Manga Pens + Comic Art Supplies // Review

Hey friends,

I thought I'd do some product reviews of Japanese art/manga supplies.  I don't exclusively use Japanese brands, but man, they are pretty sweet.  I did a review of Japanese brushes made by Pentel, and you can see that here.  This time around, it's all about pens.

I literally freaked with excitement at Loft this fall, wanted to roll around in the manga supply section and throw pens in the air like someone who just won the lottery, rolling around on dollar bills.  Seriously, get on a plane and go to Japan and buy lots and lots of art supplies.

Since the Japanese have a bigger market for comics than in the US (in 2007, Japan spent 406 BILLION Y/$3.6 BILLION USD on manga - compared to the US comic market, pulling in about $500million) and therefore have a bigger market for comic art supplies.  You can go into any stationary store, no matter how far into the country-side, and find great, cheap stuff for drawing and inking.  Of course you would! The entire writing system is calligraphic!

Inking comics with a pen is usually a no-no.  The line has no character, it flattens out your beautiful pencil work, and generally looks crappy.  But it really depends on the look you're going for!  And there are plenty of great pens that have great line quality.

....................PENS I USE FOR INKING COMICS......................

[BUY TACHIKAWA PENS]

 Tachikawa School G Pen   fountain pen | black + sepia |  $8 each | refills $5 for 2  ..... GRADE: A


PROS // This is easily my favorite fountain pen ever. The ink quality is fantastic, dries relatively quickly [in case you are prone to accidental hand-smudging like me], and the tip is super reinforced,[in case you are prone to accidentally dropping stuff, like me.]

CONS // No real line character, the tip does not bow out like a quill pen. 

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[BUY PENTEL PENS]

Pentel Super Fine Point  felt-tip pen | black | about $3 ea. ............................................ GRADE: B+

PROS // A solid stand-by for any straight-line stuff you need to do.  Doesn't fade much after erasing, and is pretty good to just sketch with.  Above is an environment study I did for a ship interior of Pirates of Mars, and used this pen for the whole thing.

CONS // Ink will definitely bleed a lot if you hold the pen in one spot too long, and definitely has no line character.  Good, but kind of meh. Not really super fine point.

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[BUY TACHIKAWA + NIKKO]  [BUY DELETER NIBS]

Tachikawa pen holder with grip + Nikko nibs | holder: $10 nibs: $4 for 3 ............. GRADE: A+
[nibs shown: School pen, Saji Chrome + Tame Chrome]

PROS // Great, solid pen.  Wood handle with soft grip is extremely comfortable, and the top will fit any size nib you get.  Nibs are super smooth and excellently crafted.  I dropped on - on the tip! - and it barely bent. Still works great!  Nice line character, too [above]

CONS // Hard to find in the US and it's a tad expensive for just a holder + grip, but highly recommended and worth it. (Don't skimp on the non-grip just to save $3!)

.................................INK................................

I highly recommend these for quill pens and brush painting.

[BUY DELETER INK]  [BUY YASUTOMO INK]

Deleter | ink graded 1 - 5 for depth of blackness | about $4 a bottle .................................. GRADE: A
PROS // beautiful quality, I use #5 the most often for it's velvety feel. #4 is the most waterproof
CONS // smells awful, like tilled soil and needs to be ordered online

Yasutomo sumi ink | about $4 ............................................................................................ GRADE: A-

PROS //available at most art suppliers, more ink per bottle than Deleter
CONS // not as black as Deleter - leave the cap off for a night and let some excess water evaporate

.................................OTHER STUFF..................................

Deleter White | ink for corrections | about $6 .......................................................... GRADE: F
PROS // ....
CONS // Personally, I HATE THIS STUFF. It takes forever to dry, makes your ink mix and turn gray, and takes about 45 coats to get pure white.  Skip the expense and just use cheap acrylic paint.

My favorite thing is to use a combination of brush and quill pen, like in the above panel.  My top supplies being a Pentel Pocket Brush pen, Tachikawa School-G, Deleter #5 and a Lowe Cornell #4 comfort brush for solid blacks.

 Thanks for reading!