It's Inktober! (2017)

I was going to add more to it, but i'd been working on the parrot pic from 8pm and my eyes were hurty, I do quite like it as an initial sketch though so i might play with a bit more another time.

I only ever use ArtRage's watercolours for doing drippy stains and paper effects. I find them very fiddly and difficult to control so well done to both you and Charlotte for doing better than me.

My latest biro scribble failed horribly and reminded me of another reason why I don't like using pens and ink. I did a nice enough outline but when I started shading, my dainty hand smudged and smeared the ink all over the place.

Memo To Self: Work from left to right.

biros tend to get little "lumps" of ink (or paper and ink), too, don't they? Or I'm confusing them with another pen... ballpoints? hmm...

Charlotte wrote: biros tend to get little "lumps" of ink (or paper and ink), too, don't they? Or I'm confusing them with another pen... ballpoints? hmm...

Biros are ballpoints. Mr Biro invented the ballpoint pen.

I usually have a scrap of paper handy and wipe the pen every so often to get rid of the gunk. Also tend to have a sheet of paper under my hand to stop the smearing of any gunk.

I thought biros were ballpoints but I wasn't certain

And you're just able to deal with gunk because you're a pro. I prefer avoiding gunk by using a computer...

You can also avoid gunk using a pencil. My preferred sketchery tool.

They smear.

Digital Dave wrote: You can also avoid gunk using a pencil. My preferred sketchery tool.

Inktober... INK... tober... INK!

You didn't say avoid smudges/smears, you said gunk. ...and as Banj mentioned, a piece of paper solves this.

Banj wrote:

Digital Dave wrote: You can also avoid gunk using a pencil. My preferred sketchery tool.

Inktober... INK... tober... INK!

EDIT: Yeah, I was just trying to throw in a monkey-wrench into the mix, or in this case a lead device.

Banj used the phrase "smearing of any gunk" - if pencil smears, it is therefore gunk.