#yodart

WIP. Haven't been drawing much so doing this is nice :) it's not perfect, but that's okay

My January favourites! First is the toned grey sketch box. I've really been enjoying how this looks with my Prismacolour pencils. I've been using pencil crayons quite a lot throughout January. So this past month, my favourite medium was my pencil crayons. The colours I've been using more are greens, blues, and PC924 Crimson Red. The erasers I've been using is my Mono Knock 3.8 eraser (the pink pen-like one) and a Faber Castel PVC Free eraser (I think. All the writing has rubbed off from me holding it). The pencil I've been using is an HB pencil that my mom found around my house. She found one more of them. Honestly, they aren't the greatest pencils and they feel rather scratchy but I'll finish them. I'm usually a mechanical pencil type person because I tend to enjoy sharp pencils. I switched to mechanical from wooden pencils a long time ago (like, elementary) for every day and drawing use because I wanted a sharp pencil and would be constantly sharpening my pencils. But I've forgotten until recently how much I actually enjoy using wood pencils. I plan on using up these cheap (I'm assuming) pencils and perhaps getting some nicer ones. I also hope to get some Prismacolour Colerase. I haven't really had a preferred inking tool during January. Naturally, my favourite thing to drink is tea or hot chocolate, but no specific favourites last month. What were your January favourites?

Supply Saturday! Here is a drawing I did last year (2015) done with the Manuscript calligraphy pen. I've done both inking drawings as well as writing with this and I like it a lot. It makes very neat lettering and I've gotten lots of complements on my writing when I've used this pen. This pen has ink cartridges so you don't need to purchase a new pen unless you mess up the nib. It includes 2 cartridges as well as ink converter so you can use your own ink (although you aren't supposed to use waterproof). It also includes 3 different nibs, a fine, medium, and a 2B (which is the thickest). I've only used the fine nib so far. Using this pen you can get fairly easy to manage variation just be using the pen at a different angle. The ink it comes with is copic proof but not waterproof, and you aren't supposed to use waterproof inks with it as it could clog the nib. If you don't like the ink, you can use any water soluble ink you choose as it comes with the ink transfer cartridge thing. When I was using this pen on a different drawing, I had made a mistake and learnt that Sakura gelly rolls are water based as it made the dried ink smear. But you can get some nice greys using it and it didn't seem to wreck my pen. All in all, I enjoy using this pen to write and ink drawings. I got it for my birthday, so I'm not sure how much it is, but I did see the extra ink cartridges at Michael's. I don't remember how much they were but I don't think they were too unreasonable. I would recommend checking it out.

The tilting of her head was too much but I didn't bother fixing it since it was to practice with my brush pen. The lines already weren't great, I still need lots of practice, but of course I was careless and smudged it.. Oops. Oh well, it was only for practice anyways, I suppose.

Supply Saturday! I still have tons of practicing to do with this, but here's the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen! I have a pink barrel just because it was pretty and wasn't much more money. I got off of amazon for $13 when I could've gotten the black barrel for $10 (Canadian dollars). It's both water and copic proof. The ink is nice and black; however, it does tend to fade when erased. You can avoid this by pre-erasing the pencil lines enough to know where to ink but that they're basically gone and won't need erasing after. Or you could ink it with a small-tipped fine liner like a 0.05 before erasing the lines and reinking with the brush pen. You can also just touch up the lines after erasing the pencil lines. You can get both thin and thick lines through varying the pressure you apply. If you're heavy handed, this will be hard because you need a very light touch to get thinner lines. It is enjoyable to use, I think. I had tried the Pigma Brush Pen before purchasing this to try it, as I didn't need to order that one which had a felt tip rather than bristles which the Pentel has. I find that I can get much more line variation with the Pentel than I could with the Pigma as the bristles are more flexible. I know there are nicer and more expensive brush pens or brushes out there, but I thoroughly enjoy the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. Plus, it's great quality for the price, which isn't terrible although it is more expensive than plenty of inking pens. If you're thinking about this pen, I would recommend it! One thing I noticed, though, is that I tend to get ink on my face and hands when I use it although that may just be me. If you like an ink that doesn't fade when erased, this may not be the pen for you. There are refillable cartridges and many people refill empty cartridges with their own ink using a syringe, although I've never tried doing that. So if you want the pen but for the lines for to fade when erased, that could always be an option. Have you tried this pen, tell me what you think!

Merry Christmas! Hope your day was great! I got plenty of new paper which is exciting, although I will still need to get myself some more watercolour paper. I got Bristol board, some toned paper, and a mini sketchbook that'll fit in my purse so I can take it everywhere with me. I got two colouring books, the one shown as well as a bigger one with animals. I got organizational stands for my supplies so I spend quite a bit of time getting everything set up. There's even a pull-out box with compartments for my copics! I also got stuff like a cute pug tea steeper and a straightener and even a 6-month subscription to Birch Box! And of course, plenty of chocolate. I didn't get any new art supplies though, which is fine. I've been a slump recently for a few reasons (I assume you don't really care. If you really want to know, you can ask) and usually new art supplies helps me out, but that's fine because I'm very gratefully for what I already have and what I was given. What did you get for Christmas if you celebrate?

WIP

Welcome to Supply Saturday! I decided I might upload reviews on different art supplies every Saturday. First a disclaimer, this is just my opinion. It isn't the end all opinion. I may like something you don't or you may like something I don't. That's okay! It's just personal preference. I decided I would start with the much popular Pigma Micron pens. I got the 05s for Christmas, the 005s from a garage sale, and the brush I bought myself. They're nice. They're waterproof and copic proof, things I tend to look for in fine liners and inking pens. They aren't my personal favourite so I honestly only use them when I want a coloured line for a drawing (unless I have that colour and size in a pen I prefer). They do fade a bit when erased but it's really not very noticeable. I've had some issues with the 005 pens. They seem to catch on the paper when I ink so they don't feel very smooth. And the nip bends when I use it, a problem I haven't had with the same size in other brands. This may be that they're old though as I got them from a garage sale so I don't know how worn down or used they are. The brush doesn't have bristles. The tip frays when you use it, making it harder to get a nice line. That sucks. It is nice to learn how to control a brush pen with though. If you want to practice with one before getting a nicer brush pen or if you want to fill in spaces with colour, it's nice. It's hard to get a thin like with though because of the fraying tip. All in all, they are nice. I personally prefer others better and these are not my first choice, but they aren't bad. Personally, I don't recommend the smaller sizes. I would advise to get a size like the 005 in a different brand. I do like the colours. The red is nice and vibrant and the brown is one of my favourite colours of fine liner. Thanks for reading. I would love to know about your experience with these (especially the 005s in case it's just that my pens were old). If you have anything you want me to review, let me know. I can't promise anything since I have little money, but I'll do my best.