In a small corner of the art store, there’s sometimes an ink section that houses both fountain pen inks and drawing inks. This section is also often right next to the watercolour paint section, and with good reason!
Being quite similar in terms of their transparency and method of use, there are many artists who have worked with both. But what exactly are the differences between the two?
The World of Inks
Firstly, I do want to mention that my drawing ink collection isn’t as extensive as my watercolour one, so I’ve included my fountain pen inks in the mix. This is perfectly fine to do, as fountain pen inks are almost the same as drawing inks but with a smoother consistency as most of them are dye-based.
If you also plan to use other inks, remember to keep track of which ink is for what purpose – you can use fountain pen inks for drawing and/or painting, but you can’t use drawing inks in fountain pens! I also recommend using either a dip pen or synthetic paintbrushes with your drawing inks, as the finer pigment particles tend to get stuck easily between the bristles and will ruin a natural-hair paintbrush quite quickly.
The dyeing strength of inks is usually quite high too, which is why your brushes need a thorough cleaning after any inking session. Dip pens are much easier to clean – just swirl the nib in water and wipe it off on a paper towel or rag.
Note: I will say though that it’s much more difficult to use a dip pen with watercolours, mainly because the paint tends to cling to the nib instead of flowing down to the paper like ink does. If you’re curious, you can give it a try – just dilute the watercolour as you normally would, then use a paintbrush to apply the paint to the back (the concave part) of the nib.
In fact, the dyeing strength is so strong that it’s better to use a glass or ceramic palette with inks, as plastic is too porous. On the plus side though, inks, especially water-resistant ones, will last longer on paper than watercolours, so your choice will depend on the purpose of your painting or drawing.
Saturation
One of the biggest differences between inks and watercolour paint is that inks tend to be quite consistently saturated, especially if you’re using them straight from the bottle. Watercolours are often more saturated than ink, but because they have to be diluted in water first in order to be used, they tend to vary more in terms of consistency.
Inks also tend to be dye-based, as they must be kept in liquid form. While some are pigment-based (drawing inks in particular), the pigments are ground much more finely than with watercolours so that they can be dissolved in water. However, over time, they can clump together or crystallise, which is why inks generally have a shorter shelf life than watercolour paints. The water is prone to evaporation too, so use them often!
The dye-based inks tend to be the more vibrant inks, though sometimes pigment-based inks – especially those made from ground minerals – contain tiny flecks of metal, making them shimmer when under a bright light. It’s similar to mineral-based watercolours like hematite or amethyst, but even more vibrant as there’s no binder mixed into the formula.
Another thing with dye-based inks is that they don’t granulate. This can be a pro or a con depending on whether you like the granulation effect or not, but if you must have granulation, it’s probably best to stick with pigment-based watercolours or inks instead.
Note: India ink is pigment-based, but not all pigment-based inks or watercolour paints are granulating either. So if you want to figure out whether something granulates for sure, it’s always best to look up a swatch of it and check out its performance before buying.
Convenience
In terms of convenience, it depends on how you plan to make your artwork. Ink is convenient in the sense that you don’t have to keep adding water to it, unless you want a very light wash. Just dip your pen or brush into the ink and voilà! You have what you need to start painting.
Mixing is a little trickier though, as you’ll need a syringe and a palette with wells to mix the liquid inks inside, whether you’re diluting it with water or blending other inks to get a different colour. You’ll also have to flush out the syringe after each colour change, since you don’t want to contaminate the original bottle of ink with other colours.
It’s also not easy to travel with inks, as they must be kept in airtight bottles or containers all the time. In this sense, watercolour is much more convenient, especially the pan or sheet version.
I’d say that with inks, it’s much better to do a monochromatic painting with them, or at most, use two different colours as a “limited palette” colour scheme.
Flow
Last but not least is how well the medium flows. Of course, ink flows much easier than watercolour paint because it’s already in liquid form. Even watercolour paint in tubes is too thick to use directly, so it’s harder to get a consistent wash unless you dilute it with a certain amount of water first.
For inks, it’s much easier to get a consistent wash, if that’s what you’re looking for. Some artists prefer this “flatter” look, while others prefer the slight variation in saturation offered by watercolours.
Ink tends to dry faster than watercolours though, so you’ll need to work quickly to get that flat wash! It’s also more difficult to layer, as there’s a smaller range of saturation you can get compared to watercolour.
In comparison, watercolour also flows pretty well, especially if you prep some in a palette’s well by mixing a little paint with water. It just takes this extra step to achieve the right consistency and saturation. In addition, the great thing about watercolours is that wet techniques result in more interesting blends, and it’s much easier to control the mixing process. With inks, you need to measure mixing ratios with a syringe, making it quite finicky. It’s also harder to see what the resulting colour looks like without testing it on scrap paper first.
Conclusion
There are always pros and cons with any art medium, so the best way to figure out your own preferences is to try them out for yourself. In fact, the best way to figure out all the nuanced differences is to experiment and explore! There’s always something new to discover, even if you’re a professional artist.
Regardless, I hope this blog post has helped shed some light on the differences and similarities between these two media. It’s not that one is “better” than the other; rather, they’re used in different ways and fulfil different purposes. But you may have a preference anyway, and that’s fine too! The important thing is to keep growing as an artist.
Have you discovered any additional differences between inks and watercolour paints? Which is your preference, if you have one? Let us know in the comments below!