The best fine-liner pen for drawing? Here's why I switched from Staedtler to Sakura of America
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- What is the best fine-liner black pen for drawing? I switched from using Staedtler Pigment Liners to Sakura of America Pigma Micron Pens and in this video, I'll share the reasons why. Fine liners are my most-used art tool so this change was quite significant in my art practice. Staedtler is an AWESOME company - they are my favourite brand for small compasses and also have great erasers. Both companies have great pens, but after 3 years of only using the Staedtler Pigment Liners, I now am exclusively using the Sakura of America Pigma Micron Pens pens.
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ARTIST BIO
"Lizzie Snow is a visual artist, working under her artist name 'fortyonehundred'. Inspired by fractals in nature, she creates contemporary explorations of the mandala and free-flowing artworks.
The mediums Lizzie engages in include original artworks, internationally commissioned murals, limited edition prints & collectables, and collaborations with select brands and artists worldwide.
Lizzie has a Master of Fine Arts degree, a Bachelor of Design degree and over 140,000 followers online. Lizzie has collaborated with brands and artists including Lululemon, Converse, Peugeot, Blunt Umbrellas, TopShop, Roy Henry Vickers, AllBirds, Whittaker’s and more.
Lizzie is a New Zealander, now based between NZ & Canada."
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I prefer the slim grip on the staedtler. All them other ones are so thick for no reason. Maybe faber castell is a slim pen too. But the staedtler feels so nice
Thank you for this video!! I litteraly use every single brand of black ink pens and I always wondered which one might be the best..
You're so welcome! Yes there are a lot out there - many are great! I've just found that these ones are the best :)
Excellent and helpful! I’m new to the “fine” art world, upgrading from my office supplies to real art supplies, and I’ve wondered about these exact brands. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! You're so welcome. Exciting that you've started this journey
Oh my God 😅 the experience that you described with staedler was my experience with Sakura. First I only had dizens of Sakuras but one day I couldn't resist trying other brand so I bought a really nice pack of Staedlers and I couldn't believe in how much richer the black was. With Sakuras my nibs ended up flat and the ink was sort of grayish so very fast. Now I only use staedlers, I hope they are archival.
Oh really! So interesting to hear your experience
I find Staedtler Pigment Liners to be of much higher quality than the Microns. The Microns are some of the first fineliners ever mass-produced (Rotring Isographs and co. are proper technical pens, which are much older). Like the Rotring Isographs, Microns have been riding their reputation for decades, and have slacked-off on quality and innovation. As such, the fineliners from other big companies are almost always better.
The Staedtler fineliners are certainly of superior build quality. The writing on the barrel does not rub off as easily, and there are many Microns that are downright defective, coming apart just from posting and unposting the cap. The nib on the Microns are also not as well-made, which is very important to me, because I hack my fineliners and refill them with India ink, so the amount of value that a fineliner provides to me is mostly the durability of the nib, rather than the quantity of ink inside. Speaking of ink, all these water-based pigment fineliners are ph-neutral and lightfast, so they are perfectly archival. Also of note is that the label "archival" does not necessitate lightfastness. It only means that the medium will remain on the paper. In other words, one may rest assured that the artwork will remain in good condition if it is stored in reasonable temperature and humidity, while also never seeing the light of day.
I actually do not like either of these fineliners. The prices are not great for either, and they simply are not the very best that one can get. I've used many Staedtler products, and I can say that Staedtler products rarely are of superb quality, probably due to the company's huge reputation and lack of competition. I have found the fineliners from Pentel, Tombow, and Copic to be of the best quality. The Uni Pin pens are good, but the nib sizing system is unintuitive, and the range does not include the popular 0.1mm.
Wow thank you for sharing your ideas and for your very thoughtful comment!! Awesome to have your input, thanks :) I'll check out those other pens you mentioned
Hey such a big fan of yours ❤️ Satura pena are my fav too.. always use these for making mandalas
Hi! Thank you so much for your support :) That's awesome to hear, yes they are a wonderful pen!
Hi do you know how long these last?or are these refillable?
If you haven't tried them I *highly* recommend Faber Castell's Pitt Artist Pens. I do similar kinds of line heavy work and started out using Pigma Microns just because they seemed to be everyone's go-to. They're great, but like you mentioned with darkness and richness of the inks, Faber Castell's vs Microns was night and day. Work I'd just finished with Microns looked faded compared to the lines from Faber Castell and I've used them ever since. More expensive for sure, but especially if you're already established and selling work it's WELL worth the extra cost imo.
Oooh that's such great insight, thank you! I actually haven't tried those - I'll give them a shot :)
Try Yisan brand pigment pens. They are non toxic, waterproof, water based, super dark, they really work great!
Lot's of love and respect from India ❤️❤️
Thank you :)
i personally find the micron pens (sakura) are absolutely great! the only thing i dislike about it is the fact that the ink fades after erasing on top of it. when i draw my mandalas, sometimes i like to start with a rough sketch and later use the micron pen to draw on top of it, and to erase the sketch marks after, the ink fades when i do, sometimes i have to go over it once more so it has that rich black consistency, kind of frustrating! however, with the steadtler ones, i don’t have that problem sometimes.
So interesting to read your feedback, thanks for commenting! I've found the same - but also found a solution. These Sakura pens have a rich black ink - but it is somewhat surface-level... so yes when erased it fades.
The solution: I've found that using a sharp edge of an eraser (either a new standard one, one that you rotate, one that you trim, or a stick eraser) and just carefully erasing the pencil parts that need it, instead of rubbing across the entire artwork. This is how I don't get any faded areas :)
@@fortyonehundred way easier to use a kneadable eraser.
What app do you use for roughly drawing mandala?
I use Sidecar with Photoshop. I draw without using an 'app' as such, but by using the apple pencil and drawing each part without any help from a generator for example. I have a template on my website (under shop:artist tools) which I draw ontop of to help with the guidelines :)
Steadtle VS Sakura = Uni Pin WIN😅
Nice!
I got a Uni pin, it worked ok but the grip is either designed for dwarves or for babies from 1-3 years old. I couldn't grip that damn thing. You have to grip it further back where you lose precision. So what's the point to get one, since they're supposed for precise/technical drawing??
@@greekveteran2715 I can use it normally with accuracy. For me it's better than both pens shown in the video, my opinion, my experience! I completely respect yours 😉👍
@@flanker934 Do you hold it over the small grip part, or further back on the thickest part please? I'll go in a shop and give them one more try if you answer that!
@@greekveteran2715 friend, if you think that about the pen, I don't recommend you give it a second chance. I hold the front 😉👍
my japanese.STAEDTLERのpigment linerは使いやすいですか？高いですよね😃
"Sakura of America"......... they are Japanese pens...... Mine don't say "of America" on them at all. But hey, at least you switched. Actually, I'm in the process of switching to Copic SP pens. I have to get them one at a time because they're so expensive.
Yes! Sakura is the Japanese brand/parent company. Sakura of America is who I work with in North America which is why I refer to them like that :) Why are you in the process of switching? And which pens did you switch from? Would love to hear about your experience!
@@fortyonehundred I use Microns. But I really love the Copic SP liners a bit more.
It's kind of like having a Toyota with all the bells and whistles, vs a Lexus. They are basically the same thing. The Lexus just has a little more luxury.
The problem is, Copic SPs are about $10-$15 per pen. So that's why I'm getting them one at a time. I can't afford to get 7-10 pens at that price all at once. BUT, they are refillable, and you can get new nibs if they go bad. So basically, you only need one of each size and they'll last.... basically forever.
I still use Microns too. I like the 10 and the 12. Oh, and the 003. Sizes that Copic SP doesn't have. Plus, Copic SPs are metal so they just feel better in the hand (imo). They have more weight to them. I think they are a bit more smooth. Most people would rank Micron and Copic as the best fine-liners but I'm sure there are plenty of people that love other brands.
Also, I noticed that there's less pilling when I'm using Copics. I bind my own books with RendR paper from Crescent. You should try it. (I LOVE that paper.) Then I fill them.
Anyway, I wasn't saying that you were wrong or anything. I just never heard anyone refer to the Microns as "Sakura of America" before.
You should buy a Copic SP (the SP is important) in your favorite nib size and see if you like them. However, if you work with Sakura, then maybe you're getting them for free or at a discount. If that's the case. I wouldn't use anything else.
Sorry this is to long. I type how a speak...... too much. : )
Thanks for the comment. I always think it's cool when a content creator takes the time out of their day to reply to a respectful comment. It shows that you care about your viewers.
You can refill these pens