Art Supplies Review: Rikagaku Kitpas Wet-Erase Crayons

Art Supplies Review: Rikagaku Kitpas Wet-Erase Crayons

Review by Tina Koyama

Years ago when I was making abstract, mixed-media collages, one of my favorite media was Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels. I don’t use them for urban sketching because the broad crayon sticks require larger paper than I want to carry, but I remember the fun of making huge scribbles, and then releasing the pigments with water. When I saw a set of Rikagaku Kitpas Wet-Erase Crayons (set of 12 for $16), they immediately called to mind that kind of fun, but at a lower price than artist-quality Neocolors.

2 - Kitpas box back

The box, which secures with an elastic band, includes a small well for water. The lid can be used to make color swatches or sketches that will wipe clean like a whiteboard.

3 - Kitpas box opened

I chose the set in which each crayon is encased in a plastic holder that retracts the crayon tip when not in use and keeps hands clean during use. (JetPens also offers a second set of 12 chunkier, paper-wrapped crayons for the same price.) The retractable mechanism seemed like an unnecessary gadget when I first saw it, but as soon as I used it, I liked it – it does keep my hands cleaner and probably also prevents the soft sticks from breaking.

4 - Kitpas crayon closeup

5 - Kitpas retracted

6 - Kitpas extended

“Sure to please people of all ages, especially kids,” Kitpas crayons are much softer than Crayolas or Neocolor IIs. Applied to paper, they feel more like lipstick – very smooth, waxy and slippery. Like a grease pencil, they can also be used on windows, plastic, whiteboards and other non-porous surfaces, then easily wiped clean. 

7 - non-porous surface

Caution: They remain tacky and smudgeable, even when you may not want them to. For example, to carry that glass jar back into the house after taking the photo, I had put it under my forearm so I could carry other things. The crayon left marks on my arm and shirt. I also found traces on my scan bed after scanning the sketch. Easily removed from all surfaces with a towel, however. 

I tested the Kitpas with techniques I commonly use with water-soluble pencils (tests made on 140-pound Canson XL mixed media paper). The crayons don’t contain as much pigment as artist-quality products do, but they release adequately with water applied with a brush or finger. 

8 - Kitpas testing

9 - Kitpas tests - scanned

Although the view isn’t inspiring, our backyard deck is shady and comfortable all day. On a warm Sunday afternoon, I took the Kitpas set out there to sketch the unkempt bushes and trees between our yard and our neighbors’. After scribbling on the color, I used a spritzer to activate the pigment efficiently and touched it up with a waterbrush. After it dried, I scribbled on a bit more dry crayon in some areas. Because they are so soft and slippery, they are fun and easy for loose, free sketching and less intimidating than high-priced, artist-quality sticks. (Sketch made on 113-pound Fabriano Accademia watercolor paper.)

10 - sketching on the deck

11 - Kitpas crayons, Fabriano 113 lb

My natural tendency is to make sketches that are more tightly rendered and detailed than I sometimes want. Using fat crayons is a sure antidote for that kind of tightness – no tiny details possible! If you don’t need artist quality, Kitpas crayons are a good value. Your kids might like them too, but get them their own set so you won’t have to fight over them.


DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. This review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

tina-koyamaTina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

Fountain Pen Review (?): PenBBS 353 Replaceable Medium Nib M

When I ordered the PenBBS replacement nib from Ebay, I wondered if it would make a cool keychain-style dip nib. Honestly, at about $10, I just thought it would be cool to have a nib on my keychain in a way that only other pen nerds would appreciate.

Pen BBS replacement nib

The nib is screwed into a keychain base and features a resin cap. The cap is a bit pointier than might be safe for most pockets but the translucent resin is pretty. There were other color options available.

Pen BBS replacement nib

When compared with my favorite pen-testing-on-the-go tools, it was clear that the PenBBS replacement nib is WAY too short to be useable like this. So what can I do with it?

Pen BBS replacement nib

It turns out the nib unit can be untwisted from the keychain base to reveal a fully functional nib unit. This is really a replacement nib!

The nib unit fits the following PenBBS models:

  • 267
  • 308
  • 309
  • 323
  • 355
  • 352
  • 480

Pen BBS replacement nib

I pulled one of my PenBBS pens out of the archive and lo and behold! The replacement nib really is an exact match.

Pen BBS replacement nib

I was able to swap out the EF nib in my pen with this “M” (its an F nib with a slightly fude tip) with no issues and pop the old nib into the “replacement nib” keychain.

Who needs this? Not very many people but if you use PenBBS pens and wanted to purchase a different nib size, this is a great way to do it and get a protective cover for it as well.

Ink Review: Vinta Inks Collections (Neon & Vintage)

Ink Review: Vinta Inks Collections (Neon & Vintage)

Vinta Vintage & neon Collections

The new Vinta Inks Collection sets have recently arrived and I couldn’t be happier– despite a little inktastrophe. There are two collections, Neon and Vintage, and each include three-15ml bottles in a divided tray in a decorated slip jacket.

Vinta Vintage & neon Collections ink swatches

The Neon Collection features a bright pink (Tagpuan Electric Pink), a bright cyan (Magnetic Blue) and a teal (Android Teal). My instinct is that these are not highlighter neon colors but a nice assortment of usable bright colors — Not eye-searingly bright but bright.  None of the colors in this collection appear to sheen but they all seem to shade nicely.

The Vintage Collection (which had dates from the 1970s on the bottles) are more what I would think of as Retro and not vintage. But that’s just me. The 70s have always seemed “retro” to me. That said, the colors in the collection are a bright blue (Pilgrim’s Blue), a dusty rose (Bini Bini) and a red orange (Silab Blaze). In the Vintage Collection, the only sheening ink is Silab Blaze. The other two colors are nice shaders.

Vintage Collection Ink Comparisons:

Vinta Vintage Collection ink comparison

I initially thought, with the sheening that Silab Blaze would be similar in color to Sailor Irori but Silab Blaze is definitely more orange where Irori is more red. There are minor differences between Vinta’s Damili Terracotta and Silab Blaze. If you already own a full bottle of Terracotta, you probably don’t need Silab as well. If you prefer non-sheening inks, Penlux Tangerine is quite similar in color just without the sheen.

Vinta Vintage Collection ink comparison

Pilgrim’s Blue immediately made me think of all of the Robert Oster blues. Surprisingly, Pilgrim’s Blue is a shade off from Robert Oster Fire & Ice, without the sheen. Colorverse Strelka and Callifolio Omi Osun are also close in color. Other inks I looked at for comparison were either lighter, darker, more teal or more desaturated (more smoky).

Vinta Vintage Collection ink comparison

The Bini Bini Pink Rose was the most unusual ink in the Vintage Set and hardest to find an apples-to-apples comparison. Robert Oster Cherry Blossom and Sailor Studio 237 are similar but with subtle differences in the tones — Cherry Blossom is more pink, Sailor Studio  237 is a bit more orange. J. Herbin Bouquet D’Antan is lighter and pinker.

The Neon Collection Comparisons:

Vinta Neon Collection ink comparison

Android Teal is one of those “sweet spot” colors for me. I can never seem to get enough of this hue. And I swatched Diamine Marine twice and didn’t even notice! From the slight difference in ink application for the Marine swatches — one having a bit heavier coverage than the other — it’s clear to see that Marine can look very similar to Android Teal though slightly more green. Coloverse Strelka is a much closer match.

Vinta Neon Collection ink comparison

Tagpuan Electric Pink is not as “electric” as many other pinks in my ink collection. I included Krishna Bauhima which is one of the brightest pinks in my collection for comparison.  iPaper Pleione Formosa is the closest color match but features a bit more purple in the ink than Electric Pink. I also included a sample of Pelikan Edelstein Tourmaline and Van Diemans Spring Fairy Orchid for comparison. Even with these ink comparisons added, Electric Pink is definitely a different color than the others shown.

Vinta Neon Collection ink comparison

The last ink is Magnetic Blue. As you can see from the swatch, this is a color created by many, many ink makers. Finding one or two comparisons seemed pointless since I had 16 that were all relatively the same color. Most notably, Magnetic Blue is the same color as Waterman Inspired Blue, Lamy Pacific Blue, Diamine Turquoise, Sheaffer Turquoise, J. Herbin Bleu Prevenche, and Robert Oster Blue River.

Conclusion:

While I love a good set of inks, I don’t really have need of these colors. There is one color from each collection that feel unique in my extremely large ink collection: Silab from the Vintage Collection and Bini Bini from the Neon collection. I would have liked the vintage collection to either be more vintage — maybe faded colors that Vinta already does so well or based on notable colors of the past (how about “Arsenic Green” and “Perkin’s Mauve“)? The Neon Collection was not NEON enough for the name, IMHO. The colors are pretty but this could have been called The 80s collection as easily as the Neon collection.

All my opinions aside, the range of colors in each set is good and the small bottles are perfect for trying new, different colors without having to commit to a lifetime supply. If you have a smaller ink collection, these would be a great way to add new range to your collection. If you have a massive ink collection, the only reason to purchase these is FOMO.

Link Love: A Surprisingly Good Week for Pencils

Link Love: A Surprisingly Good Week for Pencils

I think this week’s title says it all — it was a good week for pencil posts. There are several wonderful posts on pencil history and a guide to Blackwing Wings. It seems like a good time to start sharpening your pencils too — new planner season is coming and JetPens has created a sign-up list (link below) to be notified when your favorite planner brand drops their 2022 planners. JetPens carries many of the most popular planners like Hobonichi, Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter (spelled that without looking!), Jibun Techo, Midori and more. With COVID restrictions being lifted and more of us getting out and about in the world, ave you started plotting your planner for 2022?

Love Ana

In other news, this weekend is the Miami Pen Show which is taking place. Hopefully, its a successful event because just a couple weeks later, the DC Pen Show kicks off. I am starting to hear from folks who are vending or attending these events. Are you going? Since I started a new job a couple months ago, I don’t have the vacation time accrued to do much traveling this year but hopefully next year I can attend a show or two.

To pencils, planners and pen shows!

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

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Fountain Pen Review: Narwhal Key West

Back at the end of May, I got caught up in a discussion of the Narhwal Key West fountain pens ($55). I browsed a few sites, and then saw they were on sale at Pen Chalet. The sparkle got me and I pulled the trigger!

The Narwhal Key West is a pen with a rounded silhouette, a bit cigar shaped. The barrel, pen and cap are made of sparkly resin in your choice of two colorways: Kay Largo (a bright blue) and Islamorada (a caramel gold). The hardware is all silver including the Narwhal-stamped in house #6 steel nib, which is available in Fine or Medium.  The pen takes standard international cartridges or converters.

The cap is a screw cap, and is postable. Overall, the pen comes in fairly standard in length. Closed it is 5 5/8″ (14cm), and when writing it measures 4 7/8″ (12.5cm) from end to nib point. It’s also fairly lightweight, which I would expect for resin, coming in at around 27g.

Left to Right: Esterbrook Estie, Narwhal Key West, Carolina Pen Co. Charleston, TWSBI ECO

The obvious appeal of this pen to me are the aesthetics, but how does it stack up? It took a little while get the ink flowing smoothly through the nib, but once I got it there it writes pretty well. I got the fine nib and while not as fine as a Japanese fine, it’s no Pelikan either. It puts down a nice amount of ink. I filled it with Colorverse Supernova which I thought might be a nice match for that blue! The nib didn’t bounce or give much feedback and there’s no real line variation. There’s a bit of shading if you look closely.

I’ll be honest, I wanted to rave about this pen, and I’m not going to. It’s a nice pen and it writes well enough. At $55, if you’re a beginning collector and want to get a fun resin pen, I think it’s a pretty good deal. But I’m not going to lie – I missed the touches that I love on some of my other pens. For instance – when I went to open the pen, the metal ring made me think of of the magnetic closure on my Pineider Avatar. To be fair the Avatar was more than twice the price of the Key West, but I kept wishing the Narwhal had a bit more to it.


DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Sketchbook Review: 8 Random Sketchbooks (including HOT TAKES)

Sketchbook Review: 8 Random Sketchbooks (including HOT TAKES)

I recently realized I had accumulated quite a stack of sketchbooks to review. I was not sure the best way to present them so I decided to just review them altogether. There are EIGHT different sketchbooks from seven different companies and include different types of paper, binding methods, number of pages, price points and other variables.

Why review them together? Because when I am picking out sketchbooks, I am usually looking for some key features regardless of other variables. Specifically, I look for paper durable enough to withstand a variety of pen, ink and water tools (watercolor markers, some light watercolor, etc).

Will I reject a sketchbook if it doesn’t an elastic closure or gusseted pocket in the back? No. Am I less likely to buy a notebook again if it doesn’t lay flat? Maybe. Will I abandon or trash a sketchbook with crappy paper? Yes. Everytime.

I use sketchbooks like other people might use a regular notebook — except instead of random ideas written out, I will sketch out thumbnails for a potential new product, practice lettering and calligraphy, paint my lunch or a sleeping cat, write notes, test out new inks, glue down some random bits, etc. This means good paper is paramount. A lay flat binding is highly advantageous but if the binding is good (Smyth sewn or the like) then I can manhandle it until is does lay flat.

So, with these specifications, I decided to go ahead and include all EIGHT sketchbooks I currently have and use the same criteria to tests and compare:

  • fountain pen ink
  • watercolor test
  • various writing pens

The notebooks I tested are as follows:

Notebook

Size

Page Count

Paper Weight

Binding

Bonus features

MSRP

Stillman & Bern Alpha 90×139 mm (3.5×5.5”) 92 pages (46 sheets) 150gsm Softcover $11.95
Stillman & Bern Delta 90×139  mm (3.5×5.5”) 52 pages (26 sheets) 270 gsm Softcover $11.95
Leuchtturm 1917 Sketchbook 92×150 mm (A6) 96 page (48 sheets) 180 gsm Hardcover Two ribbon bookmarks, elastic closure, guested pocket $17.50
Mossery Sketchbook 136×193 mm 70 pages (35 sheets) 224gsm Spiral Elastic, gusseted pock front & back, ribbon bookmark, notebook canoe removed and  replaced, included inktober info $28.50
Viviva Colors Cotton 147x210mm (A5) 40 pages (20 sheets) 300gsm Hardcover Flat pocket in back cover (2021 Inktober Edition), included inktober info $20.00
Clairefontaine Goldline 148x210mm (A5) 30 pages (60 sheets) 180gsm Hardcover Pencil loop, elastic closure $15.25
Maruman Soho Sketch  182x257mm (B5) 100 sheets 96gsm Glue bound pad $18.00
Shinola Sketchbook 203×235 mm (8×9.25”) 112 pages (56 sheets) 100lb (approx 160gsm) Hardcover  Elastic closure, gusseted pocket, ribbon bookmark $30.00

The chart above is organized by size with the smallest A6 (3.5×5.5″) books first then A5, B5 and the largest at 8×9.25″. The chart lists most sketchbooks by their European sizes as I suspect most readers are fairly familiar with A5 size (roughly 5.5×8.5″ for those unfamiliar) and A6 is essentially half the size of an A5.

A5-ish sketchbooks

The paper weights vary from 96gsm all the way up to 300gsm but just because a paper is very heavy weight did not mean it was better. The papers also had different textures as well, from very smooth to very rough.

In terms of color, the paper color is also an array from a bright white to a deep ivory.

Sketchbook paper color comparison
From left to right: S&B Alpha, Leuchtturm 1917 sketchbook, Maruman Soho Sketch, Shinola Sketchbook, Clairefontaine Goldline, S&B Delta and Viviva Colors (I did not include the Mossery)

The sketchbooks I tested also had an array of binding and cover options. What this allowed me to do is establish that I don’t really care about the binding or the cover material as long as the paper is good and the overall sketchbook is durable. I prefer a hard- or softbound book over the spiral or pad. I find that pads do not have durable enough covers and thee pages may fall out when I least expect it. Though pads do make it easy to remove pages for hanging, scanning or burning, whichever the case may be. Hard or softbound sketch books, when bound well, can bee used “across the fold” for a larger format that is harder to do with a spiral bound. Spiral bound are the easiest to fold open but the rings can get in the way for some people.

Hot Takes:

So, let’s cut to the “which is your favorite.” Here is my ranking:

Read More

Fountain Pen Review: Hero 330 with Fude Nib

Fountain Pen Review: Hero 330 with Fude Nib

Review by Tina Koyama

Around the time that I had discovered the reasonably priced Moonman S1 fountain pen with a fude nib, I noticed another, even less expensive fude: the Hero 330 ($4; available in dark red, dark green and black). After some so-so experiences with other inexpensive Heroes years ago, I have hesitated about the multitude of fountain pens that this Chinese manufacturer produces. But I reminded myself that many receive favorable ratings and reviews, and maybe I had just gotten duds. At $4, the 330 was worth a shot.

The first thing that attracted me was its retro, Parker-like appearance (Ana makes a similar comparison with the Hero 329). Made of plastic and metal and weighing 14 grams, it is a lightweight, comfortable pen to hold and use. 

Also catching my eye was the hooded steel nib, which suits the slender pen body and style. It is gently curved instead of sharply bent as some fude nibs are.

Important to me is that the posted pen is well-balanced, since that’s the only way I use any capped pen. More critically, the pull-off cap posts securely (otherwise, all would be lost, especially the cap). 

When I unscrewed the barrel and disassembled it, I was surprised to see that it uses a squeeze converter. I didn’t read the specs or view the detail images on JetPens, so I was expecting it to have the more common twisty converter. The squeeze converter fits with the retro style of the pen’s body, I suppose, but I’m used to syringe-filling all my converters, so this one threw me. I even tried pulling the bladder off to see if I could syringe-fill it that way, but it doesn’t come off. Needless to say, filling it squeeze by squeeze seemed endlessly tedious compared to a quick syringe. In addition, dipping the nib into an ink bottle was messy business – I had to wipe a lot of ink off the hood. 

Messy as it was, the 330 fude was finally inked up with black Platinum Carbon ink, and I was ready to take it out for a ride. I had a project in mind – sketching the contents of my sketch kit – with line drawings that I would color with watercolor pencils, and the 330 seemed like a good choice. 

And it was a good choice! I was pleasantly surprised by how well the nib behaved from the first mark I made (I took a chance – no test scribbling first) in my smooth Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook. The smooth, responsive nib never once skipped or blobbed, and it behaved as beautifully as my much more expensive fude nibs. The only exception is seen in the closeup below of my ear plugs. I reversed the nib, which I do when I want the finest line possible from a fude, and the line was a bit shaky in places. 

The “Field Notes” lettering and the heavy lines of my glasses below show the fude’s widest marks. 

Happy with the sketch, I finally gave the 330 a few test scribbles to see its full range of line widths (scribbles made in Maruman Mnemosyne Notepad). Used upside-down, the line was scratchy and inconsistent, but not intolerably so. 

As I know from some other inexpensive pens I’ve used, quality control and consistency may be an issue, so I can’t vouch for the one you might get, but I got a winner. The nib has a remarkably good range of line variation. I love this fude – and what a price!

Other sketchers who know I like fudes often ask me for recommendations. This inexpensive Hero is one that I would like to recommend to a fude newbie because of its price, terrific nib and familiar body type, but two things would hold me back: One is the filling mechanism, which might be OK for an experienced fountain pen user, but I would never recommend it to a fountain pen newbie. The second is the possible inconsistency in quality. I would give this one to a newbie (and I might) – but I would hesitate to tell that newbie to go get their own. But at 4 bucks, it’s probably worth the gamble.


DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

tina-koyamaTina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.