the Best Ink Pens for Manga Artists

I wrote this other post two years ago, but I feel the same, and still have the same set of pens: MARVY pens 101

I use a Marvy Technical Drawing Pen set for most of my art- and the fact that I'm STILL using the same set I bought two years ago is a testament to their long lifespan. I just replenished my MARVY set with another 0.8, 0.5, and a 0.05. Out of my original set, only the 0.3 (my most used) has run dry.

I alternate between MARVY pens and my dip pen. Dip pens best the MARVY with the fact that you never have to switch pens to change the line width, but with their pressure sensitivity comes the needed practice to now your pen/nib combo well. I prefer G nibs. Zebra G nibs dominate the American manga market, but I prefer the Tachikawa G nibs. Zebras are cheap and come in bulk; which is lucky because they are highly consumable and tend to be loose in the Holder's socket; even in my zebra nib holder specifically for Zebra nibs.

Tachikawa's nibs, on the other hand, are high-quality metal and have long nib bodies to keep them secure in the holder. They hold about the same amount per dip as the zebra G nib.

Here I use a Bic round stic, Papermate InkJoy, MARVY, and Tachikawa and Zebra nibs for comparison.

Both the Round stic and Ballpoint InkJoy are cheap pens you can obtain at any Walmart. The round pen has a lighter, while the InkJoy a darker, color, that's not quite black. The MARVY pens do not dry black either but are a solid dark grey. (Beckah B is inked in MARVY)
The stiff MARVY nib is more likely to catch on rough/cheap paper and create hitched lines, while the Ballpoint and Round pens run more smoothly.

The Zebra G nib, since it is made of more flexible metal than the Tachikawa, responds to even the slightest pressure. Tachikawa, on the other hand, has a stronger mettle and creates uniform lines while still able to create both thin and thick widths in a single stroke.
 I used Higgins Black India, but it's very old and has faded to a gray more-than black color unless layered. I prefer Dr ph. Martin's Bombay India inks, but I'm trying to use up all of my mother's old ink :`)

A- Round Stic
B- Technical Drawing Pen
C- InkJoy
D- Dip Pen, Higgins black India ink

You can see is the first experiment, that the round stic does poorly over pencil, with broken lines, the InkJoy doing a little better, and the Technical and Dip pen going over the best, with bold, unbroken lines.

For the second experiment, I waited 5 seconds before 'erasing' hypothetical pencil lines underneath. The InkJoy and Round Stic smudged horribly, while the MARVY and Dip pen squiggle dried almost instantly. With quick-drying ink there is no worry about smearing ink across your drawing when erasing or moving your hand across the paper.
*Dr ph. Martin's Bombay Ink does NOT dry as quickly as Higgins, but it's true color compared to Higgins, redeems this for me.

Link to MARVY Technical Drawing Pens

Link to Tachikawa set w/ Zig Holder

Link to Zebra set

Bic Round Stic 5.99 USD/60 pens (estimated)

Papermate Ink Joy 1.0m 12.00 USD/48 pens (estimated)

After years of testing other pens (due to my mothers' huge array of art supplies), I've found the Tachikawa G nib, along with Bombay Inda ink, and the MARVY technical pen set to be the best inking tools for any artist, mangaka or no.
They dry quickly, both with the bold black, or close to, that I want. The MARVYs last and last, and your dip pen holder can be a one time purchase, and you shall never run out of ink, as long as you remember to keep purchasing Dr ph. Martins, and you shall never need a new pen, as long as you remember to purchase more nibs. :`)

*After extensive research by my mother, continued by myself, the InkJoy pen is the best CHEAP pen for inking, but the MARVY and Tachikawa pens outstrip it by far in quality.


I've used many different brands of ink pens, including Micron and Prismacolor's Manga set, (also reviewed on my blog) but my MARVYs and my Tachikawa dip pen fulfill my every need, and with their outstanding prices, I couldn't ask for anything more!