Thucydides feat. My Ink-Stained Fingers

This quirky notepad was in a box collecting dust. I thought it would be perfect for quotes and idioms. so here's the very first entry by Thucydides, a Greek historian and general. I first heard this quote on the Season 51 finale of University Challenge. (UC is an excellent team quiz show. I highly recommend this.)

My penmanship is tiny and I've gotten used to writing with 0.3-0.4 nib size gel pens. Even a 0.5 felt large to me. Writing larger letters and using pens with larger nib sizes has been a Major Adjustment.

Pen and ink used:

TWSBI Eco-T Mint (1.1) with Diamine Sargasso Sea

On doodling: Three birds, one stone.

I've started doodling with my fountain pens. Well, doodling with purpose. I get to practice drawing, Chinese calligraphy, and penmanship. Three birds, one stone.

For now the plan is to recreate existing art or draw using reference photos to improve my drawing skills. I try to put my own spin on it or alter small details to make it my own, but often I find that: improv = disaster.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The photo below is the very first attempt. No pencil first draft for this missy. I went straight to pen. Not too shabby for a first attempt. And please excuse my penmanship. Years of copious note-taking devolved my once beautiful cursive into chicken scratch, so the one below actually isn't terrible after an hour of drawing.

人寿年丰 The land yields good harvest and the people enjoy good wealth.

I did fudge the third Chinese character. The correct idiom goes: 人寿年丰. My family very kindly showed me the error and threw shade. The word dishonor was casually thrown around. XD.

Pens and Inks Used:

TWSBI Eco-T Mint (F) with Diamine Sargasso Sea

TWSBI Eco White (1.1) with Pilot Black

LAMY Al-Star Purple (EF) with Diamine Aquamarine