Owl Ink Review: Zebra Brush Pens

Owl Ink Review | Zebra Brush Pens Review

 

Zebra brush pens are highly regarded as some of the best brush pens for lettering beginners, and I’d say they deserve that reputation.

They are available in three tip sizes – extra fine, fine, and medium. I own all three, and compare them here.

 

Owl Ink Review | Zebra Brush Pens Review

 

Owl Ink Review | Zebra Brush Pens Review

 

Owl Ink Review | Zebra Brush Pens Review

 

Extra Fine Brush

The Extra Fine brush is great for those who struggle with thin upstrokes. I think this is the most challenging part about learning brush lettering — I’m STILL figuring out how to be consistent with my upstrokes!

Because the tip is so tiny, even if you are a bit heavy-handed on the upstroke, it still looks fairly thin.

However, the Extra Fine tip size also writes a bit on the dry side. Just as gel pens with 0.3 tips tend to be scratchier and more skip-prone than 0.5 or 0.7, sometimes the ink flow just can’t keep up with the pen.

Fine Brush

In my opinion, the Fine brush is the juiciest of the three. It’s like the Goldilocks porridge of brush pens — the tip is wide enough for smooth ink flow, but still fine enough to easily create hairlines.

Medium Brush

I was not a huge fan of the Medium brush at first. Compared to the dainty Extra Fine tip, the Medium tip felt like a pair of clunky ’90s platform shoes. I kept getting “bottom-heavy” letters, which happens at the the transition between downstroke and upstroke.

However, with some practice, I found that it IS possible to get really nice line variation. It was just harder to achieve than with the firmer Extra Fine.


Pros:

Waterproof: One really awesome thing about these pens is that they contain waterproof ink! I ran a waterbrush over some scribbles and they stayed completely legible. Not even a smudge. I’m impressed.

Size Variation: With 3 sizes to choose from, I can easily pick the best for the project at hand — whether it’s a quote, an envelope, or a gift tag.

Cons:

Fraying Tips: These are designed as disposable brush pens and as a result, the felt tip does wear down pretty quickly :/ You can prolong the pen’s life if you write exclusively on butter-smooth Rhodia paper or marker paper, but understand that eventually your tips WILL lose their springy hairline-creating abilities.

Not Refillable: Unfortunately the brushes are not refillable. I’ve heard of people prying off the end cap and syringing black ink into the pen barrel to “refill” the pen, but I haven’t tried this myself.

However, that doesn’t mean you should throw out your dried-up brushes! You can create some pretty cool textured effects with a dry brush.

 

Owl Ink Review | Zebra Brush Pens Review
California is about as dry as this pen right now #CAdrought

 


Verdict

Overall I’m a fan of the Zebra brush pens and would definitely recommend them to any beginning lettering artist. They are firm enough that the tips doesn’t squash easily under a heavy hand, but flexible enough to achieve dramatic thicks and thins.

Many experienced artists swear by these as well. Check out Matt Vergotis on Instagram for serious Zebra brush inspiration — he achieves amazing line variation with the Medium brush here.

 

 

A quick little demo of yesterday's post

A video posted by Matt Vergotis (@mattvergotis) on

 

ALSO, an extra tip– if you live within close proximity to a Daiso (it’s like a Japanese dollar store), you might occasionally get lucky and find these brush pens in the arts/stationery aisle. The packaging differs sometimes, but it’s the same pen.

I hope this review has been helpful!

Here are some more of my own brush lettering samples :)

 

Owl Ink Review | Zebra Brush Pens Review

 

Owl Ink Review | Zebra Brush Pens Review

 

Owl Ink Review | Zebra Brush Pens Review

Owl Ink Review: Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

In my latest JetPens order, I picked up a super cute pen called the Kuretake CocoIro!

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

The CocoIro is a little pen that gets its name from the Japanese words for heart (kokoro) and color (iro). Supposedly, the name means “color of your heart”. A little cheesy, but sure!

The CocoIro pen actually consists of two separate parts: the refill and the pen body.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

Pen bodies are available in many charming colors like Duckegg Blue, Sunflower, and Kiwi. They definitely have a cute, Instagram-ready appeal! I am partial to neutrals though, so I chose Black and Warm Chestnut.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

Ink refills are available in a selection of colors as well. In addition to basic black, they also come in dark muted colors (sepia, bordeaux) and light cheery colors (mint, rose).

Assembly

To assemble the pen, you just remove the cap, stick the refill into the hollow body, and screw it in.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

One thing that slightly bothers me about this pen is the fact that the butt of the refill sticks out. I understand that Kuretake wanted to make the pen cute and compact, but why?? -_- It looks fine with the black pen body, but odd with any other color.

I deal with it by posting the cap and trying to forget it exists.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

Lettering Test

Here is the performance test of the two brush tips I tried: the bristle brush and the super fine brush.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

First I tried the “Super Fine Brush” tip inside the chestnut colored pen body.  I was actually quite surprised by how firm the tip was! Firmness is good though, as it allows for more control during those super-skinny calligraphy upstrokes.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

However, I did notice that pressing down firmly on the brush would cause it to become misshapen. I could reshape the brush tip by pressing it against the paper, but I imagine it might not withstand that sort of abuse for long.

I would compare the tip firmness to another Kuretake pen, the Fudegokochi Super Fine.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

Next up was the “Brush Type” tip inside the black pen body. This performed like any bristle tip —  pretty juicy but also capable of the dry brush effect if you write quickly.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

The ink, while black, is not SUPER dark. Kuretake also has no specs on the archival quality or lightfastness of the ink.

The tip is comparable to the Pentel Pocket Brush.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

 

Something interesting to note: the refills themselves are quite large, and the grip section is thick enough to be used on its own. Because you don’t necessarily need the pen body, I wouldn’t be surprised if some folks prefer using the refill alone.

Verdict

Overall, I really like the CocoIro! I don’t know why it has taken me so long to try it. They are very reasonably priced and I definitely see myself using them in future lettering and calligraphy projects.

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

Pros:

  • Just so CUTE!!!
  • Lightweight, ergonomic shape
  • Affordable price
  • Refillable
  • Extra fine brush is nice and stiff for precise lettering
  • Bristle brush has nice line variation

Cons:

  • Butt of refill sticks out, looks silly
  • Super fine brush tip may wear out easily
  • Ink is not SUPER dark, more like off black
  • Matte surface texture picks up lint and stains over time

 

Owl Ink Review | Kuretake CocoIro Lettering Pens

3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

Owl Ink - 3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

 

Summer is here and that means… lots of pretty wedding calligraphy!

I recently created a set of 8 wedding-related calligraphy and watercolor graphics for a project, and thought I’d share 3 out of the set as a free clipart sampler.

They were created with brush pen on watercolor paper, scanned, and cleaned up in Photoshop. (side note: for a tutorial that covers how to clean up lettering in Photoshop, check out my post on How to Add Lettering to a Photo)

Owl Ink - 3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

If you are anything like me, a LOT of your friends are getting married right now. Make some pretty art as a gift for the newlywed couple! You can also try printing them out onto cards or labels.

Here are some examples of art I made with these 3 clipart files. I had fun practicing my graphic design skills on these :)

All images are from Unsplash, my favorite resource for beautiful free stock photos.

Scroll down for the link to download these files!

 

Owl Ink - 3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

 

Owl Ink - 3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

 

Owl Ink - 3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

 

Owl Ink - 3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

 

Owl Ink - 3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

 

Owl Ink - 3 Free Wedding Calligraphy Downloads

 

You can download them HERE. Feel free to remix, modify, and alter these clipart files ~BUT~ personal projects only please– do not use them in anything you intend to sell.  I made these with my own time and I hope you can respect the creative process :) Many thanks and hope you enjoy!

 

Review: White Inks for Calligraphy

White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

 

I recently had the opportunity to test some white inks, and wanted to share my findings. Specifically, I wanted to see which white inks were best for calligraphy.

Here are my results! I hope you’ll find this helpful :)

 


White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

White Calligraphy Inks

These inks are either marketed as calligraphy inks or are popular within the calligraphy community. (You can click on the image for a larger view)

 

 White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White – ★★★★

  • Very thick right out of the bottle
  • Requires diluting with distilled water
  • It is ~magical~ once dry, crisp and very opaque
  • Handy eyedropper for easy diluting in separate container

Verdict: Worth the hassle of finding the perfect ink-to-water ratio because it is fantastic when diluted properly.

Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White Ink – ★★★★

This is hailed among many calligraphers are the holy grail of white ink! My coworker was kind enough to let me take a dip out of her bottle to test it out.

  • VERY thick and pasty — even thicker than the Pen-White
  • Requires more diluting with distilled water
  • Crisp and opaque once dry
  • Similar to the Pen-White

Verdict: Best ink for the price. Since you are diluting it so much, the tiny bottle will go a long way.

J. Herbin Dip Pen Calligraphy Ink – ★★★☆

  • Lower viscosity and thus writes straight from the bottle.
  • Better ink flow, smoother to write with
  • Less opaque, fades significantly as it dries.

Verdict: I give this ink points for convenience, despite its low opacity. Plus, it is perfect for the rustic/vintage chalkboard look that is quite popular.

Speedball Calligraphy Ink – ★★★☆

  • Only $2! An easy purchase if you are just trying out white calligraphy
  • Bottle shape makes dipping easy
  • Must be diluted with water
  • Quite opaque once dry
  • Less smooth and dries with a bumpy finish

Verdict: If you are going through the trouble of patiently diluting your ink, you might as well go for Dr. Ph. Martin’s.

 J. Herbin Dip Pen Pigmented Ink – ★★☆☆

  • More watery and less opaque than the other J. Herbin white
  • If you write too slowly,  ink drips off the nib
  • If you write quickly, not enough ink is left on the page resulting in faded letters

Verdict: I don’t really like it :(


White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

White Comic Inks

Comic artists use white in many ways — adding highlights to eyes and hair, or covering up small mistakes. Many manga artists use the same G nib that is popular among calligraphers, so I figured it was worth a try.

These inks are VERY thick — almost all of them need to be diluted with water to be usable, and it took a lot of trial and error to get the right ink-to-water ratio for all of them. Once diluted, I was pleasantly surprised by how well some of them worked as calligraphy inks!

White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

Copic Opaque White – ★★★★

  • Very thick out of the bottle, requires diluting
  • Smooth once diluted
  • Very opaque and crisp when dry
  • Annoyingly tiny bottle
  • Kind of expensive for the size

Verdict: The most opaque of the comic inks, if you can get past the price and the frustration of scooping the ink out of the tiny bottleneck.

Deleter White #1 and White #2 – ★★★★

  • Very thick out of the bottle, requires diluting
  • Smooth once diluted
  • Opaque when dry
  • #2 is waterproof!

Verdict: There isn’t much difference between the two, but I found #1 to be slightly smoother.

IC Comic Art White and Super White -★★★☆

  • Very thick out of  the bottle, requires diluting
  • Not as smooth as Deleter inks
  • Super White is very opaque when dry

Verdict: The regular Art White is mediocre, the Super White is much better.

Kaimei Manga Ink – ★★☆☆

  • Thinnest manga ink – thus, surprisingly smooth out of the bottle
  • Decently opaque when dry
  • Annoying caveat: chalky bubble effect

Verdict: Pretty decent, but with one MAJOR caveat. The pigment settles to the bottom, so when you shake the bottle to mix up the ink, a mass of bubbles forms. As you write, your pen leaves a trail of tiny bubbles that dry inside your calligraphy, making it look rough and messy :/

Kuretake Comic White – ★★☆☆

  • Very thick out of the bottle, requires diluting
  • Not cooperative with the paper I used
  • Difficult to write with
  • Not very opaque once diluted

Verdict: This is one comic ink that cannot really be used as a calligraphy ink. It works on some papers, but not on others — not worth the gamble


 

Some examples of my favorite inks in action…

White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White

White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White

White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

Speedball Calligraphy White

White Calligraphy Ink Review | Owl Ink

Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White on a light gray envelope


 

There are some other white inks that I’ve heard about, but not yet tried. Eventually, I hope to try all of them…


Note: All product photos from JetPens.com and DickBlick.com. Review photos by me.

Materials Used:

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

A few months ago, my friend Dan asked if I’d be interested in collaborating with him on a photoshoot! Wedding photography season was wrapping up, and he was interested in doing more lifestyle photography to try his hand at something different. Of course, I was excited to get involved!

He originally wanted to do a “art studio” type shoot, but since most of my work is done on my unattractive bedroom floor, I proposed finding someplace else. After some brainstorming, we settled on a county park located off Highway 9. It’s quiet, calm, and nestled among beautiful redwood trees — a perfectly woodsy, owl-themed setting.

The shoot lasted for a few hours, and it was a great experience! Dan has a very warm personality and was quick to offer staging suggestions, which really helped since I tend to be nervous on camera. I could tell that he was enthusiastic about capturing the entire atmosphere, down to the subtle details.

His photography mantra is “seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary”, and it was really interesting to watch him turn simple things like twigs and fallen leaves into art. I remember at one point, we were digging around in the dirt looking for the perfect twigs and pine cones to use as props! We definitely had a good laugh about that :P

2015 was a major year for me in the sense that I finally launched this site and turned my hobby into something greater. I’m really excited about how Owl Ink has turned out thus far, and I hope that shows through in Dan’s photos.


 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

Owl Ink Photoshoot with Dan Chern Photography

 

If you are a Bay Area-based artisan interested in some new photos for your website, Etsy, or blog — contact Dan over at his site, Dan Chern Photography!

He is really great to work with.  and he would love to combine his passion with yours :)