Kris

TrueRef: Real references for real artists TrueRef is here to serve up monthly figure references for illustrators and photo editors—always free from retouching and never AI-generated.

I'm creating a really fun user gallery for Trueref.io!

It'll have an appreciates system that's not tied to user accounts. And a front page art feature system, inspired by DeviantArt's old Daily Deviantations!

Other cool things too to try and help pump your socials & show off your art.

Does 'objective sight' even exist in mammals? Surely everything that passes through our sense organs is turned into electrical signals interpreted by our brains. Our brains learned that light shines down same as they learned what vertical lines are so we don't walk into trees.

I have the A1 and A2, and had the Jinhao 20 before giving it to a friend. The A1 and J20 were similar in the hand, J20 a lot wetter to write with. A1 and A2 had finer nibs with an average flow. All good pens. The A2 is lighter and thinner if you do a lot of writing. A1 feels just like Pilot VP.

A photograph of two jellyfish themed fountain pens, a bottle of ink, and a pack of ink cartridges in the color called "writer's blood."

A friend pointed out that I should probably do something to mark writerly achievements rather than just...moving on to the next mountain, and after much thought and weighing of opinions, I have settled on fountain pens! Thus, my newest acquisition(s): jellyfish pens for Viable Paradise!

It’s quite a light ink, so I’d pair it with a good wet writing nib, not too fine.

Lovely! I got my first PGS this summer. I love nibs that feel interesting to write with. I’m using a Yu-Sari journal currently. Really enjoying it.

It feels like we’re in a golden age of fountain pen inks. Journaling and commonplace books are making a comeback. Even greetings cards makers are catching on and starting to label cards as ‘fountain pen friendly’. It’s become a hobby, a pleasure, a desk-based meditation. It’s calming.

Mine too. Tell us about your pens! Do you have a favourite ink/pen/paper combo yet?

www.reddit.com/r/fountainpe...

Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.

Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.

They are not the same.

A standalone scenario for RuneQuest!

On the plains of Prax, a fabled Storm Calf has descended from the heavens to bless the tribe that captures it!

The Hunt for the Storm Calf is available now: www.chaosium.com/runequest-th...

If anyone has good photographs of European goldfinches that they're happy for me to use as painting references, I'd be so grateful. Thank you. 💛

Please share among birders, if you would! 🙏🪶

Yessss there are so many good, inexpensive FPs these days. I picked up a Jinhao 65 for sketching and it goes everywhere with me. Comes with a converter too so you can use whatever fancy FP ink you like. Cost me £3 but I've seen them sold for under £2.

"Tears of the Mountain", the 3rd 2025 graduation short from french Gobelins school, is online.
Directed by Luke Ashworth, Yehor Bondarenko, Alp Kurdoğlu, Romane Talva and Ange Yajima.
Full film >> www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB9J...

Nothing at all? I want to meet him now so I can understand how he holds a pen. Though I'd probably start someone out with a Pilot V-pen just making marks on paper, not writing, so they can get a feel for it. Someone only used to ball-pens I imagine might hold a pen nearly vertical.

A Waterstones ad featuring Nine Goblins, which you can preorder for 25%! Neat!

UK readers, we got a coupon thing!

Interesting. I learned to over-write to get the angle for italic calligraphy with a fountain pen. I have recently learned to under-write so I can use flex nibs. Some nibs definitely work better pulled rather than pushed (dry upstrokes), maybe it's the pen not your DH's hand position?

I'm a left handed side-writer, so I have optimum ink smearing potential. It's amazing what a piece of scrap paper or an artist's glove can do to prevent that.

There are ink and paper combos out there that are just Smudge Onna Stick, like Sheen Machine and Tomoe River paper. I just avoid 'em!

Yikes! That's some impressive feathering and bleedthrough. I've only had that happen with some scented inks. I love the colour but the bad behaviour would discourage me from using this ink.

(Looking forward to the report on the pen, too!)

Oxford Optik paper (used in their Campus and Red & Black notebooks) is a good budget option. The Optik copier paper isn't much good for FP ink though.

They've not been the same since they were bought by a private equity firm back in 2017. Ours just has disposable Pilots and the occasional Parker Vector.

Hen and Dragonfly.

Ink and gouache on Fabriano Medioevalis, approximately 95 × 64 mm.

Resolve to draw all three, and put off the decision until later? If the worst happens and you still can't choose, you can then make a poll! #helping #okaysonotreallyhelping

I have so much fancy letter paper and ink waiting for me to write letters with it. And the stickers! Oh my. I need to write more letters.

I'm one of those 'writes twice a year' pen pals.

I find most watercolour sketchbooks handle ink just fine, you'll want 300gsm weight paper if you're using lots of water, otherwise a heavyweight down to 120gsm should see you in good stead (I'd recommend 160-220gsm). Bristol-type paper will show sheen nicely too.

I think I have the blue pen too! The model was listed as Finch Stationery A108, but the threading is identical to the Moonman S3, and I wonder if Finch is a sub-brand of Moonman/Majohn. Both are excellent writers.

Thomas Deininger uses plastic waste to create sculptures,or should I say,works of Genius!!!!!!

“Fierce”, my 2026 calendar is available to pre-order now.*
Find it here: dragonsofwales.etsy.com/listing/1050...

*Due to the current uncertainty regarding imports to the US, this pre-order is not currently available to US customers. I am truly sorry, and hope this can be resolved soon.

Print featuring a woodland scene with dappled sunlight

Linocut by contemporary UK printmaker and artist Alexandra Buckle who is inspired by her local countryside #womensart
#summer #sunday

I admired them for years… finally got one second hand. It was my first broad nib and still my favourite.