Imagine holding an ink medium, older than your country.

Hey look! Its those things!!! The things even I didnt know what they were 🤭

I'd like to see Jazza try this again with all the advice from the comments.

Everyone's heart dropped when he destroyed that white ink stick

Fun fact: The grinding of the ink does play some purpose in the creative process. Master calligraphers will often sit and play their instrument to become inspired with an idea for their poem, then as they are grinding the ink, they compose the words for the poem they are about to write. Basically, the ink grinding itself can be part of the creative process.

The script is an ancient Chinese script, called the "seal script" （篆書）, that is 3,000 years old, popularized in the Qin （秦） dynasty. It reads ”五彩墨“, five-colored ink.

"No noise and no inkstone scratching indicates high-quality ink sticks" Jezza's setup: Inkstone Scratched AF and sounds like sandpaper grinding :D

The Chinese writing that he wrote is literally “ink”

I died inside a little when you mutilated that poor white ink stick for no reason.

Looking at this kinda hurts my Chinese soul, we use rice paper (宣纸), as it is more absorbent and thinner. I personally had learnt ink drawing for a year or two, using them on rice paper and normal paper is two different experience. Btw he needs to rub the stick more for more consistent and darker colour. You usually have a pool of really concentrated colour, water it down for lighter colour, adding a drop or two of black ink to make it darker, having that 5 sticks really is enough to draw a colourful drawing with sense of depth.

I’d like to see you revisit this medium after doing the proper research/getting rice paper

I really think you could have used this as an opportunity to learn the cultural aspects of this medium and how to properly use it. Would have been a great educational experience for you and your viewers.

The words on the inksticks are chinese, "五彩墨" meaning Five colored ink for writing. However it was written in an ancient chinese font which may be kinda hard to recognise. Thanks ​@Blackmesh for correcting me I can't read 😂

Instructions: *exist* Jazza:...Yall hear something?

The use of ink sticks comes from actually a pretty simple principle: ink is an "expanding" type product, like Kool-Aid. Ink sticks could be manufactured in a workshop near the raw resources, and then boxed up and shipped en-masse to calligraphers, who already had a source of water nearby. So it makes sense to ship them dry, which also allows the ink to be shipped in relatively inexpensive and less durable packaging, and then allow the end-user to assemble the components into liquid ink. I've had an inkstone on my wishlist for the better part of 2 years, but haven't had the disposable funds to throw at it yet.

Ohh yeah, I've played with these as a kid. I'm Chinese and I think I got a set from somewhere. Only black ink though, and I have no idea where my set is rn, but it's somewhere at home. I honestly don't mind someone experimenting with things like this because that's exactly what I did with mines, but at some point, it would be nice to see him try to use these in the way you're supposed to.

I wouldn't mind seeing more experiments with historic painting mediums. I'd love to see what you do with ancient Egyptian pigments/binders.

When you subscribed to Jazza, you've unknowingly signed a contract to be okay with whatever expensive art supplies he ruins.

As beautiful as the artwork was, he should try again but this time with some help from the comments and tutorials.

I died a bit, seeing how he treated them... And he kept adding water...

If I remember correctly, grinding the ink stones was to be "meditative", so the painter was in a calm, contemplative mood when starting to paint.

The destruction of that white stick made me die a little in the inside

I'm Chinese and this is a very confusing vid to watch THE WHITE STICK- OH MY HEART THE SACRIFICES FOR SCIENCE :')

if you enjoyed these already, you absolutely have to try out a decent quality traditional black ink stick sometimes. they are an absolte joy to use! PS: use the end as flat as it is, to keep grinding surface area flat. only use a few drops of water to grind up thick creamy black, and dilute it in the deep end of that stone.

Yeah, we mess with those in school in Taiwan. It's very terrifying to walk into a room and find your kids playing with them and it's all over the walls.

my Chinese teacher would have an aneurysm watching you grind that ink! She always taught me to make full, slow, neat circles hahaha I did calligraphy with these as part of my Chinese lessons! EDIT: to add to that, I think your ink was way too watery, Jazza! A little water goes a long way and makes a much more pigmented ink! Also try grinding with the ink stick tip flat against the stone, so that more pigment can rub off every time you circle around!

Actually the act of making Sumi Ink is an important part of the process in creating calligraphy for special occasions like temple ceremonies. I always looked at it as a cross between something like the Japanese tea ceremony and the daily ritual of a cabinet maker sharpening their tools in the morning. Even the act of grinding took on meaning. In China they would grind in circular patterns on the flat end and in Japan they would grind at an angle on the edge in a straight line.

I’m showing this video to any of my ink sticks that are acting up, thanks Jazza!

"A quality inkstick should not scratch or damage the ink stone." Jazza's ink stone: *is pale as a ghost after using*

Should we tell him that kinesthetic learning doesn't have to mean without instruction?

It’s a really great way to store your pigment before tubes and plastic!

So you've got three primary colors: Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails.

I like the fact that this was uploaded 4 days before Chinese new year/Lunar year

If they hold your interest enough Jazza, there's a Japanese take on ink sticks, in an art form called Sumi-e. It's focused on trying to capture the impression of something rather than the hard direct details, and discourages trying to fix mistakes. Consider looking into it!

It’s cool as shit but you definitely didn’t use enough of the “ink”. Add a tab bit of water and the ink stick. Don’t add more water afterwards, just keep grinding until it’s thick enough like an actual paint. I like your watercolor pic though

Watching you scrape and mangle the white ink stick broke my heart. If I were to do that back in my school's chinese calligraphy class, I would have been smacked so hard by my teacher.

I immediately recognized those as Chinese ink sticks, though I feel that your friend should have sent you a black ink stick as well since that is a fundamental color! These are used in traditional Chinese ink painting and calligraphy though you traditionally use it with a máo bǐ 毛笔 or brush. They look similar to watercolor brushes but actually have a core inside which helps contain the ink. Moreover customarily you use xuan paper, a type of absorbent paper made of mulberry fiber. Grinding the ink was an important and meditative process for Chinese calligraphers and painters and was customarily done slowly. The art form of practicing ink and brush art still persists today in many East Asian families. My grandfather was a calligrapher and one of my great-aunts is a guohua painter.

I always struggled with making the black ink 😅 it’s on a black stone, so it’s really hard to tell if you’ve actually added any pigment to the ink or if it’s still just water 😂

I used these in my gifted class, about 36 years ago. I loved every minute of it, as we painted Chinese scripts on rice paper and we used bamboo paint brushes. This is the only lesson that I even remember learning about, in 5th grade!

The Chinese inside me screamed like a dying hyena when I saw the white ink stick came out from the glass of water. I used to help my dad grind these when I was young and he taught me calligraphy to draw for Chinese New Year decorations... *cries*..

It’s supposed to be ground slowly, rhythmically and methodically. It is known to put one into a very meditative state. Expect to invest about 5 full minutes grinding before achieving the end result.

as a mix of southeast and East Asian living in SEA, it genuinely surprised me when you had no idea what the ink sticks were! goes to show how far the world has come in letting everyone share their cultures ✨

I almost cried as I watch this whole video. He did great studying the ink, and I'm not trying to bash. It's just as a Chinese-Korean who has their very traditional parents sending them to Chinese chaligraphy lessons, I really want to teach him how to use it.

Gosh I literally teared up when he started mutilating his poor white sumi stick. I've only done Calligraphy and Sumi-e for a little bit but watching this video I saw just about every rule broken in both art forms within the first three minutes. Nevertheless, I'm happy that Jazza enjoyed playing around with the sumi ink cause thats the real reason I started to do Sumi-e in the first place. So if he had fun than I see no real harm done. However, I think it would be interesting to see him try to do Sumi-e properly so he can see how difficult it is. even for an artist like him it would be difficult cause the strokes are so precise technically and yet still so simple in form. He would have to reevaluate everything he has learned as an artist which I think would make for an interesting video.

These are sumi ink sticks that are traditionally used in calligraphy (in both China and Japan), called shodou in Japanese (書道; the calligraphy is called "shodou", that is), and they're epic. I've used them to write traditional calligraphy on rice paper myself, in the traditional (and most effective) process, using a traditional brush (fude/筆 in Japanese) and they're the best combination in the world... peanut butter and jelly doesn't even compare. The ink is thick af and flows like a dream, and the brush holds the ink incredibly well. Also, it produces strokes that are impossible to produce with normal painting brushes. I've also tried to do calligraphy using and experimenting with other kinds of inks and brushes, but nothing came even close to what a duo of sumi ink and fude can do. I dream of buying someday a sumi ink tablet, ink stone, traditional rice paper and a set of different sizes of fude brushes (the calligraphies I wrote were in a few workshops held for Japanese language students like myself and they provided the materials) but they're hella expensive 😞

Ancient chinese memes be like: Me: Finishes ink stick without losing it People: He is too dangerous to keep alive!

That's the prettiest piece I've seen you do. That is beautiful!

so Korea has this too. called Mok. It's my primary medium and I use it from shading with a brush to using pen nibs to draw line art. I did inktober with only Mok.

The best Jazza videos are the ones where doesn't know what the hell he's doing

it hurt my heart to see him destroy the white stick. it was so pretty before ㅠㅠ ㅠㅠ

I had a kid’s calligraphy kit when I was younger! I believe I bought it at a bookstore. It came with a tiny ink stone, a black ink stick, a few rolls of calligraphy paper, an itty bitty porcelain water dish the size of a bottle cap, and an instruction booklet with the animals of the zodiac.

Dear Jazza. I believe that I need to thank you. For about five years (on and off) 😀 I have found inspiration and good times in your posts. I can only imagine how hard it is to keep posting. But I know I speak for a lot of people when I say Thank you Jazza. Please keep doing what you do. Best wishes from DK

These grinding sticks are a piecd of art themselves. The sticks and also the packaging are so pretty!

I am a kinaesthetic learner too but it would have been nice if he actually looked up directions later at the end of the video just to see if maybe there were ways to improve it and use it better. Anyway this was a fun video for the coming up Lunar/Chinese New Year!! :) Happy New Year to all the Asian fans out there (And anyone else who celebrates it!) :D I Hope its full of many blessings!

in the older times you will have an assistant who's task is just grind the ink in the best consistency. It's an art even the grinding part of it.

thanks for constantly reminding me that art ain't about printing out grade A work non stop and there's still loads of room to mess around and have fun

I love how Jazza just doesn’t give af about doing stuff wrong, he just jumps right in and it somehow always ends up looking great 😆 my talentless ass could never

My old music teacher went to Asia (I can’t remember where exactly so I’m generalizing I’m so sorry) and had gotten over a hundred of these for us to use for our paper puppet play and watching you do this reminds me of helping her after hours for the week beforehand

Would really love it if you tried these inks on Xuan paper, which is the medium they’re made to be used on!

Just recently I watched a traditional Japanese stamp maker use those ink sticks and you should take a look on his technique. He got incredibly good results out of just a few scraps on that board 😬👍🏼

Finally, a medium i know about before jazza and i'm cringing at all of jazza's attempts to use them.

The teachers be like: you done with painting? Chinese modern student: I'm still working on producing color

I feel like ink grinding would be so soothing and satisfying

seeing an inventors type approach towards art is what makes these videos really interesting

I wish you had done a little more research after the intial trial, I feel like there's a lot of interesting things you missed

In all honesty i would have never guessed i was using an inkstick as a lucky charm if i didn't watch this video

I absolutely love the dragon and the landscape both! You are so talented!

I swear jazz a you keep impressing me with your art skills man

Humans using this for the past 2600 years: 💪💪💪

"I dont think I like that green" Kasey Golden would like to know your location

I hike a lot of mountains and have been wanting to paint some of the memories along the way this seems like a great process for painting in the wilderness!

as always.. Jazza's arts are amazing!

So, apparently ancient China had laws on the number of toes you can give the dragons you draw. 3 for peasants/commoners, 4 for noblemen, and 5 toes were reserved for the emperor himself. Using too many toes was considered treason and was punishable by not only your death, but the death of your entire clan/extended family. Dunno how true this is, but it's funny, so I'll share it anyway.

As a Chinese person, I am interested and happy that you did this! :D Thank you for expressing the culture!

Wow that's truly ART ! I looooved it 😍

As a kid, dry watercolors were a standard school supply and we would just wet the brush and mash it around in the colors. Everything turned out brown and it basically ruined the water colors. My first art lesson, after my grandma saw me ruining my watercolors,was her showing me how to actually use them. She showed me the lid had sections and she taught me to use those to mix in. You add your clean water in the lid compartments, use a wet brush to pick up a single color then proceed to color your water in each section,a different color. Use a clean brush each time you pick up a new color and it will keep the set clean and not turn ever color muddy. It was a priceless lesson that I still use to this day and I've taught countless other kids to use that technique as well. Thank you for the great art lessons ,grandma! I love you and miss you a ton. I wish I could sit with you and paint along to Bob Ross just once😢😊 no doubt you're in a better place now and in zero pain. See ya later gram😊

I remember a few years back, we had this extracurricular class that taught Chinese calligraphy at school (I’m Chinese), and we were each given a black ink stick and a tray. It’s very fun to make the ink yourself. and it’s nice to see people learning about different things in other cultures .

I really love how you took these really old, rare, and unique ink sticks and insisted on ABSOLUTELY DESTROYING THE WHITE ONE 😂😂🤦‍♀️

Art has never made me feel this good. There is a sort of serenity that I get from it. I can "feel" the art.

omg i must say for a first timer jazza has very good chinese handwriting/ calligraphy!! good job jazza!

I cringed at the amount of water that was initially poured on the stone.

the fact that i didnt even know those existed was already mindblowing

i just wanted to say i enjoy your videos so much they always can brighten my day keep up the great work

Watching your videos has helped my son learn that number one art is ok for boys to like since he has been teased in school, you can do anything with practice, and that it is ok that he learns in the way you do! From my 11 year old and myself ❤️ thank you

this is meant for Chinese calligraphy, and you're supposed to grind it until it's kinda thick, but you do you.

Traditional Chinese painting with these inks was actually the first art medium/style I learnt as a child and what got me into art! This is a throwback for me 😅

I really want that landscape painting to put it on my wall near my bed. Ahhhh. So cool!! Love it. Well done❣️

That is such a beautiful piece of art!

It would be cool to see him go through a tutorial on how they’re traditionally used to see if he could come up with something entirely different.

Imagine trying that 2000 year old ink medium... With your 100 year old pen🤔

"can these be used for art?" YES! look up sumi-e paintings :) my suggestion, having used them myself in the past, is to make a very saturated version of each color and place them in your palette, you can desaturate them by adding water :) its very fun!

in art school we once had a teacher for half a year or so, and we did japanese art stuff with these, an drawing with few strokes and make great art. I was realy good in waterfalls and trees. Its so nice to work with this stuff. As long as you know what you do

Oh god, this gives me war flashbacks from grade school when my chinese teacher would critique me harshly for my brush calligraphy. "A chicken steps on the ink and runs across the paper, and it would look better than your writing!" She was a hard ass. To be fair though, my calligraphy sucked. 🤷‍♀️

"I can try calligraphy, and I could try art." Calligraphic artists: ; - ;

All the art pieces you made were AMAZING but I especially liked the last one you made, the tree, mountains, and man made it look nice

That final painting is amazing!

I always get these notifications during online school!

Why do the ink stick look like they taste good

When I lived in Japan, I took several calligraphy classes. Easily the most difficult style of art I've ever tried. We learned all about these inksticks and were even shown how to use them.

That landscape portrait looks amazing