Art Supplies Reviews and Manga Cartoon Sketching

Testing testing - haven't posted in a while

2023-09-03T14:43:00.006-07:00

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Found this picture of my pencil collection. Faber Castell makes a good chunk of my coloring options for artist grade wax and watersoluble pencils. Both Polychromos and Albrecht Durer lines offer good color saturation and quality construction. Pencils sharpen well and leads are quite resistant to breakage. For a portable coloring kit, I would favor the versatility of a set of 30 watercolor pencils organized in an easy to carry canvas pencil roll. I tend to leave the full sets and pencil tin cases at my home studio. Really not a good idea to walk around with a set of 120 pencils. They are a pain to organize if you were to accidentally drop them.

The Sad Fate of Many Quality Art Supplies is to Vanish - Only defense is to search and stock up before they disappear

2020-10-11T17:54:00.003-07:00

Looking over my collection of art supplies, I can't help but notice that many are no longer available neither at the retail level nor even at the secondary market (Ebay, auctions, estate sales). Often economic forces eliminate innovative products despite its virtues, high quality, and uniqueness.

For example, the Caran D'Ache Museum watercolor leads have now been replaced by their wood-encased pencil version. Still, I do have a fondness for the sets with oversize Fixpencil lead holders and 3.8 mm drawing leads. At least we can still get the comparable color performance in pencil form.

The now-discontinued Faber Castell Albrecht Durer aquarelle sticks really do not have a similar product in the market. Even Caran D'Ache NeoArt water-soluble pastels have also disappeared from the marketplace. Their physical attributes combined features of watercolor pencils, watercolor pans, and oil pastel crayons. They were long-lasting, richly pigmented, and quite versatile.

Had the foresight to stock up when Jerry's, Cheap Joe's, and Pearl clearance out their stocks a few years back. The wrapped version is a good chunky drawing tool, and the unwrapped aquarelle sticks function as effective watercolor pans for larger brushes. They might have dried and hardened some with age, so they might have lost the creamy oil pastel quality. But their hardened state makes them a durable and solid drawing tool. Its marks can easily be dissolved with water. It's handy to spritz the sticks with some water to facilitate pick up of the color wash.

Now the German drafting company Alvin has ceased operations, so it might be a good time to stock up on refill leads or drafting tools if you think you might need some and if you can still find some stock at local retailers.

Maped Croc Croc 2-Hole pencil sharpener

2019-07-18T13:59:00.001-07:00

Another find from my sourcing trip to Peru. A children's pencil sharpener with 2 different sized holes in his green head.

The waste canister firmly attaches to the sharpener head with a satisfying click.

The green ridges provide an adequate grip for disassembling the sharpener. This cute little green and blue bug will live on my desk for the foreseeable future. It embodies the favorite colors of both my nephews.

Unboxing of Derwent 50th Years Anniversary Special Edition Watercolour Pencils set of 36

2019-07-18T13:25:00.004-07:00

Still wrapped in its original shrink-wrap, found this gem in the now defunct Pearl Art Supplies store in Miami.

Sliding matchbox packaging containing 36 watercolour pencils.

This 50th Anniversary special edition features color coding of the entire pencil barrel length which makers color selection while working far more efficient than the current modern version of just color coding the tip of the pencil ends.

Folded brochure included in the set features a brief history of pencil making.

Other side of brochure.

While the packaging easily displays the three dozens of different colors on three different tiers, I decided to transfer the set to a Niji roll for ease of use and travel.

I like to keep color families neatly organized in my field kit.

Almost done.

Ta-da!!! 36 watercolour pencils, a waterbrush, and a couple of drawing pencils ready to roll and go in a flash.

View of the back of the box.

Side narrow panels feature the color chart of a range of 40 colors.

This brand was my first experience with watercolor pencils. They are quite reliable and most US art and craft retailers used to carry open stock for this line.

Some colors are drier than others, and have a tendency to crumble a bit under pressure.

These pencils do require a bit of pressure to lay down their maximum intensity colors on the reference swatches below drawn on a Stillman and Birn Zeta series sketchbook.

Dry reference chart.

After wetting the right half side of each color swatch with a flat brush, you can appreciate their different solubility and tinting power.

Used to color an Alien pencil sketch.

International Pencil Spotlight: Layconsa Lapiz Especial Negrito Graso

2019-07-18T09:54:00.002-07:00

Found this box of pencils I picked at a Tai Loy stationery store on a trip from Peru and misplaced upon returning stateside.

This dozen of drawing charcoal pencils (oil base) was made in Peru for artistic drawing applications.

Close up of the charcoal cores reveals that some of them were glued slightly off-center.

Thus when sharpened the pencil tip is a bit slanted. They sharpened well enough in a standard taper sharpener.

These round pencils are painted black with silver markings.

Thanks to its oil base formulation the charcoal does not require fixing and does not smudge easily. The pencil is quite smooth and quite pleasant for sketching and shading.

Pencil point strength is good, and it does not crumble under my normal heavy drawing pressure. Dark marks still were erasable with my electric eraser.

Glad I rediscovered and finally tested this fun drawing tool. It should be a hit in the classroom with its smooth dark marks without the typical mess of dry charcoal. Quite suitable for becoming a staple in a sketching kit.

Latest refill pack from JetPens

2019-06-30T08:55:00.001-07:00

Had a few items dwindling in my working kit, so it was time to put together an order of refills. It just got here. During summer camps, I go through several refill ink cartridges for my Pilot Board Master dry erase markers. They are simply the best performers from beginning to end. Always yielding an uniform bold stroke until they ran out. The Mitsubishi Uni 2B lead is another favorite for drawing sample drawings during class. Super smooth and dark lines come forth effortlessly from my trusty 2 mm leadholder. The thick lead prevents breakage during speed sketching demos. The Yamato Arabic Disappearing Glue has been a staple on my desk for a long time, so my current 40 ml tube was beginning to ran out. It is always ready for a quick repair, paper crafting, and sealing envelopes or gluing old postage stamps. The Platinum Japanese Art Pocket Brush Pen is a great choice for filling blacks for manga artists and anyone who likes to sketch with a felt brush marker nib. Also picked a couple of white Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens with 1.5 mm bullet nibs to expand the range of my current set, and a spare Sakura Pigma Sensei 0.6 mm pen which I always carry with me. The latter has been my go to cartoon sketching pen for caricature drawings for many years.

Found a New Art Supplies store in Town

2019-06-25T22:09:00.002-07:00

Our guest artist, Jamal Walton, at my last Art Teen Intensive Camp at Durham Arts Council clued me in to the existence of this neat art supplies store in town: ArtPost on Iredell St.

Just a couple of blocks away from the Whole Foods store. It has been there for the past four years, but it is new to me.

While in a smaller scale, it did remind me of Askew Taylor for the selection of goods hailing from different parts of the world. Premium Grafwood graphite pencils from Caran D'Ache (including their Technalo version), Blackwing pencils, and ArtGraf watersoluble graphite sticks were found in their drawing section. There were also many paper and sketchbook options in stock including Strathmore and Claire Fontaine pads.

They carry a healthy range of sketching, drawing, and painting tools from Japan, Switzerland, Germany, France, Portugal, Taiwan, and USA.

By the front counter, there is a nice variety of block, novelty, precision, and electric erasers.

Among drawing pens, they had Tombow brush pens in open stock and Faber Castell Pitt artist pens in sets and all their white ink Pitt pens (Big Brush, regular brush, chisel, and 1.5 mm bullet nibs).

Several waterbrush options.

Including several Caran D'Ache products. Spotted some tins of Neocolor I crayons that are not easy to find and have nicely saturated colors. They have a Supracolor watercolor pencils open stock rack, so I picked up a couple of blue Indigo pencils which I like to use for monochromatic sketches.

The art loot for today includes a Blackwing Point Guard, a Faber Castell Pitt Artist brush pen in white 101, and a metallic 5.6 mm lead holder by Alvin from Taiwan.

This metal pencil cap is something that I had to see in person before picking it up. The reviews online were mixed. After testing its fit on the store Blackwing pencil samples, I knew the fit was snug but it still comes off with ease.

It nicely matches the gold ferrules of my first set of Palomino Blackwing pencils.

I missed this clutch pencil on my first visit, but I spotted it on the back of a lower shelf on my second visit. I used to have a green version of this 5.6 mm Heritage Apollo Leadholder. It is quite hefty and substantial in the hand given its metal construction. Its packaging is ready for gift-giving.
Parents and students can easily put together a basic and advance drawing kits with the options available at this location.

Latest batch of Japanese Goodies arrived today

2019-04-30T21:11:00.002-07:00

Thanks Caro! I love this latest batch of Japanese goodies sent by my dear cousin. Souvenirs from the Ramen Museum, Ghibli Museum, and Evangelion store. The pop-up postcards from the Ghibli Museum, recreate the site in 3-D. The pewter-finish figurine looks like a female Kamen Rider, and it came oddly enough from a corner vending machine in the Ramen Museum.

Cutest set of mechanical pencils I have ever received. They work well enough in a pinch, but I would not call their grip "ergonomic" exactly.

You press on the snout, and the little piggy "poops" a bit of lead with each click. And yes I checked their bellies, and they are actually "Made in Japan". How cool is that? The red logo on their backs belongs to Ramen Museum.

Parakeet Overload: Punilabo Stand Pen Case and Budgerigar watercolor sketches with Faber Castell Waterbrush and Tombow Dual Brush Pens

2019-02-04T16:09:00.002-08:00

I could not resist getting this Punilabo Stand Pen shaped like a parakeet from JetPens. I used to keep and raise budgies at home. Also finally picked up a Faber Castell waterbrush from Jerry's Artarama

Just like the Smart Fit Red Pen case, this budgie pen case will not take up too much real state from your desk while looking pretty sleek.

Its larger volume animal head features an elastic loop for holding accessories like a compact eraser block.

Instructions for use in pictures don't require an understanding of written Japanese.

If you can't decipher this pictographs, you earn a Darwin award. I assume most would know better that to launch a projectile directly into their eyes or not to use your silicone pen case as a rocket launcher to harm others.

I find them quite convenient for storing sets of inking pens from different brands. While not the most compact pen storage option, they are pretty handy to keep a bunch of pen organized and easy to find within your back pack or large travel day bag. Recommended.

The Faber Castell waterbrush features a nice compact barrel that can fit neatly within a Sakura Koi watercolor field box once disassembled. Made in China.

The cap is designed with a sharp wedge that can be applied to scrapping techniques.

Nice accessory for a watercolor pan set. Fairly suitable for field work and watercoloring on the go.

Freshly pointed nylon tip.

Good choice for watercolor sketching in small format papers.

Did I mention I love parakeets? These were drawn with a Sakura Pigma Sensei pen and colored with Tombow Dual Brush pens. The right art supplies can sure help pass the time even in stressful hospital room and emergency department situations.

Caran D'Ache Mixed Media Discovery Wooden Box Gift Set of 27 Neocolor II crayons and Supracolor II Soft pencils

2019-01-07T20:14:00.001-08:00

Found this Caran D'Ache Mixed Media Wooden Set of 27 pieces arranged in a beech wood tray with mahogany finish and Plexiglas sliding cover at Jerry's Artarama. This set contains twelve Neocolor II watercolor crayons, 12 Supracolor II Soft watercolor pencils, 2 pans of Gouache, and a number 5 pony hair brush. Quite an elegant presentation and useful introduction to three product lines from this premium Swiss brand.

Dry sample swatches drawn on watercolor paper and black paper. The crayons are the first two rows, and the pencils are the two bottom rows. Naturally the sharper pencils allow more control in their application while the wider crayons are better suited for broad strokes and quicker coverage of large areas.

After activating the swatches with the pony hair brush loaded with water, the result was bright saturated washes of color with minimal effort.

Opaqueness test of the white crayon and watercolor pencil drawn on black paper. The smooth soft lead of the pencil yielded clean solid line strokes. The crayon leaves a grainier softer mark that leaves more of the black paper to show through.

Testing the covering power and translucency of the red and yellow gouache paints included in this set. The yellow hue is fairly translucent, so it should work well for glazing techniques. The red hue is more opaque and covers more of the underlying colors. Great gift for coloring fans and budding artists. These top quality artist supplies from Switzerland are sure to please anybody after a little experimenting.

Tombow Dual Brush Pen Sets and Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pens in skin tones

2018-12-22T11:23:00.002-08:00

Been coloring class samples and experimenting in my sketchbooks with my Tombow Dual Brush pens lately. Their long barrels are generously loaded with bright water-based inks, and their nibs are quite responsive.

Color reference chart and blending test drawn on cold press watercolor paper. Still not sure how to best use the blender marker. At the very least you can get some gradient effects by rubbing the blender over dark swatches of color.

Also picked up some Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens in portrait colors for my classroom sketching kit.

The first three seem pretty useful from the start. The medium flesh hue looks a tad too red. Perhaps it will prove useful for depicting sunburn or extreme blushing.

Nice thing about Pitt Artist inks is that they are pigmented and do not bleed through the paper.

Concept Dual Tip Marker Set pf 12 Warm Grey Markers

2018-12-16T21:29:00.000-08:00

Got this set of markers on sale from Jerry's Artarama. Often I get requests for gray color markers in the art classroom, so I figured this was a good chance to add a few more coloring tools to our classroom art supplies kit. My set actually came with duplicate Warm Grey 8 markers and it is missing the lightest grey of WG 0.5. There really is not a consistent difference in value among the grays in this set. Oddly WG6 is the lightest of the bunch. The brush tip really is a regular fine bullet tip point of a regular felt tip marker. It is nowhere near as flexible nor as responsive as the Copic Super brush nib.

These Concept markers will work as optional coloring and sketching tools in class, but I would not recommend them for personal use. The inconsistent color selection is rather limiting. A good alternative would be to use a set of gray Prismacolor dual tip markers.

JetPens Blog Sponsorship Lot #64: Lihit Lab Marker Cases, Faber Castell Ecco Pigment Pens, and Tombow Fudenosuke Red Brush pen

2018-12-07T20:29:00.001-08:00

For our latest items for review from JetPens I chose the Lihit Lab The Design Mind Company D1395 marker case, the Faber Castell Ecco Pigment pens (range of even nib sizes), and the Tombow Fudenosuke Red brush pen.

These Lihit Lab marker cases are lightweight, compact, and work well for organizing popular alcohol markers. They can hold a dozen Copic Sketch markers or 10 Blick Illustrator markers. They are made in Vietnam.

Also managed to fit 8 Ecco pens, 1 Copic multiliner SP, 4 Pigma Micron pens, and the Tombow Fudenosuke brush pen inside a single marker case. Thus you could customize a 15-17 piece field sketching kit that can easily fit on the narrow pockets of a messenger bag.

Pretty efficient way to store your growing Copic marker collection according to color families.

The clear flip top lid can be folded back to give you a clear view and easy access to your markers.

Each marker easily slides in and out, for a speedier smoother workflow. Some other storage cases feature individual elastic holding loops, that when working of markers I find cumbersome and annoying. Thus I tend to use those only for long term storage.

These Lihit Lab marker cases keep your collection neatly organized and ready to work in an instant. The clear flip top is made of a rigid plastic that latches securely on both narrow sides.

Pigment pens from Vietnam (Tombow). and Germany (Faber Castell). The new Ecco pens have 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 mm nibs protected by metal tubes. Interestingly the cap and barrels of the Ecco pens are made of recycled plastic from the automotive industry.

Drew a mark reference chart on smooth card stock. The Ecco pens feature rigid nibs that smoothly glide on the support laying down consistent line widths much like the technical pens from the past. In fact they were created to replace the Faber Castell TG1 inking pens. If you enjoy drawing with technical pens, these pens will certainly do the trick.

Now I almost have the full size range of these Ecco pens since I got most of the odd numbered nibs and reviewed them long ago (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 mm). While lightweight, their tips feel fairly sturdy. I am missing only the 0.05 mm nib pen.

Sample doodles drawn on white card stock. The variety of nib sizes available make them pretty useful for inking and drafting. Their long metal casings make them template and ruler-friendly.

The smaller nib sizes are great for hatching and shading techniques. I find their consistent ink flow perfectly matches my natural drawing speed.

The Ecco pigment ink is fairly-water resistant once dry. The careful coloring with the Tombow Dual brush pen markers did not disturb the black outline at all in the sample sketch above.

Though repeated aggressive rubbing and brushing over the ink outlines could result in heavy smearing as shown above.

The Tombow Fudenosuke red pen has a brush tip that is fairly firm but still flexible enough to create some line width variation in a controlled manner. Might pick up the rest of the colors in the future. Fun tool for color sketching of organic natural shapes and even some light coloring tasks.

Recommended gifts for budding artists and ink sketching devotees.

Quick run through Jerry's Artarama store: spotted 2 new products

2018-12-06T20:35:00.001-08:00

In the Faber Castell display section, I noticed this case of green waterbrushes.

The brand name is noticeable in relief on the barrel of the waterbrush. The nylon nib size is medium. The cap has been designed to aid in scrapping and scratching techniques. Made in China.

On an end cap, you could spot these pads of Canson Plein Air Artboards for Illustration, Watercolor, and Mixed Media.

The pad sizes were 8" X 10", 9" X 12", and 12" x 16". Each pad included 10 artboards. Might try them in the future.

Surprise find: Daler Rowney Simply Waterbrush

2018-12-05T12:11:00.002-08:00

Spotted this inexpensive waterbrush in the art supplies section at Walmart. I had not seen any other reference to this particular brand of waterbrush anywhere else online. Waterbrushes have been a staple in my sketching kit and classroom supplies for a long time, but I had not seen waterbrushes at non-specialized general retailer like this before.

It features a medium size nylon brush nib and works as intended. It appears solidly constructed, and its cap can be securely posted to its back. Oddly a clockwise motion loosens the barrel from the brush nib section while the counter-clock turn will close the waterbrush tight. A gentle squeeze pushes drops of water forward perhaps a tad too freely. Yet it feels much better than the lower end no-brand waterbrushes. It should make a fine addition top the stocking stuffer of the budding artists in your list.

Blick Illustrator Markers back in stock

2018-12-03T21:23:00.001-08:00

Blick Illustrator markers sets of 12 and 24 are back in stock. They are a good value choice of alcohol markers for beginners and hobbyists.

Sample color chart for the range of 24 colors drawn on white card stock.

For smoother work flow, I prefer to organize the markers according to color families: warm yellows and reds, cool blues and purples, greens, and flesh and portrait colors.

Photocopied some comic pencil layouts for color testing.

The first two sets provided good service in class for the past year. So we have ordered a few more sets for use at the Art Center upcoming classes already.

Added some darker hues with some of my Caran D'Ache Fibralo markers.

Overwatch Blank Mini Notebooks

2018-12-01T21:35:00.002-08:00

Found this Overwatch Pocket Notebook Collection at Hot Topic. It would make a nice stocking stuffer with its colorful presence.

The set of 4 mini notebooks correspond to the 4 main classes in the game.

Support, Offense, Defense, and Tank.

They make ideal sketchbooks with their blank pages.

Pocket size.

Good for doodles and making quick notes.

Spotlight on Ucreate Mixed Media Acrylic Watercolor Sketch Pad

2018-11-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

Found this Ucreate mixed media pad at Walmart. It contains fifty 9X12" heavyweight pages reportedly suitable for acrylic, watercolor, and sketching. Its cover are two translucent plastic pieces.

Its most distinct feature is its disc binding. It works surprisingly well, and pages and cover can easily be flipped over as you work. They do bulk up the spine area though.

Decided to test it with a Sakura Pigma Graphic pen, Derwent Inktense and Graphitint pencils, and a waterbrush.

Dry autumn brown Derwent Graphitint sketch,

After wetting with waterbrush, the pencil sketch surprises with some reddish washes.

For this second test, the dragon head was drawn with a Pigma Graphic 1 pigment pen then colored with Derwent Inktense pencils.

After wetting the dry colored Inktense sections. Paper did not warp nor wrinkle with this light water application.

Good value mixed media sketchbook.

Barnes & Noble Art Supplies

2018-11-11T23:15:00.001-08:00

Some good deals to be had on clearance. The Comic Sketchbook is a great buy from the value aisle.

Pre-drawn comic book panels, make it really easy to start creating your own stories with your sketches. It's not too early to shop for gifts and stocking stuffers for the young creatives in your life.

The set of 12 Punctuate Metallic Colored pencils is a nice option for crafters and making greeting cards.

They work best on dark or black colored card stock.

They work ok on ivory paper.

Sleek tin case containing the 45 pieces coloring set (Made in Taiwan). Should make a nice storage for a sketching kit once the pencils and markers get used up.

The contents include: 8 twin brush markers and 8 extra fine markers, a brush, 10 watercolor pencils, 16 colored pencils, a sharpener, and a eraser. Should please kids and budding artists in your gift list.

Sample coloring chart drawn on Canson XL marker paper. Reasonably bright colors in limited palettes comparable to Crayola products.

JetPens Blog Sponsorship Lot #63: The Carl Ein Crank Pencil Sharpener in Yellow Version (Made in Japan)

2018-11-08T18:27:00.001-08:00

Among the many accessories that pencil users can find at JetPens, there are several top notch pencil sharpeners. This month I have chosen the Carl Ein Pencil Sharpener for testing and review. Went with the eye-catching yellow version because it reminds me of the classic #2 pencil, and it brightens up my desk.

The instructions are in Japanese, but they are easy enough to figure out from the packaging graphics alone. Its plastic body feels pretty sturdy, and it is light enough to keep it portable.

Yup, this beauty is made in Japan. This detail is clearly displayed on all 4 sides of the packaging box and permanently marked in relief on the bottom of the crank sharpener casing.

This is the internal cutting mechanism.

With a simple turn of the knob at the base of the handle, you can select between a fine 0.5 mm tip or a wider 0.9 mm pencil point while holding the crank in place.

Insert a new pencil through the opening of the front clasp, and three rubberized grips firmly hold the pencil perfectly centered for sharpening.

Thanks to these rubber coated grips, the surface of the pencil barrel is not damaged during the sharpening process. A cosmetic consideration when dealing with premium pencils.

The cutting mechanism is very sharp and feels very smooth as you turn the handle. There will be no resistance once the pencil is fully sharpened, and it can be released by pushing the red tab on top of the clasp.

A few clockwise turns yielded a razor tip on an everyday pencil with very little effort. Thus even my younger students should be able to operate this sharpener in the classroom.

Ditto for a brand new Lego No. 2 pencil.

Since the hole opening is 9 mm, it can actually accommodate wider art pencils like the Faber Castell Graphite Aquarelle pencil. The top pencil was sharpened to the 0.9 mm setting, and the Lego and Uni Mitsubishi 9000 pencils were sharpened to the 0.5 mm setting. None of my other crank pencil sharpeners (Classroom Friendly and Uni KH-20) work on anything larger than the standard office pencil diameter of 7.8 mm.

The waste compartment bin is quite large, so you won't have to make trips to the waste basket too often. Great performance and versatility make this crank pencil sharpener an easy recommendation for classroom use and pencil artists alike. Think of it as an environmental choice upgrade for any office or a great gift for the pencil artists in your list.

For those of you curious about how it compares to the Mitsubishi Un KH-20 red pencil sharpener. They do look pretty similar. It may be just a tad easier to monitor the build up of shavings in the translucent waste bin of the Carl.

Waste bin is a regular boxy shape the KH-20 while the Ein's tapers towards the back. Yet both seem to be roughly about the same volume.

They both feature a circular opening on the rear bottom, so that they may be clamp down to a table or desk (hardware not included).

Top view.

With the clasp assembly fully extended, you can see that the Ein features the same flat metal piece in the middle like the Classroom Friendly sharpener. This bar acts as a brake holding the assembly in place during the sharpening process.

In the Uni KH-20 that braking mechanism is located within its housing.

Kaweco 2-Pen Tin Box and Ballograf Epoca P Ballpoint Pen and some more refills from JetPens

2018-10-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Latest batch of goodies from JetPens.

Got the Kaweco hinged-lid tin to store a couple of my Kaweco Sport mechanical pencils.

It is certainly quite sturdy and has a narrower footprint than the classic nostalgia Kaweco tin with a fountain pen graphic on the lid.

The two compact pencils fit snuggly within this tin.

The closed tin length actually fits within the lid of the larger box. Nice compact way to transport a couple of Sport-size writing or sketching instruments in pocket or within your sketching bag. Since they are both held firmly in place, the tin should keep them from scratching each other during transport.

Finally got the Khaki Green Ballograf ballpoint pen with a couple of black ink pen refills in fine and medium tip sizes.. While the medium black pen refill left a few globs of ink randomly in the sample sketch above, I am pretty happy with how smoothly it performs and the bold easy-to-read line width it produces. Perfectly adequate for writing. Each pen refill comes packaged within a tightly capped plastic tube. Along with the small amount of fat in the back of each cartridge, it should keep the ink from drying out during prolonged storage.

The fine point cartridge lays down a cleaner sketch without any random globs of ink like the medium one. Both point sizes would work well for ballpoint sketches and writing entries in a daily journal.

This dark green is a favorite color. The stainless steel tip with its tungsten carbide ball provide a smooth feeling and skip-free line strokes. The cartridge holds enough ink for writing for 8,000 meters before running out, so they are made to last.

JetPens Blog Sponsorship Lot #62: The Kaweco Skyline Sport 0.7 mm Mechanical Pencil with gray body

2018-10-25T16:54:00.003-07:00

So many new goodies from JetPens to choose from, but for this month I decided to complete my set of Kaweco Skyline Sport Mechanical pencils with the 0.7 mm version that matches my gray 3.2 mm Clutch pencil which I reviewed here about three years ago. They are Made in Germany, and both display a timeless Retro look that makes them stand out from the usual pen gift sets.

Since its metal conical sleeve tip is not-retractable, it is slightly less pocket safe than its similarly-sized counterparts. Yet less pointy than your average drafting sleeve, so I could still carefully carry it in my side pockets if I don't feel like hauling this entire tin set around. With the lead retracted, the fixed conical tip is just as likely to stab you as a ballpoint pen tip.

Particularly during classroom drawing presentations and workshops, I like to simply throw a compact clutch pencil in my pocket as my main sketching tool since they yield bold lines with no breakage during fast-paced demos.

The Kaweco Sport was designed to feel small in the pocket and great in the hand, and its chunky hexagonal barrel certainly delivers superior performance compared to disposable mechanical pencils. Its short stubby barrel is well suited for working on a large scale board since it feels like a nice chunk of charcoal or drawing chalk in hand.

Its lightweight body reduces fatigue during long drawing or writing sessions, and its wide hexagonal grip affords good precision and comfort.

When you remove the push button, you can see the narrow inner plastic chamber that holds the leads. To avoid jams, I would only refill two leads at a time to remain on the safe side. The front end has resisted my efforts thus far in disassembling it, so the actual clutch is inaccessible should it become necessary to clear an obstruction like dislodging broken lead fragments.

Decided to use Pentel Ain Stein 2B 0.7 mm leads.

They are quite smooth, and significantly darker than the original leads that arrived within the Sport mechanical pencil.

Once you find your preferred premium 0.7 mm drawing lead, the Kaweco Skyline Sport will turn you into an unstopable drawing machine. Or at the very least make you look like one cool artist.

Btw it is available in six different colors. Just add it to your collection if you made it this far into this post.

Back-to-School finds that work as value sketching tools: Bic Atlantis Ball Pens in Colors bonus Pack

2018-10-18T16:59:00.005-07:00

From my back-to school lot of random supplies, we got this carded set of Bic Atlantis ball pens.

Made in France.

Retractable pens in 8 different ink colors with duplicate bonus pens for Purple and Pink. Since the refill tube is opaque white, you can't really tell how much ink remains in each pen. Thus the translucent pen barrels are just for looks rather than functional.

Color reference chart and pen disassembled into its components. Interestingly, the barrel of the pen unscrews near the push button and the pocket clip instead of the middle or near the tip like most refillable pens that I have come across before. This might help keep the pen together while in use. With some mechanical pencils that unscrew near the pencil point, I have had the problem that they come apart while drawing as the conical tip might loosen when gripped near the working end. The rubberized grip is comfortable and the retractable mechanism is smooth and quiet.

They are perfectly adequate color sketching tools for sketchbooks and notebooks. Ink flow was fairly smooth, and the colors are reasonably bright and fun.

Ballograf Epoca P Ballpoint Pen and some refills from JetPens

2018-10-01T13:07:00.001-07:00

Just got some refills from JetPens for materials frequently used in class and in my sketchbooks. Trying to keep my Caran D'Ache Fibralo brush markers set and lot of Pilot Wyteboard markers in good working order at all times. Also decided to try one of the new arrivals: the Ballograf Epoca P Ballpoint Pen.

Heather Purple would not have been my first choice, but these Swedish ballpoint pens sold out quickly this past September. Will have to keep an eye for when the khaki green version gets back in stock.

The Ballograf Epoca came loaded with a blue ink cartridge, so I picked up the spare black refill as well. They are both fairly smooth and did not skip during my initial testing.

Ink dried quckly, so it was not disturbed at all by the Caran D'Ache Fibralo brush markers used to color the test ink doodles.

The pen body feels comfortable in hand, and the retractable point mechanism works smoothly.

Quick ink sketch drawn on smooth cover card stock.

Colored with Caran D'Ache Fibraloi brush markers. Dry ballpoint ink dries so quickly, that brushing repeatedly with the yellow marker does not smear the black outline in the slightest. Thus the dragon belly remains pretty clean.

Coloring with Caran D'Ache Neoart wax pastels

2018-09-20T22:36:00.002-07:00

This set of Caran D'Ache Neoart wax pastels was one of the last items I got from Askew Taylor long ago just before they closed. Ddecided to use them to color a couple of the dragon posters for the Dragonboat festival this weekend. Figured their large diameter would allow me to do the job quickly, and that their saturated pigment load would result into bright hues with light pressure.

For the first try, I colored these baby dragons after sketching the ink outline with a Sharpie Pro chisel tip marker. Decided to even up the colors by brushing some water over the dry crayon marks. It worked ok, but the added water warped the lightweight drawing paper since it is not designed nor heavy enough to handle wet media. Had to use a blow dryer.

For my second try, I decided to use the NeoArt crayons dry and complemented my set of 10 Neoart pastels with a few Faber Castell Albrecht Durer aquarelle sticks that handle pretty similarly. The aquarelle sticks are just a bit harder and thinner.