Frequently asked questions

Plus a list of tools, materials, supplies, and resources for pen and ink.

Table Of Contents

About the tools, materials, and supplies
Drawing
Inking
Paper
Studio equipment
Social media tools
Pen and ink books
Art supply merchants
Merchandise and prints
Commissions, sponsorships, and partnerships

DISCLOSURE: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, I’ll earn a commission or reward. Know that I only recommend products I personally use and stand behind. When you use one of my affiliate links, that seller compensates me. For example, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

About the tools, materials, and supplies

These are the products I use regularly, though not limited to. I have suggested “sets” or “value packs” where it makes sense both value-wise and frequency of use. However, if you are just starting out with pen and ink, consider purchasing in smaller quantities than what I have listed.

Some of these products are linked to suggested companies where you can purchase the items, primarily on Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use those links, though I encourage you to also shop around to find the best fit for your needs (value, model, quantities).

Questions about the listed items? Curious about other pen and ink drawing tools? Feel free to reach out.

✒️ Visit the Tools page to view images of my favourite items.

Drawing

What drawing pencils, leads, and sharpeners do you use?

– Staedtler Mars Technico lead holder with 2mm lead, and I use H leads mostly, sometimes 2H and HB

– Staedtler Mars Technico R otary Lead Sharpener

– Staedtler Mars Carbon Lead, 2mm, H, 12 Lead pack

– Staedtler Mars Lumog raph Art drawing pencil set, and I use mostly 2H, H, HB, 2B, 4B 6B

– Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener

What erasers do you use?

– Staedtler Mars Stick Eraser Holder and Eraser Refills, pack of 10

– Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser

– Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser

Inking

What nibs do you use?

Primarily Speedball Hunt 101, 102, 512, and 513 EF

My initial starter kit and recommended for beginners: Speedball 99, 56, 102, 107, 108, 512 includes pen holders

I also use:
– Tachikawa soft Maru 77

– Tachnikawa G-nib

– Brause Steno 361 Purple Pumpkin

How do you clean your nibs?

I use a nail brush with a mild cleaning agent to gently scrub the nib and also a Professional Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner with liquid soap mixed with a teaspoon of baking soda. I wipe the nib dry afterward.

What pen holders do you use with your nibs?

– Speedball classic marbelized stra ight universal holder

– Tachikawa t-40 holder

– Speedball standard straight holder

– Speedball 102 crow quill holder

What ink do you use?

Speedball super black India ink

What is that two-finger glove you use?

I wear the two-finger gl ove to keep the drawing surface clean of skin oils and to reduce smudging. I also use it on my tablet to prevent friction.

📚 Read The Beginner’s Guide to Dip Pens for more info on using dip pens.

📚 Read the Speedball brochure PDF for more info on their dip pens and ink products.

What brushes do you use for inking?

– Sapphire S51 Daler-Rowney 01

– Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable br ush 02

– Lenbicki micro brush set 01 to 08

Do you use brush pens?

I prefer to use watercolor brushes with ink over using brush pens, however, this is not always convenient.

Ideally, I look for brush pens that are refillable such as the Pentel Arts Portable Pocket brush pen (refillable), medium.

Otherwise, I enjoy these brush pens also:
– Kuretake Bimoji brush pen, medium

– Pilot Futayaku double-sided brush pen

– Zebra Fude brush, double-sided

Do you use fine liner or pigment liner technical pens?

I have not yet tried all the brands for comparison, however so far for sketching I most frequently use:

– Tombow mono drawing water-based ink liners set 01, 03, 05 get on AMAZON or from Tombow to get FREE Shipping on all U.S. orders and Canadian orders over $30!

– Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen, Soft Tip (it’s a marker) get on AMAZON or from Tombow to get FREE Shipping on all U.S. orders and Canadian orders over $30!

– Staedtler waterproof p igment lin ers set 0.05 to 08.

Paper

What paper is best for inking?

For professional quality artwork using dip pens, and brushes, I recommend Strathmore 300 Bristol Smooth.

For inking practice using dip pens, brushes, or fine liner pens I use Bristol paper with a vellum finish and currently use the Bienfang brand of vellum bristol.

For mixed media (wet and dry) I quite like my Moleskine Arts sketchbook, plus it is travel friendly with the format and hardcover. The Moleskine Arts sketchbook is a premium cold-press paper.

What paper do you use for sketching and drawing exercises?

I use any value-priced paper for drawing practice unless I plan to ink my sketch as part of a study exercise. Strathmore 400 Ske tch fine tooth paper pads are a good quality paper for inking with fine liners and markers. I also use Bienfang or Artist Loft tracing paper.

Studio equipment

What is your setup in your art studio?

– 71″x71″, L-shaped, power sit-to-stand desk made by EFFY Desks (get 10% off)

– 40″x20″ fatigue mat

– EFFY BohdiStool (get 10% off)

– 29.5″ x 10.75″ Adjustable Tabletop Easel by Falling In Art

– Swing Arm Magnifying Desk Lamp by YOUKOYI

– 14″x14″ Cricut cutting mat

– 46″ Husky Standard-Duty W 9-Drawer mobile cabinet with solid wood top

– Huacan Diamond LED Light Tablet (portable light table for tracing)

What is that Brass Snake pen holder you have?

My awesome pen holder is made by Coppertist.wu. I like it because the weight of the brass keeps the holder from sliding around on my table when it is set on an incline (not too steep!). It keeps my dip pen safe from rolling off my table while in use. Get 15% OFF using discount code Gendron15 with my link: https://bit.ly/41WkWuN

✒️ Visit the Tools page to view images of my favourite items.

Social media tools

What camera do you use?

At the moment, all my photos and videos are taken with an iPhone 14 Pro Max using the standard settings.

What other essential equipment do you use to make short-form and long-form videos?

– Selfie ring light with stand & phone holder by ULANZI

– Rode NT-USB Studio Microphone

– Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphone

What software and hardware do you use to publish on social media?

– Portable SSD 500GB External Solid State Drive

– Capcut free desktop App

– Canva pro desktop App

– Adobe Photoshop

– 27″ iMac 5K retina 2017

– 12.9″ iPad Pro, 4th generation

What Royalty-free assets do you use?

Artlist Music & SFX Social Yearly License. Get your first two months free when you sign up for 1 year with my link.

Pen and ink books

What books do you recommend for learning more about pen and ink drawing?

– Rendering in Pen & Ink by Arthur L. Guptill

– Pen & Ink Technique by Frank Lohan

– Pen and ink drawing, a simple guide by Alphonso Dunn

Art supply merchants

Where else can I purchase pen and ink materials?

Jetpens
Michaels
Jackson Art
Des Serres
Art Noise

Merchandise and prints

Do you sell merchandise? (T-Shirts)

For merchandise with Longstride Illustration designs, you can shop at the print-on-demand store that works best for you from the list below. Pricing, terms & conditions, styles, and quality vary by platform. I update these shops frequently with new designs.

– TeePublic

– Red Bubble

– Zazzle

Where do you get your Giclée prints done?

At the moment, Glicées ordered from my website are produced at The Giclee Factory, based in Quebec City. I order small batches from them and ship them to you from my location in Sherbrooke, Quebec. This is a high-quality printing service, not a print-on-demand App.

What are the terms and conditions for shipping, returns, and refunds?

Please visit the Terms page to learn more.

Do you have a privacy policy?

Please visit the Privacy page to learn more.

Commissions, sponsorships, and partnerships

Do you do commissions?

I’m not accepting private commissions at this time. I do accept suggestions on topics or subjects that you would like to see featured in videos and blog articles.

How can we work together?

Please reach out using the contact form for any of these inquiries:
– artwork licensing/commercial rights usage
– exhibits/galleries
– sponsorship/brand ambassadorship
– associations/affiliates
– collaborations (art projects, blog articles, product reviews, interviews)
– instructional course content

Looking for something else? Get in touch.

FAQ