Ballpoint Pen Play

There was a discussion yesterday by Cathy Johnson about ballpoints so I had to try it.  Most of our pens are gel rollers but I did manage to come across a single ballpoint.

Because ballpoints have a tendency to "blob" and skip, I just never thought to use one in any serious sketching.  Boy have I been missing out!!!!

I love the value range you can get with one pen.  Unlike the gel roller or others where the ink flows pretty consistently, to get a different range of value with those pens, one has to hatch and cross hatch or hold the pen at different angles.  With the ballpoint, it depends on pressure and I like that.

I've been surfing the net trying to find out more about which ballpoints might be better and so far haven't really come up with a definitive answer.  Andrea Joseph uses all kinds to include the cheap Bics or dollar store pens....some with better results than others.  I guess I'll just have try a couple different ones beginning with the Bic as that was mentioned in several articles and comes in various colors.

Think I'll do more surfing today locating artists who work in ballpoint.  I'm really intrigued and for me this is like playing with a new toy.