Review: Kuretake Pocket Double-Sided Brush Pen

This review is by Kalina Wilson, who can also be found at geminica.com.

The brushes on the Kuretake Disposable Pocket Double-Sided Brush Pen are felt tips that are designed to give a variable width line.  These brushes are in the same neighborhood as Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens (of which I am a great fan) in terms of line width, shape, and responsiveness.

The two tips are described as "fine" and "medium", but with a light touch, they can both achieve quite a fine line.

Neither of this pen's tips are intended for fast, lush sketching. Ink flow is quite thin.  You get a lot of control but not a lot of ink.  I'd say this is a good pen for cartoonists that are inking carefully over pencil sketches - not so good for loose sketching since you'll run out of ink if you move too fast.  The ink appears to be totally waterproof.

This pen would be a solid competitor to the Tombow Fudenosuke... if the "medium" brush were a little more reliable.  Mine hasn't been used much but it's already a little flakey, and its skimpier ink flow really becomes obvious if you try to fill an area - see the bottom of sketch on the right. 

 

Because this pen is double-sided, affordable, waterproof, and has at least one good fine brush tip on it that can achieve very good detail (that Spock drawing is quite small), it's a very decent pen to experiment with - but I would recommend giving the excellent Tombow Fudenosuke a try as well.  

Review: Platinum Japanese Art Pocket Brush Pen

This review is by Kalina Wilson, who can also be found at geminica.com.

The Platinum Pocket Brush Pen is in the family of brush pens that aren't actually brush pens.  Instead of individual bristles, these pens have a single molded tip that mimics the silouette of a brush but doesn't fan out against the paper the way a true brush would.  Something about this design makes for a very diverse assortment of products!  These false brush tips can be wet or dry, sturdy or fragile, floppy or stiff - it's a minefield and a treasure trove out there, with each pen feeling very different from the next when you get it in your hand.  

(A few examples, top to bottom: Copic Multiliner brush, Uniball brush, Pilot brush, Platinum brush)

The Platinum brush stands out visually due to the gold flowers stamped onto the barrel and a sparkly gray clip (that likes to come off in your hand when you try to remove the cap).   It looks and feels a bit cheap - but it is cheap, at $3.  

This pen gives a thick line in comparison to the others. You can get a fine line out of it here or there if you're careful, but it takes some effort and goes against the pen's wishes.  

Among the various brush pen options, the Platinum Carbon does have a unique set of characteristics: it is waterproof,  fairly dark, and has decent flow. The other options are either not waterproof (the Uniball and Pilot brushes), don't provide a large wet line (Tombow), or aren't as dark or smooth (Copic).

The nearest equivalent to this Platinum Pen is the Copic.  If you like Copic brushes in general, I'd say there's not a lot of cause to try the Platinum unless the slightly darker ink is a big advantage to you.  Personally I haven't had a lot of luck with Copic brush lines, and actually prefer the Platinum brush to work with even though it's cheap and kind of stubby-tipped.

 I won't lie to you - I don't love this pen.  I prefer to be able to get a finer line, and if I'm going bold I prefer the feel of the Uniball brush even though it's not waterproof.  However, if you are looking for a moderately wet-writing disposable pen with a waterproof line for the purpose of doing bold sketching, this Platinum brush is certainly worth $3 to try!  

Sailor and Pilot Pocket Brush Pens Winner

I am so glad everyone liked the brush pen giveaway!! I will definitely try to do more art pens in the future, because I am a big fan of them myself!! Random.org came forth with #127 this morning, making Hyesung the winner!!

Brush Pens!!

Congrats Hyesung!! Here is what I need from you!!

1. Leave a comment on this post!!

2. Click on the 'About' link on the sidebar and email me your mailing address!!

You have one week to claim your prize!! Thanks to everyone who entered!!