Water soluble ink
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Water Soluble Inks are my favourites to in terms of coloring. They are the most vibrant and the color is translucent. Similar to the water color tube paint sets, if used straight out of the container the colors are very vivid. You can add water to mix colors and also to make the color into more of a wash. These can be treated similar to the tube paints, but unlike the tube paints no matter how much you layer up it will remain translucent. Inks will a lot of the time bleed together which is why I love working in ink. The marks that are created when the ink reacts with the water can form very beautiful textures.
With a lot of ink you can rework them once they are dry, but there are some exceptions. Some ink gets water proof after they dry. They are also a lot easier to handle on your paint brushes, because when they dry they don’t clump and make your brushes fray.
The most popular and widely available inks are Windsor and Newton drawing inks, they come in a wide variety of colours and they are nice to work with.
Winsor & Newton Drawing Ink – Henry Collection Pack![]()

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They do dry a little sticky as shellac is used as the binder. I purchased a set a long time ago and they are perfectly useable, the colours are strong, and you have a wide range of pre made colors.
There is very minimal wastage when it comes to using ink, as you can squeeze whatever is left on your brush back into the pot, and you can use the ink sparingly because of the dense colours.
The only complaint I have about these is that the fact they dry with a sheen, some would find this attribute to be a positive, I however prefer a more matt finish.
A massive positive is that once the ink dries it won’t budge, making it great for layering or working alongside other aqueous mediums.
The Windsor and Newton drawing inks are lower mid-range in price and are good value for money. They are great for budding artists and are versatile enough to be used for calligraphy.
Inks are not very portable and the consistency is very watery, so chances of spillages and ink wastage are quite high, if you are not using a stable flat surface.