Using alcohol based and calligraphy inks

[sippog]

Always liked using inks on my figures, for their vividness and transparency. One of my favourite techniques is a wash made up of diluted ink and matte-medium. The medium takes the shine off the ink and makes it even more translucent,

I've been using acrylic based inks for years, like the Daler-Rowney ones, and the really intense Dr Martins, but I've recently started experimenting with calligraphy inks which are necessarily very fine to go through pen nibs and come in some interesting shades: 'Verdigris' is a very strong blue green and 'Gallus" goes on green but dries to a rusty dark brown, 'Sanguine", as you'd expect is a dark, dark red.

Alcohol based inks also have interesting names. I bought two called 'Ginger' and 'Raisin'. They are very fine and make translucent shading easy. Diluted with alcohol, they can be spread thinly and penetrate textures to create great outlining of detail.

Perhaps their best property is that they dry fast but not permanently, they can easily be rubbed off with a cotton swab - so you can experiment as much as you like before spraying it with varnish to fix it.

Look on YouTube and there are lots of tutorials on getting 'spot marbling' effects with alcohol based inks - something that seems to appeal to the nice ladies who stick sea shells on boxes - but there's definitely more use to be got out of them.

I had a play with this bust, building from a mainly white prime coat, and using alcohol based inks. I even did some spot marbling and you can see the kind of thing I mean.

 

[Jim]

That's extremely interesting. I'll have to look into the videos. I've had a few inks for a while, but never had the courage to use them. I like the spot marbling effects.

 

[sippog]

That's extremely interesting. I'll have to look into the videos. I've had a few inks for a while, but never had the courage to use them. I like the spot marbling effects.

Yes, they're definitely worth giving a try. You can add acrylic inks to paint to give the mix depth and transparency and make it easier to use in washes or for airbrushing. I've seen videos of pros adding paint tints to white ink for spraying, for example

 

[Elmar]

I use Schmincke Aerocolor Acrylic Inks every now and then and I love them. Very High pigments in a very fluid way.
But I have never tried Kalligraphic Inks. How do I know if they are alcohol based? Are you using them over other acrylics?
Any varnish before using those inks?

 

[hypertex]

I like your work. I am more than a bit concerned about using ink on models. Inks have dyes instead of pigments, which means they are soluble. This could lead to bleeding of the color if the ink is over-coated with something. And the bleeding may not happen immediately, it could take a year or more. I've seen that with so-called permanent inks before. And as you mentioned, the inks you used are not permanent.
Why not just use paint instead of calligraphy ink? Ink is meant to for absorbent surfaces, such as paper and fabric. For models, it would seem to be preferable to have the film forming properties of paint. The acrylic inks may be ok, they seem to work like paint. But the effects you are talking about, depth and transparency and the like, can be achieved with paint and mediums.

 

[sippog]

I use Schmincke Aerocolor Acrylic Inks every now and then and I love them. Very High pigments in a very fluid way.
But I have never tried Kalligraphic Inks. How do I know if they are alcohol based? Are you using them over other acrylics?
Any varnish before using those inks?

I use 'calligraphic' loosely to describe ink that people use in fountain pens. They make some interesting colours, I think, and it's finer than drawing ink. Alcohol based inks are a different thing and I believe they are used for printing and craftwork. It will say on the label if they are alcohol based.

I always varnish my work between changes in medium as a precaution and alcohol inks in particular need protection. Testor's Dullcote is my standby.

 

[sippog]

I like your work. I am more than a bit concerned about using ink on models. Inks have dyes instead of pigments, which means they are soluble. This could lead to bleeding of the color if the ink is over-coated with something. And the bleeding may not happen immediately, it could take a year or more. I've seen that with so-called permanent inks before. And as you mentioned, the inks you used are not permanent.
Why not just use paint instead of calligraphy ink? Ink is meant to for absorbent surfaces, such as paper and fabric. For models, it would seem to be preferable to have the film forming properties of paint. The acrylic inks may be ok, they seem to work like paint. But the effects you are talking about, depth and transparency and the like, can be achieved with paint and mediums.

Glad you like my work, thanks. I'm interested in the comment on long term 'ink fastness' but it's not a problem I've had myself and I've been doing it a few years. I always seal everything regardless - especially when I'm switching mediums - so maybe that's why. I mentioned alcohol based inks as being particularly impermanent, yes, which is also an advantage, but I would seal all inks with Dullcote anyway.

I like inks, as I say, because of their vibrancy and density but if you wanted to get the 'film' you get with acrylics, adding a gel or matte medium to them will do it. Or, as I said earlier, mixing them with paint. I haven't tried mixing water and alcohol washes but I believe some people do that too.

 

[Elmar]

As said, I use Schmicke Aerocolor Acrylic Inks
but since I am a Pen user I have a couple of other Inks that I will try on Figures:
Rohrer and Klinger - Very good Inks for Pens, vibrant colors, nice shading
Iroshizuku - Japanese Colors, I love them!

What Inks are you using?

 

[sippog]

What Inks are you using?

Here's a picture representing some of the inks I have. The Rotring are probably the oldest. I have a couple of Aerocolour somewhere too.

 

[John Bowery]

Very interesting play. Thanks
Cheers
John

 

[yellowcat]

Just be careful of the lightfastness of all these inks and dyes. It may fade as it exposed to natural light and especially man-made light (florescent light).

 

[franck edet]

very interesting, i am more and more playing with inks lastly (Sennelier and Winsor and Newton for classic inks and scale75 acrylic inks) your post is definitely right on the spot for me actually
regarding fading i'm pretty sure that a good varnish with anti-UV protection will protect them perfectly.
thanks again for this post !

 

[lespauljames]

I have to echo the comments on some inks not being fast, the Winsor newton drawing inks especially are notorious for fading over time and are carried in a part shellac binder . I can vouch for the rowney fw's though . Great inks