Pentel Brush Pens // Review

I recently picked up two different brush pens by Pentel.  Ah Japan, you geniuses!  Both of them are pretty stellar, but not without little drawbacks.

KC-130 + Nami original sketch

Bit by bit ....

 

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PENTEL COLOR Brush Pen in Black #101 // $7.50 ...............................................Grade: A-


PROS // This brush gets nice black line, it's very easy to hold, and the tip becomes juicy and saturated with ink.  When working on heavy, textured paper, you can achieve a great dry-brush effect.  The tip is larger than the Pocket brush pen, so to get very thin lines is going to require some practice and finessing.

CONS // It's difficult to get it started upon opening it up, and if you squeeze too hard, ink will either drip or shoot out of the tip sides.  The ink takes stays wet a while and does not dry as dark as the Pocket pen.

on heavy textured paper

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PENTEL POCKET Pen in Black // $16.50 ...............................................................Grade: A+

PROS // This brush is excellent.  The large tip allows a good varied line, and it comes with two refills, so it should last quite a while.    Allows a thinner line than the CP as well.  The ink goes down smoothly, and dries deep matte black.  The ink dries darker and richer than the Color Pen.   (below the Pocket Pen ink is OVER the Color Pen ink)

CONS // As all brush pens, the tip needs to be taken care of gently, so I wouldn't let my 8 year old cousin go smushing it around. The tip is not as long as the CP, but it is much more sensitive to your hand - meaning even your pulse can be seen moving the line if you're not careful!

Who are these for?

• If you are an illustrator or graphic novelist, you probably already own one, but if you were on the fence about it - grab them!
• If you are learning Chinese, Japanese or another calligraphic language, you should try practicing with one of these!  It's easier for a student to use than the traditional ink well/sumi-e brushes.
  

 In other news...

Today is 01/10/10!  For some reason, it makes me nostalgic for my old zip code in NYC, 10010!  Life is pretty busy lately, although it's hard to contain my excitement about the wedding, even if it is 9 months away.

Ah, the last of Christmas ... 

Andy, me & the guys made this beautiful/ugly Rice Krispie Treat House