Troublemaker Inks are a small artisan ink studio based in the Philippines. Their current range consists of 27 fountain pen inks spanning four categories of ink: Standard, Shading, Shimmer and Sheen.
This is my second post, of two, (click here for the first post) and it covers the twelve Troublemaker Shading, Shimmer and Sheening inks:
First up are the six shading inks. Now, I have reviewed four of the shading inks previously and you can access that post by clicking here.
Sea Glass – A muted grey/green that bleeds out greens, greys, turquoise, yellow and salmon pink when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A clean and definite reaction to bleach.
Petrichor – A mottled grey that bleeds out greens, greys, turquoise and pink when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A clean and definite reaction to bleach.
Foxglove – A dusty violet purple that bleeds out blue, turquoise and pink when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A clean and definite reaction to bleach.
Milky Ocean – A light blue that bleeds out turquoise and pink when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A clean and definite reaction to bleach.
Kelp Tea – An olive brown that bleeds out brown, greens, turquoise and salmon pink when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A clean and definite reaction to bleach.
Abalone – A mottled blue/grey that bleeds out blues, greys, green, turquoise and pink when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A clean and definite reaction to bleach.
Landscape painting with Troublemaker Shading Inks
I am totally blown away with these. The inks are delicate and the chromatography visually dramatic. For painting, these are a watercolorists dream as you can get 4-5 colours all out of one. And because the bleach is so effective , you can use this as both a highlighter and an eraser. And if you’re interested to see how those shading inks performed when used for painting click here.
Next up are the four sheening inks:
Simoun – A heavy blue bleeding out turquoise when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A pinky red metallic sheen with no reaction to bleach.
Lam-Ang – A heavy purple/blue bleeding out blue and light pinks when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A copper metallic sheen with a reaction to bleach in the washed out areas.
Dona Victorina – A heavy purple bleeding out purples, blues, turquoise and pinks when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A slightly green metallic sheen with a reaction to bleach in the washed out areas.
Adarna – A heavy fuchsia pink bleeding out pinks when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A gold metallic sheen with a reaction to bleach in the washed out areas.
These sheens are more pronounced when tested on Tomoe River paper.
And finally, the four shimmer inks:
Stary Night Blue – A classy deep Parisian blue bleeding out turquoise when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A pinky red metallic sheen and gold shimmer with a half decent reaction to bleach.
Copper Patina – A light spearmint blue/green bleeding out greens and turquoise when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A sheen of some kind and a gold shimmer with a half decent reaction to bleach.
Autumn Rain Grey – A very dark grey bleeding out grey, turquoise and pink when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A pink red metallic sheen with a reaction to bleach in the washed out areas. There is evidence of sporadic flecks of shimmer but I could only just make them out and think they might be silver.
Drago Fruit – A pinky red bleeding out pinks when dropped onto a wetted paper surface. A sheen of some kind with a half decent reaction to bleach and a silver shimmer.
For such a small collection, these certainly pack a punch. Not the cheapest of inks on the market and not all of them are successful and, one could argue that for some of the standard, sheening and shimmer inks, Diamine produce better and at a more affordable price. For me though, the shading inks are the centre of attention here and what makes them stand out are their possibilities for painting and illustration with traditional illustrated journalling and sketchbook keeping. I have tested the Sailor Ink Studio collection and there are similarities but to a point. The Troublemaker shading inks are, in my opinion, more delicate, easier to use and more suited to this purpose.
All tests on Bockingford Rough 200lb watercolour paper with handwriting using a Noodler’s Creeper pen.
Many thanks to Anja at Papier und Stift for sending me the samples.
AND HEY! If you’re interested to know more about how to use fountain pen inks in more creative ways – whether it’s simply to observe their chromatic behaviours, or, to recreate one of my swatch cards, or, to learn how to use them in watercolour painting, illustration and calligraphy, why not check out my online course ?
FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART 