Three Questions With Kevin Mellon

I first ran across Kevin Mellon’s artwork when I was working for JetPens. I was impressed with his style, and was interested in the tools he used to create. Watching his career take off - he is now a storyboard artist for Archer and created his own comic series called Suicide Sisters - has been really exciting to follow. My thanks to Kevin for taking the time to answer Three Questions.

1. What role do analog tools such as pens, pencils, and paper play in your day to day life?

Sadly, not as much daily as they used to. I work on the FX cartoon Archer, doing storyboards, and most of that process is digital using cintiqs. That said, I keep sketchbooks with me to work out my thoughts on scenes I’m assigned and various pens to doodle/take notes with.

I love pens/paper/etc. I have a severe JetPens addiction, as the drawers of various tools I’ve bought from them over the years continues to fill up rather than diminish. I will often buy pens just to try something, as they’re fun for me and I like finding/trying different things.

For my comics work, I often do my layouts/thumbnails in sketchbooks, so those are usually pencil, pen, and paper. I vary what I use, and a lot of the pens I buy to try out get used there.

When I do get a chance (read: make the time) to sketch for myself, that’s when I really go through what I have, just trying everything I’ve bought but haven’t gotten to yet, or just enjoying my old standbys.

2. What are your favorite products you are currently using?

For paper, I’ve been really digging Strathmore 297120 60-Pound 192-Page Sketch Book, 8.5 by 11-Inch.

It’s a sturdy paper that’s almost bristol-like. I prefer a bit of tooth to my paper, and this one certainly has a nice bite to it.

For comics pages, I’m pretty standard. I use Strathmore 300 series Vellum surface Bristol. I buy the 11x17 (unruled/no blue-line) packs of 24 in bulk from Dick Blick. Since my comics output has decreased the last few years, I’m still sitting on about a dozen packs, but they’ll get used over time.

For pens, my go-tos at the moment are:

Uni-ball Vision Elite roller ball pen. I love this one for just general use. Writing, sketching, whatever. It’s just a solid, cheap pen that never lets me down in every day use.

Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen (Super Fine). I’ve used quite a few of these in the last two years, and I beat the heck out of them and they keep going. (I’m bad about chewing on the caps/stocks while working). I love the response and line that these get and the long stock is like holding a brush, which is nice since my traditional comic/illustration inking is done with brushes. These I just use for sketching, though.

Another one that’s very similar is the Sailor version of the same pen. They’re different in ways I appreciate subtly, but the Sailor is a solid one to have.

I use the Platinum Carbon ink, as I can’t be bothered to mess with filling my own ink into the converters that I have, and the carbon ink has done me well in all my various brush pens over the years.

I’ve also been messing around with Deleter G nibs using this stock (I might mention that the pink handled nib holder is slightly shorter than the blue one. I have one of each, but use the pink more, as I prefer it better).

For brush pen sketching, I use the Kuretake Fudegokochi Super Fine and Regular.

And my go-to brush pen for many years has been the Kuretake no. 13. It’s a work horse and the ability to replace just the brush half makes it invaluable for sketching and travel. Also, as long as I’m not too hard on them, they last me quite a while.

For pencils:

A couple years back, you yourself got me onto the Palomino Blackwings which I didn’t expect to like, let alone fall in love with, but I did. It’s a pencil that reacts like a brush. From there I dipped even further and have switched over to the Blackwing Pearls for the most part, and those have been a mainstay for the last year or so.

Otherwise I’m using a Pentel Graph Gear 500 filled with blue lead for sketching and whatever else. The weight and feel of it, plus the metal grip is what sold me on that pencil.

Digitally, I’m forever in love with Sketchbook Pro. It’s my go-to digital sketchbook/workhorse. I swoon over every new iteration of it, and it’s been my mainstay for digital sketching/design/comics penciling for about 6 years now.

3. What creation are you the most proud of?

Hmm. This is a tough one. I’d have to say that my most recent full-length book, Suicide Sisters would have to be it. Before putting that out, I’d have said LoveSTRUCK, my second graphic novel with writer Dennis Hopeless, but since I conceived, wrote, and drew Suicide Sisters myself, I have to go with that one. Wow, that’s a lot of commas. Obviously I’m good at writing.

Sakura Kakikata Felt Tip Pen Review

The Sakura Kakikata gets it done with simplicity. No bells, no whistles, no frills, Just excellent performance at a fair price. What more can you ask for?

The Kakikata looks like a throwback to marker pens from the 70's and 80's that you would find by the dozen in some beat up box in an office supply closet or desk. They may have even had dust on them when you saved them, but after popping the cap off and scribbling a few test lines you knew you were on to something. Where is the love for a simple pen like this?

This is another one of those pens where I'll take two or three of them, stash them in the places I like to write, pick up from time to time, and remember how nice it is to write with. The fine felt tip is clean and sharp, and the lines are dark. The ink is water and fade resistant too, so artists will enjoy them as well.

Will this pen replace the Pigma Micron, Uni Pin, or some of my other favorite art pens? Not likely, but its a fun pen and a reminder that you don't need much to make something awesome.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

As another part of the Ink Drop subscription from January, I finally got around to inking up the Verdigris sample from Rohrer & Klingner. This, like most of the samples, was one that I was completely unfamiliar with, so I looked it up online to see what I could expect. From what I could tell, I was expecting a black-green or black-teal color, which seemed like an interesting color that could add some interesting pop to the page. So, I inked it up in a Lamy Vista with a fine nib.

First, let's talk about the properties of the ink. This is my first experience with this brand, so I was really interested to see how it behaved in the pen and on the page. I've heard many, many great things about several of the other inks from the brand.

This ink is exceptionally smooth on the page. It's a real joy to write with. Dry time leaves something to be desired, but it's not terrible. If you're a left-handed writer, you might not do well with this one. There's a very small degree of shading that's really only noticeable under bright light. Even with a wide nib, it was difficult to coax out any shading. I didn't notice until taking pictures with an off-camera flash that there's a bit of sheen visible in this ink. If only this were visible under normal light, that would be fantastic! As it is, though, shading and sheen are hardly noticeable in real situations.

Now, I don't intentionally sniff new inks, but I do notice any scents that come up while writing. This ink does have a slight scent, but it's not bad. It's very similar to other ink smells that I've noticed in the past.

Cleaning the ink out of the pen is incredibly easy. I don't believe that this ink has the same reputation as other inks, such as Scabiosa, which has warnings about leaving it in a pen for long without being used because it's an iron gall ink. Of course, it's not a great idea to leave ink in a pen unused for too long, but Verdigris is more in line with "normal" inks.

As far as a drip test, the ink did not do well. Not surprising, but worth mentioning since it does have some black in it.

Which brings me to the color. This is a green-black ink that sometimes has some blue showing through, so maybe a teal-black. Either way, the black side of the ink is predominant in a way that makes the other colors difficult to detect. I've always disliked (insert color name here)-black inks that lean really far into the black territory, and this one is no exception. Keep in mind, this is just my own personal preference, but when using this ink, I'm disappointed by the lack of color on the page. Again, only in bright light is it possible to see the green (and sometimes blue) peeking through. For me, I like just a bit less black in these types of mixed inks, and Verdigris is just too dark.

Is it a great ink? Absolutely. Is it one that I'll use again? Probably not. Why? The color (or lack thereof) just isn't for me. Keeping all that in mind, this might be just the ink you've been looking for, and, if so, I highly recommend it to you. Otherwise, I'd stay away unless you're looking for a black ink that sometimes lets a tad of green/blue peek through.