Black and Blue Ballpoint Pen

One of my Clubbers has been insistently asking me to try out using a ballpoint pen for tangling. I figured - well, not for tangling, but what about shading? The modest Bic pen - also called Biro in many countries - has notorious ability to produce delicate gradients.

So I took a picture I had just started using Hollis and Moonpie (inspired by Zentangle's Project pack 20) and ran some experiments. Here is the step-out:

After many failed moments and many less than successful experiments, in an ASTOUNDING 4 hours of shading, I concluded that the ballpoint pen is INDEED a really good instrument for shading, aside from being incredibly affordable - a pack of pens cost me only a couple of dollars.

At one point I decided to use a blue Micron pen for the frame - and that, in my opinion, was not a good call. I should have stuck with the black Micron for line-art and the blue Bic for shading. I also used a black Bic pen for shading near the edges, crevices and dark corners - and THAT is where the Biro pen really shines.

Will I substitute my entire method of shading for this? Not likely, but I will for sure use it to complement my current shading toolbox, especially the black Bic pen. Here's another picture, where you can see Hollis and Moonpie (both tangles by Zentangle).

All images Copyright 2023 Eni Oken.

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