Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Materials: inking

I haven't done any inking in quite some time. I have been thinking of getting back into it and as such I thought it might be a good time to post the materials I use.

Surface- Strathmore 300 series 2-ply smooth bristol board



Ink- Higgins T-100 Drafting Film Ink
Applicators-Continuing from left to right
Kaimei natural hair brush pen
Cirrus 220 designers' Kolinsky Sable brush from Winsor & Newton
#102 Crow Quill Nib and holder




Unfortunately both the Cirrus 220 brushes and the Higgins T-100 ink have been discontinued.
I really like the Higgins T-100 (especially if you let it evaporate a little), and have not been able to find a replacement I like. As far as the brush Kolinsky Sable series 7 brushes are great, but the reason I did not use this to start with is they are really expensive. So if anyone can recommend an affordable alternative to either of these let me know.

3 comments:

Tracy Flynn Art said...

I use the same paper on my inks, as well as W & N kolinski sables, but for me the ink that I use is Speedbal Super black India ink.Serious darks (black) and handles being thinned out well. No dyes and 100% carbon black pigment.

Unknown said...

I'd love to see a tutorial on your process, and/or process shots, showing the order you work in, when and why you use the different tools. I've played with a pen nib, but I don't think I have a clue how it's supposed to work. I greatly enjoyed your figure tutorial on conceptart, as well as your sketchbook and other threads - thanks for that! T Arthur Smith

sleahcim said...

That's weird, I just had out my T-100 ink and noticed it was a little low. Put it on a list to pick up next time I was in town and then run across this old post. That's a really bummer. I used to do a lot of illustration work, mainly airbrush, and the T-100 was the best ink on the market. The only thing that would stick properly to film. Now what am I going to do? You know how many different inks I tried before I found it? Oh well, the search begins again.

Regarding the Kolinsky, I would highly recommend trekell.com. Their prices are fantastic and the quality is as good as any other brush I've found.

Please let me know if you find a replacement for the T-100.