Does anyone know how to use Calligraphy pens?

[Phantom2390]

I noticed that when I inked with marker pens I got a consistent line which I could vary depending on the pressure I put on it, of course if theirs to much pressure the ink bled causing the line to look sloppy. So that meant that besides varying the size of the markers there was no real line variation going on, and ignorant to that I questioned why my inking looks so bad compared to what you see in manga. Then I remembered that they use pen nibs to do them, so I tried and made a big mess, for some reason the ink wasn't flowing from the pen to the paper even though i held the pen at a 45 degree angle, so then I decided to use a little water to make the ink flow better.  This caused the ink to bleed when I put it to paper. I ruined a good picture

Long story short: Does anyone have any tips on traditional inking with calligraphy pens?

[ChrissyCATZ]

Well, as I assume you just went out and got the nib new from the store, my first question is whether or not you removed the new shiny coating? As this site says, the manufacturers put a rust resistant coating on the nibs to prolong shelf life. The site also lists several other troubleshooting tips that you can utilize.

As for calligraphy itself, until you get used to your new dip-pen, I would suggest inking copies or prints of your work that you want inked. That way you won't "ruin a good picture".

[YellowDragon14]

well you have to have good ink... you have to have working pen nibs... and you got to be willing to screw up a lot because you will the only way to take ink of a page is with an exacto knife and it will definitely do some damage even if your doing it on bristol board. I use higgins ink myself but I'm biased in that direction... as for the nibs i find they work very similarly to pens and its just a matter of experimentation ... if you don't clean them off well or if you put to much pressure on the nibs you can ruin it. there can be any number of different problems with any number of different nibs... I actually prefer or have in the past enjoyed the use of a brush pen... because you get a lot of line variation...  if you are looking for more fluid looking lines stay away from technical pens... as for nibs something else you can do is flip the pen over to change the variation if you use the back you get a thin line if you hold it with the curve facing up the line should be thicker it also varies with various amounts of pressure another hint is you very rarely want to water down your inks unless you planning on doing a wash but for actual inking i've heard it suggest that you let new bottles air out for a day or so because they are generally already a little watered down.

so I'm just babbling hope that gives you some ideas... just experiment its the best way to learn.

-yd-

[Professor Az]

Using nibs takes practice.  Work on a piece of scratch paper until you are comfortable with how the ink flows and how the pen feels when you draw with it.  Practice, practice, practice.  You need to be prepared to sacrifice some doodles before jumping in and inking up a good pic.  Also, if you are right-handed, ink from the upper left of the picture and work your way to the bottom right corner to avoid touching your ink as it dries.  If you are left-handed, then the opposite applies, of course.  Don't for get to get that pesky coating off there first (that was great find, Chrissy).

Show us your mistakes.  There are some great tricks on how to fix them.