Hi! My name is Ashlyn Anstee, and I tell stories with words and pictures. Sometimes, that’s picture books (like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Select “Hedgehog”), or graphic novels (my series “Shelby and Watts”), and sometimes it’s animation (I’ve directed at places like Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network).
This column, “For the Fun of It”, will also have words and pictures. Sometimes it will be stories, or how-tos, or thoughts. A little bit of everything. Hope you enjoy!
Fountain Pen Month
When I first started this column, I knew I was going to end up doing a series on fountain pens. I go through phases with my supplies, and currently I’m very much in a pen and ink phase. Over the next four (!!) columns, we’re going to go over basics, flex nibs, ink, and some art techniques I’ve been trying out! Consider it a month of fountain pens. Fountain Penjune.
Where it started
When I first tried fountain pens, I thought they were just okay. And maybe that was your experience too. I think I got a cheap fine tip one on amazon, and an old type of flex-nib pen that smelled like literal trash (vegetal resin , which some people say kindly has a “distinct odor”.) They were fine, but they didn’t have the same scratchy immediate vibe that my dip pens did.
The problem with my dip pens is that it is super annoying to dip my pen every few lines, AND you’ve got this bottle of ink just waiting to be knocked over. The pen I bought skipped, and I thought that maybe that’s just what fountain pens are like. So I put them out of my mind until last year, when I picked up a Lamy on a whim.
I think a lot of people start with Lamy pens. They’re at most art stores, and stationary stores. They’re fairly affordable (40$, and refillable with cartridges!). They’re SMOOTH! The line is super nice. It feels good in the hand! So I started from there, and then looked for other types. One of my favorite art bloggers, Teoh Yi Chie, has a great amount of fountain pen reviews on his site. He uses them for urban sketching. They’re surprisingly faster and even the non flex-y ones have a certain line quality compared to felt tip pens that’s hard to explain.
So I picked up new pens, and then some more, and now… Well, now I’m here! I’ve filled a couple of sketchbooks with experiments. It’s been really rejuvenating to my sketching experience!
Parts of a pen
Before we dive into some of my normal pens, here are some parts I’ll be referring to!
Nibs come in a variety of sizes! They’re usually steel, or gold (for $$!). They range from extra fine to BROAD or even double broad. Broader nibs can show off more of the ink qualities, but extra fine is great for details (or for writing- sometimes broad can be hard to read!).
You can either get ink cartridges (which slot into the back of the nib).
Or converters! Which you can refill endlessly.
Because the nibs don’t wear down (unless you’re writing on sandpaper or you break the nib), a pen and bottle of ink can last you ages and ages.
For art
Even the non-flexible pens, like my Lamy or Kaweco Sport are super fun to sketch with.
Yes, they’re aesthetic, but they’re also smoother and wetter than most pigment liners I’ve tried! Also, I think they give a true ink sketch experience.
Ink sketching- I think somewhere along the way, the inktober experience became about making a pretty piece of art, as opposed to trying to sketch with ink. If inktober has ever given you anxiety, try picking up a fountain pen and trying again. Instead of focusing on making one nice piece of art, make five quick versions of the same one! Fill a page! Play with how the line looks, how the pen feels in your hand.
For me, one thing I love is the variety of inks I can fill my pens with. There’s even waterproof ink. How can I be mad at my drawing when it’s this gorgeous shade of green?
But what should I start with?
It can be hard to know where to start with fountain pens, because either you can’t find them anywhere (most art stores don’t have them, or have ink that shouldn’t be used in fountain pens), OR you go into a show and there are rows and rows of pens and some of them are hundreds of dollars, and you eventually just freak out and leave.
There are a few I recommend to start with. These are “regular” fountain pens, with no special nibs, and not too fussy. If you’re not sure what size to start with, I’d start with F (if you’re using black) or M (if you’re using a fun color).
Platinum Preppy are a non refillable fountain pen that come in a bunch of fun colors. They’re $5.50USD, and they’ll happily slide into your JetPens cart (free shipping at 35$**- pick up a notebook to keep it company!!). Brianne Drouhard turned me onto these. Such a great gift to convert a friend!
Pilot Kakuno are a super cute starter pen. They’re technically for kids- they have a little face on the nib which helps you figure out which way to keep the nib. Also, they have a papa pen which has a MOUSTACHE. Ugh. So cute. It either uses cartridge ink (Comes with black ink, Pilot has a bunch of colors of cartridges), or buy a converter and then go buy a bottle of ink. They’re $12.50USD! I mean, you gotta hit that free shipping threshhold right??
I love my Moonman/Majohn pens. We’ve talked about the “Little Fat Man” before, but I also really love the C1 (a bit more normal size) and Wancai (itty bitty baby) pens. They’re eyedropper pens- which mean you don’t need a converter, and you can just plop some ink in and it’ll slosh around like a little potion bottle. Apologies for the Am*zon links for those. You can also find them on Aliexpress. They also take other kinds of nibs (which I’ll talk about in the flex part), so you can’t really go wrong with a C1.
Then, pick up some ink from Ferris Wheel Press, this gorgeous Canadian brand which makes me feel like I live in a fancy castle.
I would also pick up a smooth notebook or smooth paper. The other tricky thing about pens is that they truly are a different experience on non-sketchbook paper. There are a lot of brands that are great for it: Midori, Stalogy, Mnemosyne- But you can also just pick up some smooth copy paper. You can absolutely use them on any kind of paper, like watercolor paper, but sometimes they might feather or not get as nice shading on the lines. Again, experiment! Play!
You might noticed I don’t have any bazillion dollar gold Montblanc pens on this list! I really don’t think you need those to start, until you know what kind of pen you prefer using. What kind of nib might be your preference, or how a pen feels in your hand. I do think it’s worth asking some of your parents/grandparents if they have any fountain pens laying around.
(My dad didn’t, because he prefers doing all his math with a pencil. Hisss!!!)
Some great fountain pen blogs that I enjoy are Mountain of Ink (great ink reviews!) and Well Appointed Desk (they do both writing and art reviews of fountain pens and related products!).
More next week! If you have any specific questions, drop ‘em here. And if you live in LA, we can have a fountain pen meet up. Cheyenne and I did that with the absolutely insanely talented Sam Spina, whose fountain pen lines in his comics are so intricate and appealing. We swapped ink samples in a cafe, and a zoomer came by and called us cool. Fountain pens- they’re cool now.
Thing of the week
I just gave you a bunch of things to buy, so I don’t really have anything more. BUT you may notice the ** above when I mention free shipping. As someone who grew up in Canada, and would save my Christmas money for art supplies, and then have to pay a chunk of $$ on top of that for customs… Here are some Canadian and European resources for fountain pen supplies!!
Canada:
If you’re in Vancouver, you GOTTA stop by Buchan’s. I used to bus by it on my way to high school. I went in as a grown up, and they have a WHOLE AISLE OF FOUNTAIN PENS. They have EVERY COLOR OF INK. Like, every brand/every color level. Aiii!
Phidon and Wonder Pens are also great!
Europe:
My greatest sorrow is that I cannot constantly order from Cultpens. They have SO MUCH STUFF.
Bonus:
Galen Leather is based in Turkey, and they have the most gorgeous stationary and desk accroutements. They have my favorite notebook, and a ton of pens AND supplies, and also each order comes with freebies of Turkish goodies. Listen- shipping is a lot. But their stuff is truly so well made and they’re such a nice company. I bought a leather notebook cover from there and Grant stole it. Everything they make feels so grown up, and like an heirloom.
Fountain Pen Series:
Part 1: Why Fountain Pens?
Part 2: Nibs
Part 3: Fountain Pen Ink.
Part 4: Experiments
I have never actually tried sketching with a fountain pen. I guess I was worried about squishin the nib...
Love this post. I have way too many fountain pens and inks. Also, I have the exact same turquoise Metropolitan that you do. :-)