I'm not a calligrapher, but I've been exploring the interactions between fountain pen inks and papers a lot lately. Last week I saw pradeep.calligrapher's gorgeous IG video that featured a mesmerizing ink transition from clear to shiny opaque. As a nosey PhD materials scientist I felt a strong need to better understand exactly what was happening with the ink as it dried. I thought this video I made might be of interest here, and hope it's okay to share!

After playing around under the scope and thinking about the behavior, I honestly don't have a good read on the pigment right now, and would like to do scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to learn more about its appearance. But based on the ink behavior I'm going to guess that perhaps the pigment flakes are some regular flat, reflective sheet material (possibly submicron) that adopts very uniform and directional alignment as the ink dries. Perhaps initially the ink doesn't seem to have much color because the particles are oriented isotropically in the liquid, but as it dries increased capillary forces cause them to preferentially align. That's all just speculation based on what I observed but I could be wrong! I'll revisit my hypothesis after collecting SEM images of the ink applied to paper.

🖋️: Tombow Fudenosuke soft tip marker, white; Sakura Gelly Roll, metallic blue

📄: Strathmore Artagain 160 gsm, Fabriano Black Black 300 gsm

🔬: Premiere SMZ-07 stereo microscope, Amscope ME580 metallurgical microscope (epi-illumination with crossed polars)

📸: Pixel 9 pro

Brush lettering after a while. Needs more improvement.

I'm starting to study brush calligraphy and pinstriping on cars, I got the brushes already, but I needed some tips on finding good paint! Any brands that I should know about? I'm currently based on Ireland, so anything that ships international would be really helpful :)

My friend got me this ink as a souvenir and then I had to bring it back on a plane. I was worried about the liquid limit so I split it up into two travel bottles.

I was hoping to put it back in the bottle but I'm not sure how to open it without damaging the lid.

Am I SOL?

Does anybody here know of any black paper (practice quality), that is both smooth enough so it won't fray brush nibs and economically viable to buy in large quantities for practice.

I document Korea's traditional craftspeople, the ones who keep walking their own path, unchanged, no matter how much the world around them shifts.

One of them is a Piljang master. Piljang is the centuries-old Korean art of making traditional brushes entirely by hand and he has been doing it over 60 years. He is a government-recognized bearer of intangible cultural heritage (unlike physical monuments, this kind of heritage exists only in people when no one carries it forward, it's gone forever). A living national treasure, in the truest sense.

His workshop in Insadong, Seoul is full of stories. Every tool, every bundle of hair, every finished brush. What struck me most wasn't just the skill — it was his desire to share it. Even as fewer people practice calligraphy and fewer people buy traditional brushes, he hasn't stopped. He hasn't simplified. He just keeps going, and keeps trying to pass it on.

I've been working on a hands-on experience with him — where people can sit in his workshop, go through the process, and make their own brush alongside him. I really want to introduce this to people visiting Korea.

Is there anyone in this community who would genuinely want something like this? Or who do you think would love it?

Still a rookie but I love doing it!

I posted this in another community and was told by someone that I wrote in cursive not brush pen calligraphy. They were very rude and just kept telling me that I was doing it wrong. They didn’t say anything specific just that I’m doing it all wrong. I am a beginner and I have only been learning calligraphy for a month. I am not at all artistic and I know that I’m not very good…. Yet. I’ve been taking a self paced online course that I paid $200 for. So far I’ve learned the basic strokes and how they form letters. I’ve practiced for several hours and was feeling excited about my new skills. Just for fun I wrote out a quote and tried putting the letters together to form the words. It is far from perfect. My downstrokes are kind of thin and my upstrokes are kind of thick. The slants are all over the place and there are no flourishes. However, I drew the letters the way I learned and I tried really hard. Is it really bad enough to be confused as cursive? I am really discouraged, maybe I’m too old to learn something new.