I was very kindly sent these pen ink samples by Scribble at Unitedinkdom.This is my second visit to these inks. You can see my first review here. Shimmer inks are a strange and relatively new off shoot. Herbin have done it with their 1670 range and Diamine have done it with their extensive Shimmertastic range. Both of which are proven and you know where my leaning is.

So let’s set the scene – I was quite scathing of these in my last review and although the bleeding issue has been resolved and the metals now flow more evenly, the dust is still very unstable when dry and the colours……! I said this before and I’ll say it again, De Atramentis are damn good ink manufacturers and have a substantial stable of gorgeous colours, but these are so dull! The pictures posted have been enhanced a little for the benefit of viewing the sheens and metals so don’t get too excited. Okay, when I blended them together in the abstract calligraphy test the two colours did create an interesting metallic sheen, but as said, I’ve had to really enhance the image for you to see this. There’s no shying away from this, these are dull colours and three metal versions of each dull colour just doesn’t win me over – at all. So, the majority of problems have been fixed, but with no vivid colours and no chromatic behaviours, what can I do with them?

If you’d like to buy any of the original art featured on my site you can purchase it on my ETSY shop site or contact me direct. I will do my upmost to add value to your investment over time – click here to access the shop . I am also accepting commissions for swatch tests. So, if you have a favourite ink(s) and some words for someone special, or maybe just for yourself, drop me a line and we can discuss further.

If you’d like to know more about this project, please take a look at the Mission Statement.

All tests on Bockingford 200lb watercolour paper using brushes and a Noodler’s Ahab for the ink work.

Just for the record – I do this for myself, I receive no remuneration what-so-ever and I tell it exactly how I see it.

Of possible interest: