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Testing out my new Japanese pen nibs, so I can have a record of how each one looks when used. Keep in mind that I am a less than accomplished inker, and that these are not cleaned up. XD

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Going from left to right, it's:

Top row
1) Maru pen or round pen. Very thin nib, usually used for fine detailing.
2) School pen - used in, well, school. Apparently supposed to be not that flexible and not allowing for much varied line weight.

Bottom row:
3) G-pen. I've forgotten what the formal description for this one is.
4) 600 Chrome pen. I've never run across the formal description for this.

I like them better than American nibs because the shank on the nib where it goes into the pen holder is much, much longer, so when I dip it into water to clean it off, water doesn't go into the pen holder. They felt slightly better on the paper, too, but I'm not sure if that was a real effect or a suggested on.

And now a totally pointless poll because I'm going to ignore the results and jsut do what I want anyway, and manga is done with a combination of pens, not just one anyway. And I'm evilly forcing you to use radio buttons! Feel free to explain your answer in the comments, or bitch at me for making you choose only one and thus make it seem like you have a very strong opinion about a subject that really doesn't affect you at all.

[Poll #540929]

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I am pretty sure I only picked Maru because in that picture his eyes are darker, hair line lighter! It's really hard to see the difference at that resolution.

Yeah, I understand it's hard to tell - I debated for a while posting them at the size I drew them, or the size they'd be reduced to if published (which is 60% of the size they're drawn at), and ended up picking a size in between that does no one any good. XD

When I printed it out, the school pen looked better than it did on the screen, even at full resolution, strangely enough, and for me, the G-pen jumped out as being more live than the others at the size and resolution I posted above. So there's really not much point to the poll besides entertainment. XD

Ditto, for those exact reasons.

* And the heavier the nib got, the harder it was to draw without smearing - I didn't smear the Maru pen at all, but by the time I got to the 600 Chrome, my little finger was covered in ink spots form where I managed to drag it. :D Due to the pens laying down a heavier ink line that doesn't dry as fast, primarily.

Even if I'm a big fan of using a simple brush and ink, I like the Maru one. There's a slightly wider variety of link width there. What's the nib on this pen like?

Like this (http://www.akadotretail.com/shop/shop_showbook.php?id=IC-302049). Very small, very thin. But even though it's the same size, it's more robust than the smallest one I can find over here, so I don't feel like I'm going to break it withe very stroke.

Oooooh. Should've known you were using an actual nib instead of an ink pen. XD

Radiographs break way too easy.

Heh. I had to break down and start in with the nibs because I couldn't get the line I wanted, or as thin as I wanted, with regular technical pens. I thought about teh Rapidographs, but heard about the breakage rate and hadn't decided about them yet before I took the plunge into nib-and-ink.

Radiographs break way, way too easily, and they're ridiculously expensive because of that.

Plus, you just can't get the variation of line that you get with brushes, nibs, or brush pens without having to go back and redo each line.

Besides, I think radiographers were more designed for contractors and building design. >_> The nibs just seem too delicate for the wear and tear a comic artist'd put it through. @_@

Hard. I think I like the 600 best though. Nice clean, sharp lines.

:) Everyone appears to be responding to the heavy lines.

I've always found that when the line starts to look ridiculously heavy to me as I'm drawing it, that's when it's about right; especially if I'm reducing size.

There's some lines that, even at reduced size, I want to draw thinner. But I think what I really want is more varied line weight. At any rate, all the pens win over the American nibs because the shanks are longer so I don't accidentally dip the whole thing into the ink. I'll be using the Maru pen for details like eyes and the thinner clothing folds, and one of the heavier pens for the thicker lines. Unless I figure out how to think the ink properly or something, it may be the G-pen, despite everyone's liking of the 600 Chrome, because I smeared it less. :D

...but I like dark, heavy, even lines, and I think that's sort of the opposite of what you (as an artist) are looking for; you probably need more variety. :D

It's possible to do both: look to your icon. :) Kishimoto draws using bold lines, but still puts a lot of variety in them.

I dunno...the G-pen one struck my eye...

perhaps because I like heavy black usage...

To me, the school pen looked better... But then again, I ink with Microns. >.>

Now if I could just finish a damn drawing for once... <.<;;;

:D I'm getting over inking with Microns, because it takes longer to get a line with varied line weight - if I practice right, I'll be able to do it with one stroke with the dip pen.

Dang, I feel stupid. They pretty much look all the same to me.

After staring at them for so long, they all look the same to *me*, too.

I can't really speak from any technical place, but the 600 Chrome is most pleasing to my eye. It just seems slightly cleaner and easier to look at. I wish I could explain it better.

That's a better explanation than *I* can give: they're all blending into each other and looking alike to me now.

Oh well, I just picked the most unpopular: G-Pen! It gives more power to the image. Strong lines, clear shadowing. Looks more pro.

:D I picked the G-pen as well, because it gave a good line and smeared less than the 600 Chrome, since it used slightly less ink.

Since I'm pretty sure you'd be using different pens for different things, Solomon-like, I cannot judge.

No, wait, Solomon would have come up with some bizarre and possibly dangerous way to judge the unjudgeable. Forget that example.

However: tickybox.

Tickybox uber alles.

I am biased towards maru pens, because I find them the most fun to work with. Usually, I use a combonation of G and maru when inking, which works well to create a really clean feeling and yet get either emotional details [as in a shoujo manga] or action details [as in a shounen] to appear clearly.

I'll definitely use a combination of maru and something heavier - it's msotly exactly which heavier thing to use. :) G and 600 chrome are subject to smearage, while the school pen is a bit less flexible. Hmm.

I haven't used the 600 chrome, but in school vs. G, I like the G a lot better. This is all my personal preference, though.

Yeah, I really have to try them all out more and see which one works best for me. If it's possible to thin out inks so they dry faster - ahve seen that recommended in some places - then G or 600 chrome might work relaly well, snce that's my biggest complaint - my dragging my hand through the ink before it dries.

:nod: Good luck finding a good one. Tell me if thinning them helps, as I've never tried it.

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