I went ahead and purchased all the tools used by Blial Cabal:
Paper
- Professional Arches 140 lb, 300 gsm (Hot Press)
Nib & Ink
- Brause Steno Pen NIB #361
- Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay Black India Ink (also got white and gold)
Pencil & Eraser
- The Prisma Color, 2H Pencils
- The General’s Tri-Tip Eraser
I didn’t copy his work flow entirely as I didn’t quite know it. There were a few things that I wanted to try and emulate but I more wanted to get a feel for the tools themselves. The pencil and the nib will be reviewed separately. Here are some of the pieces I made to give you an idea of the types of pieces you can make with this combination of tools:
Professional Arches 140 lb, 300 gsm (Hot Press)
This paper was a bit unimpressive for the price. At first I suspected I could get similar results from my Canson Mixed Media Art pad- the more I started to work with it though the more I noticed that it wasn’t quite true. The Professional Arches work much better with accidental globs of ink- something that happens sometimes with the Brause Steno #361. When the Nib isn’t cleaned after multiple uses, it causes the Brause Steno #361 to also deposit much more ink with each line. That is when you start noticing the feathering of the mixed media and not from the Professional Arches. That said it’s still rather expensive to practice on. More then anything, make sure to clean your nibs!
Arteza offers a similar pad at a more reasonable rate, especially the smaller pads. These might be the best option to learn on for this style. It might not be the best when you enter the professional market though.
Brause Steno Pen NIB #361
This is with out a doubt the best nib on the market. It’s point is extremely fine and the ink flow is impressive. It requires some getting used to- loading a nib with ink by dipping it can make it hard to control some elements of illustrating. This goes away more and more with practice, so daily practice will have you mastering this skill set quickly. Legendary nibs- I can’t recommend them enough, especially if you are trying to get out of beginner inking into more serious projects. It doesn’t scratch the paper. You can easily control thickness of lines and create thick lines seamlessly. This is the professional real deal. Review of the Brause Steno Pen Nib #361 here.
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay Black India Ink
Most the time India Ink feels like ink to me. Assuming you aren’t buying the cheapest ink you can find, the results all tend to be very similar. This product however is extremely cost effective so its a nice and reliable option and I would generally recommend this. India Ink is a nice thick ink- I stay with Dr. Ph. Martin because I really like his white ink. Its so good that I just stick with the brand. That said I’ve never noticed a difference between most Indian Inks more of the time.
Prismacolor Pencil 2H & Eraser
These items felt very stock to me. Since I was erasing the pencil after inking, I found I might actually prefer worse pencils as they are grainier and run less of a risk of leaving behind an impression. That being said this difference was negligible- work with what you enjoy. In the past, I would pencil and then use a light box to help ink over the original piece- these pencils would be better for that work flow- so when you have a more dedicated area for working on your projects I could see the The Prismacolor pencils as superior. I’ve explored the pencil more as well here.
Even for the type of style that the Prismacolor Pencils give- I feel like I can get a superior version from Kasimir k-2014 graphite pencils. While Prismacolor might be a better light mix and Pentalic, I find all of the benefits and none of the negatives with Kasimir. While I tried the Prismacolor 2H for this process I couldn’t imagine switching to that pencil in the future.
The eraser broke on me when I was erasing graphite from my first finished ink piece. I used the two pieces for the rest. I’ve never really thought about professional pros and cons of erasers but maybe its time I start to think about it. This eraser broke waaaay too easy.
