Art Supplies: ECCC 2015 Pens

This year's Emerald City Comicon was a trove of wondrous treasures to behold, and of course I found it impossible to leave without filling my suitcase to the brim with sweet loot. Tradition dictates that I buy no less than 500 things that are Godzilla themed, and I am happy to say I met that quota with little effort. I also scored some excellent new pens!

All three of these pens were gifted to me from various sources, and they're a delightfully diverse and unexpected trio. Since they're new to me, I thought it might be fun to try them out share my experience with each one. This won't be a review so much as just an overview and some general first impressions. Ready?  Here we go!

Copic G07 WIDE (Nile Green)

A lot of the reviews on Blick's website say that this marker is useful for covering broad areas in a single color. While I'm sure it works wonders for that purpose, I think resigning it to only filling in backgrounds would be selling it short of its true potential. It has a crisp, chiseled tip that can be maneuvered to produce lots of interesting shapes, or it can be angled to create a much sharper line. I love the flecks of white it leaves across the paper when handled lightly. It seems like it might be very fun to draw organic shapes and plants with the Nile Green color. 

Blue Sharpie with Comic Bento logo

I love Sharpies. They're indispensable, versatile, and virtually indestructible. You never know when a spontaneous doodling party, box-labeling, or bout of pen sword fighting might occur, so I try not to go anywhere without one! This one was freshly uncapped for the above picture, and guiding a brand new Sharpie across a piece of paper is satisfying at the same level as grabbing the first scoop of peanut butter out of the jar. This was re-gifted to me, but I think Comic Bento was distributing these from their table at ECCC.

Also:  I checked out Comic Bento, and it looks like they're a cool and relatively affordable way to get a box of assorted comics every month. Enticing!

Copic Multiliner 0.3 Brown

If I was tasked with crowning the ultimate monarch of all pens, the Copic Multiliner would be a strong contender. The Copic Multiliner 0.5 Black was one of my pens of choice for the artwork of Skyfaux, and in my world there really are no substitutes. This 0.3 Brown variety was included as a gift in my Artist Alley packet this year, and it is just as crisp and wonderful as one might expect. Admittedly, I don't step down below a 0.5 tip very often because my Hulk-like grip tends to wear the finer pens down well before their time... however, I vow to take care of this pen to my utmost. May it inspire me be light of hand, and maybe to work in a new color once in a while. 

Overall:  These are all great pens. From now on, I'll have to make a point of occasionally acquiring even more unknown art supplies and seeing what inspiration follows.