Faber-Castel's Pitt Pens

[lovepug2]

These are not the big brush pens but just regular size pens. I saw these yesterday at Michaels. They looked interesting and not too bad of a price with a coupon. Our store had them for 10.99 for a pack of 4 colors. One group was red, orange, pink and brown, the other was blues/greens and there was a metallic.  Has anyone used them? If so how do they work? I thought they might be nice for shading when using other coloring mediums?

[Far North]

 LeighAnn, I personally have not tried the Pitt Pens and couldn't remember why accept I already own too many pens/markers and don't want them to dry out without use.  I checked out details on Dick Blick--good description including--they are colored India Ink and are waterproof. I have a couple permanent pens and I only use them when I am working on Mixed Media projects such as a canvas where I might not want to add a wet layer over top and do not what the ink to move. If coloring in this situation I use my Inktense pencils which are also waterproof once the are moistened and dry. 

Dick Blick has nearly 100 reviews so you might want to checkout that site.  If you try them out I would like to hear back on your use and review of them. Thanks! ...Jan

[lovepug2]

THanks, Jan!
I may pick some up next time I'm there to try them out.

I did watch a few videos about them. I know a lot of mixed media artist use them.

[yellowcherrios]

LeighAnn, I looked this morning and I DO have a set of these pens!  I remember I bought them a few years ago at Office Max b/c I liked the colors, but I wasn't sure what to do with them!  Thus they haven't been used much.     But when I watched Vickie Papaioannou use them, that gave me some ideas!!  TY LeighAnn for sharing with me about her….I want to try them out now! 

I am still trying to figure out how they are different than say, Mementos markers.  I know the Pitt pens are India ink, and that's about it.  I am guessing that Mementos markers are not India ink since you can use them on your stamps and then you are able to clean the ink ALL off.   Thus I am guessing again that PITT pens are not able to be used directly on stamps.

Again this is me hypothesizing, not actually knowing from experience.  I think I need to look up dickblick's reviews to see what I can learn! 

[lovepug2]

Melissa, I just watched some of her videos of her using those. You will have to play with yours and tell me how you like them!

I'm not sure what the difference is between memento and the Pitt pens as far as the effects they give. I also am unfamiliar with India ink. I read through some of the reviews on the Dick Blick site that Jan suggested. I think I might have to get a pack and try then out.

I can't remember but I thought I saw someone stamping with them?

[yellowcherrios]

Well if you ever remember who it was you saw stamping with them, I'd like to see it too.  That would be interesting!  I need to see how long they stay wet on different materials.  I watched a dick blick youtube on them (Pitt markers)---it's really more of just advertisement rather than showing techniques with them…..but boy can that guy draw!!!……anyways I read some of the comments too---and the thing that stuck out the most to me was that many said that to lay down dark color you have to go over it a few times (if using the ones with brush tip;  those who wanted heavy color with one application bought the chisel tip I think it said)---so I am eager to see if it's easy to shade with them. 

As far as India Ink---it permanent and water proof….so as soon as it's dry, it's THERE. So that is why I 'd be interested in seeing the one who stamped with it.  I figured it didn't stay wet long enough to stamp with it---and then your stamp itself would just be colored pretty after that.    But I could be totally wrong as I haven't tried it. 

[Iring]

Anne Gaal did a very informative video on opaque white pens which includes a nice demo of the white Pitt Artist big brush pen.  They do work on stamps!  The pen size shouldn't matter (big brush vs regular size pen) since they are all permanent, india ink. 

video that includes segment with a pitt pen for stamping

[Iring]

Here is another video demonstratingPitt pens with gelatos..

[yellowcherrios]

That is great!!!  I saw at about the 6 min mark, Anne is coloring the rubber stamp with the white Pitt pen!  My thinking was wrong---and I am so excited about that!   

I wonder if she cleans the stamps any differently when she uses those pens.  I didn't realize Anne had youtube videos.  cool!

TY Cindi for the links!  and TY LeighAnn for this thread! 

[CarefreeSadie]

Lemer Weber uses a black big brush pitt pen on her stamps all the time and just wipes them off with a baby wipe.  This for some reason drives me crazy, seeing all that India ink on those stamps just seems wrong to me.  I clean mine off with a good stamp cleaner; I suppose just because that is the way I have always done it, dirty stamps drive me crazy.  Tim Holtz uses the Archival ink all the time on his stamps and just gives them a quick swipe to clean them too.  This also drives me crazy, I just want to reach through the computer screen and grab those stamps and clean them.  I have no idea why this bothers me so much but apparently it does......it's not like I am ever going to sell any of my stamps or give any away cause once I purchase them they are mine! 

I have looked at the pitt pens too but didn't know if those would work on stamps or just the big brush ones.  It's nice to know that the pens work too...Thank you for starting and discussing this.

[yellowcherrios]

LeighAnn I goggled "stamping with Pitt Pens" and found several youtube videos coloring directly on their stamps with them.  I cannot wait to try!  So excitedly to learn that some markers I have can be used on stamps---new colors! 


And look at the white Pitt pen Anne uses one her stamp!  I am seriously thinking about getting that pen at Joanns.com today during their free shipping sale…. 

[Far North]

Well this thread certainly has grown after such a quiet start!  I never thought of the Big Brush as part of the "Pitt family".  I tried the white BB mostly to lighten or add white in larger areas when needed.  As I look at mine it is not a pointed brush tip but rather a rounded nib...perhaps created through my frustration with it.  The comes out very wet--rather like small puddles...because I use mostly distress inks it reacts with those and creates messes I don't want.  Needless I put an end to that and don't use it often.

There are some videos using the pens on the F-C blog.

Here are the Q&A from the Faber-Castell website:
 
Are the PITT artist pens refillable?
 The Faber-Castell PITT artist pens are not refillable. They are disposable pens. 

 Can I use PITT artist pens with acrylic paints?
 Yes they can be used with acrylic paints but acrylic backgrounds may alter the original pen color.

 Can you achieve gradients with the PITT artist pens?
 Yes the pigmented inks dry quickly and you can layer them to create gradients, even light colors on dark colors to some degree. Because we use the same color matching system throughout the product range you can also mix color pencils or soft pastels and create even more variations.

 Is the ink in the PITT artist pen permanent?
 Yes we use pigmented India Ink. The Faber-Castell PITT artist pens are extremely fade-resistant, smudge proof and waterproof when dry.  They are also acid-free and archival.

 Are there any harmful pigments used?
 Faber-Castell does not use any harmful pigments.  All products are certified non-toxic by a board certified toxicologist.  For example: There is not actually “cadmium” in the cadmium colors such as cadmium yellow lemon.

 Are all of the art products you offer suitable for children's use?
 Although our products are non-toxic and safe to use, the Art & Graphic range of products are not tested for children’s use.  They are marketed to ages 12 and up.  Our Premium Children’s Art Products are designed, tested for, and marketed to parents of children ages 3 and up.

 How should I store my PITT artist pens when they are not being used?
 The pens should be stored horizontally when not in use.  Be sure to close the cap securely.  Do not store in direct heat or sunlight.

[yellowcherrios]

Jan, have you used the white Pitt pen directly on stamps to color the stamp before stamping?  I was wondering how well the pen stamped white when used on a stamp..…. seeing if it was a good option to act as a white ink to stamp….

I see the stamping in Anne's video link that's in this thread at around the 3:45 minute mark and it looks pretty good…but it's hard to see in video sometimes.  She used it on a tag she colored with delusions spray inks…..totally looks like distress inks were used to color the tag!  I didn't know delusion spray inks could look like that on a anything …. I always imagine spots when using sprays. 


LeighAnn, I did use my markers on an image on my Nov. tag .  I had colored the image first with Prismacolor pencils then used the markers over the top of it and kinda dabbed the ink.  I really like the way it turned out!  I am going to make a point to use the markers more!  Sorry to talk about the markers without getting to show the example yet…will get to show soon though.