I’ve been doodling my whole life. I couldn’t guess how many felt-tip pens I’ve gone through because they ran dry or — more often — because the felt-tip got mushed by my… enthusiasm. (Gorilla-grip, whatever you’d like to call it.)
At some point I heard about drafting pens, but someone, somewhere told me that you had to hold them at a perpendicular angle to the page. Given how close I put my face to the paper when I draw, I would poke out my eyes, not to mention that it’s an uncomfortable way to doodle.
Well, I took the plunge and bought a pair of Rotring Isograph pens (0.3cm and 0.5cm)… holy heck! These things are great! The line quality is perfect and consistent. Even better, they’re refillable.
Friends often make fun of my obsession with “line quality” when looking at illustrations — in other words, the strength and clarity of the strokes used in the drawing. I suppose it’s a matter of personal preference, but I love a smooth, dark line, and tend not to like sketchy drawings with scarecrow-stuffing edges to them.
And nothing appeals to Hamishes like finding a better way to do his creative stuff.
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This afternoon I was in a coffeeshop taking notes for an article, and the place gradually transformed into my personal hell: the George Heriot School let out and the place filled with rambunctious tots and their oblivious mothers. To cap it off, the cafe put on the reggae album I hate so much, yet all their franchises play. And the cafe I was in yesterday had the music up to a record shop level.
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p>Today is a local holiday, so the library was closed. And I do like working in coffeeshops (concentrating at home is nearly impossible). But I have to find one that has the following qualities:
- It’s comfortable. No steel chairs or glass tables. Sofas are nice for reading, but I do need a table most of the time.
- No schools nearby. Tykes Formula One-ing around the cafe annoy me almost as much as pods of screeching teenage girls.
- It’s okay to stay forever and not feel like the owners are hovering over you. (The nice thing with the chains is that the baristas really don’t care how long you’re there; it won’t affect them financially. The only problem is that they do get antsy to leave and start mopping under your feet and stacking chairs about an hour before closing.)
- Very quiet music or, preferably, no music at all. They’re happy being a good cafe, and aren’t trying to get into CD sales. Likewise, no televisions.
- Decent atmosphere, with corners to tuck yourself away in so people aren’t always brushing past.
- Experienced staff, or people who can at least listen and have a clue, and who don’t consider customers an interruption.
- Open before noon and after six. I’d like to find someplace I can go during the week, on the weekend, or at night.
- Serves FairTrade coffee.
Anybody local know of a place that fits at least a few of these criteria?
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p>I know: this list officially marks me out as old and cranky.