How to Draw and Write in Fountain Pen: A Modern Guide

by Ayano Usamura

Take your doodles to the next level with fun, fluid fountain pens!
 
For professional illustrator Ayano Usamura, nothing beats drawing with a fountain pen. The way the ink flows easily onto the page makes doodling and writing so enjoyable that, some days, she can barely stop!

Simple Sketching brings this classic writing tool right up to the moment. Fountain pens can do so much more than formal calligraphy. The way they add character to every line elevates even the simplest letters and doodles. Ayano Usamura shares:
A dive-right-in introduction to choosing, filling, and cleaning your fountain pen (whether you use free ink, or low-fuss ink cartridges)
Drawing prompts and examples—for kitchen items, foods, accessories, and more—all cartooned in adorable style
Eight different modern, handwritten fonts that readers can copy and customize
Decorative borders and frames to enhance your messages and drawings
Eight pullout pages of her own designs, for those inclined to practice by tracing
Plus fun project ideas: Wedding placards, labels, birthday cards, and more!

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Writing

112 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2019

Reviews

[Mikhail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very nice design, a pleasure to hold in hands. Unfortunately not much of use and half of the book are "do like me" doodles.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

How to Draw and Write in Fountain Pen: A Modern Guide by Ayano Usamura is a tutorial guide and graphic essay in praise of the humble (and not so humble) fountain pen. Originally published in Japan as Simple Sketching (シンプルスケッチ) by Graphic-Sha in 2017, the English language release is due out 17th Sep. 2019 from The Experiment. It's 128 pages and will be available in ebook and paperbound formats.

This is an appealingly illustrated, logically arranged guide with special emphasis on journaling and decorative papercrafts featuring letting and inking primarily with fountain pens.

The introductory chapter gives a quick overview over materials and supplies, papers, inks, and tools, as well as a short but very useful troubleshooting guide ("Fountain Pen Don'ts).

There are four main sections. They cover simple line drawn sketches of familiar daily objects (kitchenware, clothing, outdoors things, etc), lettering, embellishments, and more advanced techniques. The last segment includes some tutorials for toothpick flags, personalized table cards, planners, stick on labels, and more.

I've been a fountain pen fan for ages. This book would make a lovely gift with a good quality starter fountain pen or as a standalone book with lots of fun ideas for the journalers and papercrafters.

High quality, accessible, appealing. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Robin Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute, fun book. It is like reading one long love letter to fountain pens.. I enjoyed hearing how the author discovered this kind of pen, types of pens and care of the pens. Then working through projects is amazing,

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great guide for anyone who wants to learn how to choose and use a fountain pen, and ways to do fun stuff with it. The author goes into great detail about how to use them, clean them, etc. and then has information on ways to write in various basic fonts and how to draw simple designs with them. There are lots of examples of everday objects drawn with fountain pens, such as scissors, hats, coffee cups and even fountain pens.

Both the sketches and the fonts are very basic. I found myself wishing the author told how to do the font that she herself used for the headings, as it was fancier and prettier than the fonts she gave. That said, it's a great primer on using fountain pens with all kinds of simple sketches for inspiration.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a gem! if you like drawing and want to start simple and not buy a ton of art supplies, this is the book for you.

It's broken into three parts: basic drawing guidelines, a bunch of examples of things to draw, and several projects.

In the first section, the author breaks down fountain pens, how to hold one, how to make lines, what type of ink to get, etc. It's simple, clear and organized.

The second part if chock full of simple drawings: food, clothes, plants, trees and so much more. Each drawing is broken down to three steps and feels very achievable. The book also has several alphabets.

The last section has several project ideas, things like cupcake toppers and gift tags, etc. All of them relatively simple and elegant and very useful.

If you have wanted to venture into fountain pens, drawing, or fun little projects, this book is a great place to start.

[Queen Cronut · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Draw and Write in Fountain Pen was such a fun and informative guide on using a fountain pen. The instructions were very user-friendly that were accompanied by plenty of lovely visuals. This book does a wonderful job explaining the basics and housekeeping rules of using a fountain pen (drawing angles, ink cartridges, writing strokes, care of pen, pen nibs, etc) and also has a FAQ at the back that goes further into depth about using fountain pens as well as featuring instructions on doodling simple/everyday objects and providing project ideas. This book is easy to follow and understand- a great place for beginners to start.

*Thank you to NetGalley and The Experiment publishers for providing a free ARC

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as an ebook, but I highly recommend getting the physical book, which comes with drawing paper and a tracing booklet. This book expresses the author's love of drawing with fountain pens, but I found that these adorable designs are cute no matter what writing utensil you use. Each drawing includes a step-by-step description, making it look ridiculously easy. She also includes project ideas and tips on how to fill in lines, add speech bubbles, and other ways to up the wow-factor. Prepare to close this book feeling inspired!
None of my drawings came out "just right", but as Usamura says, don't worry about mistakes, "just remember that each line in fantastically unique."

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very basic art instruction book on using fountain pens to sketch. The author started by briefly talking about fountain pens: the different types of nibs, what paper to use, how to fill and maintain a fountain pen, and things like how to use a fountain pen to draw lines, basic shapes, and fill in areas.

She then moved on to sketching cartoon-style line drawings. She provided 3-step picture directions for how to draw a variety of foods, everyday objects, clothing and accessories, outdoor gear, and plants. Next, she provided examples of lettering styles, decorative borders, frames, and such that you're supposed to trace using tracing paper. She also gave some tips on the layout of your design. She gave 4-step instructions for 7 projects: lettering a welcome board, making cupcake flags, gift tags, earring cards, birthday cards, sticker labels, and decorating planners and scrapbooks.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book for the craft-inclined. You get a handy guide to fountain pen use – the angle, the pressure, the paper stock and so much more, before learning to create a host of simple doodle objects – always with a look at which way the pen moves, for you can generally only stroke the nib in one or two ways across the page. Different fonts and visual ideas are presented, and then you're off and running making personalised cards, event invites, logos, maps and so on. The real deal will have some tracing paper to get your hand in, too – funnily enough my e-copy didn't. The blurb mentions something about a fountain pen craze – well, perhaps in Japan where this book originated. But if you feel the need to create obviously hand-crafted letters, sketchy little doodle-quality images and whatnot, for whatever reason, this seemed like a really warm and supportive start.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the author's enthusiasm about and love for fountain pens - I could sense her excitement in each page! I also liked seeing the many ways she expresses herself with them.

Usamura covers the various types of nibs, maintenance of a fountain pen, inks and papers. She provides lots of sketches and different alphabetic fonts, with instructions on how to replicate them.

All in all, this is a very fun book to play with!!

Many thanks to NetGalley, The Experiment and the author for allowing me to review a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was in high school in the early seventies and used a 'cartridge pen' for everything from homework to art class. It made handwriting graceful and elegant. I had high hopes for this book. There are a variety of basic instructions on pens and suggestions for use. I was disappointed in the examples shown, they are just doodle that could be done with any pen or pencil. It would have been more instructive if these doodles had progressed to better and detailed drawings. Received for a review from Goodreads.

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought my first fountain pen about a year ago and am absolutely in love with it! This book turned out to be the perfect companion to my interest. Content includes fountain pen use/care, basic drawing and stroke techniques, sketch ideas and samples, awesome projects, tips, and more. Both beginner and veteran fountain pen users can enjoy this one. I greatly appreciated the notes/directions for lefties, as well as the author's personal "voice" and her calm encouragement of her readers. I added this book to my Christmas list for next year; Highly recommended to all fountain pen enthusiasts!

[John Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

not quite sure who this is for, but it wasn’t me

Ok-
If you have ever taken a junior high or high school art course half this book is already known to you. Each year past that you get another half of the remaining knowledge (75, 87.5, 93.75, 96.875 etc) so the amount of information that this book is worth to you should be judged appropriately.
To me that amounted to they make left handed pen nibs. That’s the whole sum of new information I got out of this book.

But, if you have never taken a formal course this is a very brief breezy overview of simple concepts that anyone of any ability level should be able to surpass quickly.

[Moriah Conant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as an introduction to fountain pens! I recently purchased a Lamy Safari pen and this book has lots of good advice on how to use and take care of your pens.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Phantoms_Fury · Rating 5 out of 5]

An simple and how to use an fountain pen for drawing as well as faux Calligraphy.

[Belinda (Belle) Witzenhausen]

I received a complimentary ARC copy of How to Draw and Write in FountainPen
A Modern Guide by Ayano Usamura from NetGalley and The Experiment Publishing Company in order to read and give an honest review.

“...a fun, informative well written with great step-by-step illustrations, this book is a must-have for all those who are crafty or love to add a little creativity to their journals…”

Whether you’re familiar with using a fountain pen or a complete novice this book offers how-to’s, tips and tricks to help you get the most out of writing with a fountain pen. I have been using a fountain pen since I inherited my grandfather’s old Sheaffer Imperial when I was eight years old (many moons ago). I still have that pen but over the years have added about 15 more to my collection. Although I have always written with them, I have never used fountain pens favouring technical pens for any inked artistic drawings.

I have been journaling for years and over the past few have decided to add art and organization to my journaling practice. My bullet journal has evolved from simple to-do lists into an artistic, fun, motivating and inspiring record of plans, goals and trackers. This book is fantastic in the fact it offers so much that both novice and experienced users will find useful. I for one loved the detailed how-tos for creating quick fun doodles for my bujo spreads which I am now using my fountain pens to create.

I highly recommend this book, it’s a fun, informative well written with great step-by-step illustrations, this book is a must-have for all those who are crafty or love to add a little creativity to their journals.

[Michelle Bea · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a lifetime fan of fountain pens and sketchbook journaling, this book was right up my alley and I couldn’t wait to review it!

Overall, I felt this was more of a ‘how to doodle anything’ and an idea book for projects than it was a book about drawing with a fountain pen. 99% of the doodles could be done with any sort of pen, it just so happened that these were done with a fountain pen.

The discussion of different types of ink and paper felt lacking. One could write a book alone about the different types of ink, show how to do a waterproof test (if you are going to be adding watercolors or color to any sort of fountain pen drawing, this is a HUGE consideration). The same can be said for paper selection.

From a design perspective, wonder why the author didn’t choose to create headlines hand-lettered fountain pen writing. The choice to use a standard font seemed a shortcut to me.

Interesting that the author doesn’t mention Lamy Safari as a great beginner pen (which it is) but uses it in many of the demo photos. It is a fabulous pen by the way!

If you really want to learn about the ins and outs of drawing/writing with a fountain pen, this isn't the book for you. If you are more interested in a fun quick read of some doodle inspiration, on the other hand, it would be the book for you.

[Nedam · Rating 3 out of 5]

To my knowledge this is the only book about fountain pens. It covers a lot of ground, from how to clean a cartridge or converter fountain pen, step-by-step instructions how to make very simple doodles and larger projects, to an interview with a Tokyo stationery concierge (what a great job title!). But since it's a fairly short book which covers a lot of ground it means it can't go in-depth in any of these areas.

It didn't even mention there are piston and eyedropper fountain pens, nor different properties of fountain pen inks such as shading and sheening.

I still have to turn to blog posts to get more comprehensive information on all of the topics mentioned in the book. Still, if you're just beginning and don't want to be overwhelmed with information but just want someone to tell you which pen to buy (Lamy, in the case of this book), how to clean it, and how to use it, this book is for you.

[Robin Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute, fun book. It is like reading one long love letter to fountain pens.. I enjoyed hearing how the author discovered this kind of pen, types of pens and care of the pens. Then working through projects is amazing,