The Best Fountain Pens for Art

For a piston-filling option, try the TWSBI Diamond Mini. Thanks to its built-in reservoir, it holds more ink than the Kaweco Sport and doesn’t need to be refilled as often. Its nib can also be replaced.

The Platinum Plaisir is like an upgraded version of the Preppy, one of our favorite beginner fountain pens. It uses the same smooth nib but has an aluminum body. One of our favorite features is the “Slip and Seal” cap, which prevents the nib from drying out for a year or longer while the pen isn’t being used.

Like the safari, the Plaisir is compatible with proprietary cartridges and converters.

The Pilot Precise Varsity Fountain Pen is very similar to the Zebra Zensations, though its nib is a little broader. Since both pens don’t have nib options to choose from, you should grab the Precise Varsity if you prefer a broader tip size for sketching.

Another excellent luxury option is the Platinum 3776 Century. This elegant fountain pen is available in the specialty ultra extra fine nib size, which creates incredibly precise lines. The soft fine nibs create subtle amounts of line variation, too.

The Noodler's Konrad Flex uses a nib that’s finer than the Ritma’s Omniflex nib, which may be more suitable for some artists. It’s also meant to be tinkered with, since its nib and feed can be adjusted to increase or decrease ink flow. If you’re not comfortable adjusting your own pens, you may want to skip the Konrad Flex.

We should warn that the standard Konrad Flex is made with a vegetal resin that has a distinctive smell. While the scent won’t disappear completely, leaving the pen in direct sunlight can help the smell go away faster.

The Pro Gear Slim uses Sailor’s 14 karat gold nib, which is known for its characteristic feedback. It almost feels like a soft graphite pencil. We recommend it for artists who like to draw with broader nib sizes but find them uncontrollably smooth.

If you would prefer a more traditional nib, the LAMY joy is a good alternative. Its long body is inspired by dip pen holders. It comes in three nib sizes, and the nibs are swappable, too.

The Kaweco Sport Piston Filler packs its compact body with a built-in piston-filling mechanism. Choose from metal or plastic bodies. The nibs can be swapped, but keep in mind that they’re not the same as the nibs for the cartridge-filling Sport.

A fountain pen with a flexible nib like the Pilot Elabo can create expressive lines.

The more flexible a nib is, the more variation your lines will have. By applying pressure to a flexible nib, the tines spread and thus create thicker lines. Flexible nibs are also likely to be more expensive, because the best way to combine softness and durability is by making the nib from gold. Gold is a naturally soft metal, and this characteristic helps give nibs a springiness that is difficult to recreate with steel. Steel flex nibs are less expensive but require more pressure to create line variation, which can be stressful for your hand.

However, we should mention that modern flex nibs, even those made from gold, can’t match the softness of vintage flex nibs. Be careful not to press too hard on the nib, or you may cause the tines to separately permanently. As you use your nib, you’ll get a better feel of how much you can press down without damaging the nib. Artists who need dramatic line variation should consider using dip pen nibs instead.

Most fountain pens use cartridges and are compatible with converters so you can fill the pen from ink bottles.

Before you pick an ink, it’s important to consider your fountain pen’s filling system. The majority of fountain pens use cartridges, which are sealed tubes filled with ink.

Bottled inks come in a wide variety of colors, and they can have special features like shimmer particles. Many pens that take cartridges are also compatible with converters, so you can swap between cartridges and bottled inks. If your pen has an internal filling mechanism like a piston or vacuum, it can be filled from a bottle without needing extra parts, but it can’t be filled with cartridges.

Converters and cartridges have smaller ink capacities than built-in filling systems, so your pen will need to be filled more often. On the other hand, filling from an ink bottle can be messy and inconvenient.

The filling mechanism that works best for you will depend on a variety of factors, like if there’s space in your kit for an ink bottle or if your preferred ink is offered in cartridge form at all. It’s a good idea to start with a cartridge-filling fountain pen and add a converter so you can switch between cartridges and ink bottles as needed.

Keep in mind that some fountain pens use proprietary cartridges or converters. For example, the Prera uses Pilot’s proprietary cartridges and converters, so it’s not compatible with LAMY’s cartridges and converters. However, many fountain pens use international short cartridges, which is a standardized size. As such, the Kaweco Sport can use the same cartridges as the Monteverde Ritma.

Fountain pen inks can be waterproof, water resistant, or water soluble.

Most fountain pen inks are water soluble, which means they’ll bleed and smear when they come in contact with water, including water-based media like markers and watercolors. You can use a wet paintbrush or water brush over a sketch to create ink washes. If inked lines become washed out, you can let the ink dry and draw over the lines again to make them bolder. One benefit of water-soluble inks is that they’re easy to clean out of fountain pens, so they don’t need extra care.

Water-resistant and waterproof inks are less reactive to water. Some dyes or pigments will lift from a water-resistant ink, but a legible core will stay behind.

A waterproof ink may budge slightly if gone over with a water brush multiple times, but it stays relatively smudge free.

Water-resistant and waterproof inks are usually made with pigments, which are harder to clean out of fountain pens. Be sure to stay on top of your pen’s cleaning regimen if you plan to use these inks.