This one got off to a bumpy start. My original intent was to draw the lines with my new Rotring (or rOtring, as the company brands it) Art Pen. But as the test above shows, the tip produces lines of approximately the same width no matter which way it moves. Certainly the difference wasn’t big enough to produce contrasting sets of lines.
My second attempt began with Koh-i-Noor Rapidograph tech pens. I had a 0.3mm that I’d never used, mostly because I was worried that I’d have trouble getting ink to flow through the tip. Some of the India ink I’ve used in the past probably would have plugged it, but – after a nervous minute or two – Shikiori Shigure started to flow and made beautiful thin lines.
“Shigure” translates to “rain showers,” which seemed appropriate given the technique I had in mind.
However, the 0.8mm pen I planned to use for the wider lines turned out to be impossibly clogged by some previous ink. Digging through my collection of loose tech pens, I found a 1.2mm that I’d never used before. Thick lines to be sure, but at least it worked.
From there I returned to the technique I used for #177 with one big twist: I waited for a day or so between water sprays. That gave it plenty of time for the ink to dry completely, which cut down even further on the puddles that turn lines into sloppy messes.
The result is subtle, especially in the photo. But up close it works particularly well. Very ghostly.
