Tom Chitty Has a Question About Dip Pens
...and is hoping that you have an answer!
“Sometimes I look longingly over the cartoon river, at the pen and ink folks. They're having a lovely time, with their dipping and washing and flickety blob-splats. The sun is out, someone is playing a piano and there are triangle sandwiches in plentiful supply.
So that brings me to the question: if a simple, finelining pleb wanted advice on dip pen techniques, where might they go? I'd love to hear about videos, textbooks, experts and other whathaveyous. In particular, how many jam jars will I need?”
Do you all have advice for Tom? Be sure to follow along on Instagram, and comment here! Let’s get a fun conversation going!
I’ll get the ball rolling with two tips for using dip pens:
1) The motion of using a dip pen is more similar to that of drawing lines with a brush, rather than the motion you would use drawing with a ball point pen.
2) Metal nibs (the drawing end that you attach to the pen) generally have a protective oil on them, and it’s important to take a wet washcloth to wipe it off, otherwise you’ll have issues with ink being repelled all over the place! I don’t recommend using acetone or burning it off with a lighter, because both of those methods weaken the metal.
I am always happy when professional cartoonists ask questions on here, because it’s important for beginners to know that art is an ongoing process of learning and experimentation. The best artists I know are always trying to figure out how to get better and grow, even if they’re at the top of their game! I personally think it’s important to experiment with different tools, because some are better suited to certain styles of drawing than others, and the range of motions used for tools varies. Like I said earlier, dip pens use a different motion than a ball point pen. I like to think that similarly to how an athlete might be abysmal at baseball, but easily take to basketball, an artist who might struggle with a brush, might create masterpieces with a marker.
If you are interested in past questions by cartoonists, here is Roz Chast’s question about pens, and Jake Goldwasser’s question about alcohol-based markers.
I hope everyone is having a nice week! —Jane (A Case for Pencils)
Find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram! There is a Twitter as well. If you enjoy this blog, and would like to contribute to labor and maintenance costs, there is also a Patreon!
