Experimenting with every "white-writing tool" I could find in the studio

I've had a white-lettering-on-black-paper project simmering on the back burner forever or so it seems. One of the things that has me dragging my feet is not knowing which tool (pen, pencil, marker or ink) to use. While cleaning up in the studio this weekend, I stumbled across the sheet of paper you see above (Arches text weight) as well as a couple of white pens I'd just purchased.

Deciding there was no time like the present, I sat down to play after I'd gathered as many white mark-making tools as I could find. In no particular order, I've posted close-ups of the results:
 I've been doing a lot of work with dip pens lately, so I gave a generic bottle of white ink I had a go on the left and right. Smears easily. Takes forever to get the right consistency and it took a long time to dry…hence the smearing. Could work well if you're the patient type. In the middle, I experimented with a Uni•POSCA® brush pen. Horrible control with no consistency to the ink…it's possible the ink is too old to be consistent as I've had the pen a while.
Using a Sakura® Gelly Roll pen worked very well. It takes patience to get a smooth line if you're attempting to create faux calligraphy. The Uni•Ball® Signo Angelic was the easiest pen I used and I like the results. The downside is it's a fine point and it would be really hard to do large lettering with this tip.
Since the Uni•Ball Signo Angelic worked so well, I thought the Uni•Ball Signo Broad would be even better. Wrong! You can see where the ink separated if you look at the graphic at the larger size. It also skipped like mad. Again, it's possible that the ink is old and with a new pen, it might work as well as the Angelic. (Hint: White gel pens get crotchety in their old age which is usually about 6 to 8 months.)
If I decide to go with a "chalkboard look," I will probably use a white charcoal pencil. This particular pencil seemed to have a hint of wax to it and the smearing was limited. Just below that is an example created by a Conté Pastel Pencil and it definitely, EASILY smeared! It would require a spray fixative to keep this from being a major pain in the backside and even then, it may still be smeary. However, it worked best for a chalk look.

Speaking of chalk, this Hampton Art® chalk marker gave a good result. It is not a truly opaque ink and allowed the paper to show through from below. I can think of several fun things to try with this effect.
Another great "chalk" example is a good, old china marker. Two caveats…it's hard to get good clean edges due to the challenge of sharpening the tip and second, if you make a mistake, it's there to stay due the large amount of wax in the lead. The Faber•Castell® Pitt Artist Pen was great for opacity coverage but the nib does not lend itself to any fancy writing. Also permanent. The Faber•Castell watercolor pencil would be wonderful for a chalky piece of work, especially shading. This has no water added to it. Not opaque, but still some fun possibilities there.
I think the most opaque and easiest pen to use was the Sharpie® Poster Pen. Once dry, you can easily fix any light areas. However, once it's dry, you're done because it's acrylic ink. The generic watercolor pencil was another good "chalky look." The Reminise® pen was easy to use and gave excellent results.
My final example is a Stablio® white watercolor crayon encased in wood. The dry result was awful so I added water. It didn't help much. For expressive marks these crayons make are fabulous, but they're not meant for this type of lettering.

Before you pick you tool, think about the final look of the project you're after to help you decide which tool to use. Test, test, test out your tools on your substrate before committing to the project—it can make a huge difference in the look and behavior of the pen or pencil you're using. I would have defaulted to the Uni•Ball Signo broad as it is my "go-to" white pen and I've have probably pulled my hair out before I was finished!

If your project is not going to be handled and touched, the charcoal and pastel pencils give excellent results and were great fun to play with if you're looking to create a chalkboard look.

Now that I've experimented and played, I'm more anxious than ever to get started and see what I can come up with on my project. I hope these results will get you to thinking about what you might do as well!

Pink Petticoats Peony

Okay, bloggie buds and budettes, I need some input from all of you! I've been working on some more material on backgrounds and most of it is quite lengthy as backgrounds are not simple nor quickly explained. Perhaps some of it could be boring. So I'm going to let you decide whether you would like for me to continue to post the background series. Or not. Either way, it won't hurt my feelings. I have no wish to bore you to death with something you simply have no interest in.

Warning: Practice first! Please do not try these techniques on a "good" painting without first practicing on a failed painting, a practice sketch or a scrap of paper! It takes a few tries (sometimes more) to get the hang of doing backgrounds.