New Avatars by Eric Merced

I have been blessed to meet many cool people through this blog, and one of my newest online friends is Cartoonist and Illustrator Eric Merced. We have had several conversations on pens and comics, and recently I asked him about doing some custom avatars that I could use on social media sites like Twitter.


Eric proved to be very accommodating and easy to work with, and did a spectacular job in turning my large dome into a cool comic avatar. Here are some samples:


color avatar


bw avatar


I couldn't be happier with the outcome - thanks Eric!


Be sure to check out Eric's portfolio at EricMerced.com, and follow him on Twitter @eric_merced.

Posted on June 30, 2011 and filed under General.

New Pilot Petit1 Mini Fountain Pen Review

Pilot Petit1 Review


Almost exactly three years ago, I reviewed the original Pilot Petit1 fountain pen. Needless to say, I was not a fan at that time, but I have learned a lot of things since then. First and foremost, Moleskine paper is not fountain pen friendly. I alluded to that fact in the original review, but never followed up on different paper - until now.


The new line of the popular Pilot Petit series just recently came out, and included the traditional Petit1 fountain pen, but also added the Petit2 marker pen, and Petit3 brush pen. I went with the Petit1 first because I wanted to give it another shot, and this time on some good paper!


Pilot Petit1 Exploded View


Doane Paper has been my go to paper for years, and the Pilot Petit1 works like a champ on it. I chose blue black ink to test first (why is it that I think all fountain pens are supposed to have blue black ink?), and with its fine nib the Petit1 performed impressively, and I might even say flawlessly.


I got very clean and sharp lines on the Doane Paper. The ink dried into the page quickly, and while there was some show through on the back of the page, there was no bleeding through to the next page behind it. I also tested it on a Rhodia Dot Pad, and it performed superbly as well. The ink doesn't soak into the fibers of the Rhodia as much, so the line is finer, but doesn't dry as quickly.


Pilot Petit1 Nib and Refill


Pilot has done a great job reintroducing the Petit line, making it fun and affordable for everyone to try out refillable fountain pens, marker pens, and brush pens. I can't wait to see more reviews on these.


Products used:


Pilot Petit1 Mini Fountain Pen - White Body - $3.00 from JetPens


Pilot Petit Pen Refill Cartridge Blue Black - $2.25 from JetPens


Doane Paper Writing Pad - $10.95/3-pack from Doane Paper

Posted on June 29, 2011 and filed under Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews, Petit, Pilot.

#OnePenOneDay TUL Gel Ink Pen

TUL There was a conversation recently around what is the best store brand pen. My rankings look like this:


1. TUL Gel Ink Pen from Office Max


That's it. That is the extent of my list.


Even though I haven't been using it recently, the TUL stacks up with some of the best gel ink pens, and some would even argue that they are better than the Uni-Ball Signo 207 and Pilot G-2. You won't get much argument from me.


In the #OnePenOneDay challenge, this needle tip TUL performed flawlessly all day long, providing a smooth, clean writing experience, and pitch black ink.

Posted on June 28, 2011 and filed under #onepenoneday, TUL.