Best Ballpoint Pen For Drawing

By Mahrukh Khan | Updated 3 years ago

“Clicking clicking”, that’s what we are reminded of as soon as we hear the word ballpoint. The ballpoint pen was invented first during World War II and ever since then, its use has never stopped. Research says that every second 125 ball pens are sold. Various purposes are served by ballpoints in the fields of drawing and writing. The popular use has made it in demand by each one of us. However, finding the Best Ballpoint Pen for Drawing still remains a question.

This article is entitled to help you buy the perfect Ballpoint pen for your technical work, design, drawing or just daily use. Ballpoint pens use a system performance. They maintain a connection with the paper, friction rotates the ball, the ink flows and you are able to write on the paper.

A necessary problem that most people have with the use of ballpoint is dealing with ink blobs. Some ballpoint pens bleed on the paper. It could be because the ink is unable to dry immediately and we touch and spread the ink further. Another reason could be that the paper we are using for drawing isn’t the perfect medium.

Ballpoint pens can stain your clothes, and the ink is non-erasable and so the stains never go away. They also give certain people pain in fingers due to increased pressure. However, with growing technology and wide range of products in markets, to chose your perfect ballpoint has become easier than ever. You can easily find a ballpoint that fulfils all the criteria for that perfect pen. It’s very important to do a little research before finding the best ballpoint pen for drawing and also learn the techniques that would enable your work to reach perfection.

rOtring 1904291                                                                                                                            

rOtring is famous around the globe for producing quality products that that can be used professionally. A ballpoint is convenient to use and is the first choice for most of the people like me. Not only am I able to jot down my ideas, but my sketching hobby, maintaining journals, all of this comes out pretty tidy and presentable on the paper. If I specifically refer to sketching, which is my all-time favourite past time it is indeed the best ballpoint for drawing.

This pen has amazing quality and gives me a smooth and precise outcome on the sheets. The Metal Grip balances my fingers quite well and also gives a fancy look, unlike plastic pens. Availability of two colours is unique yet elegant. This includes Matte Black Powder coated and Shiny chrome plated design and metal body. Another quality is that it is leak-proof, which means my stationary pouch and my handbag both are safe from ink stains. It is also refillable.

Overall I find it at a good price with all the qualities I would want in my pen. However, one slightly unacceptable factor is that the clicking part is made from cheap material and the joint is made from plastic which is not solid and prone to cracks. If you want a long-lasting pen with amazing results on paper, then it’s your choice of pen.

Tombow Mono Drawing Pen 

It’s always a better idea to keep a range of ballpoints and choose them according to the project you are working on. A narrow nib works best for writing whereas a slightly thicker nip is a great option for border and outlining. Addressing this issue, Tombow came up with a set of three pens, that come with nibs in three different sizes, 0.1mm, 0.3mm and 0.5mm. All of these can be used for various purposes example technical drawing, Manga, Anime, lettering and journaling.

Tombow Mono Drawing pens give skip-free drawing and crisp clean lines. There is no smudging on any sheet, these pens are used on. Since they are water-based, I used them to outline one of my water-colour paintings and I was not disappointed at all. The ink dried out almost instantly with no blobs. The dark weight ink glided very easily on one of my marker-based drawings too, making it one of the best ballpoint drawing pens I have ever used.

Durable nibs maintain firm pressure and steady ink flow on the paper. However, the longest nib bends more than others, which is unpleasant. Another factor is that due to frequent use I quickly ran out of ink, and as it wasn’t refillable I had to purchase another set. Apart from this, this is my go-to product with an irreplaceable position in my stationery items.

rOtring Rapid Pro 1904292 

 rOtring is number 1 choice of all the architects that have professional use. To make innovative designs with a classic ballpoint, it’s the best option available. Rapid Pro consists of a hexagonal body with an ideal balance of weight and non-slip metal grip.

This makes it possible to bring out great result on paper with minimal pressure applied. The smooth and precise lines produced by the pen are very pleasing to the eye. It is also pocket safe, ink spillage is highly unlikely.

The refillable quality again adds to the pros, making it a onetime investment, and later just refilling. But I found the clicker very loose and as compared to other rOtring pens, it didn’t have a really good grip. Otherwise, the pen is the best ballpoint pen for drawing and a recommendation from my side.

rOtring 1904451 

Sometimes a few of us are in search of a pen, That serves many purposes all at once. It’s not easy to carry so many pens and pencils everywhere around, and so multifunctional pens are a great solution to this issue. rOtring brings a multifunctional, lightweight pen.

Let it be a blue pen for writing, a pencil for rough work or a red pen for highlighting important text. All these needs are met by rOtring’s Ticky 3in1 pen. It is ideal for students, who use a variety of medium on their scripts. The pen is pocket safe and can easily fit even on the uniform pocket. Moreover, it poses a triangular barrel and soft-touch rubberized grip to make writing and drawing super comfy.

The refillable quality makes it a onetime purchase and later reusable. An inconvenience which came to my notice was that the pencil tip is too loose, and the quality as compared to the company’s brand name wasn’t up to the mark. If you are looking for all needs to be met with just one pen, it is the best ballpoint pens for drawing available in the market.

ZSCM 12 

Many of us including myself like using colours in our drawings and writings. Not just for lettering, crafts or writing greeting cards, coloured pens are also widely used for technical drawings and illustrations. It’s always very pleasing to find a picture filled with loads of colours. I searched and found ZCSM as the best ballpoint pens for drawing. They fix into a low budget and come with a set of 12 colourful lightweight ink gel pens.

I can go to write and write about these pens because they are my most favourite product. They come with water-based ink and give skip-free writing, this means no matter what medium or paper I use them on there no sign of smudging at all! The nibs are durable and maintain a steady ink flow; ink dries super quick leaving me with no ink blobs either. I just love to buy these and keep using them. But one thing which I dislike is that they are non-refillable and I have to make frequent purchases of the same product over and over again.

BUYING GUIDE

I am one of those who are comfortable in drawing and writing with ballpoint pens. I love how it gives even lines and is budget-friendly compared to other art media. Unlike pencils no need to sharpen and keep an eraser. A ballpoint pen is a lifesaver! However I am faced with constant criticism by others that say ballpoints leave stains, they turn purple after exposure for a long time and give fingers a lot of pressure. All of this didn’t have any impact on my use because I use the best ballpoint pens for drawing. To make sure I actually buy the best ballpoint pens for drawing, I keep in light the following factors:

Avoiding Ink Blobs: a major issue is that some cheap and low-quality ballpoints leave ink blobs and smudged marks on paper. The situation worsens when you touch the wet ink, and the ink spreads all over. To avoid this issue, it is best to buy pens that are smudge-proof and whose ink dries instantly.

GRIP OF THE PEN: all those sketchers and artists, even professional architects do not use ballpoints for minutes. Sometimes we have to work for hours however, for that a pen with a good grip is very important. Not just it gives you control over the pen to portray your ideas on paper flawlessly but it also provides low pressure to fingers.

QUALITY: it is a waste of money to buy pens with poor quality whose clickers break and they are of cheap material. A good quality pen might be expensive but it definitely lasts longer and doesn’t break when dropped on the floor. Moreover, most excellent quality pens come with a refillable option. Another factor related to the good quality pen is that it looks good in your pocket, or if you use it to sign cheques and fill forms anywhere. Well designed pens with good quality are an immediate eye-catcher.

INK STAINS: another issue is that since ballpoints contain non-erasable ink sometimes they leave stains that cannot be washed off. To help with this lot of companies have come up with pens that do not stain your bags, pockets or stationary pouches.

WATER RESISTANT BALLPOINT PENS:  many of us like to trace or outline the artwork with ballpoint pens. Most pens start to bleed over water-colour paintings and certain sheets. However, a water-based ballpoint is safe to use and helps you define your drawings perfectly.

POCKET SAFE: it is highly significant for a pen to be pocket safe because in case you drop the pen when you need it, there was honestly no need to carry it in the first place. Make sure the clicker attaches properly to your pocket.

REFILLABLE: Another quality I would recommend to check is if a pen is refillable, this allows you to reuse it. This is environmentally friendly as you don’t have to dispose of a lot of pens.

OTHER FACTORS: a drawing paper makes a lot of influence on your artwork, it helps to define it more and give life to your sketching.

If you keep in mind all these factors and purchase the best ballpoint pens for drawing nothing can stop you from making the perfect art pieces.

TIPS FOR DRAWING WITH BALLPOINT PEN

Drawing with a ballpoint pen is aesthetically pleasing; it gives me a satisfying feeling. Sometimes when I feel low, I just take a ballpoint to draw my thoughts on a paper. This distracts me from the current situation and I can take all my frustrated ideas out on the paper, which in my opinion is a productive activity.

Here are some tips that helped me build up masterpieces with the aid of ballpoint pens.

Material- it is always a good idea to keep a wide range of ballpoints. This helps you to choose the perfect pen for the idea you are looking forward to portraying on your sheet.

HOW TO AVOID BLOB another problem that most ballpoint users complain about is ink blobs. As the ink is unable to dry out some ballpoints leave ink blobs or bleed on certain paper. A useful tip is to use a paper towel to wipe the tip of your pen. Another advice is using paper which doesn’t absorb ink and water-based pens. These work best, giving out fewer flaws in your drawing.

SKETCH AND PENCILWORK-unlike pencil sketching, ballpoint sketching has a unique non-erasable quality. It’s great if you enjoy working with a ballpoint and can give expected results with ballpoint directly on the paper. However, most people still prefer to use a pencil first and trace it with a ballpoint afterwards.

DRAWING SHEET RECOMMENDATION, not all the drawing paper available is suitable for drawing with a ballpoint. As previously mentioned some can make the ink bleed meanwhile others show a lesser depth of the drawing. My recommendation is to use sheets like Bristol or canvas. Super white drawing sheet or cardboard also shows great ballpoint results.

TIPS FOR SMOOTH LINES AND VARIATION IN DRAWING-  after you have made sure you have the above-mentioned points covered, it is important to pay attention to how to make your drawing perfect. It’s always better to make like marks and avoid zig-zag patterns. For shadowing, and deepening values pressing down on the pen gives it more pressure which is reflected on the sheet. Light pressure is the key to sketching. Hatching Technique is widely popular for ballpoint pen drawing. You draw a square and divide it into four quarters, you fill them with h1, h2,h3,h4 lines. H1 lines have lines downwards in a single direction whereas the other three have cross-hatching. Veiling square is used with more pressure. Veiling is perfected with veiling quadrants. This helps to create a clean drawing and avoid zigzag technique. A piece of useful advice is to practice veiling and hatching quadrants in leisure time to perfect your drawings.

If you keep all these tips in mind and keep practising within no time you will turn into an amazing ballpoint drawing artist. Even if you have the talent and interest, don’t forget to buy the best ballpoint pens for drawing to remove the flaws that can only be managed with good equipment.

BEST PAPER FOR BALLPOINT PEN DRAWING

One of my favourite pastimes is ballpoint pen drawing. I use best ballpoint pens for drawing, to cut out the flaws that cannot be managed by my drawing example ink blobs, and smudging. But to bring out the best results on the sheet is equally important. To give your picture depth, make it look 3D and to prevent ink bleed and smearing some papers are better than others.

Bristol sheet is the best option, which brings out the best in your artwork. Using a canvas is also a good idea but it takes more pressure and effort. Most of the sketchbooks contain the perfect drawing paper for sketching with ballpoints as its smudge-resistant. Moreover, they are easy to tear when you like and also serve to keep all your drawings in one place.

The result also comes out well on photocopy paper as it is extra white. The purpose is also served by extra white cardboard sheet.

Apart from this Acid-free paper is also available that doesn’t go yellow with time. Some environmental enthusiasts, however, prefer recycled drawing paper.