Drawing Pens

March 30, 2004 11:55 AM

Searching for two drawing implements: Firstly, I want a pen with grey ink, nothing too dark, nothing too light. Something with a fine tip. Of course I could get this effect by mixing my own ink and using nibs, but I don't like using them. Secondly I'd like a marker or very broadly tipped pen of the black pigment ink variety to fill dark areas quickly and more importantly, evenly. I have a dying Staedtler jobby that has since been discontinued, I think. Any advice on brands, models and places to purchase them would be greatly appreciated.
posted by picea to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

Well, if it's a BIG area to fill, I'd suggest the awesome Magnum 44 marker. Which, in addition to being a weapon of choice for grafitti art students, will also get any room full of people high within about four minutes of being uncapped.

I've always been a big fan of mixing my own ink, actually. It allows a lot more flexibility. If you want more than one shade of grey, then you don't have to buy an extra pen (if grey pens even exist, i'm not sure they do). And having a brush on hand will let you deal with the large areas.

Alternately, you could simulate grey with crosshatching.
posted by kaibutsu at 1:26 PM on March 30, 2004

Are cartridge pens ok? I've always liked the Rotring Art Pen. It's a drawing pen rather than a technical one. It's cheap and has a few nib choices. With the refillable cartridge, you can use any ink you like.

Can't help with the markers, sorry.
posted by bonehead at 1:41 PM on March 30, 2004

Chartpak makes pretty much every color marker in the world, including at least 20 shades of grey. If there's a Pearl Paint near you, you can also find a wide variety of pens and markers - any big art supply store should have lots of options. Sakura makes some excellent colored ink pens as well.
posted by judith at 1:48 PM on March 30, 2004

I'm not sure what sort of finish you're going for (in all likelihood, matte, in which case this won't help) but Sharpie is now producing a metallic silver pen.
posted by Danelope at 1:51 PM on March 30, 2004

Hmmm, I always liked the Prismacolor two-headed markers myself, which are good and even and reliable as long as they're full of ink. They aren't that good at huge areas, though, so if that's your task follow kaibutsu's advice.
posted by furiousthought at 2:35 PM on March 30, 2004

I used to use a Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph. It's a cartridge pen but I remember filling mine (perhaps there's a refillable cartridge as well?). They're great and come highly recommended by me. I used a #3 and a #0 or #00.

For covering large areas with smooth black india ink, I used the biggest nib I had (a #6?) and laid it down. This can be even, but it depends in your technique and the paper.

For the ink, I can't seem to find gray.
posted by zpousman at 3:16 PM on March 30, 2004