Wash your hand -- then draw it!

I don't participate in social media during the day. By which I mean that my phone does not have any social apps and no notifications when I get an email. I only read blogs from my tablet when I am home. I opened a Instagram account that I used to post my sketches during October (Inktober) from my computer only. Now, moving one step closer, I installed the Instagram App on my tablet. I find that it is easier to post my sketches when I take a picture with my tablet and send it to Instagram. At this time, my focus on this blog and on Instagram is the process of learning to sketch, so that is what I am posting is my sketches.

On Instagram, I picked up a suggestion to draw my hand each day. [for posterity, I should state what right now is obvious: we are in the midst of the novel Coronavirus pandemic with the accompanying cautions and restrictions. That is the reason for the hashtag "wash your hand..." as a precaution to prevent infection] In my case, I draw it with some object that I use or have near me each day. I am posting several of the hand sketches here that have been on Instagram. I am currently using three sketchbooks with different paper, so I'm grouping the sketches based on paper. 

First is a notebook from Daiso, a Japanese dollar store in which most items sell for $1.50.

Daiso notebook back. $1.50 with smooth
paper that doesn't bleed with most inks.

This notebook has 50 pages, softcover, very smooth paper that is great for fountain pens and pencils. It does buckle when water washed and shows ghosting if written with ink on both sides of the paper. But the paper is quite lovely for such an inexpensive book. I bought it to practice doodles and people sketches. 

#washyourhandthendrawit series number 1
drawn with M+R pencil sharpener

My first #washyourhandthendrawit post was on the Daiso paper. This is labeled Hand#39 because I started a 100 hand challenge that was interrupted. So I am continuing the numbering series.

Number 7 in #washyourhandthendrawit series
CdA NeocolorII on Daiso paper

Also on Daiso paper, hand 47 using a Prismacolor vintage dry colored pencil on the crayon held in my hand. The hand was drawn with the crayon, a Caran D'Ache NeocolorII watersoluble pastel crayon. Love these lush color tools! 

Number 12 in the #washyourhand... series.
Fountain pen ink on Daiso paper

Last night's sketch (hand#52) was on Daiso paper because I decided to use fountain pens and ink. I am feeling more relaxed with drawing my hand, not the easiest thing! So with these three sketches, I can show some of the progression I am making in sketching hands. I highly recommend practice in drawing daily, and especially making yourself draw the same thing from many different angles. Trust me, as awkward as it may feel at first, you will be happier in time with your results!

Quick sketches with Tri-Tones

I am a sucker for new tools and techniques. So when I saw a post about Koh-I-Noor Tri-Tone colored pencils, I had to order a set off eBay. Tri-tones have 3 colors mixed in each lead, the set I bought has 11 different combinations. They have been really fun! The colors are creamy and lay down a beautiful, variable color line. I used them yesterday to make some quick sketches of my granddaughter at the library.

Sam is obsessed with playing games on her iPad and informed me that she hoped I would find a book to read so she would have time to play with the library iPads. (Her mother once sent me a text of a conversation: "Sam, go look at the books". "Mommy, I don't know where the books are."..."We're in the library...") When we got to the library, the first thing she saw was a baby, about 8 months old, playing in the kids section. All thought of the iPad was out the window. Apparently playing with a baby is even more interesting than technology! And I took the opportunity to practice quick gestural sketches with the Tri-Tones.

8/02/19 Sam and a baby at the library. Koh-I-Noor Tri-tone pencils. Kuretake brush pen, black ink.
Diamine Chocolate Brown ink and Monteverde Joy Sepia, diluted as a wash. Significant shadow coming through
from images on the reverse side of the Artist's Loft journal paper.

We had fun a while ago sketching "Weather animals", an animal cartoon meant to illustrate the weather. She asked me to sketch a weather frog of a stormy day. The day yesterday was breezy, but not stormy. Still, it was fun to use the multi-colored pencils to make a quick storm frog.

Sam also made some sketches of birds and worms using the Tri-tones. She asked me to get some for her, but I let her know she could use them any time at my house.

8/2/2019 Sam's sketch of a bird feeding a baby, using
Koh-I-Noor Tri-tone pencils. Canson XL 140 lb. paper

A worm evading a bird by escaping down
his tunnel into nursery chambers. By
Sam with Tri-Tone Pencils 8/2/19
Canson XL 140 lb. paper

I read about "activating" a journal with artistic borders. I sprayed a border using diluted food coloring and it does add interest to my sketches. I started the day with a sketch of my favorite coffee mug and ended with a hand sketch. Diamine November Rain ink in an Ohuhu brush pen made interesting practice in sketching little evergreen trees. Not an on the scene sketch, since they are imaginary trees!

8/2/19 Red food coloring spray, water colour pencils,
Sailor Fude Pen, Diamine November Rain ink.
Exceed 100gsm journal paper

Cheap Journal Compare

Top left are Exceed journals; top right are Letterbox journals; bottom is my current journal, Artist's Loft.

Hi, my name is Anne and I am a journal junkie. It has been about two weeks since I have purchased an unneeded journal just because it was pretty and a good price. I have a small shelf of pretty, unused journals that I found in clearance bins. I have given several journals to friends as gifts when I find out that they like to journal. So I'm writing a little info on the current, past, and future journals that I actually use. I made some sketches in each of four of the above journals for a comparison. Noodler's Lexington Gray ink laid down with a juicy fude nib has lots of bleed-through (where the ink actually soaks through to the back of the paper and sometimes to the sheet behind), so I made a sketch in each journal as a comparison of how the paper handles fountain pen ink.

Costco carries a three pack of Letterbox journals for $12.99 at selected times during the year. These are the journals I used for my first two years of bullet journaling. They have 80 sheets (160 pages) of cream colored, lined paper. I have a note that the weight is 80gsm, I'm not sure where I got that figure, but it is consistent with my experience with these books.

Things I like:

+Fountain pen friendly - Rarely bleed-through, and very little show-through (the writing is discernible as a shadow on the back side, but the ink does not soak through) with all my pens except the Sharpies.

+Paper color is not quite yellow, but not stark white. Colors show up well.

+10 inch by 7 inch hard cover that is sturdy enough to withstand eight months of daily use and traveling. The three packs are available with various bright covers, or dark shades. The books open flat.

+One ribbon book mark and a sturdy back pocket.

+Did I mention the price? $4.34 each. Unbeatable.

Reasons I have moved on:

-a little larger than is convenient to carry.

-dark lines are a distraction behind the sketches I like to include. I have checked the Spicebox website (where the price is considerably more than Costco) and there are no plain or dotted page options in these journals.

Letterbox journal sketch with Jinhao x750, fude nib.
Ink is Noodler's Lexington Gray. Hand 19.

Letterbox journal, back side of Hand 19.
 Some bleed-through visible.

Michael's craft store carries a line of Artist's Loft journals.

Things I like:

+Hard covers that open flat in several bright colors. The binding has held up well to daily carry for 3 months. Includes two ribbon bookmarks but no back pocket.

+true A5 size (8 x 6 inches)

+white paper available with dotted format. Said to be 80 gsm weight, but it does not perform as if the paper is that heavy.

+Only $5, a great price!

Reasons I am moving on:

-Not friendly to all fountain pens. Show-through and bleed-through with some inks.

-buckles and bleeds with even light washes.

-Platinum Carbon Black ink feathers and that is one of my main inks for bullet entries.

Artist's Loft journal paper.
Jinhao with fude nib
Noodler's Lexington Gray ink.
 Hand 17

Artist's Loft paper, back of
Hand 17. Heavy bleed-through. The ink
actually soaked into the second page.

Walmart stocks Exceed journals in two paper weights, soft and hard covers, and three sizes. In 2018 I bought a large format (7.5 x 9.75 inches), dotted (came also in lined format), softcover journal with one ribbon bookmark and a back pocket for $8.64. The paper is cream colored, 78 gsm with no coating. I use it as my pen and ink notebook. I see show-through and sometimes bleed-through with many fountain pens and inks, so I wouldn't consider it for most journaling or sketching. I generally only use one side of the page when I am using fountain pens, or I live with the show-through behind what I write on the back side of a page. Still, the paper handles fountain pens better than the Artist's Loft journal, with no feathering of Carbon Black ink.

Exceed 78gsm paper, Jinhao with fude nib.
Noodler's Lexington Gray ink. Hand 20

Exceed 78gsm, back of page
Hand 20 showing bleed-through.

In 2019, the paper was changed in Exceed journals. There are now three sizes available with 100gsm, coated paper. I have the new A5 journals which come with 120 sheets (240 pages), two ribbon bookmarks, hard covers, multiple cover colors and a back pocket. They do not lie quite as flat as the lighter paper version, but it is acceptable to me (although I do have to sometimes hold the page down as I sketch). The two smaller sizes cost less than $9, the larger size (soft cover) is around $13. The paper does not have bleed-through, and little show-through with the inks I use. Light, water washes result in a little buckling, but still no bleed-through. 

Exceed 100gsm paper; Jinhao with fude nib;
Noodler's Lexington Gray; Hand 18
No bleed-through or show-through on back

Exceed 100gsm paper; Platinum Carbon Desk Pen;
Platinum Carbon Black Ink; Wing Sung 6359 pen with
Diamine Chocolate Brown Ink; Faber-Castell watercolour pencils
with water wash.

Exceed 100gsm paper. Back side of Butterfly entry. No bleed-through and very slight show-through
 of green leave wash on left.
Minimal buckling of paper.

In summary- for my usage preferences: 
Text journaling: Letterbox journals- good paper; acceptable for fountain pens; bargain price. 

Sketch journaling: Exceed 100gsm, A5 size, great paper; fountain pen friendly; accepts light water wash with minor buckling; reasonably priced.

Unacceptable for journaling (according to my usage): Artist's Loft journal; show-through with all my pens and inks except Pigma Microns; bleed-through and feathering with fountain pens; using a water wash makes for heavy bleed-through and buckling.

Fountain pens for sketching

Three fountain pens came in the mail today that I have been wanting to try for sketching. All three of these pens have the capability to draw from thin to thick lines depending on the pressure, or the angle, at which the nib is used.

1. Kuretake Fountain Brush Pen - from eBay ($8.95). The plastic that the pen is made with has a cheap feel to it, but the real brush (as opposed to a felt tip that is used like a brush) lays down a rich, gushy line. I need some practice, but it is exciting to use this brush to get a quick sketch with fewer details.

7/16/19 Sydney hamster, gestural study. Kuretake Brush Pen with Kuretake black ink.

The black ink cartridge that was included was deep black, and appeared to be water resistant as it did not wash well even when fresh.

7/16/19 Hand #13 Kuretake brush pen, Kuretake black ink.

2. Jinhao X750 with a Fude nib installed - from eBay ($3.56) The eBay description is a calligraphy nib because this nib lays down a thick to thin variable line depending on the angle of the nib to paper. It is used in Chinese calligraphy. I need more practice with this nib also, but I was really happy with the results. The ink goes down very smoothly. Noodler's Lexington Gray ink is water resistant, but if I put a water wash down first, it makes acceptable shadows.

7/16/19 Hand # 14 Jinhao X750 -Fude nib; Noodler's Lexington Gray ink; Artist's Loft journal paper

I have several other Jinhao X450/750 pens. They are metal bodied (brass, I think) pens that I find to be pretty, but too heavy and unbalanced. The nibs are medium width, which is very wet and gushy, so I expected that the feed on a Jinhao X750 would be able to keep up with a fude type nib. I took pictures of the medium nib and the fude nib side by side. The tip of the fude is bent (which gives fude nibs the thick to thin line variability) and does not have the "iridium" tipping ball that I see on the medium nib. Otherwise it looks the same to my eye.

Jinhao fude nib on the left, Jinhao medium nib on the right. The style and lettering are the same.

Jinhao fude nib on the bottom, notice the bend upward and the lack of a balled tip when compared to the Jinhao medium nib on top.

3. Jinhao X750 with a Zebra G flex nib installed. eBay ($4.50) Zebra G dip nibs are popular for drawing Japanese Manga comics. They flex very widely and easily by putting light pressure downward on the nib. I have used these nibs as dip nibs with a holder, and found the spidery thin lines and the wide flex to be great for lettering, but I don't like how frequently I have to dip the nib when using fountain pen ink. There are YouTube videos on how to hack the nib to fit in a Jinhao pen, but my attempts to hack pens have not gone well for me. So I ordered this pen, hoping the wet feed would be able to keep up. The result was initially beautiful, but soon had major railroading (the two track lines) even though I went painfully slow. I will NOT be drawing Manga, or any other sketches, with this pen!

Comparison of Jinhao Fude nib pen with Jinhao Zebra G Nib pen. Noodler's Lexington Gray ink in fude, Diamine Oxblood ink in Zebra G. Notice the railroading in the word "Zebra". Rhodia #16 paper.

Hands 2 to 10

I have completed the first ten hands in my one hundred hand challenge. I sketch with fountain pens and fountain pen ink, so I don't erase. Sometimes I redraw a line that is out of whack, referred to as "restated". I have a large stable of fountain pens, and I want to be able to compare their capabilities so I usually note the pen and ink I used in each sketch. Many inks are water soluble and I am learning to add depth and shadow by washing the sketch with water to blur and shade. I currently use the paper in my bullet journal which is not heavy enough for water so bleed-through is common from the sketch on the other side of the page. When I am done with this journal, I will move on to watercolor paper for my sketching.
Note: EF stands for Extra Fine nib

Hand # 2 (the dots at the top were my attempt at background- it didn't work)

Pen and ink: not recorded

 Hand #3 Pen: Platinum Plaisir (03 nib) Ink-Colorverse Lights on Ceres - more pink than itscanned. Ignore the note about Emerald of Chivor ink in upper left.

Hand #4 

Pens and Inks: Lamy Al Star (left handed nib, fine) with Lamy green ink was used to start.  

Restated lines with Wing Sung 3005 (fine nib) and Waterman Blue ink.

Shading with Platinum Preppie (05 nib) and Robert Oster Thunderstorm Ink

 Hand # 5--Pen: Vintage Sheaffer Tuckaway (Triumph fine nib) Ink-Visconti Blue

Hand #6 pen-Pilot Metropolitan (Fine nib) ink- Waterman Blue mixed with Waterman Purple

Hand #7
pen- Wing Sung 6359 (EF nib); ink -Diamine Chocolate Brown

Hand #8 Pen-WingSung 6359 (EF nib) Ink-Noodler's Lexington Gray (water resistant so it didn't dissolve to wash. I added gray watercolor paint)

Hand #9 Pen-Monteverde Monza (OmniFlex nib) Ink-Diamine Ultra Green

Hand #10 Pen-Wing Sung 6359 (EF nib) Ink Krishna MYC red #8

It all starts here:

Oddly enough, this blog starts with an unhappy bullet journal. I came across the concept of the bullet journal about two years ago. I admit that I am attracted to new things that give me an excuse to accumulate lots of shiny objects, so I started a bullet journal in a composition book. It was supposed to be low cost, using already hoarded obtained items, like the composition book, Flair color pens, and my favorite writing instrument, the Pilot G2 0.38 black pen. When it became apparent that keeping a regular bullet journal would continue, the permission was then granted (internally justified) to actually purchase items specifically for journal writing. The search for a good, cheap(ish) hardbound journal began.

The first cheap, lined, paper journals came from Costco (SpiceBox). The paper and bindings were thick and durable, but only available in one size and page format. Since it was fun to add little, quick sketches here and there throughout the journal, the lines on the pages became annoying behind the sketches. Soon the Flair and G2 pens had gone by the wayside in favor of...YES!...Fountain Pens! As well as the necessary inks of all types and colors (accumulating shiny objects, remember?). Then I spotted the Artist's Loft A5 sized, dotted page, journals in Michael's craft store for only $5 each. Score! The paper was also white instead of the beige colored paper in the SpiceBox journal, which better displays the colors of fountain pen ink.

However, the Artist's Loft paper was too thin to handle many fountain pen entries, especially sketches, and I became disenchanted. The 8 inch by 6 inch size format is perfect, the binding secure, and the choice of cover colors is lovely. Also, the beauty of the ink color on white paper and the less intrusive dots behind the sketches appealed to me. Being the frugalist that I am, I have to finish the current Artist's Loft book before I can switch to my next choice, so I've started using up pages by making more full page sketches. I learned to wash the ink with water to create shadows. That definitely messed up the cheap paper in the book! Oh well...

A post by a certain urban sketcher (Fueled by Clouds & Coffee) about sketching One Hundred self portraits as a way to improve in sketching heads inspired me. Heads and hands are supposedly quite difficult to sketch well. I can't yet wrap my psyche around the idea of looking at myself that closely in the mirror and on the page each day (not without cringing), so I decided to sketch 100 hands. My right hand, to be specific, since I am left-handed. Many bloggers and recently written books advocate for publishing our sketches, so here I am! I have toyed with the idea of blogging for some years, but it took a disappointing journal experience to get here.

Hand # 1
Pen and Ink: Platinum Preppie (05 nib), Monteverde Wisdom Purple