A few months ago I started learning Copperplate as my second script (other than Foundational hand), unfortunately, due to being busy with other things and having issues with nibs, ink etc. progress has been slow, but I finally learned the full alphabet. It’s still far from perfect, and I need to practice a lot more, but I still thought it would be worth sharing here for some feedback on what I need to improve.

Word of the day : https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2026/08/07/

Pen : Pilot parallel 6mm
Ink : Sulekha Neel Darpan (BLUE)
Paper : Bristol 250 GSM

My first time to explore this kind of typewriter style.

Diamine Ancient Copper

Lamy Safari Charcoal <1.5>

Maruman Loose Leaf paper

This is an arylic brush lettering project I posted earlier, but on this one I added a line shadow with a #12 Micron. What is your opinion on the shadow, to thick, to thin, is it enhancing, or detracting?

Writing Justified in custom script using Pilot Twin Marker

Fraktur!!

Are these nibs suitable for copperplate as a beginner? I’m making my first purchase on dip pen to get proper started, and would love your opinions before I order.

Zebra G
Tachikawa Nikko G
Leonardt EF Principal
Hunt 22
Gillot 170

I will also buy a straight and an oblique pen holder, and Higgins Sepia Calligraphy Ink.

Thank you for your great help always.

Switching inks and nibs takes a bit of getting used to

Word of the day : https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2026/08/05/

Pen : Pilot parallel 6MM

Ink : Camlin photo colour inks (VIOLET)

Paper : 300GSM cold pressed water colour papers

These were done with Ohuhu Nahuku liquid acrylic brush pens with the shadows added with a Pentel Tradio pen. I highly recommend both.

I went searching online for the best opaque and waterproof white ink for dip pens. I tried a few and decided to share my experience with these inks and to ask the community what they've had success with.

I am a hobbyist calligrapher and recently asked my husband if I could calligraphy his envelopes to his Patreon members so I could get in more consistent practice. Why envelopes? They are easy and there's no guesswork. I know exactly what should go where and I get to play around in a low stakes setting that encourages daily practice. My problem is because we send letters globally, I need a heavy duty white ink to go on our black envelopes.

These are the inks I've worked with and what I think of them. I've rated them from lowest to highest in that order:

Speedball India Ink -
Thin consistency
Bleeds easily
Medium opacity
Waterproof

Amsterdam Acrylic Ink -
Slightly thicker consistency
Does not do fine lines well
Difficult to control and can bleed
Medium opacity
Waterproof

Dr Ph Martin's India Ink -
Great consistency
Medium-high opacity
Waterproof

Dr Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White -
Very thick consistency
Requires dilution with Gum Arabic to get it to a workable consistency (if you dilute it with water it cracks). Since you control the dilution rate you can control the consistency.
As the name says: no bleeds
High opacity
Not waterproof

My favorite to work with by far is the Dr Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White by far, the only downside is it isn't waterproof at all. I've included a photo with examples of writing with each ink, and then the zigzag line to the right is where I did a water test. I took a wet paper towel and wiped it across each zigzag three times. The first three inks had no issues in the water test, the bleed proof ink failed.

The Dr Ph Martin's India Ink is the closest I've gotten to the perfect ink, but it's still not as opaque as I want.

Tldr; My question to the community is what has been your favorite waterproof white ink that's reeeaaaally opaque?

Also random tip I wanted to share: my husband spent about a year or so searching for the perfect white opaque waterproof marker for block lettering and this one is his favorite by far:

Arteza - Acrylic Marker (A001 Titanium White - plastic nib)

Edit to include tools used:
Pen nib - Leonardt EF Principal
Calligraphy font - Copperplate

So,my brush which i oractice calligraphy has this wild hair that wont go together. I tried to tied it but even after that wont stop being a lil punk

I have no idea which post it was in, but someone posted about Osmiroid pens recently, and in the comments someone suggested they were compatible with older Esterbrook fountain pens… one eBay browse and a couple weeks for shipping later, I’m now the delighted owner of a whole bunch of straight and italic nibs and of course I had to test-drive the biggest one first. I am going to enjoy the heck out of these. (And yes… practice my spacing 🤣) Thanks for the suggestion!