My Pen Collection (or "Obsessed with Pens" part 2)

About two years ago I had a blog titled "Letters, Words, and Pretty Birds." Don't ask how I came up with that name, even I'm not sure. My last post on that blog was published on June 6th, 2015 and was titled "Obsessed with Pens." Read if you dare, 19-year-old Lydia didn't have the best writing style (neither does 21-year-old Lydia but that's beside the point). Looking back at that post, it surprised me to see how many of my favorites have changed just in the past two and a half years. A lot of my preferences have changed.

I'll start by giving an overview of that first post, and sharing my new-and-improved opinions on the pens in that list. I'll talk about my new favorites near the end.

First of all, I no longer have that little pen station. I very recently removed that table from my room and cleaned out those bins since I started filling them with random ballpoint pens, crayons, and broken pencils.
The first pens on the list are fine liners: Faber Castell, Staedtler, and Copic. I'm honestly not sure what happened to that Faber Castell pack, so it's safe to say I don't use them anymore. I still have and use both the Staedlers and the Copics. I actually ended up buying a bigger set of Staedlers, and my sister created a really cute roll-up pouch for them. My Copic fineliners are still holding up nicely and I continue to love how detailed you can get with the smaller sizes.

Tessa creates and sells "Dock Socks" for the Nintendo Switch on her Etsy shop!

I also talked about gelly roll pens. I still have the whole collection, but now I only ever use the white ones. I don't find myself reaching for the color gelly rolls for the kind of art I typically do. Opaque white gelly rolls are fantastic for highlights and details, so I definitely recommend those, but the rest of the colors, eh, I just don't use them. If you want to try gelly rolls, get a couple singles from Michael's before purchasing a whole set to save money.

I don't use my American Craft Chalk Markers nearly as much as I'd like to, but I still think they're great pens. They're called chalk markers, but they aren't for chalk boards. The metallic and colorful markers stand out beautifully on black paper.

Re-reading my paragraph about the Koi Brush Pens is so funny and ironic to me. "The one thing I don't like is that they're brush pens." Now I'm in love with brush pens. Again, I still have these (I'm an art supplies hoarder), but I've moved on to bigger and better brush pens. If you're considering getting yourself a pack of Koi brush pens, go for it! They're really nice and a perfect place to start brush lettering if you're on a budget.

And then I talk about Copic markers..... I've hardly ever used them. They're too hard, too smelly, and bleed too much. Many artists swear by them, but they just aren't for me and my art style. These days I would choose a Koi over a Copic. I think the main factor that turns me away from Copics is the fact that they are alcohol-based rather than water-based. The alcohol is what causes the smell and the bleeding, and water-based markers are odorless and typically bleed-free. If you're thinking about getting Copic markers, consider how other artists use them. You can find a lot of YouTube videos where artists use Copics beautifully (I recommend the super-talented Baylee Jae to start). I just don't think they're ideal for brush lettering.

Moving on to my new favorites!!

As I mentioned above, I continue to regularly use Staedtlers, Copic fine liners, and white gelly rolls. Since writing that 2015 post, I've added Micron fine liners, PaperMate Flair pens, and Tombow brush pens to my collection.

I picked up a 3-pack of Microns a few months ago when my girlfriend recommended them to me. They have more of a matte finish than the Copic liners do, which I love, but I typically try not to use both on the same project. I intend to get a bigger pack with more sizes at some point, and I may end up replacing my Copics with Microns all together.

PaperMate Flair pens are sold at Walmart and Target, and I love them for coloring and doodling. I go through phases of preferring my PaperMates over my Staedtlers and vice versa, but recently I've been carrying around the PaperMates the most. They're a little expensive in my opinion, especially for Walmart, but they come in a lot of nice colors and I love them.

Tombow!!! I don't remember when or how I initially discovered the Tombow brand, but it was probably somewhere on Instagram. I started with a basic pack of 10, fell in love with them, and then got the entire collection as a graduation present when I finished my associate's degree last year. I plan on writing an entire blog post on everything I love about Tombow dual brush pens and all the ways I love to use them. I rarely use anything other than Tombow in my brush lettering and I keep them all organized in a big foldable makeup bag.

That about sums up my (way-too-extensive) list of pens and my updated thoughts and feelings on the pens I wrote about 2 years ago. I hope this was somewhat helpful or informative. Truthfully, I just love talking about art supplies and I'll probably do it again in future posts.

Happy Holidays!

Inspiration

I am writing this post on December 13th, 2017. Tomorrow we'll find out the fate of the internet! This Net Neutrality debacle has had me on the brink of a panic attack for the past few weeks, since losing Net Neutrality would mean crappy things for my future (and practically everyone else's), considering my two dream jobs can only happen if the internet remains free and open. If we lose Net Neutrality tomorrow, I will basically lose any hope of being a freelance artist and editor. 

So, I decided to start this blog! 

Picture me saying that with a half-smile and my eyes wide with terror, like so: 

Rather than being defeated by my fears and giving in and saying "well, guess I'll be working retail for the rest of my life," I thought, "hey let's start a blog right now. I mean RIGHT now. At 11:00 at night when you have to get up for work at 6 tomorrow." With any creative endeavor, you have to start where you are, with what you have, even if you don't feel "ready." 

Even if you could literally lose it tomorrow!!! 

So yes, I'm starting this blog with a lot of fear, but out of that fear I've gotten a lot of inspiration and motivation and passion. Also, my fortune cookie said my creative mind will help me land a new job, so I'm kind of riding off of that. 

Anyway, I can't wait to start filling this blog with art and progress shots. I learned in my technical writing class how much I enjoy writing about art, specifically lettering. Even my 4600-word project couldn't contain all the knowledge I wanted to share (I actually exceeded the word count). I wouldn't call myself a teacher on this subject, but I'm hoping these blog posts provide some education and inspiration to readers and fellow artists of all kinds. If we all don't lose our open internet tomorrow, this blog is going to be fun and colorful and I am so excited to share it with you.

-Lydia Jean