An introduction To Brush-pens And Water-brushes

[@robotsok]

this video has been such a treasure for me. appreciate the detailed breakdowns and also the discussion around water brushes.

[@mkompan]

Thank you! I’m glad you found this useful.

[@gallagrrr]

This was the review I was looking for!!! Thank you!!!

[@mkompan]

My pleasure!

[@RealHogweed]

You’re very good at explaining, right to the point and exhaustive. Cheers!

[@mkompan]

Thank you!

[@peggyb5073]

Wow Marc, you are the quintessential expert at packing lots of super useful information into a short amount of time. Just like in class. Peggy

[@mkompan]

Thank you Peggy! :)

[@relaques666]

My favorite way to use the Pentel waterbrush is to use permanent black ink for the outlines and some of the shading, then take whatever other fountain pen I have with water-soluble ink and make a wash using the waterbrush. It's very quick and easy! With the other pen you can also add depth and value by hatching/simply putting more ink where the shadows are! 2 pens and a waterbrush seem like a tiny sketching kit to me! PS.. You may say that I might as well just use 1 pen with semi-waterproof ink. I am not too skilled and am a little bit intimidated by the prospect of my lines washing away due to poor water control

[@mkompan]

That’s a great way to go. I know quite a few artists that combine an initial layer of indelible ink with a second layer of water-soluble ink. It ensures that your first layer doesn’t wash away, and allows for more flexibility in the shading. I would also consider just using a small pan of watercolor to add washes. It’s easier to control than water soluble ink, which depending on the color has a tendency to separate, lay down unevenly, etc.

[@mhr4778]

Pentel makes Pigment ink brush pens as well that are very waterproof/copicproof. They're kinda hard to distinguish, but it clearly says PIGMENT on it. (I just got it in "light black"). Great video btw :)

[@mkompan]

Thanks for the info! This seems to be a very active area of the art material market, with new stuff constantly coming out…

[@WarMarsM]

With the pentel pocket brush pen, I've had good results just refilling the cartridge with platinum carbon black and reinserting it. I've used a few cartridgefulls and never had a leak (so far), and it would probably work with any other fountain pen ink. I've also seen people eyedropper fill them with a little silicone grease, but I haven't tried that myself.

[@mkompan]

Thanks for the info! I hadn't considered the cartridge refilling and eye-dropper option. I still prefer the Kuratake #13. It's equally sharp but so much easier to control than the Pentel.

[@WarMarsM]

@@mkompan I might end up getting a kuretake myself after seeing this video, the springiness is appealing.

[@alejandromorales9516]

Thanks for this as I have been slowly adding brush pens into my arsenal for additional markmaking. I have used the Pentel Waterbrushes for watercolor on the go in my pocket sketchbook for a while, but also recently filled one up with diluted Diamine Earl Grey which color separates in washes, I use it for shading in a pencil sketch (not great for watercolor or line and wash as the ink is very water soluble). There are a bunch of fountain pen inks that do that kind of color separation these days ... and some old faves like Parker Quink Black.

[@mkompan]

You're welcome, Alejandro. Noodler's Lexington Grey works pretty well in water brushes. It does separate a touch, but I find the slight color variation interesting.

[@sheilasinghal2922]

Another great video. "Just pointy markers" describes the felt-tipped brush pens sooo well, haha!

[@mkompan]

Thanks! Hopefully the pointy marker industry doesn't go after me.

[@sheilasinghal2922]

@@mkompan 😂

[@elerialdaigues]

Lately this has become my reference channel. Thank you Marc. I'm wondering if it would be possible to do a similar hack with the Kuretake#13 as the one with the Pilot paralell nibs mounted on a piston/eyedroper so you can have a sor of customized Yongsheng. I've seen you can purchase just the feeder +tip of the Kuretake #13. Don´t know which piston would fit.

[@mkompan]

You're very welcome. A Kuretake brush pen tip in a quality piston-filler body would be a dream come true.

[@ichirofakename]

Great video, thanks. Have you found any use for these guys in the studio?

[@mkompan]

Thank you! The Kuretake fountain brush #13 is wonderful for brush drawing and gets studio use. I also occasionally use water-brushes to make value studies for my illustrations. The main advantage of both lies in their portability however, and when that's not a requirement I usually turn to my regular brushes.

[@jomison2404]

Pointy markers- big facts thanks for the video been waiting 👏 side not my daily work horse is the kuretake no 50 and I find the sable harder to control than my number 13 but not as unruly as my pentel

[@mkompan]

You're welcome! Yes, some hard truths in this video. :)

[@jomison2404]

@@mkompan I recently found a brush u might like it’s the pentel micro sign brush pen it’s almost like an eyeliner brush it’s great for detail and when I wanna use a brush but don’t wanna get my control warmed up and just want to jump in side not never thought to crosshatch with my brushes I mostly feather and use water

[@mkompan]

@@jomison2404 Thanks for the heads up--I'll look into it. I cross hatch with everything--I'm weird that way.

[@ladyhollman9534]

If the K13 takes a Platinum converter it probably takes a Platinum cartridge? Maybe?

[@mkompan]

It should, yes.

[@CastleMc]

Very useful, thank you, but where is the link to the video ( referenced at about 11:00, when washing the pen and ink portrait) about semi-soluble drawing inks? I think you said you used a Noodler's Brown here on the portrait, but there are many of those.

[@mkompan]

You're welcome! Here's the link to that video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3mllpaqaqeLqJI

[@raulaudiovisual]

Hello, Congratulations on the video. As always, the information is very useful and the content very educational. I'd like to ask you a question. Regarding the sketch you made with Kuretake number 13, you mention that you have 3 pens with 3 ink dilutions: dark black, midtones and light grey. Did you make those dilutions by mixing water with ink in different proportions or did you fill the converter of the kuratake with bottles of different inks that you bought? Thanks in advance and best regards, Raül

[@mkompan]

Hi Raul, Thank you! These are dilutions of Noodler’s Lexington Grey, but really any black ink can be used, or inks of different values. I usually use an ink syringe to mix the dilutions, which allows me to be consistent.

[@raulaudiovisual]

Thank you for your reply. So, just one more question please. What you do is refill the 3 converters with Noodler ink dilutions, i.e. you would fill one with black ink, another with grey ink and a third with a mix of grey and black ink? Thanks.

[@mkompan]

@@raulaudiovisual You're very welcome. I usually use only one ink, and dilute with water, since mixing inks can lead to problems. One pen is filled with pure black (or dark grey) ink, another is filled with a 50/50 mixture of ink and water, and another is filled with a 20/80 mix for very light values. I recommend playing with the mixture to get the values you want.

[@nopal_y_frijol]

Thanks for your videos! I was wondering…what waterproof or water resistant inks would you recommend to use with a brush pen if I dont want the brush bristles to get ruined or I just want the pen to last longer, are there any inexpensive options or just not too pricey?

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome Mirna. I find that Noodler’s black works very well in my brush pens. Just make sure to rinse them out often, let’s say every other week.

[@nopal_y_frijol]

@@mkompan Ok Thank you!!

[@moma-b]

I'm interested in the refilling video but can't find the link.

[@mkompan]

There are actually quite a few of them on KZbin. Just type in refilling a brush pen. Here’s a link to just one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fl6qoGWjbZqdoas

[@moma-b]

@@mkompan Thank you, this is very useful. I will give it a try.

[@rebeccan6811]

Amazing video Professor! Where can we can get these materials?

[@mkompan]

Thanks Rebecca! Most of these things are available in big art supplies stores. The Kuretake fountain brushes can be bought through Amazon.