if you don’t have @ least one collection of specific items i literally have nothing more to say to you. we will never relate to each other. however, you cool ass motherfuckers who do collect @ least one type of thing, reblog this post and say what that thing is. i’ll go first: clown dolls and good luck charms
I decided to be Art Supplies for Halloween this year and wanted to share my concept sketch and costume. :)
My tutu is a “paint palette” and my bodice is embellished with a poster board bow and"lace.“ I wore a huge paintbrush in my hair and my hair flowers are made from construction and animation paper left over from college. The ‘paint” splotches on my tutu are cut foam, sanded down, gessoed and painted with gloss acrylic paint. This was a really fun costume to put together!
I got this nice Rhodia box (with 4 notepads and 2 pencils) last year and had the idea to use it to store paper. I cut down some paper to size and now have 10 sheets each of the colored pencil, Bristol board, and toned grey paper :) next up is watercolor paper! I used strips of paper to make dividers so it’s easy to get to each kind of paper. I’m in love
moleskine makes people hate pens and is probably a huge part of why so many people give up on good pens.
to folks who might not know, moleskine is extremely famous AND infamous. they are hardcover notebooks with elastic enclosures. they are expensive, and sold everywhere from pharmacies to bookstores, and does collaborations with a variety of brands including james bond and pokemon. moleskine has tried to establish itself as a luxury notebook, which it technically is.
as long as you do not write in it.
moleskine paper is wholeheartedly shit. it is complete fucking garbage. you might wonder, what makes good paper? well the first thing is how well it can be written on. good paper can handle ink well. good ink handling means clear, solid lines without any feathering (fuzzy spreading), not bleeding through the page, and not ghosting. basically, you want paper that can do crisp lines with a variety of different inks and be used on both sides.
moleskine does not do that. anything more than a ballpoint or pencil will look fuzzy and gross and bleed right through the fucking page. the paper is shit. and that makes people think their pen is shit. and ballpoint pens can be seen on the other side of the page.
common knowledge is that fountain pens, rollerball pens, gel pens, felt pens, and more work better on good paper. good meaning good with ink. but when many people think good paper without knowing any better, they will reach for a moleskine notebook. because moleskine is expensive and advertises itself as good and is widely available. so people try out actually good writing implements on this shit paper, see how bad it works, and then blame the pen.
fountain pens, gel pens, and rollerball require much less pressure than ballpoint pens. they are ergonomic. easier on joints, easier for chronic pain. and moleskine makes people give up on them. nobody wants shitty bleeding feathered lines.
in the united states, our ideas of good paper and good stationery in general are extremely warped. so much of this is because paper here fucking sucks. a lot of paper performs like moleskine. there is shit paper at all price ranges. but you can pick up caliber brand paper (the ones that say made in vietnam) from cvs and have infinitely better performance for pennies. even though it looks low quality, caliber paper (vietnam) can even handle calligraphy ink clearly. bad paper makes people hate good pens and bad pens make people hate writing.
another thing really important to mention, a lot of people think thick paper is always better. this is extremely wrong. in terms of being able to handle a wide variety of inks clearly and cleanly, some of the best paper in the world is tissue thin (tomoe river).
do not buy moleskine. even if the stand is right there. they have some of the worst paper you can get at that price point. expensive paper is not always good paper, good pens need good paper, moleskine paper makes good pens seem awful, and moleskine is something you should only give to someone you loathe.
There are so many great options:
- Leuchtturm;
- Rhodia;
- Clairefontaine;
Notebooks made by pen manufacturers.
Seriously, there are so many options, just ask other pen buffs.
Also, if you have to use shitty paper (besides Moleskine, bc Moleskine sucks), then mind nib size and ink.
I could correct copies with a M nib TWSBI Eco with Iroshizuku ink and no bleedthrough. (On moleskine, though… yes.)
Supply Spotlight! This is another of my favorite watercolor palettes. This is my customized palette with many different brands of watercolors included (Daniel smith, Qor, Winsor Newton, and Van Gogh). I’ve created many of my portraits with this set (most of my Disney Princess series). What is your favorite brand of watercolor?
Supply spotlight! My White Nights watercolors are my favorite watercolors to work with. I have created so many portraits with these paints. They are vibrant, smooth, blend beautiful, and aren’t super expensive for professional quality paints.
Over the summer I sewed a pencil roll up case for myself. I designed the entire thing. It’s the perfect size and holds all of my favorite pencils and pens. Made out of canvas, and has four tiny D-rings to secure the ties.
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