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Inktrapment: Diamine Inkvent 2023 – a summary
Here are all the inks from the 2023 Inkvent!
In this year’s calendar, we got inks from five different series: Standard (7), Shimmer (6), Chameleon (9), and Scent (2). Additionally, a (sort of) new series was introduced – Star Bright (1) – which turned out to be a shimmer ink with an extra dose of shimmer. That is to say, this was an excellent calendar for those who appreciate shimmer inks – a total of 16 inks contained some form of shimmer.
Surprisingly, there were no Sheening inks, as there have been previous years, although several inks still displayed some sheen.
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The paper used in all these pictures is Tomoe River, allowing the inks to truly showcase their best features.
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The color distribution in this year’s Inkvent was quite varied, which I liked:
- 1 black (Astral)
- 1 gray (Moon Beam)
- 1 yellow (Fortune’s Gold)
- 2 orange (Buck’s Fizz and reddish orange Fireside Snug)
- 2 red (Tinsel and burgundy Bah Humbug)
- 3 pinkish (Cashmere Rose, Masquerade, and Sweet Dreams)
- 3 brown (Walnut, Cinnabun, and indeterminate, pink-brown-green Weeping Willow)
- 3 green (Merry & Bright, Sugar Snap, and teal Velvet Emerald)
- 4 blue (Early Dusk, Nightfall, Glacier, and Blizzard)
- And a whopping 5 purple inks (Jacaranda, Rainbow’s End, Lavender Frost, Tranquility, and Raise a Glass)!
I found my favorites among the standard inks (e.g., Early Dusk, Jacaranda, Fireside Snug) and among the most extravagant chameleon inks (e.g., Bah Humbug, Astral, Tranquility). Unlike last year, I found the scent in both scented inks to be okay, but I found them both excessively wet and feathering.
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As usual, I did not enjoy the too dry or too light inks, and several of these I will never use again. However, I appreciate good flowing inks and/or inks with significant shading.
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I used the same dip pen on all these sheets, and it’s rather obvious which inks were the wettest!
I am reasonably pleased with this year’s calendar. The colors are relatively varied, and I will revisit several of the inks later. However, 16 out of 25 inks with some form of shimmer may be a bit too much for some people.
Liv Mogstad Strickert is a regular contributor to Pennen er mektigere and will be posting daily ink reviews of Diamine’s Inkvent 2023 in December.