Drawing the Line

I've been writing about the sad, sad business of fading markers here for awhile, and in the picture above, you can see what happens when people use non-archival tools to draw.

This 1993 original jam sketch was auctioned off by Heritage not too long ago. One of the figures has almost completely faded. It looks like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sketch is on its way out next. It looks like my little sketch of Liana peeking out there was drawn in ballpoint.

Below, a glorious Jim Starlin page that showed up at Heritage Auctions, slowly fading to oblivion.

I started using markers back in 1996 after a trip to Japan where I found Deleter NeoPiko pigment ink markers. I love the original NeoPiko pens because the point was very sharp but also a bit flexible, giving me the perfect line for drawing A DISTANT SOIL. Later iterations of the pen do not have the exact same point, but the ink is still pigment based. In the decades since I drew the A DISTANT SOIL art, I've seen no sign of fading. 

In general, pigment based inks should not fade, or they shouldn't fade much. The markers are also great for technical drawing. I haven't touched my Rotring technical pens since about 2004 and I have several mint condition sets in storage here.

I use Deleter NeoPiko3 now, and Faber Castell Pitt Pens as well. I don't like the points as much as I used to, and sometimes to get the subtlety of the line I want I have to use an S pen for the main line, but terminate the line with an XS pen to get the fine point at the end.

Anyway, for autograph pens, I like American Crafts Metallic Marker, Fudebiyori Metallic Marker, and ZIG Memory System Markers.

VERY IMPORTANT: please store these pens laying FLAT. Do NOT use a pen holder or pen carousel to store your markers. I don't care what markers, I don't care who is selling you the fancy storage unit.

Pigment will settle at the end of the pen if you store it point down or point up. The solvent and the pigment will separate. That's especially true with metallic markers. The pigment is heavy, and it drops to the end of the pen. You get a thick glob of ink coming out at first, and then your ink will be wispy and thin. All the cool metallic pigment gone long before the pen has dried out.

Always store markers flat.

American Crafts Markers give me the best looking metallic sheen color, BUT I have purchased some new that were dried out OR seemed to have mold growing at the tip. I take it some vendors were selling really old stock! But I have not had issues with any pens I've kept here in storage for a year or more. My guess is these damaged markers had been stored for a long time with the point up until sale.

Several people have recommended to me the new Copic MultLiner pens. These pens are not alcohol dye markers like other Copics. They use pigment based ink. The pens are refillable and the points are replaceable. The company website claims they are lightfast.

However, an independent website tested the colored inks for lightfastness and found the colored inks faded within a short time after exposure.

This website is just the bomb for looking up pens and comparing their lightfastness.  

I've yet to hear anyone complain about fading with the new Copic Multiliner black pens. They are VERY expensive, but being refillable is a plus. I recently tried them for the first time, and found the black to be nice and deep and the flow very smooth.

But I don't trust the Copic brand in general, because let's face it, they've  been deceptive in marketing their products for years. So, I think some time needs to pass before I truly trust their new black pens. I think they would be safe for sketchbooks though.

I don't trust the pigment color pens at all, especially after seeing Copic, once again, market something as lasting when it isn't. And I would never use their dye/alcohol based pens for anything.

I'm tempted to get a few of the Multiliners and see if some of my Dr Martin's colored inks (which are lightfast) would work in the Multiliners refills.

There are also complaints the ink in the Multiliners is not rich black. I had no issues with it.

Ink from markers, even when it is pigment based, will always be slightly less black than ink coming from an inkwell.

Ink in a marker must be relatively thin to wick through that marker tip. Ink from an inkwell can be pretty thick, so thick it even has trouble wicking down a crowquill pen. Pigment markers are water based, and the more water, the thinner the ink.

Many inkwell inks are also bound with shellac. This is what gives the ink its strength, waterproof quality, and richness. Some inks are shiny when you lay them down on paper, and will sit on the surface of the paper and flake off later if you're not careful.

So any contemporary marker pen will never be as deep black as the black ink you'll get from an bottle. 

Also, if you erase the pencil lines after inking with a marker, you may see the eraser lift some of the lines. This doesn't mean the ink isn't permanent, or that it's not quality ink. It means the ink doesn't have the strong binder that inkwell ink has, and it sits more lightly on the surface of the paper. If it's sitting on top of the graphite from your pencil drawing, it can lift a bit when you erase. Some marker inks can take a long time to truly dry.

For this reason, you might want to wait a few hours before trying to erase your underdrawing.

Also, many marker pens claim to be waterproof. I've found this claim rather dubious. Almost every time, I get some lift from some of the colored and black waterproof pens. Not enough to make me run screaming into the night, but enough to be cautious when working over an area of art more than once.

Again, wait hours - or even a day - between layers to dry.

Which brings us to Faber Castell markers.

I have great love for Faber Castells, and now use them for a wide variety of work. The black markers are richer than other markers. The black also holds up better if I want to color over them. I now use them instead of Microns.

The website, and other independent website testing, confirms the lightfastness of these pens: they should not fade in normal "gallery" conditions for a century.

Go pen!

("Gallery conditions" generally means temperature and light controlled. Don't hang art in a bright humid room, and you should be fine.)

I also used many of the colored pens for detail work on CHIVALRY (wonderful Christmas present material, do give it a go), and found them to be very blendable on quality illustration board. But they tear up standard sketchbook paper and bristol board during blending, so for general sketching, they aren't as convenient or easy to use as Copics.

However, I know that whoever buys this art will - if they don't abuse it by sitting it in a bright window for 50 years - will have art that will last without fading, possibly for centuries.

Most of the detail work on the illuminated manuscript sequences on this book was done with Faber Castell Pitt pens. A lot of that acanthus leaf decoration was also done with these pens, showing just how well they blend on quality illustration board.

This set cost a small fortune, but totally worth it.  

Also, that wooden case is really handsome.

Anyway, a big caveat with some of these pens.

They are deeper and richer than other pens, but the price is that the ink, being deeper and richer, also sits on the surface of some papers and won't dry.

For a really long time.

If you are using their shiny metallic pens for autographs or sketches at conventions, be aware that this stuff is just going to stare defiantly at you.

For like, an hour or more.

This week, I was signing some prints and books with the gorgeous blue metallic pen and let those things sit there to dry, then an hour later came back and a few copies of A DISTANT SOIL 41 - my very last ones - smeared like crazy. I couldn't believe it.

So yeah, great ink, but this great ink will tear standard comic art or sketch papers, and if you use it on a comic cover or a print, it's just going to take over an hour to dry.

Let's move on to Micron Pigmas.

I've used these pens for decades without complaint. They have NEVER shown any fading. The fine tips give me that delicate line I love. The ONLY reason I am using Faber Castells more these days is because the black ink is richer.

Pigma pens are lightfast.

Like I wrote, I've never seen fading with these pens in thirty years!

However, I read complaints online that the pens fade. This is bunk.

What's happening is the pens are extremely popular, and there are a lot of counterfeits out there.

From the company website:

A lot (and I mean a LOT) of people have posted complaints about these products, but you never see these complaints as having come from someone who bought directly at the source. They bought from Amazon, they bought from a dealer at a convention. Third party sellers on Amazon are getting crap Chinese imports.

You can buy directly from Sakura at Amazon. Just make sure you are getting your pens from the company and not from a deep discount store. 

Also...people...think it through.

I saw this review from 2016 on Amazon. The guy was complaining about the quality of the pens.

I can't believe I even have to address this.

OK, there is the possibility that he bought some old, expired pens that dried out quickly, but from the rest of his post, I'm guessing several things are going on here.

1: People think they are buying markers you can abuse like a Sharpie.

No.

Every time you set the pen down, PUT THE CAP ON.

If you don't, they dry out fast.

2: Do not just leave quality markers sitting upright. 

Store in a horizontal position. The pigment will settle because it is heavier than dye. If it settles the pen will dry out faster.

3: The marker tips are not as durable as alcohol based markers because the tip has to be able to accommodate a higher particle size water-based fluid. 

It is more porous than a dye based marker tip. So, it's more like a sponge. It breaks down fast.

Also, if you draw over a rougher surface, such as over particles of colored pencil, this will cause greater wear and tear on the tip of the marker.

Again, you're not using a Sharpie. Don't expect a Sharpie.

4: Dude, you are a scientist, right?

OK, well, have some science.

The ink is not going to work over colored pencil selections because the ink is WATER BASED.

Most colored pencils have a wax binder.

Therefore, the WAX will resist the WATER.

Also, you have not considered the substrate.

All paper is not equal.

Above, I noted how the Faber Castells take a long time to dry on comic covers.

Because...substrate.

OK, so if you are using a coated paper, you will have a different experience than if you are using a porous paper.

If you are drawing on top of maps, and the paper of the map is coated, the ink will resist the paper. Every time you erase, the ink will come up.

This will happen even if you are using a shellac based ink out of an inkwell. Ink can sit on the surface of some papers, pool, and crack off later when dry. There is nothing wrong with the ink, you just don't know what you're doing.

Don't used water-based materials to draw on ground that contains, oils, waxes, or coatings.

That includes your hands. The more oil from your hands, the more resistant the ink will be.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

Below, my D'mer illustration drawn with Faber Castell pens and colored in Photoshop. This is from my graphic novel series A DISTANT SOIL, which I will return to when Good Omens is safely at the printer.