Review – Toison D’or 1900 Pencil

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

This is another pencil review. So I’m gonna skip all the introduction and get right into talking about the Toison D’or 1900 2B pencil.

It’s a nice pencil, about the size of a regular No.2 pencil. It’s black with gold, easy to read lettering. It has the mildly uncomfortable hexagonal body but with rounded corners. The end is also rounded, making it a bit slippery. It sharpens well and is high-quality wood. It writes like a regular 2B but slips in the hand sometimes.

It’s just a pencil. The only really deciding factor here is the black color and whether or not you mind a mildly slippery pencil. It is a remarkably average pencil in every other way.

Review – Black Sharpie Pen

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

I like Sharpies. They’re good makers and some of the most permanent I’ve ever used. They’re useful in tons of situations, from signing to just getting something bold out there. The only problem is sometimes they just aren’t small enough. If somethings need to be both permanent and small you seem to be out of luck. Until you find Sharpie pens, that is.

The body of the pen is similar to most other pens, it is slim and long. It has a label containing all necessary information about the pen and helping decrease the slickness of the body. The cap has the interesting aesthetic of not being larger than the body, making the pen look slightly odd, but this makes no performance difference. Attached to the cap is a flexible clip that does its job nicely and is not prone to breaking. At the bottom of the pen is also a place to slip the cap on so that it does not get lost while one is using the pen.

The line produced by the pen is thin, but still thicker than common cheap ballpoints. It comes out exactly where you put it and in that deep black color one expects from a Sharpie. Pressure makes very little variation, the ink is always black, and only slightly lighter if one tries to achieve that effect. It flows smoothly over most surfaces and sticks everywhere you expect Sharpie to stick. Although it does in the end feel more like a pen than a Sharpie.

I stated in the beginning the main reason one would get this pen. It’s a nice small, permanent, bold pen. It’s serviceable at most pen and Sharpie duties. It would even replace fine-point Sharpies for me. But of course it has the problem of not having a specific use. So it would really be up to you whether or not you have a use for this pen.

Review – Fine Point EXPO Markers

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

So, are markers art supplies? By markers, I of course mean dry-erase. Is the whiteboard the canvas of the classroom? I don’t know, but I would count dry-erase markers as art supplies so I’ll talk about them briefly.

I’m going to focus on the pen-type variety of the EXPO marker. They are small, pen-size. They fit in the hand nicely and don’t slip despite the glossy finish.The cap holds well, but it has no clip so it won’t stay in one’s pocket.

The ink of this particular one is black, it goes on smooth, dries fast and is nice and bold. It stays well and looks nice and sharp. It obviously doesn’t have much line variation but the point is fine enough that one can achieve most of what they would want to. When one is done the ink comes of easily with an eraser. The smell has also been reduced (though not eliminated) and the ink is thankfully non-toxic.

There’s a reason EXPO has become synonymous with dry-erase markers, they are simply one of the best, and for dry-erase needs one usually can’t go wrong with EXPO. As long as its large. (they also work just like a regular marker on paper.)

Review – Staples Medium Ballpoint Pen

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

Pens, they’re necessary things. If not for art, then for simple, day to day life. You won’t believe how may people I’ve run into that need pens and don’t carry them around. Okay, maybe you wouldn’t, but I’m still going to quickly talk about a cheap way to get your pen fix so you can jot down notes and stuff (as in peoples’ numbers): the Staples Medium Ballpoint pen.

The pens are simple: a small plastic tube, containing a smaller plastic tube filled with ink. The tube is slick, but not slick enough to have the pen slip out of your hands while writing. It has the logo and name on the side in plain lettering that isn’t prone to rubbing off. The cap also fits on nicely and allows the pen to be loosely held in a pocket. Overall, the body does its job.

But what about the point? The tip is a ballpoint which produces a medium weight line with a very universal width. It will take a little bit of skill to get variation from this pen. But what one would want out of a pen like this is reliability, and that is given to one by the constant line. The pen, however, does at times need to be coaxed into writing and will dry up beyond usability if neglected for too long.

It’s a nice cheap pen. It’s nothing spectacular, but for the price, nothing is. It is great for jotting notes, getting ideas down, writing drafts and piling around the house so you’re never pen-less.

Review – Pigma Brush

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

Do you like the flowing lines and moderation of a brush, but want the simplicity of a pen? The makers of Micron have a solution. The Pigma brush.

The ink is the same as the Micron ink. It is a very deep black that applies smoothly to the page and rarely bleeds. It is waterproof and fadeproof archival ink. It marks just as well or better than any pen around.

The body of the brush is the same as the Micron’s, as well. It is slick and glossy, but fortunately easy to hold, and never once felt like it was slipping in my hand. The cap locks in place firmly and snaps haphazardly onto the back. The clip attached to the cap works das designed. The writing on the body is easy to read and rub resistant, and the identification on the cap is easy to read.

But now for what this item is about: the brush. The brush is fairly short, no longer than the nib of the regular Microns or most other pens. The brush at its finest is super thin, and goes up to an above average pen thickness. The line range is roughly equivalent to the Micron 005 to 05 and everywhere in between. The application is buttery smooth and never splutters or splatters. Even when the brush begins running out of ink you will only begin to get a grey line instead of a patchy one. And it takes a long time to get it to run out.

For fine detail work this item is perfect, it is a perfect addition to the Pigma family and suits the audience it was created for perfectly. But it is for a specific audience. Very large or multimedia projects will find the product ill suited to create most desired effects. But that does not diminish the fact that it is a very good pen.

Review – Black Sharpie Fine Point

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

Do you ever want to stop drafting and just draw? Did you ever want to be bold with your marks? Did you ever want to be part of a marketing campaign doing those things? Yep, I’m talking about sharpies, black, fine point ones to be exact. Everyone knows what a sharpie or other brand of permanent marker is, so I’ll be brief.

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Sharpies are slick and fat, and unlike some other slick utensils do at times slip out of ones’ hand. They do bulge up the pockets they are stuck in, but most markers do. The body and cap are made out a surprisingly durable plastic, with a nearly useless clip attached. They are all clearly marked and it takes some time to wear off said markings.

But on to the marker itself. “Fine point” is a bit of an exaggeration, while it is fine for a marker the tip of a sharpie is by no means “fine”. It makes a mark, I mean it really makes a mark. These things make a mark that will bleed through any type of paper and some types of cardboard (with the exception of thick water color paper). The writing is smooth and satisfying, but the point is felt and wears easily. They mark on almost anything and once a mark is made it is nearly impossible to remove, it is one of the best permanent markers in existence.

So if you want to be bold and never have that boldness forgotten or destroyed (with the exception of catastrophic flooding) The sharpie is for you.

Review – 12 pack of Crayola Colored Pencils

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

Colored pencils, or map colors as they forced you to call them if you went to school in Texas. While they don’t give the most professional look they are still a widely used and a good tool. The variety I will be talking about is the simple 12 pack of Crayola colored pencils.

Most people know them, but for those who don’t, they come in a simple assortment of colors. The bodies are slick but grip-able as with most art utensils. The wood is splintery but easy to sharpen. And the “lead” is suitable, if a bit brittle and break prone.

The color of the pencils itself is nothing special. It is the standard bright and varied set of colors that comes in every school supply-esque box of colors. The mark is about that of a number two pencil and requires a good amount of force to be applied heavily. It leaves a waxy finish on the surface, preventing blending. Using them to color big blocks of the same color as is done in school is probably the best use for them. They have no where near the range of more expensive “art” colored pencils, and none of the blending or covering capabilities. That being said they are good for practicing and less “formal” images, working well in mixed media because of the waxy finish.

Overall, if you are looking for a good art colored pencil this is most likely not for you, and you probably didn’t even consider these. But they are still a useful tool for seeing what things will look like (drafting) or practicing technique. If you already have a set of art colored pencils you could also use these instead so you don’t use up your ludicrously priced coloring utensils.

Review – Paper:Mate Write Bros Medium Ballpoint Pen

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

Pens, they’re important. Not a lot of them are very useful for the inking process, but they can be useful for simply starting an image, or many other art-things. This one is the Paper:mate Write Bros. medium ballpoint pen.

Ballpoint pens are one of the aforementioned types: not particularly useful for finished works, especially smaller ones, but good for seeing what things look like in ink, and making sketches or notes that you don’t want to be erased. A fun exercise is always to draw with a cheap pen on scratch paper, preventing erasing, forcing one to improve their ability to create an image on the first try.

Ballpoints make a fairly fine line but they have rough edges, as there is some bleeding. A medium point is good for writing and most other uses, but as mentioned before is not good at detail. The ink is good, it does bleed with water, but is fairly sturdy as far as that goes. It is a deep black that does require a little drying time, but usually no more then a couple seconds. It takes to paper well. I’ve had no problems with the amount of ink in the pen either, I believe it lasts longer then most other ballpoint pens I’ve used, but I haven’t taken detailed records either so take that with a grain of salt.

The pen itself is easy to hold, if a bit slippery and shows all the necessary info (although that does rub off after continued use). It obviously has a cap and clips to a notebook or shirt pocket, which is always handy.

Overall if you are looking for a cheap pen that can be used for a myriad of things around your workspace, this in one I would consider. However I would recommend buying a couple of packages of different types of pens to figure out which one works for you. But it is at least a nice house or office pen, which is what it was designed for.

Review – Yellow Dollar General HB No.2 Pencils

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Dragon Co (Austin Smith)

By: Austin Smith

All right, on to the art-making things. Let’s start with pencils, specifically HB or No.2 pencils. The ones I’m reviewing today are from dollar general and are 10 cents apiece. So they’re the cheap, starting pencil.

The pencils are small and light, roughly 6 and 3/4 inches to start, with about a half inch eraser. The wood is cheap, it’s splintery and rough. The paint is applied poorly, with parts flaking off and wood showing through, but it does its job and the letters are easy enough to read. The eraser is all right, it erases, but not all the way. Usable for sketches and writing. The eraser is hard and sometimes smears the graphite instead of erasing.

But that is all roughly cosmetic. One can get other erasers and the paint does its job. It’s really about the graphite. And that’s hard to screw up. HB’s are a fairly hard pencil, really medium, leaning to the soft end. They’re easy to draw with and give a large amount of control. The lead is not brittle, and stays in its wooden case. The pencil is suitable for sketches and of course writing like its main use in schools.

The wood being cheap makes it difficult to sharpen, making it lean more to one side or the other, the lead is also slightly off center. It’s cheap, but usable.

This pencil is a nice cheap way to sketch. And is useful in creating a draft for a sketch to be inked later. It being cheap it is available but it is also cheap, not the best pencil available. It does its job but it’s nothing spectacular.

Art Supply Critic

Category Archives: Utensils