So Jeff and I just spent 20 minutes at Office Max.
Picking out pens.
It’s a complicated task. You deal with so many variables: aesthetics of the pen itself (the Ticonderoga Noir pencils, while not pens, are perhaps among the sexiest writing utensils at Office Max), width of the pen, type of ink, brand, price, feel, etc. With pencils you have even more variables: lead type, lead width, method of pushing out more lead (I personally like it when pencils have lead-buttons on the side instead of on the eraser), and eraser quality.
It was a tough choice. I eventually decided on a Roller-style pen, which goes against the .7 mm Pilot G2s I’ve been using, which are gels. I got a .5 mm Uni-Ball Vision Micro. 5 blacks. I picked them over the G2s for two reasons: I think I like .5 mm width better, and, most importantly, they write on hands, which is crucial for quick notes, unless you’re the kind of person who carries around paper in your pocket. (I wish I was organized enough to do this.)
In addition, I got my first “brush pen” - the fancy artist kind - because I’m going to try inking my comics on paper. It would save a lot of time. The more I can do on paper, the better. I have a crappy little Wacom tablet, and it’s not easy to ink smooth lines (as I’m sure many of you guys have noticed). I’ve been kind of struggling with it, and it’s just not worth the hassle. As soon as I get a bigger tablet (which costs money!), I can start inking digitally again.
Anyway, the brush will pass its test if I can ink on paper, and the ink shows up as pure black. This would allow me to put it into Photoshop, BPelt it up, and color it from there. If I can’t do that, I probably won’t be using the brush on any comics (unless I go black and white).
So, guys, the moral here is that pens are important. You have to live with these things for months (unless you’re hard on your pens - mine last about a month each because I use them so often), so you had better have good ones.
As far as recommendations, nothing beats the Pilot G2 for handwriting. It’s smooth, it feels awesome, and although the ink doesn’t last very long, and although the lines are a little thick (.7 mm), they are by far my favorite pens for writing. If you’re not picky, and you want to write on your skin, get a ballpoint. They’re not bad, but I just can’t stand the smell, and the ballpoint action isn’t my favorite. If you’re picky and need to write on skin, I suggest some .7 mm Rollers, such as Uni-Ball makes.
Pens for the wins!
