Thank you. It was a bit of work putting this together, but videos like this tend to have a long life, and hopefully will be useful to people getting started
There was a time when I exclusively used Bic pens to draw (mostly because I couldn't afford anything else). One interesting thing I found out back then was that blue Bics are way better than black Bics for drawing. I don't know why but I never could find a black Bic as good as a blue one
I used to draw with ball-point pens years ago and have the exact same experience! The blue ink was always smoother, and somehow put down a better line. This Bic crystal surprised me though. Maybe because of its larger tip, the black ink was surprising smooth.
Marc, another detailed and very clear demonstration for the various options! I can't imagine how much time it takes to plan and make these comparison videos. I for one am very appreciative and wish I could give you more than one like. I personally like fountain pens for the line and wash urban sketching that I do. It provides the best combination of portability and line variation and allows me to lay down the least amount of lines to convey the form in one tool. I appreciate being able to keep my kit as minimal as possible. I'd say my second used line tool is a brush pen with bristles such as the Pilot Brush Pen rather than the felt tip type you demonstrated. It gives even more line variation and allows me to be very gestural and you can fill the cartiridge with whatever fountain ink colour you wish. Down side is that it's very hard to use while in transit like on a bus or train compared to a fountain pen. It's blobs galore! Unless that's the look you're going for... 😁
Thank you kindly. This did take time to put together, but hopefully this video will continue being be useful to people years down the line. I love brush pens and have a video comparing different kinds. The ones with actual hair are generally much better than the felt tips, but the Zebra pen is easier to control for very fine hatching (and is probably easier to use on a bus).
Marc, your pen reviews are one of the best! Have you heard about Ackerman Pens? They seem to work with any type of ink with addition of a dip nib. Would be very interested in your review from an artist viewpoint!
I like your review. I am a big dip and fountain pen fan, but also like all kinds of brush pens. Years and years I loved the pitt artist brush versions. Quite recently I started to use fude nibs on fountain pens and refillable brush plastic hair fountain pens to imitate chinese / japanese landscape drawings. they are my new favorites now. I like very soft and responsive brush tips and the random element they give to a drawing
Thanks! I love brush pens too, especially the Kuretake 13, which has all the expressiveness of a brush but is stiff enough for crosshatching. I have a review of brush pens and water brushes that you might enjoy.
For some reason I've never actually tried a glass pen. They always felt decorative to me, something that people have next to their candles, but never actually use. I'll have to try it!
Thanks for this thorough comparison. In one of your older videos you mentioned a TWSBI fitted with a Fountain Pen Revolution (FPR) Ultra Flex nib. It’s become a favorite of mine as it combines the benefits of a fountain pen with the flexibility of a dip pen.
That is a huge effort put into pen variation with all that sketching. As a beginner sketcher I appreciate your personal comments from your experience. Thank You.
I think you've made a highly persuasive argument for the Bic ballpoint. Admittedly it amuses me to annoy fountain pen fanciers by extolling their virtues, but they're a favourite with industrial designers for good reasons. Other than that the dip pen is the big no compromise winner for me, in part because of the non-fountain pen friendly media you can use: India ink, watercolour, gouache, watered down emulsion paint, masking fluid, bleach, gilding medium, blood ... pretty much anything wet.
I like to ruffle feathers. :) I think most artists don't fetishize their materials the way fountain pen collectors do, and use all kinds of pens, each for specific purpose. And yes, dip pens are the best!
I am actually a huge fan of the humble BIC Cristal. The ink is nice and I can get a huge variation in line. I use them in several colours just for fun. I've used everything you showed (I'm an utter maniac when it it comes to art supplies), but I tend to like dip pens and technical pens - probably because my father was an engineer, and it's what he had for me to learn with. I have yet to find a fountain pen I adore, but I'm working on it. Thanks for another fantastic and thoughtful video! 😊
I don't use them for ages, then dig one out for sketching and think, "This is a surprisingly good drawing instrument for hatching and the like. How do I keep forgetting that?" 😄
Marc, you are such an underrated artist…I enjoyed your comparison and, while I have an extensive fountain pen collection, I’m going to explore the Bic crystal and the dip nib you suggested. Thank you…no need to abuse anyone..I prefer kindness and honesty. Very glad to see your Venmo classes…(sigh) I’ve purchased so many different classes that I need to buckle down and complete some…I just need a regular art habit in the middle of life's complexity. Thanks again.
Thanks for the excellence video. IMHO the resuability of pid pen and fountain pen is an ecological and economical plus and a big differentior to the throwaway pens.
Marc, thank you for super video! May i share my opinion: as I'm lefty, and technical pens (rotring and others), most comfortable for me in daily drawing practice.
I also thought about this moment in drawing. When I draw with my left hand (also when writing with a fountain pen), I hold the instrument vertically, but when I tried to draw with my right hand (for comparison), holding it vertically is completely uncomfortable. It turns out that I draw and write with my right hand, as right-handed people usually do at the same angle... I’ll highlight another point - isographs allow me to draw in detail and with a thin line (almost the size of a hair) in comparison with all the characters in the video. Also, another big advantage of technical pens for me is that they are refillable. I fill my isograph with platinum carbon - the perfect combination :) But it's my "special relationship" with technical pens. I'm also a huge fan of fountain pens:)))
@@mkompanAnd one more addition. If the isographs were not refillable, then I would not be able to choose the winner from the tools presented in the video. They are all wonderful at their work.
While I love fountain pens and have many custom tuned I still have many mechanical pencils, rollerball, markers, and ballpoint pens for use. Each suited for different tasks.
I think most artists are like you. All of these pens are great for specific things, and there's no need use one type of pen exclusively for everything.
Thanks Marc for yet another great and interesting video! I had always assumed that a cheap ballpoint pen would not be great for drawing but, while taking a drawing class this year and trying to keep drawing wherever I was and with whatever drawing implement was at hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the great amount of line variation available from one just by varying the pressure and speed of my strokes. I wonder if anyone has done any testing of the lightfastness and permanence of various brands of ballpoint pens. I also wonder how the ballpoint pens that are made to take fountain pen inks would perform for drawing. I have one made by J. Herbin. I will have to try it out for this. A TWSBI with a stub nibble is still my favorite for writing but I also found this year that I really like drawing with a very inexpensive set of Pilot Varsity pens. $18 gets you seven different colors. I really enjoyed using them with very fast, light strokes. With the vibrant and somewhat transparent colors in those pens I got a very lively look to my sketches. And even though they were a fine or medium sized nib, I got a great variety of line thickness and darkness of color from them. I have always used a Varsity as my travel pen since I have never known one to burp, even when flying. And, at $2.50 a pen, if one got lost it wouldn’t be a big deal. The essentially eye-dropper filling of the Varsity holds a great amount of ink so I never had to worry about it running out while I was traveling.
You're very welcome! I haven't see anyone do light-fastness testing for these ball-point inks. Perhaps I'll leave a drawing outside for a few months and see what happens. I have yet to try the varsity, but I believe the same nib is on the Pilot mini, and those work pretty well. The Platinum Preppy is very similar in that it's eye-dropper-able, and is also super well performing.
A detailed review of so many pen types in a short-ish video was a big task, but you achieved it admirably Marc. I learnt stuff !
Thank you. It was a bit of work putting this together, but videos like this tend to have a long life, and hopefully will be useful to people getting started
There was a time when I exclusively used Bic pens to draw (mostly because I couldn't afford anything else). One interesting thing I found out back then was that blue Bics are way better than black Bics for drawing. I don't know why but I never could find a black Bic as good as a blue one
I used to draw with ball-point pens years ago and have the exact same experience! The blue ink was always smoother, and somehow put down a better line. This Bic crystal surprised me though. Maybe because of its larger tip, the black ink was surprising smooth.
sometimes, a limitation on the drawing material can an opportunity for creativity to get into acion…
Super detailed and unbiased video!
Thank you!
Marc, another detailed and very clear demonstration for the various options! I can't imagine how much time it takes to plan and make these comparison videos. I for one am very appreciative and wish I could give you more than one like.
I personally like fountain pens for the line and wash urban sketching that I do. It provides the best combination of portability and line variation and allows me to lay down the least amount of lines to convey the form in one tool. I appreciate being able to keep my kit as minimal as possible. I'd say my second used line tool is a brush pen with bristles such as the Pilot Brush Pen rather than the felt tip type you demonstrated. It gives even more line variation and allows me to be very gestural and you can fill the cartiridge with whatever fountain ink colour you wish. Down side is that it's very hard to use while in transit like on a bus or train compared to a fountain pen. It's blobs galore! Unless that's the look you're going for... 😁
Thank you kindly. This did take time to put together, but hopefully this video will continue being be useful to people years down the line.
I love brush pens and have a video comparing different kinds. The ones with actual hair are generally much better than the felt tips, but the Zebra pen is easier to control for very fine hatching (and is probably easier to use on a bus).
Marc, your pen reviews are one of the best! Have you heard about Ackerman Pens? They seem to work with any type of ink with addition of a dip nib. Would be very interested in your review from an artist viewpoint!
I have yet to try the, but you're not the first to ask about them, so I'll have to get one.
I like your review. I am a big dip and fountain pen fan, but also like all kinds of brush pens. Years and years I loved the pitt artist brush versions. Quite recently I started to use fude nibs on fountain pens and refillable brush plastic hair fountain pens to imitate chinese / japanese landscape drawings. they are my new favorites now. I like very soft and responsive brush tips and the random element they give to a drawing
Thanks! I love brush pens too, especially the Kuretake 13, which has all the expressiveness of a brush but is stiff enough for crosshatching. I have a review of brush pens and water brushes that you might enjoy.
Hi Marc, what do you think of Herbin glass pens?
Nice that you included the Bic Cristal, it is such a modes and easy going drawing utensil!
For some reason I've never actually tried a glass pen. They always felt decorative to me, something that people have next to their candles, but never actually use. I'll have to try it!
Thanks for such a great demo, Marc. All very informative for sure!
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for this thorough comparison. In one of your older videos you mentioned a TWSBI fitted with a Fountain Pen Revolution (FPR) Ultra Flex nib. It’s become a favorite of mine as it combines the benefits of a fountain pen with the flexibility of a dip pen.
Those FPR nibs are still my favorite. They recently started selling their #6 nibs in Bock and Jowo housing, greatly expanding where you can put them.
That is a huge effort put into pen variation with all that sketching. As a beginner sketcher I appreciate your personal comments from your experience.
Thank You.
Thank you! This was quite a bit of work, but hopefully this video will useful to people for years to come.
@@mkompan Very much so.
superbes comparaisons, merci pour ce beau travail ^^
Pas de quoi!
Mark, greetings from Kharkiv. I watched your video with pleasure. You're on top as always. Thank you for sharing your experience.
My pleasure! I'm glad you enjoyed this video.
I think you've made a highly persuasive argument for the Bic ballpoint. Admittedly it amuses me to annoy fountain pen fanciers by extolling their virtues, but they're a favourite with industrial designers for good reasons. Other than that the dip pen is the big no compromise winner for me, in part because of the non-fountain pen friendly media you can use: India ink, watercolour, gouache, watered down emulsion paint, masking fluid, bleach, gilding medium, blood ... pretty much anything wet.
I like to ruffle feathers. :) I think most artists don't fetishize their materials the way fountain pen collectors do, and use all kinds of pens, each for specific purpose. And yes, dip pens are the best!
What a detailed review 👌 , I tend to use all of those pens but I find myself comeback a lot to the gel pen
Thank you! Gel pens are great, and would be my choice if my fountain pens were taken away.
I am actually a huge fan of the humble BIC Cristal. The ink is nice and I can get a huge variation in line. I use them in several colours just for fun. I've used everything you showed (I'm an utter maniac when it it comes to art supplies), but I tend to like dip pens and technical pens - probably because my father was an engineer, and it's what he had for me to learn with. I have yet to find a fountain pen I adore, but I'm working on it. Thanks for another fantastic and thoughtful video! 😊
This is another pen that I drew with when I was younger. They’re lovely to work with and drawing with them again took me back to my high school years.
I don't use them for ages, then dig one out for sketching and think, "This is a surprisingly good drawing instrument for hatching and the like. How do I keep forgetting that?" 😄
Marc, you are such an underrated artist…I enjoyed your comparison and, while I have an extensive fountain pen collection, I’m going to explore the Bic crystal and the dip nib you suggested. Thank you…no need to abuse anyone..I prefer kindness and honesty. Very glad to see your Venmo classes…(sigh) I’ve purchased so many different classes that I need to buckle down and complete some…I just need a regular art habit in the middle of life's complexity. Thanks again.
Thank you! It’s been years since I’ve drawn with a ballpoint and I was pleasantly surprised. They’re so fun to draw with.
Thanks for the excellence video. IMHO the resuability of pid pen and fountain pen is an ecological and economical plus and a big differentior to the throwaway pens.
My pleasure! That's an argument that I'm always making for fountain pens, but in this video I limited the discussion to performance only.
Marc, thank you for super video!
May i share my opinion: as I'm lefty, and technical pens (rotring and others), most comfortable for me in daily drawing practice.
My pleasure! Interesting. Are technical pens more comfortable for lefties because of the vertical writing angle?
I also thought about this moment in drawing. When I draw with my left hand (also when writing with a fountain pen), I hold the instrument vertically, but when I tried to draw with my right hand (for comparison), holding it vertically is completely uncomfortable. It turns out that I draw and write with my right hand, as right-handed people usually do at the same angle...
I’ll highlight another point - isographs allow me to draw in detail and with a thin line (almost the size of a hair) in comparison with all the characters in the video.
Also, another big advantage of technical pens for me is that they are refillable.
I fill my isograph with platinum carbon - the perfect combination :)
But it's my "special relationship" with technical pens.
I'm also a huge fan of fountain pens:)))
@@mkompanAnd one more addition. If the isographs were not refillable, then I would not be able to choose the winner from the tools presented in the video. They are all wonderful at their work.
While I love fountain pens and have many custom tuned I still have many mechanical pencils, rollerball, markers, and ballpoint pens for use. Each suited for different tasks.
I think most artists are like you. All of these pens are great for specific things, and there's no need use one type of pen exclusively for everything.
So helpful! Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks Marc for yet another great and interesting video!
I had always assumed that a cheap ballpoint pen would not be great for drawing but, while taking a drawing class this year and trying to keep drawing wherever I was and with whatever drawing implement was at hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the great amount of line variation available from one just by varying the pressure and speed of my strokes.
I wonder if anyone has done any testing of the lightfastness and permanence of various brands of ballpoint pens. I also wonder how the ballpoint pens that are made to take fountain pen inks would perform for drawing. I have one made by J. Herbin. I will have to try it out for this.
A TWSBI with a stub nibble is still my favorite for writing but I also found this year that I really like drawing with a very inexpensive set of Pilot Varsity pens. $18 gets you seven different colors. I really enjoyed using them with very fast, light strokes. With the vibrant and somewhat transparent colors in those pens I got a very lively look to my sketches. And even though they were a fine or medium sized nib, I got a great variety of line thickness and darkness of color from them.
I have always used a Varsity as my travel pen since I have never known one to burp, even when flying. And, at $2.50 a pen, if one got lost it wouldn’t be a big deal. The essentially eye-dropper filling of the Varsity holds a great amount of ink so I never had to worry about it running out while I was traveling.
You're very welcome!
I haven't see anyone do light-fastness testing for these ball-point inks. Perhaps I'll leave a drawing outside for a few months and see what happens.
I have yet to try the varsity, but I believe the same nib is on the Pilot mini, and those work pretty well. The Platinum Preppy is very similar in that it's eye-dropper-able, and is also super well performing.
Beautifully done! Thank you
My pleasure!
Excellent comparison. I had not come across the Zebra yet. New toy. ☮️🙏
Thank you! That pen was fun to use.
Amazing 👏. This is what we need. ❤
Glad you think so!
good info, thanks.
My pleasure.
Wedding certificates LOL. That’s me ☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼
🥰😍🤩Thankyou
You’re welcome 😊