{"id":44183,"date":"2024-12-10T07:11:55","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T12:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=44183"},"modified":"2024-12-10T07:11:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T12:11:55","slug":"playing-with-the-new-toys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/12\/10\/playing-with-the-new-toys\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing with the New Toys"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

I continue to sit on my couch with a cat and a spouse scribbling my grotesques into the night, but now I am adding some new tools into the mix. <\/span>I have been playing with the terrific Sailor Fude De Mannen<\/i> fountain pen loaded with waterproof Platinum Carbon Ink<\/i> for drawing in conjunction with a Pentel<\/em> water brush filled one part grey fountain pen ink to three parts water for ink washes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sailor <\/a>
Sailor Fude De Mannen Fountain Pen with 55\u00ba Nib <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Platinum <\/a>
Platinum Carbon Ink <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pentel <\/a>
Pentel Vistage water brush <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n


\nI’m still getting a handle on these new art materials, but I am having fun. The Sailor pen is a pleasure, but my ink wash brush is a little tricky. I have been trying a couple different grey fountain pen inks pictured at the top of the post. The Mont Blanc<\/em> Oyster Grey appears a little greenish at first but becomes more neutral as it dries. The Diamine<\/em> Earl Grey looks purple. There may be a couple other inks I try in order to find that pleasant neutral grey I am seeking.<\/p>\n

\"\"

A page of doodles showing the terrific variety of line weights provided by one Sailor<\/em> fountain pen. The gray tones are from Diamine<\/em> and Mont Blanc<\/em> grey inks cut with water.<\/p><\/div>\n

I am working my way through two different mixed media pads of paper — a Canson<\/em> and a Strathmore<\/em>. They are brands typical to art supply stores and each company has a long history of making quality art supplies. They take the ink and washes a whole lot better than the discount sketchbooks did. The cheap paper bled and wrinkled with the application of medium. The Strathmore and Canson books are a lot more predictable which is fine. Chasing down cheap sketch pads looking for that elusive Sketchbook from Heaven<\/em><\/a> has resulted in more misses than hits. I think I will stick with the nicer paper. It’s readily available, and you get what you pay for.<\/p>\n

Click on an image below for a larger picture.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Frankenstein <\/a>
Frankenstein Monster 12\/7\/2024 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Werewolf <\/a>
Werewolf 12\/5\/2024 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"cartoony <\/a>
cartoony man <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More mindless scribbles, but this gives you an idea of the variety of line weights offered by a single Sailor fountain pen <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

It seems some things never change as I am still scratching out monsters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I continue to sit on my couch with a cat and a spouse scribbling my grotesques into the night, but now I am adding some new tools into the mix. I have been playing with the terrific Sailor Fude De … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4953,49],"tags":[158,17,8,5897,5896,3661,4084,5,391,4866,3663,25,480],"class_list":["post-44183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doodle-tuesday","category-it-came-from-the-sketchbook","tag-analog","tag-cartoon","tag-cartoons","tag-creatures","tag-experimenting","tag-illustration","tag-ink-wash","tag-joe-williams","tag-monsters","tag-pen-and-ink","tag-sketch","tag-sketchbook","tag-usa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/it-came-from-the-SB-banner.jpg?fit=800%2C120&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-buD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44093,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/11\/13\/i-want-a-new-toy\/","url_meta":{"origin":44183,"position":0},"title":"I Want a New Toy!","author":"Joe","date":"November 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"...and I got some new toys! First up is the Sailor Fude de Mannen which is a fabulous fountain pen made in Japan. I think it was meant to be a calligraphy pen, but it works great for drawing. You can get a variety of line weights depending on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/sailor-fude-de-mannen-fountain-pen.jpg?fit=1000%2C561&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/sailor-fude-de-mannen-fountain-pen.jpg?fit=1000%2C561&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/sailor-fude-de-mannen-fountain-pen.jpg?fit=1000%2C561&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/sailor-fude-de-mannen-fountain-pen.jpg?fit=1000%2C561&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44260,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/12\/22\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":44183,"position":1},"title":"It Came from the Sketchbook","author":"Joe","date":"December 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I continue having fun sketching with my Sailor Fude fountain pens -- one with a nib bent at a 55\u00ba angle and the other at a 40\u00ba angle.","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Werewolf-v-Frankenstein-monster.jpg?fit=800%2C633&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Werewolf-v-Frankenstein-monster.jpg?fit=800%2C633&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Werewolf-v-Frankenstein-monster.jpg?fit=800%2C633&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Werewolf-v-Frankenstein-monster.jpg?fit=800%2C633&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45923,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/09\/23\/the-frugal-review-the-pengear-sketch-diary\/","url_meta":{"origin":44183,"position":2},"title":"The Frugal Review \u2022 The Pen+Gear Sketch Diary","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When my wife and co-host of this fabulous site, Tina, calls about a cheap sketchbook she\u2019s found at a big box store, I\u2019ve learned not to question her. I just say, \u201cBuy it!\u201d She\u2019s got a knack for spotting art supplies that work better than their price suggests. Case in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Walmart-Sketchbook-1st-drawing-det.jpg?fit=800%2C357&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Walmart-Sketchbook-1st-drawing-det.jpg?fit=800%2C357&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Walmart-Sketchbook-1st-drawing-det.jpg?fit=800%2C357&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Walmart-Sketchbook-1st-drawing-det.jpg?fit=800%2C357&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45995,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/09\/30\/dixon-ticonderoga-ucreate-a-decent-little-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":44183,"position":3},"title":"Dixon Ticonderoga UCreate — a Decent Little Sketchbook!","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I've used UCreate sketchbooks manufactured by Dixon Ticonderoga a couple of times before in recent years, and I have just finished off my third. They are affordably priced and are readily available at Target and Walmart. The quality of the paper is consistent, and, best of all, they take ink\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Punky-Larry-Hughes-e1759166265768.jpg?fit=640%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Punky-Larry-Hughes-e1759166265768.jpg?fit=640%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Punky-Larry-Hughes-e1759166265768.jpg?fit=640%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45889,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/09\/09\/when-does-the-band-go-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":44183,"position":4},"title":"When does the band go on?","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is another sketch from my developing Teenage Beast story. The crowd awaits the arrival of Brian Bubonic and the Plague. I drew this with sky blue mechanical pencil leads and Sailor Fude De Mannen fountain pens in a small UCreate sketchbook by Ticonderoga. It takes ink surprisingly well and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Awaiting-Brian-Bubonic.jpg?fit=640%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Awaiting-Brian-Bubonic.jpg?fit=640%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Awaiting-Brian-Bubonic.jpg?fit=640%2C448&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44236,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/12\/17\/tuesday-doodle-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":44183,"position":5},"title":"Tuesday Doodle","author":"Joe","date":"December 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I am having a lot of fun using my Sailor Fude fountain pens in a couple of small, mixed media sketchbooks. Sometimes I have a subject in mind, and other times -- like the drawing above -- I go wherever my pencils and pens take me. I roughed something out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Monster-v-Lady-Frankenstein.jpg?fit=550%2C708&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Monster-v-Lady-Frankenstein.jpg?fit=550%2C708&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Monster-v-Lady-Frankenstein.jpg?fit=550%2C708&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}