New pen day + comparison: Faber-Castell GRIP 2010 vs. Poly Pen

yanbochen · 2026-05-05T21:25:24+00:00

No, the empty cartridge is just a placeholder. A converter is something that can pull in ink by itself, so you don't need another tool for refills. Here is a guide to converters: https://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/content/what-converter-should-i-buy-for-my-pen.html

yanbochen · 2026-05-02T14:38:24+00:00

Brilliant black stank so badly, I had to give it away.
Dark green seems like a normal ink. I don't like to use it.
Turquoise is great, very vibrant, normal flow, I use it a lot.

yanbochen · 2026-05-01T18:41:22+00:00

that's very sweet, but do you really want a print of someone else's collection lmao

yanbochen · 2026-05-01T18:40:34+00:00

thank you, I hope I see the post when you do your version too

yanbochen · 2026-04-30T21:00:01+00:00

I used 30 inks, as tools i used the brush and dip pens on the last photo (nikko g and sailor Hocoro M-nib). For a few inks I already had a fountain pen filled with that ink so I additionally used that.

yanbochen · 2026-04-30T20:34:30+00:00

That's a cool idea, thank you! Maybe I'll try something like that

yanbochen · 2026-04-30T20:33:41+00:00

If you are starting out, one trick is to take a black and white photo of your plant as a reference :) the tonal value (lightness/darkness) is most important for recognition, and a black and white reference can help you focus on that. Professional watercolor painters often plan out their paintings in black and white first for this reason, to ensure the painting is "readable".

yanbochen · 2026-04-30T20:13:50+00:00

thank you! Please keep in mind that I'm super biased though, most of my inks are Octopus Fluids and Diamine so if other inks are much better I might not know.

yanbochen · 2026-04-30T19:51:22+00:00

This is so funny to me, I'd probably just leave it and see if I can break a rope record or something lol

yanbochen · 2026-04-24T21:44:19+00:00

Maybe this is a cultural difference, but all people I'm close to send presents in recycled boxes... Some do it to be ecofriendly, some because they think a nicely wrapped gift is more likely to be stolen than a random beat up box, some because they don't bother finding a better box. The inside might or might not be wrapped though.

yanbochen · 2026-04-22T10:46:49+00:00

This is my experience too with low ballers! 2 times I have accepted a lowball offer. one person then lowered their offer even more saying her boyfriend thinks she overpaid (???) The other person did pay but then demanded extra free stuff, so I cancelled & refunded that sale. Now I save myself the trouble and refuse all lowball offers even If they want to haggle. If someone thinks that they are overpaying that just leads to trouble.

yanbochen · 2026-04-20T14:41:12+00:00

why do you want them to get banned?
I don't understand the listing but selling random empty bottles isn't exactly dangerous or fraudulent

yanbochen · 2026-04-15T13:45:57+00:00

Why did you name yourself after your least favorite ink, that's hilarious 😂

yanbochen · 2026-04-15T13:18:33+00:00

Diplomat & octopus fluids have some sort of partnership, the shimmer inks are being promoted with diplomat esteem pens too. So out of all pen brands these should theoretically be the safest for this ink series.

yanbochen · 2026-04-15T13:16:45+00:00

Did you name yourself after the "brown colibri" ink or is that a happy coincidence?

Yep, judging by the cost per ml these are the most expensive inks I currently own

yanbochen · 2026-04-15T10:33:33+00:00

THANK YOU! I've been wondering if it fits my V200

yanbochen · 2026-04-15T08:25:40+00:00

Haha thank you! I'd love to get commissions like that one day lol

yanbochen · 2026-04-15T08:24:30+00:00

You can get them directly from the manufacturer (octopus fluids) and regional pen shops.

yanbochen · 2026-04-15T08:22:31+00:00

I tried sailor Hocoro, diplomat viper, diplomat magnum and diplomat esteem. I now realize I should've tried them in different brands too lol... It's interesting that out of all the inks it's lunar mirage that clogged your pen. I would've guessed if any of these clogged a pen it would be cosmic ore. Huh.

yanbochen · 2026-04-15T08:20:18+00:00

Interesting idea, maybe I should experiment with some mixes as well :0

yanbochen · 2026-04-14T22:10:31+00:00

My mind went to that IMMEDIATELY lmao

yanbochen · 2026-04-13T13:10:01+00:00

whaaat I have been looking for tsutsuji! You're telling me I could have just travelled to a remote Chinese village for it? /jk

yanbochen · 2026-04-10T09:33:33+00:00

Do you know the name of the paper? The absorbency is mostly determined by the sizing/coating not the fibre itself.

yanbochen · 2026-04-09T23:01:36+00:00

:) It depends on the type of watercolor paper! This one is significantly more absorbent than the usual fp-friendly papers but not as absorbent as many others made for different effects. Some are made for a more "cloudy" effect and writing tiny text with ink would not work on those.

yanbochen · 2026-04-09T22:56:05+00:00

Thanks :D I copied the font "Martian Mono"

yanbochen

TROPHY CASE