Good inexpensive pen for inking...?

[Chris S.]

Hiya,

What would be a good, yet inexpensive pen, for inking?? Something maybe
in the $5 range? Ballpoint pens and fancy looking pens just don't cut
it... I pencil with a .5mm lead .. so should I go for a pen with the
same size?

I'm not a professional cartoonist fwiw..

Thanks,

--Chris

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[Wes Rand]

I use a brush most of the time...but Penstix (Alvin) are great for
simple work or for roughs.

In article <91bprg$p1k$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,

--
--
"One of the common denominators I have found is that expectations rise
above that which is expected."
-- Georege W. Bush, Los Angeles, Sept. 27, 2000

[STPastis]

I draw Pearls Before Swine, a strip that appears on comics.com. And I use a
Penstix pen (costs about $1.00).

[Dan Davis]

Penstix are good if the paper is right. They come in 3 line widths. Use
the one that looks best when your work is reproduced. But get the black
barrel ones that say "black india drawing ink density" on them. They also
make a black marker Penstix in a gray barrel and it fades when you erase it
on some paper.

Dan Davis

[Dan Wright]

I'm with the earlier poster who uses a brush. I use a Windsor Newton No. 2
Sable watercolor brush. It has been without a doubt the best tool I've
picked up in my adult artistic career. The varried line weight for figures
you get with a brush has so much more bounce than a tool with a single line
weight. However, I use a Pigma Micron 08 for lettering, so, you might try
one of those. (I'd love to use a speedball nib, but, I'm left handed and
constantly drag my hand through the area I just lettered.

Dan Wright
Creator, Bobo's Progress

[herb...@tgn.net]

I agree, the Pigma Microns are very good for reproducible drawings and
sketches. Though the ink in the pens don't last long. I have always
preferred drawing with calligraphy fountain pens like the Lamy and
Pelikan (Sergio Aragones uses a Pelikan). I used Steig Calligraphy
India Ink in these since it dosen't clog like regular India Ink. But
these pens are expensive, from $20 to $50. But they last a long time.
My brother likes using quill pens and acquired the same kind they use
in Japan for manga art. He bought a whole gross of Zebra-G Pens
through an anime importer. They came out to about 50 cents per point.

-Herb

[Damfrey Godules]

"Chris S." wrote:

> Hiya,
>
> What would be a good, yet inexpensive pen, for inking?? Something maybe
> in the $5 range? Ballpoint pens and fancy looking pens just don't cut
> it... I pencil with a .5mm lead .. so should I go for a pen with the
> same size?
>
> I'm not a professional cartoonist fwiw..
>
> Thanks,
>
> --Chris

--

... funny thing about pens. I get used to using one or two, and I actually
feel undressed if I don't have them in my shirt pocket. Yet I 'cheat' on
them all the time, eagerly trying out any fancy new tarted-up pen-hussie
that I can pick up at the art store.

These days I carry a Micon and a Rotwing Rapidoliner with me. I love my
Rotwing, but people look at me funny when I shake it before I start taking
notes or drawing. Micron puts out a 'brush' series of pens that are
interesting-- the plastic nub is shaped like a detail brush and flexible.
They work almost like a brush, and can produce a very lively line. They
take some getting used to, though, because the point doesn't spread like a
regular detail brush would. On the plus side; you can take them anywhere
and draw stuff that scares hell out of people in restaurants and bars.

What about nibs like the Gillotte #170? It's interesting to me, that no one
here has mentioned Gillotte or Hunts-- these used to be the standard for
Cartooning. I still like them best for when I get serious about doing
something right. I use them along with several Winsor-Newton detail
brushes, including a #2.

Lately, I have put away my 5mm pencils (I need to take my 'favorite'
pencils with me, too), and have gone back to Venus #2 Yeller-Dawgs. They
still work best for drawing when they're sharp. Using those slick new
mechanical pencils, I forgot how nice it is to shade things and not just
outline them.

**************

I suspect I will always be looking for the next "perfect" tool. These days,
I'd love to find a cartrige pen with a nib something like a Gillotte #170.
A brand of india ink that is opaque and doesn't fade (I hate these new
formulations). A *quality* quadrille pad (that takes ink well), where the
quad pattern is a *light* (not heavy) blue. An inexpensive but reasonably
precise and well-made portable air brush where I can just blow into a tube
to supply the air. A good spray-on sealer that would let me lay ink on
porous paper without discoloring the paper or ink. A safe and effective
solvent that can remove black ink from cotton shirt pockets. Vodka isn't
bad, but the traffic cops just *won't* believe what you tell them.

I'd also like to find some computer stuff. A good comic strip computer type
font in Postscript (I favor Pogo-style lettering). A scanning program that
can scan in ink drawings without screwing them up. Paint Shop Pro works
well for other things, but requires too much touch-up for cartoon drawings.
PhotoShop is shamefully expensive and cumbersome to use. ... and while I'm
at it; how about a simple, inexpensive gif animation program that can
import an animation to a Java Applet for me?

And my holy grail: A computer-operated pen that comes preprogrammed to
draw funny animals, super heroes and nekkid ladies.

gD.

[Chris S.]

In article <wng_5.7356$aO1.3...@cletus.bright.net>,

"Dan Davis" <dand...@bright.net> wrote:
> Penstix are good if the paper is right. They come in 3 line widths.

Thanks for the replies, folks.. will go check'em out!

[herb...@tgn.net]

On Fri, 15 Dec 2000 22:05:47 GMT, Damfrey Godules <vil...@dot.com>
wrote:

>
>What about nibs like the Gillotte #170? It's interesting to me, that no one
>here has mentioned Gillotte or Hunts-- these used to be the standard for
>Cartooning. I still like them best for when I get serious about doing
>something right. I use them along with several Winsor-Newton detail
>brushes, including a #2.
>

My brother used Gillots 170s for a long time until he couldn't get
them anymore. They're as rare as hen teeth around here and he guards
his collection of nibs jealously.

Or even better a vitrual comic book creation visor you slip on your
head and imagine the art in your mind and the computer prints it out
for you. No more ink smudges on your hands.

-Herb