CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I have so many drawings lying around, waiting to be inked it isn't even funny.

So, what is the best cartooning pen that you can get, preferably cheap? I know that cheap and good don't usually work together, but I'm poor and desperate. Help?

Hmm... best combination of cheap, good and easy to use seems to be the Pigma Sakura Micron pens. Advantage: cheap, looks nice. Disadvantage: disposable... you have to but new ones as they run out of ink. Copic also has a marker similar to this, I'm not sure where they stand on price point.

Second up the scale is the Copic Multiliner SP series. The ink can be replaced at a cost and they are nice with an aluminum pen body and interchangeable felt nibs for extra cash. They will cost some in the long run though.


Highest in price scale is the Koh-i-noor Rapidograph pens. These pens are very smooth, with refillable ink resivoires, and the most consistant line weights of almost all the pens on the market. They are relatively cheap in the long run, because they are refillable... a new bottle of ink is about 3.50. Problem is that the initial investment is astronomical. Each pen is around 20 dollars, or 70-100 dollars for a set of seven and a bottle of ink. Nibs are also replaceable but cost nearly as much as the pen does. (These are what I use now)

Other (cheaper) options that are harder to execute include using a brush or drawing pen and an ink well. Hunt and Nikko make lines of drawing nibs that come with pen bodies. Problem is these take a lot of practice to execute properly.

Thank you so much! This really helps. I just had no idea what to use, in all my art classes we used colored pencils, and I never bothered to ask what ink pens the teacher used. Once again, thank you!

You're welcome, any other questions?

I concur with Mechana's suggestion of Sakura Micron pens.

If you're not averse to the old-fashioned way of inking, I'd suggest Speedball's dip-pen calligraphy sets. They come in a variety of sets, and have nice ink, too.

I too am a fan of the Microns.

I'm not that good at inking, but I also use Sakura Micron; it's what I see most of, I think, and they work quite well.

In my ceaseless web-wandering, I noticed that some people don't fancy the microns too much. What are the pros and cons?

RubyJewelStone wrote:In my ceaseless web-wandering, I noticed that some people don't fancy the microns too much. What are the pros and cons?

Microns are a little on the cheap side and if you arn't careful you can shred the tips since they're felt tip pens, and of course they arn't refillable. Otherwise I cant think of any reason to not use them.

I use I.C (manga company) manga pens.

It depends on what you're doing, if you have photoshop and a scanner. You can ink in there. It's really good for decals and less complex stuff.

haha...I am so cheap I use pilot pens...^^;

I am so cheap, I don't even have the materials!!!...can anyone point in the direction of some?