A Quick Review of Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay Inks

Quick review of Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay Inks https://daisyyellowart.com

At that place are many art materials that get building blocks to all sorts of art — materials that are versatile and can exist used in many different ways. I observe these india inks engaging and dear to incorporate them in my art! I utilize them to make abstracts, for manus-lettering, and they can also be combined and used to create a fiddling blend of colour. While I utilize all sorts of inks twelvemonth-round, in Inktober/Oct I like to delve into a dissimilar attribute of ink and dedicate the entire month to experimentation.

So I splurged on Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay Inks (there are two sets, Prepare #one and Fix #2), a total of 24 bottles of ink. I had been using their black & white inks for years and wanted to see what the other colors were all about.

Details

So what are Mumbai inks? These are paint-based bharat inks, acid-free, archival grade, lightfast, waterproof & not-toxic. With pigment-based inks, fine pigments are suspended in a liquid medium. The ink comes in 1 oz. glass bottles with a dropper built into the lid. The inks can be used directly with a brush, diluted with water, for mark-making, hand-lettering with dip/calligraphy pen, and to make dots or drips directly via the dropper.

Various sites state that this ink can be used in a technical pen simply I'm not proficient at cleaning my fountain pens thoroughly and my concern would be that I would ruin some pens. So I decided not to go that route.

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Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Review of Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay Inks https://daisyyellowart.com

5x8" watercolor paper, Dr. Ph. Martin's india inks, artwork by Tammy Garcia.

5x8" watercolor paper, Dr. Ph. Martin's bharat inks, artwork by Tammy Garcia.

comparing to other mediums

Here'due south how I would describe the fluidity of these inks in a not-scientific spectrum (based on my feel). Are they more fluid than, say, high menstruation acrylics? Direct from the jar/bottle/container… from most fluid to least: fountain pen inks (i.e. J. Herbin dye-based ink), Dr. Ph. Martin's Mumbai india inks, Golden high catamenia acrylic pigment, and Golden fluid acrylics.

I notice these inks more dense and opaque than fountain pen inks. So if yous want an ink that is lite and airy and potentially translucent direct from the bottle, or an ink that is like fountain pen inks, this is not what y'all seek!

8x8" watercolor paper, Dr Ph. Martin's Bombay Black on gouache, artwork by Tammy Garcia.

8x8" watercolor paper, Dr Ph. Martin's Bombay Blackness on gouache, artwork by Tammy Garcia.

What I like about Mumbai ink

Equally always, the fashion you utilise art materials will impact results — be sure to experiment and test the scenario y'all want to try!

a. Opaque, intense & saturated directly from the bottle.
b. Great choice for an opaque waterproof black ink.
c. Moves similar watercolor paint, but with a thicker consistency.
d. Can be thinned with water (or watercolor mediums).
eastward. If non diluted, dries with a chip of a sheen.
f. Waterproof once dry.
m. Love using these inks with a dip pen & brush.
h. With common salt h2o they're glittery!
i. In my experience, they don't feather or bleed.
j. Use the built-in dropper to make dots or drips.
k. Use with objects similar plastic gift cards & chopsticks to make marks, dots, and splatters.
l. Older pages & swatches have retained their bright colour for many years.
yard. Works on many surfaces, i.eastward. watercolor newspaper, bristol paper, moleskine drawing paper, index cards, etc.
n. Reasonably priced.
o. Dry quickly.
p. In one case dry out, volition not reactivate if paint on top with watercolor or gouache.
q. Can depict/pigment on top of watercolor, gouache, or acrylics!

Things to know nearly these inks

a. Shake these inks earlier using them (just a fleck, not briskly).
b. Some of the colors I rarely use have settled and separated and when I shake them, they do non return to the proper consistency. Could just be the nature of this kind of paint based ink. Kind of like unused boom polish, how some colors separate and sometimes you can get them to remix and sometimes not. So perhaps milk shake them upward monthly if you don't utilise them often.
c. Considering inks and acrylics can wear out brushes, designate certain brushes just for these mediums. You'll exist replacing them more than often.

PS. I only review materials that I've used for at least 6 months

In order to share the well-nigh useful information, I but review materials that I really similar and that I've used for at to the lowest degree 6 months. There is much more to know about an art fabric than what it looks like fresh out of the box. And then I have the materials for a spin to see what happens. At that place are a LOT of things that y'all only discover if yous've experimented, tested on different papers/surfaces, and to see how the materials work subsequently the containers have been opened for a bit.

Per the manufacturer website, "These highly pigmented Bharat inks non only remain lightfast and permanent, but are also totally waterproof when dry out. They attach to nearly all surfaces and are not-clogging when used in pens. Inks can exist diluted with h2o and used with brushes in traditional watercolor techniques or in dip pens, technical cartoon pens, and airbrushes. All colors are brilliant and transparent, except black and white, which are opaque and have excellent covering power."

Making groovy collage fodder with india inks.

Making groovy collage forage with india inks.

If you are just going to use a few colors, here are my picks! If you can find them sold individually at a reasonable toll, here's a nice array of color: black, white, aqua, blue, magenta, xanthous, tangerine & grass green. I constitute information technology less expensive per bottle (currently well-nigh $36/12) even though in each set there are a few colors I don't use. Trying to decide betwixt Set One and Set 2!? Go for Set I. In this set y'all become a great assortment of colors including black & white. The fundamental missing color is orange. So you could purchase Set One and an private canteen of orange and be all set up to roll.

In the Bang-up Inked Papers Tutorial I use Dr. Ph. Martin'due south Bombay Inks.

PS. Flash forward several years and I rediscovered my ink swatches which had been in an open box on my art shelves for 3 years. I snapped a photograph and the colors are just as vivid! I also checked the abstracts I'd done over the by few years and they're all looking swell. Definitely expert to know!

I filmed a quick video to evidence you how I painted ink swatches of Dr. Ph. Martin's India Inks. When making swatches or colour samples, use the same process for each color so that yous take results which are comparable and skilful future reference. You can always make a petty note if something goes amiss with one of the colors.

The way I made this grid was to draw a grid on watercolor paper. I used a ruler to mensurate lines 1.5" apart and wrote the names of one ink in each box. Considering I was planning to cut the grid into separate cards, the order didn't matter in whatsoever way! I drew a squiggly circle in black gelly roll (which I knew wouldn't run/drain) on the left side of each box. The purpose of the circle (or whatever marker you lot want to do) is to certificate the opacity of that item ink layered over a non-h2o-soluble black pen.

Then with a brush, I painted ink full-force over the circle and again on the correct side. Then I rinsed the brush (that part is not visible in the video) and with a tiny bit of h2o on the castor, I painted the center part of the swatch, pulling the ink from the right side. That gives me a reference for how the ink looks slightly diluted. So whatever the medium you are swatching, think near how y'all employ information technology or what you want to know. Another affair I could have done (looking back) was do a sample of each color using a dip pen. I could always add together that.

Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay ink swatches. https://daisyyellowart.com

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Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay ink swatches. https://daisyyellowart.com

This review is not sponsored by any entity; I purchased all of the materials. Links to Amazon are chapter links, so if you purchase via the link sometimes I go a tiny rebate.