For many years I sketched using a black permanent ink from Platinum called Carbon Black. It was my favorite pigment ink to sketch with when using my fountain pen ink and wash technique to create my artwork. It was waterproof. It was also the perfect permanent ink to use with my watercolor paints. This permanent ink dried quickly and I never worried about this black ink bleeding into my artwork.
As time went on and I developed my sketching abilities, I noticed other permanent ink colors started to appear on my radar. I started to collect samples of a few different permanent inks from different ink manufacturers. I started to experiment with gray ink colors.
I was painting a pumpkin sketch when I realized my initial sketch with the Urban Grey ink was a bit too dark. I started to go through my Document inks to see if I had a brown ink that would work well with my what I call my nature sketches.
I had full bottles of two popular brown pigment ink colors from DeAtramentis: Urban Sienna and Sepia Brown. Since my bottles were sitting in my studio for years, I gave them a good shake or two.
I used a JoWo #6 nib that I stuck in my nib holder and dipped the nib into the ink.
Here’s my writing samples from the two brown inks.
The Urban Sienna brown color reminds me of a dark caramel color. From the initial dipping of the nib into the ink and writing til the nib was almost dry, the brown color was consistent in color.
The Sepia Brown ink is a dark brown ink color. It’s an interesting brown color where in most instances it looks almost like a black-brown. In other instances it appears a bit lighter almost a medium brown color. I assumed this was because the nib was getting drier the more I wrote. When I dipped the nib to get more color, that’s when the black-brown color appeared.
I wanted to use a Fude nib with this ink. I took my Sailor Fude nib and section and put it into one of my Dave Dollar Freedom pen body. I filled an empty sailor ink cartridge with Urban Sepia.
With the filled Fude nib pen, I created a writing sample to see how the nib and ink performed. You can see how light the Urban Sienna ink color appears in my writing sample.
I really enjoy the soft look and the less intense brown color of Urban Sienna.
Urban Grey vs Urban Sienna
I created a quick pumpkin sketch using my Urban Grey ink and another sketch using Urban Sienna. I wanted to show how different each permanent ink color affects the overall sketch including the look and feel. Sometimes I think using a bold dark color for the outline sketches creates a more dramatic looking artwork. Using a subtle ink for outline sketches creates a softer look.
By looking at my sketch, I can hardly tell the difference between the two document ink colors.
Looking at a close up of my pumpkin sketch, I can see some subtle differences with the document inks. This will depend on the angle of the nib while I draw the lines using my Fude nib pen.
As I get back into creating my artwork, I will be using both document ink colors to see what other interesting inky personalities I see and what my preference is for using each color.
Inks: DeAtramentis Document Ink in Urban Sienna, Sepia Brown, and Urban Grey
Journal: Stillman & Birn Alpha Hardbound 4″x6″ white paper, 62 sheets/124 pages, 150 gsm/55 lbs for mixed media, light wash, and ink
Fountain Pen: Sailor Fude (40degrees) nib and section. Dave Dollar Freedom fountain pen body.
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