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The line between brush pen and marker is a bit fuzzy. I've lumped in a lot of my brush pens with markers. I meant to lump in *all* brush pens with pens, but I just realized I missed some of my Tombows. (This has been a very fussy project. I am not reshooting or pulling all the pens from their places again.) Most of my markers are alcohol markers which are different beasts from mildliners so the distinction made sense.
I've left out some duplicates. There are three Pentel Stylos because I use them a lot for various things and actually do need them out in three places. I don't have all my Sakura Pigma PNs out because I buy them by the box. So, this is my main stock of pens, not the backstock:
Remember that viral Things Arranged Neatly blog? Yeah, this is as close as I will ever get to one of those shots. I've tried to do shots of my one-bag packing but they are looked terrible. These arrangements are hard without a live monitor... I could do a live monitor set up but the software I'd need is subscription-only. I can't just buy it and have it.
Anyway,
Annotated version of the picture:
Honestly, the only reason I still have some of these is because they are good pens I don't want to let go of. I really need to use a lot of them up.
The faves:
The Sarasa pens in vintage colors are nearly perfect, though a bit dusty here from being on the floor. I did swiffer it first! Anyway, if they are were .7 instead of .5 they would be my perfect pens. They also have good greens which is rare. (I think I know who greens are such a problem, but that would be another post.)
I have 1 grey Mildliner. I've seen artists on youtube use this a lot to add quick shading and depth to drawings. I love this pen, it's great. 2-sided, easy to control. If you sketch at all, highly recommended.
I have some Tombow dual fineliners because they are black on one end and grey on the other. It is hard to find grey fineliners. Some of the things I was trying to do with art for a while really needed grey instead of black for the lines.
The black Cambio is amazing. Being so large makes it easier to control and more balanced than most brush pens. This is the pen I need to use up. I treat it as too precious. It's really a fantastic pen and it's refillable!
The Zebra pocket brush pen is great. Really nice brush on it.
A Pentel Stylo because it's my most used pen. They have a plastic nib and are very easy to control even with a heavy hand. A lot of fineliners (especially those Copic technical pens) need a very light hand which is paradoxically more work on the wrist. (for drawing and design, I use a use a Pilot G2 for writing. There are a few G2s there in the top right as I got some with colored ink)
That Seiboku is a very nice brush pen in a unique blue-gray.
So, that is the faves. There are all good and I've only managed to get myself to pull 2 pens and put then in my Scrap pile so far. Also, I realized that I still had a bunch of pens I thought I had gotten rid of, so this was a good bit of organizing to do)
The oldest pens there are the Pitt Artist Pens. They are ancient and work like new. I bought them when I did a figure drawing class at a community collage. They were advertised as good for inking over pencils. I hadn't managed to get inking of pencils to ever work. These didn't either... at the time. Turns out, it was the crap paper I was using that was making finished drawings impossible. I was upset at those pens because I spent a lot on those pens and thought they failed me. I don't know why I kept them. But now that I use them on good paper they are not only great, but they work like new despite being ancient. I've gone from hating them to being impressed with them.
A few more notes:
The different-looking pigmas are their professional brush pens.
I've been tempted to de-stash my Sketchbox brand fineliners, but there are some unique colors there.
The Copic technical pens with metal bodies are based on me because the replaceable nibs are so delicate. You can't put any pressure. I tried to train myself to use them, but it was a lot of fine wrist control. If you can't use the friction of the paper to help control the pen, it's so much harder on the wrist.
I've left out some duplicates. There are three Pentel Stylos because I use them a lot for various things and actually do need them out in three places. I don't have all my Sakura Pigma PNs out because I buy them by the box. So, this is my main stock of pens, not the backstock:
Remember that viral Things Arranged Neatly blog? Yeah, this is as close as I will ever get to one of those shots. I've tried to do shots of my one-bag packing but they are looked terrible. These arrangements are hard without a live monitor... I could do a live monitor set up but the software I'd need is subscription-only. I can't just buy it and have it.
Anyway,
Annotated version of the picture:
Honestly, the only reason I still have some of these is because they are good pens I don't want to let go of. I really need to use a lot of them up.
The faves:
The Sarasa pens in vintage colors are nearly perfect, though a bit dusty here from being on the floor. I did swiffer it first! Anyway, if they are were .7 instead of .5 they would be my perfect pens. They also have good greens which is rare. (I think I know who greens are such a problem, but that would be another post.)
I have 1 grey Mildliner. I've seen artists on youtube use this a lot to add quick shading and depth to drawings. I love this pen, it's great. 2-sided, easy to control. If you sketch at all, highly recommended.
I have some Tombow dual fineliners because they are black on one end and grey on the other. It is hard to find grey fineliners. Some of the things I was trying to do with art for a while really needed grey instead of black for the lines.
The black Cambio is amazing. Being so large makes it easier to control and more balanced than most brush pens. This is the pen I need to use up. I treat it as too precious. It's really a fantastic pen and it's refillable!
The Zebra pocket brush pen is great. Really nice brush on it.
A Pentel Stylo because it's my most used pen. They have a plastic nib and are very easy to control even with a heavy hand. A lot of fineliners (especially those Copic technical pens) need a very light hand which is paradoxically more work on the wrist. (for drawing and design, I use a use a Pilot G2 for writing. There are a few G2s there in the top right as I got some with colored ink)
That Seiboku is a very nice brush pen in a unique blue-gray.
So, that is the faves. There are all good and I've only managed to get myself to pull 2 pens and put then in my Scrap pile so far. Also, I realized that I still had a bunch of pens I thought I had gotten rid of, so this was a good bit of organizing to do)
The oldest pens there are the Pitt Artist Pens. They are ancient and work like new. I bought them when I did a figure drawing class at a community collage. They were advertised as good for inking over pencils. I hadn't managed to get inking of pencils to ever work. These didn't either... at the time. Turns out, it was the crap paper I was using that was making finished drawings impossible. I was upset at those pens because I spent a lot on those pens and thought they failed me. I don't know why I kept them. But now that I use them on good paper they are not only great, but they work like new despite being ancient. I've gone from hating them to being impressed with them.
A few more notes:
The different-looking pigmas are their professional brush pens.
I've been tempted to de-stash my Sketchbox brand fineliners, but there are some unique colors there.
The Copic technical pens with metal bodies are based on me because the replaceable nibs are so delicate. You can't put any pressure. I tried to train myself to use them, but it was a lot of fine wrist control. If you can't use the friction of the paper to help control the pen, it's so much harder on the wrist.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 01:29 am (UTC)From:I have one or two of the sarasas in those colors and you're making me want more!
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 01:35 am (UTC)From:I love the vintage color Sarasas. It's so rare to find any pens or markers in those tones.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 03:29 am (UTC)From:Ah, is the cheapass sketch paper why every attempt at inking over pencil resulted in a mess, and losing work I'd been happy with, to the point I kinda gave up?Not an important focal point: but I loathe subscription-based software. Not being able to buy a program to use as you please is absolute bullshit.
A lot of these look, and sound from your descriptions, very nice!
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 04:11 am (UTC)From:My issues with art supplies, I have so many. I wish I'd done a bit more formal instruction with art because I think they'd tell you to buy these supplies with that paper to set you up with things that work together. There are so many things people either learn from classes or glean from knowing other artists that without those resources it can be like running into an invisible door over and over.
Also, you'd be surprised how few pro artists know how to use brush pens. When Sketchbox used to sponsor artists to do unboxings, so many of the artists would wreck the pen and be like 'this is terrible'. I actually did a new brush pen tutorial on
I also hate subscription based software. That is why I am still clinging to my ancient copy of Lightroom for photo editing. The worst is when they update and the feature you need is gone or your filetype isn't supported.
Yeah, some of those pens are very nice, at least by my standards :)
no subject
Date: 2022-04-06 03:52 am (UTC)From:I don't know that I've ever used brush pens, but I can imagine it not working well if someone decides to treat them like something they aren't. (If I ever have cause to use them, I will look for your tutorial!)
Subscription-based software is morally offensive to me, ha. I know it's the wave of the future, because everything gets worse forever, but I loathe it.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-06 10:20 am (UTC)From:It's taken me so much to learn what I do about supplies, and I guess that if part of why I like babbling about it. I never got good, but hey I know a lot about supplies. It's like... here's all the info that would have saved me a few sanity points. I knew some artists back in my convention days, but if I ever asked them a question about materials they'd react like I have just done the most inappropriate thing ever. They were all so squirrely about everything.
I've also done a lot of pen testing on a lot of paper. First thing I do with every sketchbook, journal, etc is to do pen testing in the back.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-07 02:55 am (UTC)From:I think a lot of your stuff is good, honestly! But the supply info is super appreciated. The art scene may not be *quite* as bad as the photography scene sounds, but I've definitely run into some of the same. There are certainly artists who are happy to share info about stuff that works and stuff that doesn't, but there are a LOT who treat it like trade secrets that how dare you ask about. And so much of it is so weird to be weird about! Asking about materials isn't going to infringe on what they're doing!
Testing stuff out is always a good idea, just in case something bleeds more than you thought, or a color doesn't look like it should.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-07 10:20 pm (UTC)From:At least the bujo set tends to love to talk art supplies at least. Even if the appeal of washi tape or limited seasonal released of inks and stickers will always elude me.
'There is no trick, just put in hundreds more hours' is the standard advice and yeah, you need to put in the work, but you also need to set yourself up for success.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-08 04:09 am (UTC)From:I realize that in a LOT of cases "genuinely, you just need to practice more" IS a significant part of the answer. I've known enough semi-pro or at least "this is a decent side-hustle" artists that are plagued by questions about "how can I make art just like you??" that are really looking for that magic bullet answer that lets them skip the work. Yes! It will almost always involve more practice!
But that's exactly it: if you aren't set up for success, those hours aren't enough on their own. You can put in as many hours as you want with RoseArt pencils and printer paper, and SOME aspects will certainly improve plenty... but you can't surpass the material you're using.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-08 07:08 am (UTC)From:Yeah, it's no fun being pestered. I gave someone an in depth review of their photography work once and didn't absord a single thing. They didn't really want any advice, they wanted compliments. They wanted head pats.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-09 02:08 am (UTC)From:That kind of thing is really annoying. There are a lot of people like that, who only seem interested in praise. And if they don't want advice that's fine! But then they shouldn't pretend they do.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-06 12:18 am (UTC)From:My Mildliners I use only for highlighting, but a gray one for artwork would work well. I should get one. I’ve got a bunch of Pilot Hi-Tec-C colored gel pens... some Staedtler pigment liner Calligraphy pens... and a very sadly neglected set of Copic markers. Interestingly, I don’t use brush markers at all.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-06 10:41 am (UTC)From:I only have one Staedtler pen, oddly enough. I've used their drawing pencils extensively, and I think I have some erasers.
I also have a copic collection and... haven't used them in a while. It's hard because they just don't work on most papers. And the papers they do work on, the blending and feathering is different on each. I used to be good at precise coloring with them by controlling the feathering but, oh well.
Brush markers are popular with the bujo set because they don't bleed through the paper like alcohol markers do. I don't have the hang of them yet. I get very bad marker lines.