keeping your ink bottle stable

Today is #Hourlycomicday, and I decided to join in (not hourly) to oil my rather rusty art skills. It’s good to shake things up, and as a writer of comics it also forces me to consider different ways to construct stories, and how to write scripts for an artist’s viewpoint.

Mostly, I used the experience to play around and try various approaches without over-thinking. The point is to push through and the keep doing something new.

While doing so I tweeted this picture.

The idea of using a sponge to anchor an ink bottle and prevent spills was popular on Twitter. I can’t claim ownership of the idea. I saw it mentioned during a YouTube video by a dip pen illustrator. She praised its efficacy, especially as she had cats, and they tend to knock things over…

Since I had bought a large car sponge to create a well for one bottle of ink, I decided to repeat the process and offer a step-by-step account of this rather simple idea:

I love this as it’s a cost effective solution using simple materials to solve a common problem. You can also use the sponge to wipe excess ink off your nib after you’ve dipped it, if you wish.

Thus ends the craft segment of the blog!

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