Ballpoint Nuances

 

Both sketches made with Bics

I rarely discuss the nuances of ballpoint pens, but if not during InkTober, when? Now that I’m three-quarters of the way through the month, I’m finally running out of styles and unique specimens of Bics – my favorite ballpoint pens for drawing. Of course, I certainly have numerous Bic 4 Colors in various color combos and probably an infinite number of advertising Clics and Stics (or at least I used to; I was merciless during my recent dejunking of drawers). But I thought the challenge would be more interesting if I started trotting out other ballpoints I have.

Oct. 17: Bic; Oct. 18: Caran d'Ache

Although Bic is still my favorite by a wide margin, if I had to choose a No. 2, it would be the Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoint (Oct. 18 at right). I have several, but they differ only in body color. It’s kind of the opposite of the Bic: Overpriced but made of a solid yet lightweight metal body and a quiet, bouncy knock. I wouldn’t own so many just for the varying bodies, though, if I didn’t like the ink (contained in Caran d’Ache’s overpriced, proprietary cartridges, of course). It’s not Bic, but it’s smooth and reliable to draw with (at least for small studies like these). It just takes longer to build up values. One positive quality is that it never blobs like Bic ink is prone to doing regularly.

Worse yet for building values is the Uni Jetstream, which is my favorite for writing but one of my least favorites for drawing. The sketches for Oct. 19 and 20 (below) made a convenient page (almost like a product comparison test) of basic Bic Clic and Cristal pens (Oct. 19) and a Jetstream (Oct. 20). I’ve said this before, but Bic ink is like a graphite pencil in its pressure sensitivity and ability to layer with subtle gradations. My technique is the same in both of these sketches, but the individual lines are more apparent with a Jetstream.

I should also pause here to mention that I’ve been using a white 0.5 Sakura Gelly Roll all month for highlights, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by its good behavior. It hasn’t clogged yet. (I have more than week to go . . . I hope I haven’t jinxed it.)

Oct. 19: Bics, Oct. 20: Uni Jetstream

Two "grades" of Bics used for this one