The inkvent challenge continues on into week three
The hits keep coming. Week three of my little Inkvent Challenge is proving the most difficult so far. Four blues and two rusty browns. Bring. It. On.
But first, a quick recap. We have arrived at the third week of my 2021 Inkvent Challenge. The challenge is to create a weekly currently inked using only the third six Inkvent inks. The inks for days 13 to 18 are my challenge for this week. Inks 19 to 24 are next week — which will complete the month-long challenge.
Diamine, in other words, has been choosing my ink selections throughout December. With inks dictated by the Inkvent calendar, my pen and nib choices are my pathways towards workable currently inked collections each week.
This challenge is clearly not how Diamine intended we use the Inkvent calendar. Pshaw. I’m having fun.
Of the four blue inks this week, three are darkly hued. That much overlap makes nib choice the best means of creating meaningful differences between inks. Bold nibs for those most likely to work well as accent colors: a M for the the brightest ink (Subzero) and a F-SIG for the palest (Night Shade).
The indigo-hued sheen monsters (Ruby Blue and Thunderbolt) are both EF to create more visual differences between the four shades. I will alternate the EFs for my daily driver options.
The final two are both coppery-browns; one with shimmer (Vintage Copper) and one without (Red Robin). I tapped a Pilot CM nib for Copper in the hopes that the broader nib will accommodate shimmer well. Red Robin is paired with a wet EF to provide contrast and, hopefully, coax Robin’s shading into regular writing.
Grey/Black
Non. Nope. Nil. Zilch.
Blue/Teal
Franklin-Christoph 03 Ghost (F SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Diamine Night Shade (Day 15). Night Shade is a murky unsaturated blue with purple undertones. It offers moderate shading without fuss, shimmer, or sheen. The unsaturated blue, paired with a SIG nib, stands out with both line variation and shade. Together, I consider this an accent combo. Particularly for slow-writing tasks. That SIG grind is a sharp-dressed writer. Reading notes, commonplace notes, thank you notes, journaling.
Kaweco Frosted Sport Light Blueberry (EF, Premium). Diamine Ruby Blue (Day 13). Ruby Blue is a mid-toned blue with heavy red sheen. It dries quickly — especially for a sheen monster. To capitalize, I paired Ruby Blue with a narrow EF nib. My first choice for a daily driver this week. The quick dry time, in particular, encourages me to lean heavily on this Kaweco for task management. Fewer smears. And for pocket notes. It is a Kaweco after all.
TWSBI Eco-T Mint (EF). Diamine Thunderbolt (Day 17). Thunderbolt is a popping indigo with strong gold sheen. It also takes ages to fully dry. These characteristics in mind, I opted for my driest EF TWSBI nib. The dark purple-blue offsets Subzero nicely. Combined, this pairing and the Ondoro are my primary commonplace notetakers for the week. Reading notes, commonplace notes, journaling, some thank you notes.
Faber-Castell Ondoro White (M). Diamine Subzero. Subzero is a light blue laden with powder blue (or silver?) shimmer. The clear standout for accent notes as it’s the brightest of this week’s inks. The Ondoro’s M nib is on the dry side and has struggled with shimmer inks in the past. But the aesthetics of a bulky white and silver pen with Subzero’s lovely blue needs to happen. And by need, I mean makes me smile. Challenge accepted. Reading notes, journaling, commonplace notes.
Earth Tones
Diplomat Aero Sunset Orange (EF). Diamine Red Robin (Day 14). Red Robin is a burnt apricot with prominent dark shading. The lack of shimmer and sheen make this a backup daily driver, especially for reading notes. The Diplomat’s snap cap makes this pairing well-suited to quick scratch notes, agenda notes, and margin notes while reading. I also have two late student papers to grade. Hello, Diplomat. Marking papers, reading notes, margin notes, journaling, some task management.
Pilot Prera Clear Black (CM). Diamine Vintage Copper (Day 16). Vintage Copper is a blend of red-brown and gold shimmer. A Roman centurion who is out to party. Copper is very close to Robin. The CM nib lays a lot of ink on the page, bringing out Copper’s darker side — and will hopefully prevent clogging from the ample shimmer. The CM is forgiving as italic grinds go. Still, a careful hand is needed to stay in the nib’s happy angle to the page. So: slow writing tasks are best. Journaling, thank you notes, some reading notes.
Wild Cards
Also none.
