This type of pen also suffers from the tip drying out if you forget to replace the cap any time you are not using it – be warned! Over time it can wear & when that happens it gives a wider line than when it was new. The thin fibre tip can be damaged if used with a heavy hand. Originally intended to be a technical pen used to draw up plans & with a ruler they are designed to be used upright or nearly so. The line they give is of a single unvarying thickness & the ink is very thin, it is not the darkest looking black ink. They are the ideal choice for a beginner & the first choice for many a professional illustrator as well. There are always different sizes of line width choices & in some makes ranges of colours to choose from too. Drop one of these cheap disposable pens into your pocket with a sketchbook you’re ready to draw anywhere. Please note, I have never said that you can’t do great drawings with a ballpoint or that they don’t have some roles to play in sketching – they can, but I cannot recommend them for serious drawing nor to anyone with the slightest interest in developing their all round pen & ink drawing skillsĭISPOSABLE TECHNICAL PENS OR FINELINER PENS as they are also known.įineLiner pens are perhaps the most popular choice for drawing they are clean to use & well behaved, the ink they have in them is permanent & fade proof. The result is that while you appear to be progressing in your pen work, you are not! You are in fact developing bad habits that hold you back when it come to using any kind of proper artists pen.Ī further problem is that in order to get a good black line you have to press down really hard compared to any other type of pen. The unique character of ballpoint pens makes them a poor learning tool if you wish to improve your skills because of their ability to draw a cautious, nervous & unconfident line faintly without the decisive commitment demanded of any other type of pen. This standard refers to the pen being used in normal writing conditions & not how an artist would use it.Ģ. This serious shortcoming is confused by manufacturers having the official ISO.(international standards organisation) stamp. All of those delicate tones that you took such pains toĬreate will fade to a pale shadow whether it is exposed to the light or not, leaving you with a drawing where all of the tonal balances are ruined. That ballpoint pen ink regardless of the colour ink it has or which brand you try will fade terribly very quickly unless you press on hard to get the blackest line possible. This sounds GREAT! & many artists fall madly in love with ballpoints for drawing BUT BEWARE ! – she is a pen fatale which will deceive you & the affair will be short lived !ġ. They will work well on even the cheapest, horrible paper possible as a bonus. Working this way it is entirely possible to make a photo realistic drawing with a ball point pen. If you start your drawing slowly using these really light marks & then slowly build up the drawing this pen can take the place that a pencil might have taken when just starting a drawing, doing all those early construction & perspective lines, tentative outlines before you commit to the final dark bold line. They’re great! – you can make a deep rich dark line or you can make a really light barely visible mark. PRO’S Ballpoint pens, (biros if your British & old school !) are everywhere & there’s always one to hand when you need to make a sketch. Īny specific model pen which I mention I will have used myself ,there will be other makers of pens available of course, some of which may very well be their equal, but I haven’t personally used them. Perhaps though one of the most important considerations for any artist when choosing a pen is how they FEEL in use if it doesn’t feel right to you- then that pen is no good to you. I wouldn’t pretend that my views & experiences are not reflected this piece, pure objectivity is difficult when considering such a subjective & personal thing but hopefully it might give you an idea of some of the options. Įach has different characteristics, different thickness of lines, different types of ink that will fade in no time when you put a drawing into a frame for display, some types of ink are waterproof allowing you to use watercolour paint with them, some are convenient to use, etc. Nowadays it is pretty confusing artists can choose different types of pen from many different manufacturers. For thousands of years there was very little choice in choice of which pen to use, you could cut a reed & sharpen it to a point or you might use a feather from the end of a birds wing.
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