Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens Review

Lisa Brody at Faber-Castell was nice enough to send me a package filled with various PITT Artist Pens to review. I will be breaking down the different sets of the Pitt Pens she sent me into multiple posts.

This first review is of Faber-Castell's set of four Black Fineliner PITT Artist Pens. The set comes with four different sized nibs, X-superfine, Superfine, Fine and Medium. The ink in the PITT Artist Pen line is great for everything from sketching to finished inking and because they are waterproof they also work great with watercolor paint. The reusable pouch they come in makes this a great little set to have for home use or travel.

This is a sample of the line width of the X-superfine nib.

Here is the Superfine nib.

The Fine nib.

The Medium nib.

I used the Superfine sized nib to sketch out these mash-ups of Peanuts characters with superheroes.

I finished inking them using the Medium, Fine and X-superfine nibs. I then colored them with colored pencils.

This is Charlie Brown as Captain America.

Here is Lucy as Wonder Woman.

Pig-Pen as The Thing.

Linus as Batman.

Woodstock as Robin.

Sally as the Invisible Woman (Sue Storm).

And finally Snoopy as the Green Lantern.

The group inked and colored.

Overall I find the Faber-Castell PITT Black Fineliner Artist Pens to be workhorses that I use everyday. Whether it's just sitting around watching TV and sketching or working on a finished piece the PITT Artist Pens are always my first choice. The ink quality is consistent, they are reasonably priced and they last quite awhile.

Thanks again to Lisa Brody at Faber-Castell for sending me these fine products to review. Be sure to check back for future reviews of Faber-Castell products as well as more product reviews of Pilot Pens and Strathmore Artist Papers. Of course there will also be more Cartoonist Surveys. Both of the next two upcoming Cartoonist Survey participants have received awards from the National Cartoonists Society, FoxTrot's Bill Amend and illustrator Mark Brewer.

Strathmore Bristol Visual Journals Review

I received a package from Jeanette at Strathmore Artist Papers filled with all kinds of paper to review. There were quite a few types included so I will break them down into a couple of posts.

This first review is of the Strathmore Bristol Visual Journals. So what exactly is a Visual Journal? Quoting from the Strathmore website, "...it's whatever you imagine it to be. It’s an inviting canvas. An open and comfortable place where pens meet paintbrushes, colored pencils meet glued photos, markers meet magazine clippings, and found objects find a home." The Visual Journals come in three sizes, 3.5" x 5", 5.5" x 8" and 9" x 12". They also come in six types of paper; Bristol – Smooth and Vellum, Drawing, Mixed Media and 90lb and 140lb Watercolor.

(As always, click on any of the pictures for a larger view.)

For this review Frankie volunteered to help out.

The 9" x 12" Vellum Bristol.

The 5.5" x 8" Smooth Bristol.

This shows the thickness of the Bristol Visual Journals. The Vellum Bristol one has 24 sheets and the Smooth Bristol has 28 sheets.

All of the Strathmore Visual Journals have wire binding that allows the journal to lie flat and open up 360 degrees.

There is a nice looking hard cover under the paper one.

An inviting blank sheet of paper...

...waiting for ink.

This shows the line weight from different writing/drawing instruments on the Vellum Bristol.

Here is the same as above but on the Smooth Bristol.

This was done on a single sheet of the Vellum Bristol while still in the Visual Journal. I drew it up, inked it and quickly colored it with colored pencils. I then used an X-Acto knife to cut around the drawings and folded them up to make a scene from one of my favorite seasonal cartoons, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown".

Halloween is only a couple of months away so I also did some quick monster drawings. These were drawn in the Smooth Bristol Visual Journal and inked with a Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen size F.

The Strathmore Bristol Visual Journals have great quality paper, are very sturdy and look like they would hold up well under any creative endeavor. The 9" x 12" Vellum Bristol lists for $14.99 and the 5.5" x 8" Smooth Bristol lists for $8.59, but if you head over to Dick Blick you can purchase all of the Strathmore Visual Journals for 49% or more off the list price.

I want to thank Jeanette at Strathmore Artist Papers again for allowing me to try these out.

Check back for additional reviews of the remaining Strathmore Artist Papers, Faber - Castell Pitt Artist Pens/Brushes and of course more Cartoonist Surveys.

Pilot Art Supplies Review - Part Two

I'm still working my way through the box of Pilot art supplies that Amy and Robin at Pilot Pens sent. I figured I would combine the following three mechanical pencils in the review since they all use the same size lead (.05mm HB).

(As always click on any of the pictures for a larger view.)

The first in the bunch is the Pilot REXGRIP .05mm mechanical pencil.

Second is the Pilot G2 .05mm mechanical pencil.

The last one is the Pilot H-325 mechanical pencil.

Here is the Pilot ENO .05mm HB lead refill.

I also received this box of replacement Pilot mechanical pencil erasers and needles.

The three pens and the lead refill.

A closer view.

Sketchbook drawings using the Pilot mechanical pencils.

Closeup of the Pilot .05mm HB lead line.

All three mechanical pencils worked well. The .05mm HB lead didn't even break once while using the pencils, which is unusual because I don't have a light hand while drawing. The REXGRIP was my favorite, followed closely by the G-2 and then the H-325. Any of the three would be a great pencil to bring along for sketching. However, because the erasers are on the small side, either don't make any mistakes or be sure to carry along some refills.

Thanks again to Amy and Robin for sending these out. Click here to see the entire line of Pilot products.

Check back for additional reviews on the remaining Pilot products, plus Strathmore paper and Faber-Castell Pitt products.

Zebra SARASA SE Pen Review and Giveaway

Laurie and Lauren at Zebra Pen Corporation sent me a 4-pack of the Zebra SARASA SE .07 gel pens to try.

(As always, click on any of the pictures for a larger view.)

Here’s a brief description of the SARASA SE from Zebra’s website, “Developed from the feedback of over 50,000 consumers, the SARASA SE boasts features most important to consumers including ink visibility, superior gel ink for a scratch-free write, a strong metal clip and a complex textured grip. This grip stands out among others due to its extreme durability, which can be tested pre-purchase through the package cut outs. Available in 8 vibrant colors – perfect for color coding.”

The 4-pack contains two black, one blue and one red ink gel pen.

The design of the SARASA SE is pretty slick and the textured grip is very comfortable.

I tried them out on both 90lb sketchbook paper and in a Rhodia Webnotebook. They write very smoothly, though there was a bit of scratchiness on the sketchbook paper. One thing I immediately noticed though, was that these pens don’t leave the usual skips in ink (or holidays as my dad calls them) that a lot of gel pens seem to do.

Here is some doodling I did with the Zebra SARASA SE. They did leave a few globs of ink in spots, but are still a fun pen to draw with.

Rumor has it that they can also be used to fight off Godzilla.

Overall I found the Zebra SARASA SE .07 a comfortable pen to use with good quality ink. I’ll use them more for note taking and doodling at work than for finished art. You should definitely try them out for yourself and Zebra has made it easy for one reader of David Wasting Paper to do that.

For your chance to win a 4-pack of Zebra SARASA SE .07 pens for yourself, just leave a comment on this post with your contact email address anytime between now and Friday, August 5, 2011, prior to midnight Eastern Time. Only one entry per person and this giveaway is limited to US residents. I will choose a winner randomly from all of the comments using Random.org. I'll post the contest winner on Saturday, August 6, 2011.

Thanks again to Laurie, Lauren and Zebra Pen Corporation for sending me the pens!

Zebra Pen products can be found nationwide at Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Walmart, K-Mart, and other office supply stores, discount chains, food and drug retailers, stationery stores and wholesale clubs. For more information on Zebra Pen products, programs and promotions, log onto www.zebrapen.com or visit its online store, www.store.zebrapen.com.

Pilot Art Supplies Review - Part One

I received a package from Amy and Robin at Pilot Pens loaded with art supply goodies to review. There were quite a lot of items so I thought I'd break it out into a few posts. This first review is of the Pilot G-TEC-C (Gel Rolling Ball) ultra fine needle point pens and the Pilot V Razor Point (Liquid Ink Marker) pens.

(As always, click on any of the pictures for a larger view.)

Wally Gator and Underdog volunteered to act as Vanna White.

Here are the pens freed from their packages.

Dr. Doom also decided to get in on the action.

The Pilot G-TEC-C (0.4 mm).

This shows the line width of the Pilot G-TEC-C (0.4 mm).

The Pilot V Razor Point (extra fine).

This shows the line width of the Pilot V Razor Point (extra fine).

The ink from both pen styles flows well and the colors are vibrant. While I liked using both, I have to say my personal preference, especially for drawing, is the Pilot V Razor Point. Both sets of pens work great for sketching and drawing, but would also work well for note taking in different colors.

Thanks again to Amy and Robin for sending these out. Click here to see the entire line of Pilot products. Check back for additional reviews on the remaining Pilot products they sent me.