Inks - help with purchase

[Barton]

It was suggested a long time ago to me that inks to delineate areas on a mini are good idea. What kind of inks? pen refill ink? India Ink? What brand(s) are good? Do you use paint brushes and if so what kind of brushes and how clean them? In other words painting newbie needs help on inks.

[mahon]

GW inks were good, but I don't know if they still make them.
Vallejo Game Color inks are very good.
We also have some W&N inks and they're very good too, but they're very glossy, and taste really bad. You either need to kill the sheen with flat varnish or enjoy glossy surfaces.
They're a blast if you want to paint very saturated (and glossy) surfaces - painting red or green armor becomes such a joy!

Not really pen refill ink. I think it's the kind of ink made for painting.

[Cyberpaddy66]

We also have some W&N inks and they're very good too, but they're very glossy, and taste really bad. You either need to kill the sheen with flat varnish or enjoy glossy surfaces.
They're a blast if you want to paint very saturated (and glossy) surfaces - painting red or green armor becomes such a joy!

I know what you mean, I found some 'Magic Marker' inks in our craft stuff so I tried a bit of the green on my wizards cloak and boy oh boy is it glossy, it looked like I'd varnished it already I plan on buying some Vallego inks soon to see if it makes my glases any better than using the Game Colour paints

[Barton]

Thanks Cyberpaddy66 and Mahon. My wife has W&N inks, so I will "borrow" them. I will also look at Vallejo game color inks.
Now more questions:
What colors are commonly used???
Use brushes to apply, if so what kind of brushes (synth or natural or sable)??? How clean brushes??

[mahon]

colors? I know Ana bought whichever inks she managed to find because she simply likes painting with them. they offer rich colors, good saturation, excellent density, and some transparency. we use water and soap to clean the brushes. we use only natural brushes.
glossy look is easy to remove with a thin layer of matt varnish. you can also try adding some matt medium. should be OK.

[ToMaZ]

GW doesn't make inks anymore. Only washes I believe.

I use the inks from the P3 line. They are comparable to the old GW inks. They are good, but I don't use them that much. Only for some final glazes if I need so smooth some blends or intensify a colour.

[Barton]

Thanks Mahon!! What matte varnish brand(s) do you like/use????

Tomaz, thanks for info, not a fan of GW paints.

[mahon]

these new GW washes are pretty cool. we use them not so much for washing but for painting. I saw miniatures painted exclusively with washes and they really looked decent.
varnish? any brand will do. I often use vallejo, but have also used krylon, idea/maimeri, testors.

[Barton]

Thanks again Mr. Mahon!

[Midnight Lurker]

Mahon....

Since you and Ana use inks all the time, maybe you are a good one to ask: How do you get around the whole "re-activation" problem? I love the look of inks, but am scared to use them very much cause you just never know when they will bleed back up through your subsequent work!

Jen