Working with Inks

Remember the first ink drawing you did? You probably used a dense, rich, thick India ink and a quill pen; or perhaps your first experience was at a young age, when you might have drawn with a craft stick. The old standby, India ink, is still as popular for drawing as it was when it was the only product of its type around but has been joined by other inks and liquid "ink-like" materials that offer the design artist, calligrapher or fine artist a bevy of choices. Space-age acrylics and ultra-fine metallic pigments have entered the art scene and bring with them a dashing rainbow of colors.

India ink is an opaque, black liquid comprised most often of 100% carbon black pigment that offers permanent, fadeless, odorless, often waterproof qualities that can enhance linear designs in any work on paper. India ink is sometimes used in combination with acrylic paints on canvas as well. It can be applied with brush, dip or mechanical pens, airbrush or twig/stick. India ink is manufactured by several art product companies and comes in various bottle sizes. Some of the smaller bottles have an eyedropper cap to assist in charging pen tips. The dropper can also be used as an application tool, one that creates lines and "blurts" of ink (made by applying pressure to the bulb-style cap) that can be further manipulated for textures and designs.

Calligraphers often select an extra pure form of ink so that it will flow through their pen points without clogging. Many superb quality inks are available in small-sized bottles and in a variety of colors. Sumi inks, made of compressed carbon in stick form, are meant to be ground against a stone plate to release the particles. They mix with water to form a dark, flowing ink. The artist is in command of the density and fluid qualities of the ink.



The newest twists in inks are the delicious colors and metallics that are acrylic based. Used by commercial artists, fine artists and graphic design professionals, crafters and students, these high quality liquid acrylic inks are available in as many as 30 colors and are offered by several manufacturers. Most are water resistant, can be diluted with distilled water and offer excellent lightfastness and durability. Most can be used in fine quality mechanical pens or airbrushes without clogging, making them even more useful. Within a brand, colors may be combined to create a personal palette of tones; combining different brands may be tested, but this is not always successful.

Explore inks and you'll be surprised how versatile they can be!