I thought I’d do a feature on some of my favourite artist materials that have been tried and tested by me throughout my illustration life! Obviously this is my personal (unsponsored) opinion and your mileage may vary, but these bits and bobs are what I use in my own practice ♥
Deleter Inks
I’ve tried quite a few inks since I first started working with traditional inks- I still prefer the first ones I ever used! These inks were first gifted to me by my Dad when I was 10- he bought me a Deleter Manga DX kit (available in the UK from Amazon intermittently) for my birthday (come on… every artist went through some sort of manga/anime phase!)
Based in Japan, comic art supply company Deleter is a favourite amongst manga and comic artists, but these high quality inks are useful for many more applications. The inks are water resistant (not waterproof) after an hour or so of drying time, which makes them good for use with a variety of different mediums, especially art markers like Promarker, Copic and Deleter’s own brand, Neopiko.
I find these really good for fine detailing, and both the black and white come in a variety of opacities suitable for lots of different uses; Black 1 being the darkest, and Black 6 being a mid-opacity ‘black’. I have Black 1 which is super dark and dries with a nice satin finish, and White 1 which I mainly use for corrections and highlighting. Both are best used with a brush, because the ink dries quite quickly and can block nib tips if left too long!
Winsor and Newton Metallic Inks
You know me… I love a good metallic embellishment feature in my work! These are some of the nicest metallic finish inks I’ve used~ Shake to mix the pigments, which swirl round in the pot like a black hole (it’s seriously mesmerising)!
They dry down really nicely and are perfect for dip pen and brush application.
Honorable mention to Liquitex Copper Ink- Winsor and Newton don’t make a copper yet! This is acrylic ink, so it’s a bit thicker but gets the job done with a paintbrush for what I like to use it for c:
Sakura Pigma Micron Pens ❀
Fineliners are definitely personal preference since there’s so many different types, but for me the Sakura Pigma Microns are some of the best c:
They nice stay nice and sharp throughout their life to give the best quality of line, and in my experience these Pigma Micron pens are the best fineliners to use with wet media. They are also smudge proof after a short drying time, and don’t bleed through paper which makes them ideal for writing too! Since my knowledge only goes as far as usability, here’s some specifics courtesy of my favourite pen website, Cult Pens:
“The first disposable technical pen to use archival pigment ink, the Micron range is by favoured artists, writers and illustrators everywhere. […] Archival quality ink is acid-free, chemically stable, waterproof, and fade resistant. No smears, feathers, or bleed-through on most papers. Strong plastic tip is steel clad for strength and for use against rulers and drawing instruments” (Cult Pens, 2019).
Available in a whole rainbow of colours here! I really love using the sepia toned ones for a softer look line art, and the purple ones are also really nice to use as an underlayer to be inked over in the next stage of my workflow.
My iPad Pro/Apple Pencil has also been indispensable piece of equipment for me- I have lots to say about this so I’ll cover it in another post [Update 26th Jan 2019: new post here!] ♥
References
Amazon.com (n.d.). Deleter: Manga Took Kit DX [Product]. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deleter-Manga-Tool-Kit-DX/dp/B000DZXB4O [Accessed 24 Jan 2019].
Collingwood, C. (2019). Deleter Inks: Black 1 and White 1 [Photograph].
Collingwood, C. (2019). Sakura Pigma Micron Pens [Photograph].
Collingwood, C. (2019). Winsor and Newton Inks: Gold and Silver [Photograph].
Cult Pens. (2019). Sakura Pigma Micron Drawing Pen [Product]. Available at: https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/SK21084/sakura-pigma-micron-drawing-pen [Accessed 24 Jan 2019].
chalon joy collingwood 