Pens
You can see/purchase drawing pens at Rex Art Supplies
Like graphite, pens come in a wide variety of styles and can create many types of marks. Ballpoint pens create a variable line while rapidiograph pens can create a very even, consistent line. Pens can be found in many colors as well, allowing for the exploration of color interaction within the drawing.
Artists have been using pens of various styles for centuries. The use of pens with ink as a precise drawing tool originated during the Renaissance as a sketching and drawing technique using reed pens and bottles of ink.
Left: copy after Leonardo da Vinci; Grotesque Head: Man in Profile to Right; pen and brown ink; "Copy after Leonardo da Vinci: Grotesque Head: Man in Profile to Right" (17.142.3) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/17.142.3. (October 2006)
right: Titian; Landscape with Goat; pen and brown ink; 1485?; "Titian (Tiziano Vecellio): Landscape with Goat" (1991.462) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1991.462. (October 2006)
Vincent van Gogh; On the Road to Tarascon; pen and ink and reed pen over pencil; 1888
The image above is in the public domain.
By the middle of the 19th century, pens with interchangeable steel nibs were widely used. Today, artists use many types of pens in a wide variety of colors.
Nib pens, pointed metal tips with ink capillary channels mounted on a handle, were introduced in the early 19th century and replaced the quill pen. They were not used much for writing after the invention of fountain pens but artists still use them to this day. In addition, contemporary artists use rapidiographs and ball point pens.
Some web sites with more information about drawing with ink:
Pen and Ink Drawings
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Drawing in Ink in Europe
The Virtual Instructor: Pen and Ink
Art History: Ink
The Philadelphia Museum: Drawing Materials
How to Draw with Ballpoint Pen: Part One - YouTube Video
Pen and Ink Drawing Tutorials: How to Draw a Realistic Eye Part 1 - YouTube video
Some contemporary artists who work with pens:
Incredibly Intricate Renaissance-Style Insect Drawings by Alex Konahin
Mashable: 10 Unbelievable Ballpoint Pen Drawing Time-Lapses
Mark Powell
Nicolas Sanchez
Artist Boo Saville
ArtNews: Great Art Made with Ballpoint Pens
Melissa Tubbs
Twisted Sifter: Tim Jeffs