Pen & Ink Drawing Supplies Pt 1 - 10 TYPES of ink drawing instruments Video

so everybody's been asking me to do a
tutorial on drawing supplies right now
what I'm going to do is I'm going to
maybe make this a two-part video and I'm
going to go over just general ink
drawing supplies so it will include what
I use and also just a general overview
on supplies that you will need to or not
necessarily need but just general
drawing in drawing supplies planning
drawing supplies okay so um in this
video I'm going to focus on primarily
the ink drawing instruments I don't want
to service a pens because it encompasses
more than that okay so I'm going to
introduce you to what I think or like
the tent in my opinion the 10 most
common or the 10 main types of ink
drawing instruments okay
now let's first talk about the inks okay
um see Flint which one I have here this
is my black Indian ink and that's
another thing to like it it's probably
known as Indian ink but it's actually
originally from China so sometimes you
know the common terms for things the
colloquial terms for things end up being
the official term that's used regardless
of you know whether it really coincides
with the origin or not the main quality
about Indian ink is at its pigment based
okay you can have either a pigment based
ink or a dye based ink and pigment based
ink is generally used particularly for
the fact that it's waterproof it is
archival so basically if you want to do
a types of work that you intend to be to
keep for a long time you that especially
works that you want to combine with
other media like say for example going
to do a pen ink wash over
you're drawing we want to combine with
other mediums that's water-based it will
not smudge or smear or anything like
that so any think it's pretty much good
for that
however because that you don't also find
it in as a wide array of colors as the
other main type of ink you fineness
which is dye based ink now the thing is
it is good to experiment with both I
think but if you definitely intend to
work with other media like watercolor
and stuff like that is good to get ink
that is specifically waterproof archival
and fade-proof alright and that is
smudge as easily or smear as easily when
combined with other mediums I want
necessarily endorsing a particular brand
per se but I would advise that you pay
attention to the particular qualities of
the ink based on the purposes you have
in mind okay so what let's go to the
first type of ink drawing instrument and
perhaps this is one of the oldest ones
and it's the feather now of course it's
often referred to as a quill pen but
this is not necessarily a quote feather
I had feathers just like this see and
you can just pretty much cut it maybe
I'll do it tutorial one day on how you
can actually make the the pen itself and
if you look at this you will see how I
actually cut it has a little slit in
there and that helps the ink to flow by
capillary action so maybe one day I'll
give it to tutorial on how you can
actually make this it's pretty simple
but it's it's pretty cool now another
thing that's useful to when you're
working with ink is that it's good to
seem like the bottle like for this like
this is for example it's it's pretty
dark you can't really see in it that
world so it's good to like have like um
a little container see I'm using my
little uh Jamaica actually this is like
a shot glass but you can have a clear
container so you can get a clear view
and how far to
to dip whatever the drawing instrument
is if it's one that you're dipping into
ink alright
so it's pretty pretty simple and pretty
easy to use and see I'm dipping it in
there just to get some some ink and a
good thing when you're drawing with any
kind of an instrument we're gonna have
to dip in ink it's always good to have
some form of a material like an
absorbent like a piece of cloth or you
know paper towel to kind of like remove
all the excess ink and stuff like that
so you don't create like blobs and any
kind of unwanted marks okay
so you can see it's pretty cool because
I can create lines of that varies and
wait see it's pretty cool
of course this is perhaps one of the
oldest form of ink drawing instrument
see that little a little blotch there
not sure if you can see it but that's
one of the things that happens with you
know drawing with instruments like this
drawing instrument too is a reed pen or
you can think of it as a bamboo pen now
it's pretty much functions in a similar
way to the the coal pen or feather pen
but it's it's using a bamboo or read
instead C and the same thing is
happening it's pretty much cut in this
and this is something you can make you
know it's cut in the same way here you
see this has a little opening there and
that also helps for the flow of ink it
also has a slit there too but because I
used it before you can barely see it but
it does have a little slit that also
helps with the flow of the ink
pretty cool really nice to use
I would advise everybody to experiment
with little stuff like this is really
fun see even when the ink is running out
it still produces that nice kind of a
texture you can find uses for that you
know
really cool stuff so of course this you
know this is this goes back to centuries
this is a main writing and drawing
instrument for many civilizations
including the Chinese civilizations
Egyptian create really nice lines we
have the quill pen we have the reed pen
now a natural progression from this that
devote was the dip pen okay and see the
convenience of dip pens and as the name
says you know it's because you dip it in
ink is that now you have a nib or point
or you want to refer to it a nib that is
metal okay and see with this and this
they're pretty cool and pretty effective
but the thing is they the point where's
over time so the quality of the line
will deteriorate based on the quality of
the point and because it's a made of you
know their natural materials they will
eventually softened so you have to
resharpen these after a while but you
know the the thing is with nib pens is
that it's pretty cool you have a holder
and you have a nib and the cool thing is
you can get of a wide variety of nibs
based on different types of line quality
maybe if I can find my I haven't used
these things years I have a little this
is one of my containers of like
different nib tips and stuff actually
this is for my technical a repeater
graph so you see you can have different
nibs here based on the line quality this
one is definitely one of my favorites I
use these most actually I think they're
pretty popular too this is I think this
via the hunt 102 107 but the thing is
with this is that it
really
there are many artists who still use
these these depends okay they're really
cool in terms of the I think most of the
drawings you see that's done by like
Rubens and those people where you see a
lot of the cross hatching are done with
these types of pens you can create
really nice lines and of course you can
also vary the weight as well and you see
that you know the same way these are
designed this is pretty much just a
metal version she's the same same way
see that has a slit has the hole they're
in the same sense and it helps with the
capillary action the movement of the the
ink flowing to the tip and you know what
I think I'm going to do a drawing using
one of these I know most of my tutorials
are always with the Sigma microns and
maybe I should show a wide wide a
variety of ink drawing instruments as
well and the thing is when you're using
it see you draw with the underside this
is the underside okay this is the
underside this is the back you draw with
the back facing up okay and the
underside this side facing towards the
paper like so and sometimes you can make
marks going across like so and not
necessarily like this and that's
sometimes I do that to create these
really fine marks for details because it
tapers out beautifully and you can hear
the little scratch that's because it's
going against the texture of the paper
and it's like this you get more fluid or
smooth lines
and this is one of the smaller oops see
that perfect for fine details
so you see the difference in line weight
that I can create can go from really
bold really light really this is a may
round nib and it's good for especially
for like writing and so on but ie
generally use in my drawings what I do
use them for like filling in large areas
see so it's good for filling in spaces
when you don't want to necessarily use a
smaller nib for all that type of work
really cool and see this the larger nibs
what you find is they can create a wider
variety or wider range in line with but
they don't they may not necessarily hold
ink as as much see that line variation
really cool to use
um really fun to use if I if I follow
myself I'll just keep keep doing this so
so you have the feather pen you have the
co pen the read or bamboo pen you have
the dip pens and then the next one is
the fountain pen
now the fountain pen is pretty much a
dip pen with its own reservoir of ink so
in other words it's like drawing with
this without having to dip in ink
constantly so now you have that that nib
there see similar nib and now you can
actually you some are made that you can
replace the nibs and some you can
actually can't but most of them are
enable you to switch it out now the cool
thing is see I'm unscrewing it here it
allows you to refill this cartridge with
ink so it has its own self-contained
replaceable ink reservoir and that's
pretty cool because it's like you know
drawing with these are really fun but
having to dip constantly and making sure
that you clean the nib to not creates
splotches or blobs of ink can sometimes
be a little bit of a maintenance
requirement that turns people over it's
really not to me because it's a part of
the experience it makes it really rich
and even when it has a little splotches
it makes the drawing a little bit more
authentic you know but with this it's
really cool and people use this for
writing a lot it's really cool and this
is a really fine point now I think the
downside to fountain pens is that they
can be pretty pricey they can arrange
for a good quality one can range for
anywhere from like 30 bucks to even like
200 300 400 dollars yeah they can get
there but they're there they're really
cool
but of course I think at the same time
that you know their pros and cons to
everything all of these so far I've
introduced their pros and cons to them
you know this this the fact that they're
really good but they're the points
deteriorate over time these you know you
can replace them but you have to dip in
ink this is really cool but it's just
not as authentic afield as a dip pen
would but they all have a unique quality
about each of them that is worth
exploring either
and as I said maybe I'll do a tutorial
in which I'll do a drawing using each of
these so you can get an idea if you know
how to use them what's what should we
discuss next let me see okay here's the
popular TD Bank pen
ballpoint pen now originally when the
ballpoint pen was introduced it was
really made to give the fountain pen a
big challenge and it when F course as we
can see today it's pretty much the most
popular writing instrument because it's
cheap its durable its portable its
economical you know it's really a lot of
good qualities about it
however of course as I said it was
developed primarily for writing and not
necessarily for drawing but of course
we're artists in anything that we can
use to create marks we will use to draw
okay so the ballpoint pen is pretty cool
of course as you know there's a there's
a tiny bowl that's actually in the tip
then you can see here and there's ink
flowing and as you as you touch the
surface the ball spins and as a result
of that the ink rolls over it and you
see a mark now why do artists generally
like the ballpoint pen
well the ballpoint pen is pretty popular
because for artists I think this is one
of the reasons what I like it it's
because when you make marks you have to
press down on it see if you just you
know if you just do like this the line
will be pretty light see but for some
people that may be an inconvenience that
you have to press down to make a mark
well an artist will capitalize on this
why because that enables you to create a
wide variety of marks of different
values you see that that's what makes
the ballpoint pen really special so you
can create a wide variety of marks of
different values
and you can simulate the effects of a
pencil see that go from light to dark
based on the amount of pressure you put
down which is pretty much the same thing
you do with the pencil and that's one of
the things that makes it really cool so
you can sketch things out I think I did
a tutorial where I did a portrait and so
you can really treat it like it's a pair
of course you can't erase this because
it's ink but the thing is you can make
it really light and then go over it
afterwards and reinforce those lines as
you've decided on what lines you're
going to keep so that's one of the main
things so that's the the ballpoint pen
and of course ballpoint pens are like so
cheap you know so which it makes it cool
so you can you know I'm sure wherever
you are right now there's a ballpoint
pen close to you now
the next drawing instrument which one
should I find is the oh the rollerball
pen
now the Robo pen is very similar to the
ballpoint pen okay because it it's a it
has a ink that is more water-based
though it has a similar ballpoint
mechanism in terms of how the ink
actually flows or makes contact with the
paper
however the ink is more water-based so
it flows more heavily and more freely
than a ballpoint pen does so it doesn't
require as much effort to write or make
a mark and as a result of that you don't
have the ability to create this
variation in value as you would with a
ballpoint pen however it allows you to
make lines pretty loose and freely of an
even weight and value which is good for
like sketching or you know cross
hatching you can do virtually the same
thing but just not create that value
gradation as you would with a ballpoint
pen because you see that the amount of
ink is pretty consistent whether I'm
pressing hard or not see that I press
really lightly
and I create virtually the same value as
if I press with your heart and that's a
good and bad thing so as I said your
pros and cons to almost all of these and
that's a good thing for some people and
that's you know a con for some so
whatever suits your purpose all right
then we have uh markers what is
popularly known as a a marker is really
just a felt-tip pen meaning the the
point of it is really just like a
compressed fabric right here fiber
alright and it pretty much like what's
in here the holder of the chamber is
really like a kind of a spongy or
absorbent material that soaks the ink in
and it moves to the tip now the thing is
that's why we have to really cap it all
the time because it is it can get dry
really quickly and but the thing is this
enables it to be able to be produced in
a wide variety of colors I think I think
markers are perhaps more popular than
more commonly used in ballpoint pens
because they are more versatile you know
that you can have them in a variety of
colors different quality inks and so on
but primarily the the ink quality is not
really made it's not light fast and
that's meaning like it's not necessarily
meant to be displayed or exposed to
light for a long period of time and
preserve the color quality okay so it's
more for like short-term use but the
thing is you can create I mean beautiful
you can't I mean there is just limitless
the amount of uses you have for markers
and of course you have a wide variety of
them perhaps the most common one you
know you guys I'm sure use Sharpie or
some kind of a permanent marker like
this so this is like a felt-tip pen okay
or market and also in addition to the
fact that you have them in a wide
variety of colors you have them in a
hiya T of tips tip sizes so like like
this is one I use a lot the Copic and
see it has the the graphic tip by chisel
tip and it's good for you know filling
in large areas there's a lot even when
you see a highlighter it's really a
variation of a felt tip pen you know so
yeah so we have the the markers and of
course you know markers are pretty cool
for like doing you know quick sketches
and little coloring and stuff like that
they're really fun to use see how easily
I fold in that area pretty cool
of course perhaps the most popular ones
are the technical drawing pens um and
these are the ones that you see that I
always almost always use in most of my
videos and they're pretty awesome but I
think perhaps the main con or
disadvantage is the fact that they don't
create as much line with variation as
the fountain pens or dip pens but
they're made with pretty much pigment
based ink which is as I said best for
like work that is meant to for creating
fine art if you want to create fine art
these are the pens to do because they
they're they're archival they're
generally waterproof fade proof they
will preserve the quality of the color
and drawing for a long time and good for
combining with other media now the
disadvantages you may not necessarily
find them in is a wide variety of colors
as you would like markers and or
water-based ink pens but you do find
some that that do have water-based inks
but for the ones with pigment based ink
you won't find that a wide variety of
color but it's they're they're really
cool and some of the advantages is that
they are they create a consistent line
they really you know the line quality is
very consistent you know so you know
what what's what's what the type of
lines you're going to create there's no
question about that it's very consistent
very reliable and also very clean so you
notice that there's no splotches or
blobs of ink it'll no smearing and
smudging the line lines are very clean
movement is very smooth you know
now this one is refillable this is a
repeater graph technical drawing pen now
this is really pricey
okay this you're looking at like 30
bucks here now I think they're very
expensive however you know I'm not sure
the quality is necessarily the price is
justified but they are very well made
and and with maintenance that will last
you a very long time which is also you
know a pro and a con so for some people
are turned off by the fact that these
require maintenance like for example
they can tend to clog you know depending
on how you use like after you use it you
have to make sure you you clean it you
know if it there it involves maintenance
you know and I think that some people
may be turned off by that so the thing
is with these you just on cap it and
it's ready to use you use it you cap it
and that's it
virtually no you no maintenance required
but with these they're a little more
delicate you have to be more careful how
you use them and the fact that the ink
is refillable which is pro and con as I
said some people don't mind that there's
some of these that are made with a
replaceable cartridge so you can
actually take the cartridge out and and
and just dispose of it and just put
another one in with this you have to
actually let me see if I can show you
unscrew this clamp ring here and kind of
like twist this off and there you go
pour the ink in and then we're done you
fix it again it's really not that much
to be honest with you but some people
are turned off by little stuff like that
so but the lines they produce are
beautiful you know really smooth really
excellent drawing machines these things
you know um so I would suggest you
definitely uh you know it I wouldn't say
necessarily should buy one of these but
if you can afford to definitely you know
I think the more you're exposed to
different things the better alright cool
pen the read pen the dip and fountain
pen the the ballpoint pen the rollerball
pen the felt tip pen the technical
drawing pin so that's one two three four
five six seven eight nine all right now
what's the last one
oh that's eight actually then we have
and perhaps this is also as old as the
quill and Reed pens and as the brush yes
brushes can be used for pen ink drawings
okay if you take a good look at Asian
art you know in ancient drawings you can
see that a lot of their work and the art
is done with brushes you know of course
your particular ink drawing brushes and
stuff like that but I wouldn't
necessarily tell you to go all that far
with it you know but the cool thing is
about brushes is I think that they're
the most versatile of versatile of all
of these mediums okay based on the fact
that you can do virtually anything with
these with a brush okay you can create
very detailed lines with a brush you can
create line variation see that can you
use can do that you can create detail
you can do anything you can with a brush
with a pen you can do with a brush okay
however of course I think one of the
things that may terrify people is the
fact that the tip of a brush is not as
firm as a nib of a pen okay so it does
require a little bit more delicacy and
practice to gate you know and getting
used to but they can virtually do
anything and the thing is you can get a
wide variety of of brush tips to handle
any types of details you may be
confronted with and also there there are
different brush shapes okay it's for
creating different types of lines and
sizes for creating different covering
different areas in laying on a hole you
can cover areas really easily with this
okay we can create washes when you're
done you know so you can actually do an
ink drawing and do a wash with the same
brush now this is also very popular it's
a water brush so with this it allows you
to fill this reservoir with water and
then you can just pretty much have a
infinitely wet brush okay well not
infinitely wet but as long as the water
is in there but you can always have a
wet brush there's no need to dip in
water also you can actually put the say
for example a wash in here so you can
mix say ink with with water and get a
grey and then you have your your grey
wash you know so it's very versatile
brushes very very very very very
versatile so I would definitely
experiment with that as well and of
course last but not least is the pen
brush so you can think of this as a pen
that acts as a brush or a brush with a
reservoir like a pen okay so and here I
have a wide variety of them with sakura
they actually have one that's with the
pigma pigment based ink or their you
know proprietary pigma ink so you can
actually
use this pen as if it's an actual brush
see and the beautiful thing is it
creates these nice line dis nice line
variations you can have lines if a
variety of of with really cool stuff um
so I have one here for secure I have one
this is for Copic I like the Copic one a
lot some reason and that's another thing
why it's good to explore different
brands because you find that one brand
will make a particular pen better and
another one may not you know so or you
may like another one you may like one
over the other you know it's up to you
this is the prismacolor alright and this
is one that's pretty big fabric a
styling it you know it's pretty useful
as well filling in large areas by the
same time as I said it creates see that
line with variation is really cool
all right um nothing that's pretty much
it so I think you have like a wide
variety of ink drawing materials to use
you have your quill pen you have your
read or bamboo pen you have your dip pen
you have a fountain pen you have your
ballpoint pen you have a rollerball pen
you have your filter pen or marker your
technical drawing pen you have your
brush and you have your brush pen okay
and that's ten I think of the most
common used commonly used ink drawing
instruments now as I said you know these
are drawing instruments meaning they are
just a way of depositing ink to the
drawing surface so you don't have to
necessarily feel limited to these these
are you know common and they've proven
themselves but don't feel limited you
can use your finger to create an ink
drawing you know
she's a nice texture there look at that
you know don't feel limited to just
whatever you know that's the thing
that's beautiful thing about creativity
you can use virtually anything that can
create a mark to create ink drawings you
can use a piece of sponge you know
whatever it is anything within your
grasp so what I'll do is in the next in
the next video I'll follow up on the
rest of the ink drawing materials that
are common to use that I generally use
like paper and pencil and other
accessories and stuff like that but
these I think are the main the ten main
types of ink drawing materials and I
advise you to expose yourself to as many
of these as possible and even expose
yourself to the many variations of each
of these as possible and and really
build your repertoire of you know
drawing media