Review: Copic Wine Multiliner and Brush Pen SP

This review is by Kalina Wilson, who can also be found at geminica.com.


I became interested in Copic's wine colored pens when Urban Sketcher Correspondent Matthew Brehm joined the Portland Urban Sketchers for a sketchcrawl and made this beautiful and very long drawing.  The purple segment really stands out to my eyes, and it was made with the Copic Multiliner in wine.


Copic-image


The Brush Pen in wine is much darker than the Multiliner - no matter how much I layered the Multiliner's strokes, the ink never got as dark as is generated in one quick stroke by the Brush Pen though it did layer nicely.


Copicwine-sample
Copic's brush pens aren't actual brushes.  Like the popular Faber-Pitt Artist Brush Pens and most other brush pen options out there, they have a molded tip that mimics brush behavior by allowing a lot of line variation.  In some ways this style of pen is easier to use than an actual brush with a bunch of separate hairs that can get damaged or in disarray.  I find it easier with Copic's faux brushes to keep the line at a medium weight without unintentionally turning the brush the wrong way and ending up with a really thick line where I didn't want one.


Copicwine-brushsmall However, there are some big drawbacks to these brush-mimic tips as well.  You can see in the sample above that using the full potential width of the brush resulted in a strange uneven shape at the end of the stroke.  You don't get that problem with the brush pens that have actual bristles  (such as the Pentel Pocket Brush and the Kuretake Hair Brush).   Also, it was a challenge to get a fine line with the Copic brush.


I love that Copic is so focused on making permanent tools.  Since I can order wine ink refills online and the brush tips and Multiliner tips are available at my local art store ($2.50), both the brush pen and the multiliner pen with their sleek silver bodies could potentially stay in my collection forever.


But will they?  


Copicwine-multiliner The Multiliner will.  It's got good waterproof ink, it's a lovely color that can layer to a darker tone, a good line, replaceable nib.  I'll use this pen again, and look forward to experimenting to adding watercolors in tones to complement the wine color.


As for the brush pen, I'm not so sure.  Actual hair brush pens make a nicer line, and the Kuretake can be refilled with any fountain pen ink.  The Copic's advantage then becomes that their ink is waterproof and replacement nibs are cheaper. Here's a drawing using the Copic brush pen with watercolors - I have no other purple ink that could take watercolors without running.


Copic-watercolors_0862


I also tried using the multiliner and the brush together in one drawing.  It would work better if I could get a finer minimum line width with the brush.  


Copicwine


 This was supposed to be Benedict Cumberbatch, star of Steven Moffat's new BBC Sherlock Holmes remake, Sherlock.  Note how it's very clear whether each line was made with the brush pen or the multiliner!  Ah well, I'll keep the Multiliner in my travel bag but the Brush Pen will probably get relegated to the "occasional use" pile, only because there are some phenomenal brush options out there if you go through the bother to track them down.


Thanks to Copic for generously providing these sample products!


 

Posted on December 30, 2010 and filed under Brush Pen, Copic, Geminica, Guest Post, Multiliner, Pen Reviews.

Top 10 Pen Reviews of 2010

ChristmasEven bad can be good.


In what has become an annual tradition at The Pen Addict (see 2008 and 2009), here are the top 10 pen reviews of 2010.  The rankings below consist of the top 10 pen review posts for the 2010 calendar year as determined by Google Analytics.  This list isn't my top 10 favorite pens, but rather a snapshot of what was popular over the last 12 months.

1. Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.3mm Blue Black
Color me shocked when I saw this, but it took me all of about five seconds to realize why.  This is the review linked on the right sidebar for my Top 5 Pens list.  Note to self - update the Top 5 Pens list.  Still an awesome pen.

2. Zebra M-701 Mechanical Pencil
This is much less of a surprise than number one.  This new release by Zebra was well received and much sought after.  Has everyone been able to find one by now?  If not, keep trying.  It is well worth tracking one down.  The design is top notch.

3. Nomadic CB-01 Wise-Walker Day Pack
Wait - that's not a pen!  I know, but this was one of my personal favorite reviews of the year, and this is where it ranked overall for 2010, so I decided to include it with the rest of the bunch.  My wife and I used this day pack all fall long for our daughters soccer practice and games.  It is the perfect size for all of the extras we needed to carry around.  Love it!

4. Zebra Surari Emulsion Ink Pen - 0.5 mm
One of the best new pens of the year, the Zebra Surari was a great entrant into the ballpoint, but not really, category of pens.  I don't reach for it as often as my Jetstream, but it is a good pen nonetheless.

5. Fisher Space Pen X-Mark Bullet
The Fisher Space Pen had been on the short list for me to review ever since I started this blog, but it took me nearly three years to get around to it.  I shouldn't have waited so long.  The ink cartridge performs as advertised, and the X-Mark barrel is just rad.

6. Sharpie Liquid Pencil
This was probably one of the most hyped office product releases of the year, but performance trumped the hype and the Sharpie Liquid Pencil vanished from the lips of consumers very quickly.  This pencil is terrible, and there is no way to sugarcoat that fact, but I tried to find the positive and applauded Sharpie for continuing to innovate.

7. Sharpie Pen Grip
Now that's more like it Sharpie!  A nice update to an already great pen, and released soon enough after the weak Sharpie Pen RT to make people forget that dud.  I still rank the original Sharpie Pen as my favorite, but the Grip version is practically its equal.

8. Uni-Ball Fanthom Erasable Gel 0.5mm
The popularity of erasable gel ink pens continues to amaze me.  The Pilot FriXion is far and away the leader in that category, but Uni-Ball is trying to make a dent with the Fanthom.  It is a nice pen, but erasables just aren't for me.

9. Zebra Regal Roller NR5 0.5mm Needle Tip
Zebra kicked butt with the new pen designs this year, including the new Regal Roller line.  The only catch?  Good luck finding them.  They never really populated the shelves locally, and I had to wait until JetPens stocked some this fall to add more to my arsenal.  Like the M-701 above, this one would be worth hunting down.

10. Zebra F-301 Bold & H-301 Highlighter
I told you Zebra brought the goods this year, didn't I?  Four of my top ten most trafficked posts for the year is pretty impressive.  This was a dual post with the new wide tip F-301 and the stainless steel H-301 highlighter.  I'd pass on the ballpoint, but the highlighter is fantastic, and will definitely draw some looks.

Posted on December 28, 2010 and filed under Pen Reviews, Top 10.

Christmas Loot

Christmas


I got a few fun pen and paper items from Santa this year, including the:


- Behance Dot Grid Journal


- Ecosystem Ruled Essay Books


- CountyComm Embassy Pen


I'm pretty psyched about all of these items and plan on reviewing them soon.  Did Santa bring you any fun stuff?

Posted on December 27, 2010 .