: What's the fastest-drying pen? I'm talking about real pens, not software! I love drawing with Sharpies except that I often smear the lines with my sweaty wrists! What's a similar black drawing

@Reiling762

I constantly have smudge issues because I'm left-handed so even basic writing tasks look very dirty due to smudging.

It sounds like you're looking more for a marker-type pen, but I'd like to comment on a needle-tip gel pen that I've found that I haven't been able to smudge. Which is great if you enjoy sketching with thin pens.

I went to a store that sold an incredible number of pens and started testing them and instantly wiping my hands over it. Most of them smudged (even other needle-point pens). I ended up going with the Pentel Energel 0.35mm ballpoint pen. I tried over and over again to smudge it but I wasn't able to. It seems rather pricey on Amazon (probably because it's Japanese-made) and when I bought it in person it was cheaper, but I'm very happy with it and I wouldn't mind paying the higher price to ensure I don't smudge.

To be clear, I understand it's not perhaps the more "artsy" answer but I wanted to provide the answer because I'm sure there's many more lefties suffering in their day-to-day writing and what not. If anyone else knows of any other smudge-free pens I'd be happy to add them to this post or just convert my post into a wiki.

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@Kaufman565

If you're happy with the pens you use and simply want to avoid sweaty-hand related smudging, you might have a use for those 'smudge guard' gloves they make for use with graphics tablets.

They're designed to stop hand smudges without getting in the way of using a pen, and I don't see any reason why they wouldn't work as well for real pens as for digital ones.





I always thought they seemed a bit silly/excessive for their intended use of avoiding smudges on screens/graphics tablets when using a digital pen (could just be because I never really get that problem for some reason), but this seems like a legitimate case where they might really help: they'll be dry, and even if it turns out that the excess ink problem isn't caused by sweat or skin-grease, I imagine they would absorb excess ink before they smudge it.

The advantage over looking for a type of faster-drying pens is, you don't need to change pens from a type you know you like to a type that might not suit you so well.

Search for 'tablet glove' to find them. Also, 'SmudgeGuard' seems to be one common brand name.

Or you could probably get similar results by taking a pair of scissors to an old glove :-)

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@Moriarity648

Paper, qualities and types, is a rabbit-hole that is very deep. Be warned. A high quality coated paper designed for ink-jet printers would take inks very well to reduce or eliminate the possibility of smearing while still keeping the lines crisp. Uncoated paper would absorb inks very well also, but would tend to bleed at the edges. Heavier paper in general would be a benefit to you.

Most inks that are very thin viscosity are going to dry faster than the gel style inks. A factor to look at as well is how much ink you are putting down per area of paper. Even very absorbent paper will only be able to soak in so much ink. The amount of ink laid down by the pen or marker would be determined by the the tip, ink thickness, and possibly pressure you press with. I do not know or have a ton of experience in this area.

In no particular order here are some writing and drawing utensils I really like:


Copic Multiliner (felt tip, replaceable cartridge and nib)
Staedtler Triplus Fineliner (felt tip, lots of color options)
Prismacolor Art Markers (several tip options, LOTS of colors)
Pigma Micron (felt tip, good color selection)


I do have a bias for smaller finer tips, and many of the options above may be too fine for your tastes and/or applications.

If you are re-introducing a liquid solvent to the paper after the ink has dried via your sweaty wrists it may be impossible to keep from smearing. An alternative that many take to when using graphite which could possibly help you is putting a piece of scratch paper under your hand. This could also be a piece of felt or other cloth which may be less likely to cling to your hand, which bothers me a lot. This intermediary surface would hamper the sweat from reaching the drawing surface and smearing the ink.

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