Colored Sumi Ink for Pointed Pen

[Michael_B]

I am finally getting back to my pursuit of doing calligraphy after being forced to move a couple of years ago. I began working with my dip pens late at night before bed for a few weeks and the magic and thrill has come back. I'm a southpaw and it's been a bit of leap to use an oblique.

Anyway. I am absolutely in love with Moon Palace. What I want to know is that if I use a colored ink stick and grind it right can I expect to match the lovely character of Moon Palace in the different color. I expect the mixing will be a hurdle but that's always so with a liquid. It needs the right blending and that might be a practice to achieve. Any recommendation for sticks would be appreciated as they last so long and I want to make a wise choice. I'm looking for a rich blue and brown to add to my palette of inks.

[neriah]

This is not exactly an answer to your question, it is just a suggestion.

If you want coloured ink, the best option may be gouache. There is Schminke calligraphy gouache which everyone recommends, but any artist quality gouache will do. I personally use W&N designers gouache. You need small amounts to create quite a lot of ink so one tube will last you a very long time. And, it is very easy to mix. I just add distilled water until it gets to a consistency of milk. When I mixed it the first time, I just kept adding water drop by drop and tried to write when it looked good. Some people also add drop of gum arabic to prevent smearing when erasing guidelines but I never did that. For me, gouache just flows perfectly and I find it easier to use than sumi ink. It may not be the same for you, but I just wanted to offer an alternative.

I hope someone with knowledge about ink sticks will answer your original question

[Michael_B]

Someone else suggested the same thing to me, so at least there's probably a consensus of experience in favor of gouache. I definitely will keep that in mind. I am sure there's much more of a palette choice with gouache too.

There's always that bit more work involved, isn't there? Back in the day, I was mixing my own developer for B&W film. Some things don't change.

[Michael_B]

I got a 20% off coupon from Blick so I decided to give gouache a spin. Their prices on W&N are pretty decent even without the coupon.

Someone needs to come up with special blinders for going into art supply stores. If I hadn't decided beforehand why I was going in there, I would have come out much poorer! 

[lizabetht]

Hi Michael.  I'm just seeing this post and was wondering how your journey with mixing gouache is going?  I'm not exactly a beginner but not exactly intermediate either.  This year, I used a gouache mixed with water for calligraphing my Christmas envelopes.  It worked quite nicely, but something I didn't think about at first was that I felt the necessity to seal the envelopes.  I feel like the gouache mixture would bleed very readily even if a mist hit it.  Whereas sumi inks - although not waterproof - might withstand this easier.   Dr. Phil Martin's Bleedproof White - again, not waterproof - would also hold up to a drop or two of water without completely messing it up.  But not the gouache. 

If you like using the gouache and you want to use it for addressing and envelope, I had very good luck with this product:  Gold Matte Archival Varnish.  It is a spray and you have to shake the can for 2 minutes before use.  Start spraying slightly above where you want the spray to hit and move from side to side - about 7 - 12 inches away.  I felt much safer sending out my gouache-inked envelopes after doing this.   If someone had so much as touched it with a wet finger, it would've smeared - even after being dry.

[RD5]

Since no one answered the original question about colored sumi ink. Sumi ink is traditionally made from soot (especially from pine needles) and a binder (animal fat) in this case it is a variation of india ink and black. Sumi ink is used to describe pretty much all ink designed for Chinese calligraphy or Sumi drawing. Because colored inks require a different recipe than black, they will be different. This goes with many inks. I suggest reading the description of the ink.