Despite practicing art, adoring the scratch of pen (or pencil) on paper, and having too many blank canvases in my craft closet to count, I've always found it hard to balance my traditional artist with my love for digital things.
Today, I'm embracing my love for both and talking about my 5 favorite writing utensils for handwritten love letters, doodling, and everything in between.
5. Pentel Watercolor Brush pen (medium)
This is a newly discovered love that was purchased on an Amazon "gotta get my cart to $35 for same-day shipping" whim (as if you couldn't tell from the "swatches" and my amateur handling). I've been told that these not only work great used as a watercolor brush that doesn't have to frequent the water cup (built-in water reservoir, ooh yeah) but also as an ink pen when the hollow of the pen is filled with ink. I've yet to try that method, but so far I've been having a lot of fun using it as intended. It just takes the slightest bit of pressure to the handle for a nice, even dampness.
4. Staedtler Permanent Lumocolor (fine point)
I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a ton and a half of thin, felt tipped, permanent markers. But somehow, this pen stands out among the rest. Sharpie permanent fine point markers always seemed to bleed unnecessarily and didn't have great handling when not coming at the paper from a 90 degree angle. This baby allows full rotation of the wrist and a deep, inky black, controllable line. Best of all (as the name mentions) it's permanent!
3. Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen (soft tip pictured)
Tombow is essentially the Gucci of handlettering tools. Maybe that's an exaggeration (mostly because their pens are actually affordable) but they really do have the best quality to cost ratio out there, I think. I've had Tombow pens last me many years, but these additions are quickly climbing to the top of my list of favorites. The Fudenosuke come in both hard and soft tip variations, and both are excellent! Sophisticated letters seem to flow from the tip effortlessly, which make it really hard to put this writing utensil down.
2. Sharpie pen
As a long time devotee to the Sharpie brand (I begged and pleaded my parents for the entire stock of every single thickness in middle school), the Sharpie pen only makes sense. They have a tendency to dry out quickly if left uncapped, but otherwise they are perfect. For every day writing, the ink doesn't bleed through like a normal Sharpie would, and the smoothness of a Sharpie felt-tip is paired nicely with a lightweight pen body. This particular shape isn't my favorite, since the rubber grip is a little cumbersome, but look for the classic slim pens and you won't be disappointed.
1. Wacom Intuos Photo (and honorary mention: Wacom Graphire 4)
I have been a Wacom fangirl for about a decade now. It's crazy to think how much my Graphire 4 went through and yet it still continues to work to this day (I only upgraded to try out the new features, truth be told). The pressure sensitivity of a Wacom is amazing and accuracy is impeccable... once you get past the learning curve. I admit, when I first plugged in my tablet, the feeling of moving my mouse to "sketch" was a bit disjointed. Through practice, though, the fluidity becomes almost second nature and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. It becomes so natural, and I cannot stress that enough.
So there you have it, my preferred tools of the trade. They satisfy my need to, every so often, take a break from my digital life and put ink to paper.
...Well, most of them ;)
Til next time,
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