I’m pretty sure this is how I’ll die some day. Locked in a fitting room. Trapped. Alone. Strangled by a sundress.
R.I.P.
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens
I use these all the time. They are waterproof, lightfast, come in a variety of widths, and are generally pretty good. I’m a fan.
But someone, please, TELL ME WHY
every time (every single time!) I get a new set and start drawing
the “Medium” pen works like a charm for about ten minutes
then stops
never to work again.
I don’t have this problem with any other width. I do a lot of detail work, and I run the fine, superfine, and “extra-superfine” pens into the ground over the course of months. They work until the bitter end, when the tip is all but completely worn away. The Brush and Big Brush (oh, the love I have for you, Big Brush) pens eventually get dry and scratchy—but again, it takes a month or two of regular use for this to happen.
But the Medium nib? Out like a light. I bought a new set (standard S-F-M-B) the other day, and uncapped the Medium pen for this first time about half an hour ago. It no longer draws. The ink simply doesn’t come out. (And that wasn’t even half an hour of continuous drawing—I drew for about ten minutes, then capped it to answer the door. I greeted my guest, we shared some cookies and a rootbeer, I cleared a spot for him at the table, and I sat down to draw again.)
Am I doing something wrong? Does the medium pen require special care that no one told me about? Do medium-nib pens simply hate me?
And does anyone have a suggestion for a different brand of pen—one that actually works?
Is there a real-life purpose for the Dissolve blend mode?
Because I pretty much just use it as a confidence booster. When I’m unhappy with a project, I can just switch the layers over to dissolve, and it looks A MILLION TIMES BETTER when I switch back.
Why is it there? What is it for? It makes me confused and angry and I don’t know what to do with it?
