The Two Best Pens for Drawing 

I have spent more time and money then I like to admit to testing different pens and I have found two pens that work amazingly well. I spend many hours every week with a ballpoint pen in hand and I'm super excited to share my favorite pens with you!

Zebra F-301 0.7

Pen for Loose Sketching & Scenery

I bought one of these pens mostly to keep in the car and on my person because of its convenient size but I was really taken back by how good this pen is for loose sketching. The pen works great when putting down quick lines and is also great for gentle light lines because of its nib size.

This is my go-to pen for drawing outdoors if you are taking a sketchbook for travel I highly recommend grabbing a pack of these pens and a sketchbook. The small size is great for travel and I have tried many other pens but they simply dont come close.

This pen does blot at times so if you are trying to do more finished drawings you can use a paper towel to clean the nib every once in a while or just clean it against the back of a piece of paper. This is the only reason I don't do finished illustrations with this pen, having to watch for blotting can be annoying when you are trying to create something very refined.

If you enjoy working in a looser style and don't mind some blotting you can get great results with this pen

Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.3

Pen for Finished Illustrations

Oh, boy Im excited to let you know about this pen because I've gone through tons of these and I can't get enough of them. The black ink is deep and it flows perfectly from the nib. I haven't found anything that can compete with this pen for finished illustrations.

The way this ink sits beautifully on paper and makes the originals really stand out. I have a longer article on the best papers to use here if you want to check out but the quick answer is that I used Bristol Vellum with this pen for finished pieces.

This pen also has a handy dandy clip that I love and sits very comfortably in my hand which is great because I have fairly large hands. Even after spending an average of 20-30 hours a week with this pen in hand I haven't wanted to switch to anything else.

Here is a process video of me using the Sarasa Clip 0.3 on Bristol Vellum to create a finished piece