New Artwork 2014 – Ian Rogers – My Sketchbook

First post of the new year – happy 2014, everyone!

Lately I’ve been on something of a paint marker kick, and have tried out a few different brands. I’ve found that I prefer latex markers as enamel markers tend to soak into my sketchbook and leave weird stains all over, and they totally stink of xylene. So yes, latex markers get my thumbs-up. My biggest complaint about most of the brands I’ve tried is that when you draw with them in your sketchbook, after a couple of weeks a ghost impression starts showing on the opposite page. If you like to draw on both sides of the page as I do, you have to get used to that dusty imprint of the facing page.  This is not the case with Molotow markers, though. I’ve been using Molotow 127 HS markers – they’re not that pricy & the opacity/ coverage is fantastic (even white), brightness of the colour is great, they have excellent permanence (100% UV resistant) and they seem good for not getting clogged up. Even better, they’re refillable and you can replace the nibs. Basically, they are much easier to work with than any other brand I’ve tried.  I’ve mostly been working with the 2mm nibs which sound pretty fat for a small sketchbook but they are rigid & keep their point fairly well, so you can get a surprising amount of detail out of them once you get used to them. Buy some, you won’t regret it.

I’ve mentioned before that like to use Moleskines because they hold up to a pretty fair amount of abuse. You can get Moleskines with a more absorbent cold press finish (watercolour paper) or the version I go for that’s more hot press finish (smooth). If you like to beat the heck out of your sketchbooks and are looking for a nice pocket-style book, you should get a Moleskine  for yourself.