Okay folks, grab a coffee ’cause today was one of those “learn-as-I-stumble” kinda days. Wanted to create some fancy gold lettering for wedding invites, figured “How hard can it be?” Spoiler: Harder than I thought. Needed the right tool, so I dumped five contenders onto my workbench to see who wins the gold medal, literally.
The Gold Hunt Begins
Started simple. Grabbed my usual black drawing ink – nope. Looked like muddy brown trash on the fancy paper. Obviously needed actual gold. Hit the art store and stared at the shelf:
- Shiny gold tubes (paint?)
- Weird sticky pens
- Bottles of liquid gold
- Fancy dip pens with crow-quill nibs
- This thing that looked like glue in a bottle
Bought one of each that seemed gold-related. Budget cried a little.
Test Drive: Round One – The Sticky Stuff
First up, the “Gold Adhesive Pen”. Felt like a cheap glue stick. Scribbled some swirls. Let it dry “tacky” like the package said. Then pressed on some gold leaf… aaaaand disaster. Stuck to EVERYTHING – my fingers, the air, dust particles – except where I actually wanted it. Peeled it off and got a patchy, sad excuse for gold. Scrap heap candidate.
Next, the “Liquid Leafing” goo bottle. Looked promising! Shook it, unscrewed the cap, dipped a brush in… gloop city. Went on way too thick, dried lumpy and cracked. Tried thinning it – big mistake. Water just made it separate into weird oily blobs. Total mess. Wasted about half the bottle figuring that out.
Round Two: The Liquid Gold Contenders
Alright, onto the “Premium Calligraphy Gold Ink”. Got a decent dip pen nib, filled it, tried a flourish… and it skipped like a bad record player. Pushed harder, bloop – giant ink puddle. Paper curled, gold ink pooled. Ruined. Let it dry hoping for a miracle. Dull, brassy colour. Felt like I got ripped off for “premium.”
Switched tactics to the “Artist’s Grade Gold Gouache” tube. Squeezed a tiny pearl onto my palette. Added water. And more water. And more. Either too thick and chalky or too watery and transparent. Found a kinda-middle ground. It painted on okay with a pointed brush, but controlling thin lines? Forget it. Thick lines looked decent, but dried with a slight chalky finish, not shiny. Decent for filling shapes, maybe?
Hail Mary: The Dip Pen & Ink
Finally, the classic route. Cleaned my nib properly this time. Got the real deal “Calligraphy Gold Ink” bottle (not the tube, the actual liquid ink). Took a breath, dipped just the tip. Glided it across the paper…
- Holy cow. Smooth. No skipping.
- The colour? A proper, deep, shimmery gold.
- Thin lines stayed thin.
- Thick lines built up nice and even.
Finished a whole word. Held it up. Light caught it. It gleamed. Even my crappy handwriting looked sorta fancy.
So, Who Won The Gold?
Here’s the brutal truth after wasting half a day and too much cash:
- Adhesive Pen / Leafing: Forget it unless you’re a patient saint. Too fiddly.
- Gold Gouache: Okay for paint effects or filling stuff, NOT for fine lines. Colour was kinda flat.
- “Premium” Gold Ink (tube): Trash. Skipped, pooled, looked cheap.
- Gold Ink (cheapo bottle): Actually managed to work. Colour was alright, flowed alright with the dip pen. Budget winner? Maybe for practice.
- Actual Calligraphy Gold Ink + Proper Nib: The Champion. Smooth, shiny, controlled, gorgeous colour worth the price tag.
The Realization? Good gold drawing isn’t about some magic pen. It’s about decent ink designed for the job and a decent nib that cooperates. Splurge on the good ink, get a decent dip pen holder and a couple of quality nibs. Skip the gimmicks. My invites thank me.
