Grey is so underrated. Brush pens are so intriguing. Packaged sets are so seductive. After my most recent trip to that most dangerous of places – the art supply store – I came home with these two sets of brush pens, each is an assortment of “greys”.
Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen
Sakura Koi Coloring Brush Pen
Both sets included six pens – three warm grey tones and three cool grey. Both brands produce quality products and are well respected. I have always had great luck with Faber-Castell PITT supplies, they are of a consistent solid quality. Sakura is a relatively newer brand to me, and I’ve only experimented with their brush pens recently.
Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen
The PITT set includes a nice variety, and a fairly even progression of values from light to dark. There is a consistency of temperature within the temperature families (cold or warm) which should allow for a cohesiveness when employing the full range of the subset – ideal for more technical or analytical rendering. I would say that these are more of a felt tip pen rather than a brush pen. But, the tip does allow for some line variety. They are also permanent, so when combined or layered over with water soluble media the marks will be retained on the page.
Sakura Koi Coloring Brush Pen
The Sakura Koi pens definitely feel more like a brush. The pen lays down a wetter mark, and even though the tip is also made of felt it feels softer with more give. The greater width variety of the Sakura tip also allows for greater and more extreme line variety than the PITT. The color variety of the Sakura “greys”, while originally surprising, could lend itself nicely towards more creative, less analytical, renderings of subject matter. If you plan to use these with water based media, don’t get too attached to your marks, as the ink the Sakura pen is water soluble.
My initial reaction to both of these sets is that I’m glad I bought them. What at first appear to be very similar products, these sets have totally different attributes which lend themselves to completely different creative applications. As I continue to play with these, I’ll post my findings.
In the meantime, here are some links for a greater appreciation of the variety of brush pens on the market and examples of their many uses.
Resource:
Jetpens guide to brush pens for calligraphy
Jetpens guide to brush pens for comics
Jetpens guide to brush pens for art
