the wash using your method. It's more interesting that way. I've done this before, but I've used watercolor pencils. Of course, it is more convenient to take ink for washing directly from the pen. I would also like to ask you in which city you lived in the Soviet Union as a child. I, too, was born during the union. Thank you very much!
Excellent video, thanks. The first comparison convinced me that a dip pen + Higgins white is preferable for me. However, gel pens are even easier to use, and even more preferable to me unless delicate line variation is essential. Why do you prefer dip to gel?
You're welcome! For the studio, the dip pen and white ink is the best. I've tried quite a few white gels pens over the years, (in fact, they're probably in some corner of my studio somewhere) and none of them performed as well as the fountain pen/de Atramentis white setup. It might be unique to the way I draw, but all of those gel pens suffered from skipping when doing fast crosshatching. Plus, for me line variation is essential, and that's where gels pen really can't compete. Yes, this set up is expensive, messy, etc., but I guess I enjoy making my life complicated.
@@mkompan Good info, thanks. As I am (voluntarily) studio-bound, maybe I'll pick up a bottle of Higgins. I take it you prefer the Super White to the Pigmented White.
I haven't, but I don't think ink would adhere to a color pencil drawing. The reverse might work very well. After doing a white ink drawing, you could use color pencil over it.
