On Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:12:45 -0400, Peter T. Daniels
<grammatim@...> wrote:

> The phenomena you describe relate to the writing implement you're using.
> Stylus on clay? Stylus on palm leaf? Flexible brush? Broad-edge pen?
> Flexible nib? Pencil? Ballpoint? Felttip?

Wonderful! Makes so much sense; fundamental. Thank you!
A person who has learned to use many such writing instruments has true
knowledge.

(P.S.: Notably excluded from the list: A computer mouse (one artist said
it's like trying to paint with a brick) and a computer graphics tablet;
the latter's response can be altered by programming (such as low-pass(?)
filtering (smoothed response) in Inkscape, iirc). P.P.S. I just recalled
de-facto-portable "airbrushes" -- spray paint cans, sometimes used for
public contests to see whose writings are the least legible.

Even ball pens have varying amounts of "drag" -- Parker Jotter
(traditional) points have a textured ball, iirc, and (relatively)
high-viscosity ink. While their ink supply is generous, the side force
needed to make a mark is perceptible. Gel-ink pens are a delight (but use
lots of ink). Parker has gel-ink refills, which are quite pleasant.

I've seen (and tried) porous foam-tip pens that seem to be something like
brushes.

(My current favorite is the Pilot G-2. (I bought refills at Staples, too.))

Pen technology (including ink management) has interested me for decades;
I'm resisting temptation to discourse further.

--
Nicholas Bodley _.=|*|=._ Waltham, Mass.
who remembers the Reynolds Aluminum ball
pen*, the Buck Ball, and banks forbidding
signatures on checks/cheques made with
ball pens. *$15, iirc; it didn't work.