#ink testing

[nerdy-birdy-photography]

17th September 2025

Trying out a new ink in my Estie pen!

[srebrnafh]

So I started the ink videos again ;)

[srebrnafh]

I’ve spent some time with GIMP and Windows Video Editor (and some helpful online gif-to-mp4 converters) and... Here it is.

As good as I could make it, having just my iPad, desk lamp, a tower made of LEGO blocks to hold the tablet in place and a laptop with way too small a hard drive.

[fp-physicist]

Epic ink test - R3, M2

Well, I almost got this done on time this month!  I usually realize that it's about that time and get everything gathered up, and then just wait a few days before I scan all the necessary paper bits.  Strange, right?  Anyway, let's get to it with what I will call group 1 for this post, and then we will proceed to group 2, as is the usual fashion.

If this is your first epic ink test post, feel free to catch up from the beginning here.

Group 1:

First, the ambient light sheet (the one on the right):

I see no difference here.  Last month I thought it looked like the Pilot BB was fading, but it appears to have halted and the difference on the actual papers is far less obvious than it is here.  So, some fear alleviated.

Very sadly, the Pilot BB in the sun is faring horribly.  Continuing the trend from last month, Poussiere de Lune and Pelikan Violet are pretty much gone, and the G2 in orange and pink are obliterated as well.  I expect that by next month the Pilot BB will be gone, as well as Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shikibu and the Kaweco Royal Blue.  Strangely, the Rohrer and Klingner Helianthus seems to be going strong, even though it wasn't super readable to start with.

Group 2:

Hokey pokey, second set of ambient light sheets:

I see no difference here, especially on the actual pieces of paper.

Welp, it was nice knowing ya, Lamy Coral.  Also gone are the Pilot Frixion (I even put it in the freezer just to make sure it didn't disappear from too much heat), PR Gray Flannel, and most of Ambre de Birmanie.  Bleu Ocean is also not doing so hot and I suspect the Diamine Ancient Copper might be pretty faded in another month...

So, that's what I have for this month.  On a side note, I don't think I will do two sets at the same time next round, because it really kind of breaks the flow of these posts.  Not a biggie, but something that annoys me a bit.  :-P

These inks were acquired in a variety of ways, mostly bought with my own money or submitted for the purposes of this test.  All opinions expressed above are my own and you are free to disagree with them if you like.

[mena-art]

Today's daily sketch. I'm trying to teach myself how to ink with these new brushes. You can tell where my strokes aren't confidence and where they are. Also the lines get too thick when I'm trying to do smaller details so I have to figure out which brushes are better for small lines.

This was done with an inking brush, a inkwash brush, and a dry ink brush. Reference of Oliver Jackson-Cohen used. And I used an overlay layer for the first time as well.

Anyway, this is for Fer, Hans from Frozen in a more realistic style. She's writing a fanfic right now featuring him and Elsa and I'm kind of addicted to it. It's called The Queen's Counsel. 

Back to commissions tomorrow!