Microns: Loved them. Still use them. But I always seem to get the ones that "explode" on me.

I don't use pens a whole lot (I usually prefer digital drawing), but of what I've tried, I like hard-nib brush pens. They're smaller and the lines don't get thick on you so fast, so they're easier to control, but they still give you line variation.

There are all these wonderful pens out there and some of them you don't even hear about. One that I REALLY like is some brand named "Finito" and they have these "porous point pens" and they work really similar to how technical pens work but they feel absolutely amazing. Unlike most technical pens, this one just feels like it glides across paper surfaces really quick and easy and make these beautiful crisp lines. It acts like a technical pen, but feels a lot smoother.

Technical pens are very fun to stipple with as well

Of course the person that explains pens would be the creator of Inktober lol This is really helpful. I really want to use a technical pen cuz I love 'em crisp 'n clean lines, but I've only used a ball pen since I don't buy pens I don't use for school.

Thanks for this video. I watched it last year when I got back into drawing, and found it extremely informative. Watching it a year later is also really fun because I remember how utterly lost I was before, but now I have so much experience and knowledge on the subject. It's really an accomplishment for me, and this video played a part in my success and therefore happiness. Kudos.

I just use a Zebra .5 ballpoint and I love the thin, accurate line it creates. It gives all my drawings a technical look even when using organic lines.

Brush pens are hard. I always end up pushing them too hard.

Thank you. I have recently been trying to ink my drawings more so this will really help me.

I like your studio, can you give a tour?

It's great that you very experienced ones bother to give tips to us rookies.

Right to the point with some solid information, much appreciated. Thank you!

Dip pen is probably my favorite. I originally started using them for animation cel painting, but nowadays I use Sakura micro-perm for that, but love the feel of the dip pen on paper. Try Deleter black 4 ink. It's ultra-dark, waterproof, and dries fast so there's basically no bleeding. You do need to dip often to keep it from drying on the nib, but that also means you never have to worry about running out of ink mid-stroke. It's no good on cels though (doesn't adhere to plastic).

I use all 4 pens you showed, and still having a hard time using the brush pen haha.. Can't wait for inktober, though. I hope I don't stop in the middle just like last year :')

Thank you for this video! I always ask myself what pen I should get, now I know which ones to consider

Thanks. This summer i got turned on to fountain pens. My favorites are Lamy Safari and TWSBI ECO. I have deAtramentis Document Ink in the TWSBI for waterproof work. Goulet Pens have great jnfo about them . What i enjoy most is the glide of the nib on paper and that the pen is refillable. This is my first Inktober and ive used fountain pens as my primary tool.

Possibly the best comparison video I've ever seen on KZfaq

Personally I love to use The microns for inking they work greatly

I have a Rotring nib-pen with a cartridge. You can get different colour ink-cartridges and different size nibs, and the cool thing is when you blend it out with a water-brush. You get this cloudy, sketchy look I really like. Come to think of it, I haven't used it for a while, so now you've prompted me to go grab it!

Great video showing a nice selection of pens...it is always great to explore different makes/type of pens. I am always on the lookout for new pens to try out. Big thumbs up :)

I've been using these plans for years and one thing I made a habit of five lines per dip as long as you keep that in mind you won't have no broken lines in your work

Im enjoying my old fountain pens this season ..

Great video Jake. Sometimes it seems menial, but pen quality can really make a major difference in you drawing quality. For a long time, I couldn't find a HI-tec C anywhere so I just used a similar ballpoint with archival ink. When I finally ordered a Hi-tec it was incredible the difference in line quality it made. Additionally, I like to keep at least one regular Bic ballpoint for regular sketching just because of the texture variation you can get from light to thin, it makes for some interesting shading effects.

Nice presentation and discussion, thanks. After years of looking for the "perfect" pen for cartooning, mostly messing with dip pens -- I wanted some flex, but easier to control than a brush -- I ended up mostly using a fountain pen. Some are almost as smooth to use as a felt-tip, there are some very black inks, and a range of choices for broad/fine lines and stiffness/flex. My faves are a Pelikan M800 and a MontBlanc 149 (both with Broad nib), but there are far cheaper pens with similar qualities too. Fountain pens are another whole rabbit hole to go down, but I put the idea out there for those who are still searching!

"Muscle memory and neuro pathways" to be able to use a Brush Pen? Maybe that's why I'm still not used to it. LMAO

Take a shot everytime he says pen

I like the Tombow Fudenosuke better than technical pens. It's a short felt brush pen and it's really easy to get consistent line widths and really easy to vary the line widths.

I love the brush pen and I am super comfortable with it.

Hey Jake! Love the channel. I’ve noticed you’ve been doing more watercolor recently and was wondering if you might consider a tutorial video on it. I’m new to the medium myself. Thanks!

I've got some really nice pens, but i only end up using 3 pens ever, a .005 Pigma Micron, a Hard Tip Tombow Fudenosuke, and a Brush Pen that came with my Microns. I have all sorts of other sizes and different types of pens but it's hard to know how to more to my art! this was helpful, your brush pen lines are great!

My go-to pen is the Hi Tech-C (I think it has a different name now). My reason for this is that it is fairly compatible with most 'Markers',... Copic markers being what I use, work well with these pens. Copic has it's own pens (the technical pen you feature here) but they 'feel' kind of awkward to my hand. they do, actually, have a non-refillable version of these pens that is probably the best to use, but they seem to go dry quicker than the Hi-Tech-C pens.

Your an amazing artist. Love the videos, keep it up.

Thanks for sharing your pen preferences. I'm always on the lookout for the perfect pen (I don't think it really exists). The type of pen that I most use is the Hunt 102 crowquill nib pen. It is just the right size for line and hatching, offering a good variety of line weight. Also, here's a little professional tip when working with nibs: use an ink that has a dropper for the lid. Then instead of dipping the pen, drop the ink into the nib. This is a much cleaner way to work and I think this makes it to where you don't have to reload the nib as much.

Hey Jake, awesome video, as always, a simple and efficient way to talk about pros and cons of the differents types of pens. I have a little recommandation (from experience), I discover the g-tech a year now and it's my top pen for the reasons you mentionned. And this summer, I try the moleskine 0.5mm Ball Point Pen and it's a (expensive but) good product. It's like the g-tech but with a thicker and perhaps organic line but especially regular, unlike the g-tech, the ink always comes out. Maybe it worth a shot for you :) Also when you need to fill, a alternative to the copic, there's the George Lalo Creapenn (a french product but I guess you can find it). It's simply the best for big and wide spaces to fill in a illustration. The ink is incredibly dark and you don't see the strokes, it's a perfect black. I use it for Inktober 2016 and he's always with me now ! Voilà, if you want to try new things to do your awesome stuff ;)

You are so good at machinery! I try to draw robots and concept vehicles like you, but I am always underwhelmed when I try, be cause I struggle to get all the details in, like at the joints, with all the gears and pipes. I would love for you to make a video about how you do that.

Nice comprehensive review and practical recommendations

Brush pens, G pens, and microns are my forever faves. I love stadleter, and Copic microns.

Thanks for the recommendations, Jake!

Great video! You should do one of sketchbooks. I'm making my own and just can't decide which size should I do

recently took up a challenge and did a month of sketching using a ballpoint pen only using two different a 0.7 tip, two brands i played with Pilot BPS GP and the Uni Lakubo. Glad I did it, it's a one take process, but in 0.7 it's very forgiving. As a personal preference I still prefer pencil work first and then using fineliners.

My favorite is the brush pen because for the cartoons that I draw I need like thick and thins with texture and also so I can fill in all the blanks

you can use a brush with ink to achieve a nice touch

I am a huge and distant fan...he he, Thanks Jake for the video, quite useful! I am still trying to overcome my own weaknesses...only practice will help...as old Chuck Yeager used to say "It´s the man, not the machine...." congrats! you inspire us

I use Copic multiliners. I love them because I have many different sizes that you can use and they don't bleed when I use them with my Copic markers.

Great video. Now, how about a video on the different kinds of paper and what makes each one better for different types of drawing.

perfect for inktober!🖋🖌

Omg 😱 is that ur art room?! So jealous 🤧❤️

This is a very good video! Very informative and captivating.

Yay! Thank you, Jake.

Thank you very much I just viewed this channel It helped me a lot

Thank you so much, I needed this video

When I really got into drawing I was really fascinated with ball point pens. You can do so much with them. I have a simple bic pen and it can do a lot. You can apply pressure and get thick black line, or almost apply no pressure and it almost looks as if you’re drawing with pencil or the ink has run out. And depending on which ball point pen you get, it can feel oh so smooth. It glides on the paper. Then I used a brush pen, I tried a marker one first, a tombow one I believe and it instantly improved my drawings and sketches. It’s almost like you can get away with poor lines from a brush pen because of the thick lines. I then picked one up from Japan town in San Francisco, the Pentel color brush pen. It was so weird and interesting. When I first set it up I was wondering why no ink was coming out so I unscrewed the ink base and squeezed it just to have ink get all over my hands. That was fun. But I like the brush pens. I think they were the most fun I have had when drawing. I also picked up to interesting pens. A micron pen, not a fine liner, a micron PN or plastic nib I think. I can’t tell if it’s just fully plastic or there’s a little marker in the tip of it, regardless I like it. It feels nice. I also got a Pentel pulaman, or stylo. It’s like if a fountain pen tip was flat plastic. It’s kind of scratchy but in an interesting way. Overall, if you want something to just have fun, brush pen 100%.

the disposables that i like to use are the pilot hi-techpoint v5 for non-water proof inks and the uni-ball vision needle for archival inks.

You kinda look like Nicholas cage

Try a soft or flex nib with a fountain pen. They aren't as messy and you have a lot of control and variation in your lines.

Thanks for this. My drawings are getting better

I never knew he had hand tremors. It's inspiring because sometimes I worry that I have slightly more shaky hands than average. But if this guy makes such beautiful art with a tremor then that goes to show that it doesn't matter if you practice enough.

Thanks Jake!

1:13 “individubal”

I love pencil and pen drawing, my favorite.

I really envy you. You’re such a good artist ! But I do love those videos where you real time draw with commentary

Yo micron black inks are the beeesssttt!

My all-time favorite ball point pens are the BIC Cristal Pens.

But what was the brush pen in the begining?

AMEIIII. I LOVED IT JAKE!

great vid. this is what i was looking for. thanks!

Another useful and interesting video. Thank you.

You earned yourself a subscriber, please don't disappoint me

Wow ! That's a really helpful video. Thanks 😮😃

could you help me with my copic multi liner sp? i bought it nine days ago and also a refill. after the first three days it was completely dry and then i put the refill in and it still doesnt work.. i dont know what to do

Great vid, very helpful! Could you recommend a paper that would be smooth enough to take a technical pen and also stay fairly flat when using watercolour washes? Thanks!

My pens of choice are those black unipin fineliners that jazza occasionally uses.

What kind of pens can you put paint over and it won't smudge the ink?

You missed fountain pens! Come on, maaaan!

Nib can make those classic beautiful comic book ink lines, but easier to control than the brush. I like the brush, but I lack the control to trust it on any important pencils I've done, not sure I'll ever master it. I usually ink with an 03 Micron then add line weight with the 05 Micron and a Faber-Castell Pitt brush for solid black areas.

Your office looking great like art gallery

I love your machinery drawings, I follow you on instagram and those drawings are awesome! I would love it if you could make a video of how u get those details in your machinery

I've been leery of using brush pens ever since I've had the first one I ever owned in a pack of Faber Castell pens that were gifted to me. I must have used it wrong because it frayed away really badly and looked bushy and spongy at the tip. I only stuck to technical pens ever since, but I remember a friend said that she loved them because of the way they feel like using a paint brush. Fast forward to now, I'm in the process of collecting a bunch of different brush pens to use in my art/incorporate into my sketching. I want to collect pens that are not only Copic Proof but also Waterproof (or at the very least has good water resistance). I'd like to use as many as I can in order to decide which is the best option and also my favorite...!

Rapidographs/isographs need to be on this list!

thank you, one question, what ink do you use in your brush pen? with respect here, Manfred here from Vienna in Austria, the land of Mozart

Great video! Thanks. I probably would have mentioned fountain pens. If you like the scratchy character of a nib but want to avoid the messiness, it's a good option.

Wow in the top 10!

How long do you think the COPIC ink brush (your favorite ink brush) lasts?

hi jake, out of all of these which would work best with alcohol based markera such as copic?

With the brush pen, what brand of ink do you use?

Pens are the best! I've used all of these, and then some and have realized that each pen has its own place in my tool chest, just like you've described. For instance, all of the bats that I drew for my latest video were done with technical pitt pens because they're fast and easy and you can sketch quickly. I'm really interested in your Copic Gasenfude! I've been really into the Pentel Pocketbrush lately for the same reasons you've listed for your Copic. Waterproofness is super important, and the depth of the black is key. My favorite ballpoint pen is the Pentel RSVP pen in fine, because MAN. That thing makes good lines and variations in tone. Only downside is sometimes the ink will clump a bit on the tip, but it's not really that bad of a problem. What are your feelings on fountain pens? I've gotten three and I'm not necessarily sure about them, yet. Some remind me of nib pens, which I love (including for the scratching!!!), but others remind me of.... sadness.

I've recently started drawing with Rotting Art pen. What's the best type of Paper to use with Fountain pens ? T.i.a.

maybe clariy what tip your tech pens are. I have Koh-i-noor with steel tips and copic with felt tips. what is your pens?

Nice tips! Thanks!

YAY he included my favorite school pen! tech-c

Frixxion pens! Great for sketching, erasable with heat. The Pilot G-2 is great for line work. The plus side? Both are cheap and take refills.

is micron pen are durable we can refill ink in them

Are you familiar with the mars 700? It predates the mars Matic 700. I can't figure out how to fill it with ink. Please help me!

Any pen recommendations that last long, are cheap, easy to find (like at the art store or even Walmart), and doesn't smudge with erasers unless of course you're using a crappy eraser

Your so good at giving advice so much detail, telling people more then what others would, I’m trying to get into drawing hearing your honest thoughts and knowledge I really appreciate it!. With technical pen what would you recommend? I’m currently doing a drawing for a group I’m In which they say the drawing I do has to be perfect

How is cleanup with the calligraphy pen (nib) ? I like the Faber Castell Pitt artist pens so far, and I like how the ink in both permanent where it needs to be and easy to wash off where it isn't desired (like skin.) And what precautions do you take when using them, so not to spill the ink, get it on your hands or mess up your image when drawing?

What kind of brush pen is it that I see you using with the Korean words on them or w.e. language it is .

For my finished pieces I use microns. But now I'm trying to find something for my sketchbook. Something that I can buy in bulk with a fine line like microns

Does drawing with a paper mate pen count?

my favorite is brush and tech and ball tbh