Inktober day 1 Organic Piano

[eller]

So this is day 1, using my own prompt list.



That was fun! Actually, my first idea for the prompt was something NSFW but I decided against drawing it (too many RL contacts, including family members, read this...) so I'm really glad aliax_alexandre did that instead! :D I went for slightly more conventional fantasy stuff: a tree with leaves that are ominously arranged like piano keys... I wonder what that sounds like?

Also, here's the material I used:



The Cappuccino Book (and its twin, the Grey Book) and I are old friends - I really like the slightly toned paper that's not quite as dark (or as yellowish) as Kraft paper but allows the use of white highlights. With 120 gsm (55 lbs), it's a bit thin for large-area ink washes, but it's the only toned paper I know with a surface sizing optimized for fountain pens, so I just have to live with that. (I'd LOVE a paper with identical surface but three times as thick. Unfortunately, no one manufactures that kind of thing.)

For drawing, I again used the Duke Confucius fountain pen with Fude nib, which I've discussed here at length.

The pen is filled with Noodler's "bulletproof" black, an ink I don't like much for writing (I prefer non-waterproof inks for that, they're easier to remove in case a pen dries out), but which works extremely well for artistic purposes. It's a light, warm black that dries with a matte finish, which makes it easier to scan or to take photos of. It's also archival, so it doesn't smudge once dry, and I don't have to worry about fading. Useful stuff.

For shading, I picked up a Faber Castell watercolor marker with pigment ink in Warm Grey III. These pens are a fairly new launch so this is the first time I have one. I found the shade a pleasant tone for shading in the book, cooler than the paper itself (which is appropriate for shadows, anyway) but not too contrasting. I have not used the watercoloring option of that pen yet, so I'm probably wasting good material here, but whatever. (EDIT: I have now, later, tried this: the watercolor effect works just fine, but as expected, only on watercolor paper. In the Cappuccino Book, watercoloring it gets a bit blotchy.)

The white ink was an emergency buy because I discovered my old bottle had dried out... This is a brand I haven't used before, Kuretake White Ink 30, which so far does what it's supposed to do, and (nice!) is waterproof after drying. A good product, and one that (unless it does something horrible in the meantime) I'll probably buy again. I'm using the ink with a waterbrush (Pentel).

The white highlighter pen, Neopiko Line White, is a bit too transparent for my taste. Whatever. It works. And to be fair, I haven't found a white pen that's actually, really, opaque anywhere yet, so at least it's not worse than all the rest. ^^ It's not perfect but the best one I've found so far.

Not in the picture are a mechanical pencil (Pentel Energize in 0.7; my favorite sketching tool, very old and very worn, broken clip and everything) and an eraser (perfectly generic; I don't remember the brand) for preliminary sketching.

Comments

[aliax_alexandre]

"They call it the Fairy's Piano," the old woman said. "It's harmless in itself, but don't sleep near it, and don't go where there is a lot of it at night."

Her young apprentice snorted. "Like, what? Some fairy is gonna play it, I'm gonna be bewitched by its music, and they'll capture me?"

"Oh, no," the old woman replied softly, sadly. "They won't keep you. You will be back in the morning. And you will spend the rest of your life hopelessly wishing they'd captured you indeed."

The young apprentice swallowed nervously, through a throat grown suddenly tight. A shiver ran up their spine...

***

In short: wow, I love it *_* !! It's so pretty; I love the way the leaves flow into each other. And the fairy is oddly adorable :D All in all, it's definitely a very Eller-y take on that prompt, for sure :D

I can't comment on the material, because I'm an ignoramus in that domain, though I must say I've never thought of drawing on non-white paper! I must try that.

[yhlee]

So gorgeous! I love your take on this idea.

[adafrog]

Cool.

[amberdreams]

I need to check out your views on the Duke Confucius fountain pen with Fude nib - it sounds interesting! Love the picture, what a fun idea!

[sunlit_stone]

This is really lovely! Thank you for sharing :)

[mific]

Nifty tree piano! I like the white ink for the ethereal fairy.

[mekare]

I really like your choice of media for this. The cappuccino paper is very cool and ties all your pieces together.

[fifty_fifty]

I'm fairly new stepping back into the world of fountain pens and actual ink, especially in regards to art. Currently for Inktober I've got my trusty Pilot Kaküno with a fine nib, a Parker Vector with a small (I think it might be 0.8 or 1.1) italic nib and Pilot black ink along with a Sakura white gelly pen.

I love the idea of working on a non-white paper. Your art really pops on it.

I'm wondering if you have any recommendations for a cheap fountain pen for drawing/sketching (I'm UK based if that influences your advice at all)?

[suncat]

I've come back to check out your materials list. I'm impressed. I get the impression you've done Inktober before and prepared.

Me, it's my first time. I just grabbed a nearby fine-line black pen (a Pigma Micron 01) and the current sketchbook. Then added a Prismacolor black marker for broad lines.

I love what you're doing with black and white on toned paper.