*:✼✿ #INKTOBER SUPPLY RECS ✿✼:*ﾟ

I made a massive twitter thread on Inktober and some of my favourite supplies. I wanted to elaborate a little more on here and also bring the thread over just to be able to preserve it!
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Getting into something as daunting as traditional ink is very scary! It's permanent. It's bold. It's not the most forgiving medium out there by far. I've worked with ink a lot and though I haven't had the chance to do as many traditional pieces as I'd like, I definitely have my tried and true favourites! 

All the supplies I'm going to talk about are on my Amazon storefront in a neat little list. I also encourage using my recs as a guideline and instead shopping at your local art stores! For some of the more obscure stuff, Jet Pens is also a great resource and sometimes cheaper than Amazon. They also do free domestic shipping on orders over $25 USD.

PAPER //
Paper is probably the most important thing when it comes to a wet medium like ink. I try to always work with paper that's 140 lbs (300 GSM). All that weight usually indicates is quality and price. 90 lbs paper is usually 'student grade' and pretty thin. It's pretty good for practising but not for really intense work, or how 'wet-on-wet' work.

140 lbs paper is standard! What's great about 140 lbs paper is that you can stretch it to avoid that weird warping paper does when it can't handle too much water or ink. The danger of buckling is the paper forms these little valleys and areas where paint will pool. It ruins an even wash. 'Stretching' paper is when you tape it down and wet the entire surface, allowing it to dry flat once more so that it's ready to go. Some people just paint on it when the whole thing is watered down! That's working wet-on-wet. 

(It's important to note when you buy a watercolour BLOCK instead of a pad, there's NO need to tape it down! A block is glued down on nearly every side for this purpose: so you can work and be confident it will stay flat as you stretch it. Blocks however are more expensive than pads, which is why a lot of people prefer the more cost effective method.)

300 lbs is board-like. Kind of like marker or illustration boards! It doesn't require stretching BUT it costs twice as page as 140 lbs paper and it takes much much longer to dry.

For anyone, 140 lbs cold or hot press is a good start. Cold press paper has a toothy, texture quality to it! Unlike hot press paper, which is nice and smooth - like bristol paper.  Some of my favourite brands are ARCHES, FABRIANO, & FLUID. I generally get pads/blocks that are 6 x 6", 8 x 8", 8 x 10", or 9 x 12". They're the easiest to transport and work with in my opinion! 

PAPER // SKETCHBOOK!
Some people don't like pads or blocks. I totally get that. When something feels and looks that nice, there's this weird anxiety to perform. You forget it's just paper and it suddenly becomes this canvas on the wall at the Louvre. Alternatively, some people just want somewhere they can keep their work together or they're only looking to practise. And hey! Sometimes you're just not read to sink a lot of money into stuff and that's okay. 

For a good ink sketchbook, I recommend Stillman & Birn's BETA/ZETA sketchbooks or Bee Paper's watercolour sketchbook. (Moleskine's is lovely but it can be a little pricey.) ZETA is Stillman's hot press sketchbook and BETA is their cold press version. They really come in most standard sizes so you follow your heart!

INK //
Firstly, there's no wrong way to ink. Some people do washes, some like massive areas of black, others use it sparingly – you do you.  For ink washes I generally use Dr. PH Martin's Bombay Black, or Yasutomo's sumi ink. I've had the same bottle of sumi ink for y e a r s. Just store it in a nice cool place and treat it well and it will keep. 

Now for ink washes, all I literally do is use an eyedropper to drop different amounts onto a palette, then dilute each well with water. The cool thing about Dr. PH Martin's ink is the eyedropper is built into the cap!
For palettes, I prefer a porcelain palette since they're easier to wash and resist staining. (Colour inks tend to stain and sometimes when leftover gold ink hardens it's difficult to wash out!) But I also have plastic ones I have had forever!! Both work great. 

INKING //
I use nibs on occasion but I prefer liners and brush pens. My go to lining pens are Copic multiliners just because they're alcohol marker resistant on top of waterproof. Sometimes to give an ink drawing a little extra life I'll pick some parts to touch up with a little copic. Blushing cheeks and blushy joints, as y'all know, are my go-to hits. For good line variation, if I want lines that are more lively, I love the Kuretake Bimoji Brush Pens.

If you're feeling saucy and want to try to get into the nib game, DELETER is your friend. Deleter is one of the leaders in manga supplies and they have a nice nib starter kit ready to go for anyone looking to try! They also carry some of the loveliest inks around. I like the Black 4 and their White 2. If you still want to stick to sumi ink though like the yasutomo, Kuretake has some great ink for nibs: SUMI INK 60.

And of course, there are inking brush pens that are pure brush! These are a lot harder to control but their line variation is unparalleled. With practise you can do both little details and thick lines all with the same tool.
The most popular of those is Pentel's Pentel Pocket Brush. The plus of the pocket brush is that if you take good care of it, it comes with refills! You can use it time and time again.
Copic also makes one I love because, of course, it's alcohol marker proof. You can get those fun lines and still be secure that an alcohol marker isn't going to undo it all.

For ink sketching, I really love Pentel's Fude Touch Sign Pen. They have a brush tip but it's kind of firm and springy so you get really good control! Kind of like the Kuretake Bimoji's I recommended above. They come in a lot of colours too! They're a great tool to just toss into your bag if you're going out on a sketch date. I sometimes use these for my 'no fear' exercises since stiff size-set liners (0.5, 1.0, 3.0, etc.) are my safety zone.

GOLD INK //
Gold ink can really add that ~extra something~ that makes a piece just a little more special. It by no means makes or breaks a piece, strong ink can always stand on it's own. That being said: I have TWO golds I use always, one I've seen recommended, and one (non-ink) item that nearly everyone swears by. 

My two:
» Dr. PH Martin's iridescent ink
» Kuretake gold ink

Recommended by others:
» Hmayart Chromatic Sumi Liquid Ink: Gold

And finally the non-ink item:
» MICA/Iridescent Watercolour 'paint'

I love all of these. I can't think of anything bad except sometimes when you leave the inks alone for too long, the stuff inside settles and it can be hard to shake it all loose. For that, you need a palette knife or some sort of even coffee stirrer to get in there and mix it properly. That's where the mica watercolours shine. They're easy to transport! All you need is to add water and pentel water brushes are easy to transport with them.

It's also worth noting you might see some Coliro palettes floating around under the name Finetec! (Learn more here.)
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And that is it!
I hope if you're an artist following me, this was useful to you. I hope if you're a fan following me you find this insightful..! And well if you're just someone who enjoys art and considers themselves a hobbyist, and wants to try more, I hope this gives you the courage to. 

– jiji ♡ ♡ ♡
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BONUS// HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights! Those magical pops of white that add a little something to any ink drawing. There are so many ways to do this. Of the many I opt for three, two more than the last. I will use: gel pens, deleter white, and masking fluid (which I'll elaborate on below.)

Of the gel pens, there are two that are my favourite!
» Gelly Roll Gel Pens
» & Uni-ball Signo Broad Point Gel Pens

Gelly roll generally has more control, they're usually finer tipped than the Signo pens. Luckily though, most local art stores sell both and often individually! I love signo because of the two gel pens, it has the most even distribution of white. It's very good at long, even, continuous lines. Just BEWARE. If your ink isn't dry, and it's raw in, the gel pen WILL mix with it and come out gray. Be sure to let your ink dry entirely before applying!

If you have DELETER white or anything like it (Dr. PH Martin's bleed proof white, Dr. PH Martin's Pen White, I-C COMIC SUPER WHITE, etc.) it works as well for highlights! You just have to have a nib or fine brush to apply it.  

And even any white gouache works for highlights! Just remember if it's normal gouache, water WILL lift it! So be sure to add it at the super last step.

BONUS // MASKING FLUID

Masking fluid is m a g i c a l.
It's an adhesive that you paint, write, dab onto your paper and allow to dry. Then you can work like normal and lift up the adhesive when your work is dry and you're ready. It leaves the white of your paper shining through untouched!

Now be cautioned, masking fluid can and will ruin brushes. Use a cheap brush, an old brush, or some other tool to apply it. A lot of people 'protect' their brushes by dipping it into some hand soap, just enough to cover the bristles, and then apply the masking fluid. But some masking fluid comes in a squeezable bottle with a fine tip so you can apply it right away without any prep!

Likewise, most masking fluids are clear. They're hard to see when you apply unless you situate your lights in a way you can see it reflecting off the paper..! That's why I recommend Schmincke masking fluid or Grumbacher. Schmincke shows up blue when you apply it so you can very easily see where it is and Grumbacher, after you shake it, applies a light orange. To remove it you can use an adhesive eraser or some brushes come with a slanted finished so there's a flat surface at the end. Some artists use this surface to rub the adhesive off carefully!

Here are some more tips on masking fluid:
https://www.mybluprint.com/article/masking-fluid-your-watercolor-secret-weapon

Hope you enjoyed my bonus additions! xo