Ostrich Evening Mist — Ink Review #248

 Ostrich Evening Mist

 

Ink Review # 248

Originally posted on FPN: May 30, 2026

 

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🧾 Description

 

Ink: Evening Mist

Series:  24 SOLAR TERMS

Brand: Ostrich inks

Country: China

Bottles: 10ml and 30ml from AliExpress or similar outlets. 

Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno EF, Kaweco (EF/F/M/B/BB, stub 1.1, 1.9), Hongdian Blade, Noodler’s Ahab with FPR flex.

 

Ostrich Evening mist is a murky green named after the mournful poem Yulin Ling by Liu Yong. 

 

Liu Yong — Yulin Ling: Cold Cicadas Cry Bitterly

Cold cicadas cry mournfully.
Facing the roadside pavilion at dusk,
the sudden rain has just stopped.

Outside the capital gate,
our farewell wine has no joy.
We linger, unwilling to part,
but the orchid boat urges departure.

Hand in hand, we gaze through tearful eyes,
choked with grief, unable to speak.

Thinking of your going, going —
a thousand miles of misty waves;
evening mist lies deep and heavy
beneath the vast southern sky.

Since ancient times, feeling hearts
have suffered from parting.
How much harder to bear
this cold, desolate autumn season.

Where shall I wake tonight from wine?
By the willow bank,
in the dawn wind,
beneath a waning moon.

Years from now,
the good times and lovely scenes
will exist in name only.
Even with a thousand kinds of feeling,
to whom could I tell them?

 

It’s supposed to be a chromo-shading ink.

 

My 10 ml ink bottle came half empty. It had leaked and soaked up the ink box. Of the 6 bottles the three most promising inks (read chromo-shading!) suffered the same fate. The other three had a plastic-stopper and did not leak. 

 

In my experience with a very, very wet flex nib, or stub 1.9 conjure faint effects of chromo-shading:

Midori best. 

Tomoe River 68gsm (not the 52) second best.

Rhodia only with flex. 

Iroful & Hammermill none.

 

Ink is wet and has average lubrication. It’ll survive a few drops but not your coffee mug. 

 

Ink is generally not suited for copy paper, as you’ll have show-through and bleed through with most nibs, but you might get away with EF, F, M nibs. If the pen is primed or a water-hose you’ll have all types of feathering on copy paper. 

 

Overall, a misty, nostalgic grey-green that’s worth trying if you want to get a 10 ml bottle, but not worthwhile in 30 ml bottles, unless you can get a deal. 

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🧪 Chroma

 

 

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✍️ Writing Samples (photos LED and daylight)

 

Translations from language are provided for reference only and may differ from published versions.

I used parts of the poem of Liu Yong, Yulin Ling, as my quotes. 

 

Rhodia dotpad

“Since ancient times, feeling hearts have suffered from parting.” — 

 

 

Iroful

“Thinking of your going, going — a thousand miles of misty waves;

 

 

Midori MD Codex

“Evening mist lies deep and heavy.”

 

 

Tomoe River 68gsm (Taroko Design Notebook)

Note: Tomoe River used here is 68 gsm, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews.

“The southern sky is vast.” 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb copy paper

“How much harder to bear this cold, desolate autumn season.” 

 

 

Closeup

 

 

 🔍 Comparison

Col-O-ring swatches. Scans are approximate.

 

 

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 💧 Water Test

 

 

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 🎨 Artwork

Inktober52, 2026, Prompt 18: Airplane

First experimental drawing on mica ripe xuan paper, a sized Chinese painting/calligraphy paper sold in rolls, very light and almost transparent, with a subtle mica shimmer.

Inspired by childhood paper planes.

 

Ostrich Evening Mist, Platinum Carbon Black, mica ripe xuan paper.

Inktober52, 2026, prompt 17: Airplane

 

Cat & Mouse fly in a biplane, in search of dragon land. 

 

I used an ink brush to coax out the ink’s chromatography at the top, and bleach to spark the little dragon’s fire. I was pleasantly surprised by the pink produced by both methods.

 

Ostrich Evening Mist, Platinum Carbon Black, bleach, Talens Mixed Media. 

 

 

Inktober 52, prompt 17: Greasy

 

When the Greasy Spoon came to town, the wolves went berserk and reverted to their instinctual selves.  ;) 

 

Jacques Herbin Cacao du Brésil, Taccia Fukaki-hanada Ban Mi Macaron Rose, Sharpie Silver, Ostrich Evening Mist (Wolves), Talens Mixed Media Notebook

 

 

Farewell Under Evening Mist

Inspired by a landscape painting by Liu Yong / Liu Yung (劉墉), itself inspired by Liu Yong’s Song dynasty poem Yulin Ling.

Ostrich Evening Mist, Jinchen Mao She, Platinum Carbon Black, Mulberry Mica Paper. 

 

 

 

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- Writing Experience: Good. 

- What I Liked: Green-grey colour, ink wash. 

- What I Did Not Like: Chromo-shading effect only happens under certain conditions. 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

- Shading: Subtle to extreme depending on pen and paper. 

- Ghosting: Faint with F, M nibs on copy paper. 

- Bleed Through: Bleeds with most nibs. Needs a dry pen. 

- Flow Rate: Wet to very wet. 

- Lubrication: Very good. 

- Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. 

- Start-up: No problems. 

- Saturation: Not saturated in general, unless using a firehose!

- Sheen: It’s either a halo, or sheen under specific conditions. 

- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice.

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen):

- Clogging: No.

- Cleaning: Easy. 

- Water Resistance: It’ll survive a few drops but not a flood. 

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 💬 Closing

Interesting colour but my experience was marred with the half-empty bottle. I liked the colour with certain nibs on some papers, but I won’t go out of my way to get it, unless I was practicing brush calligraphy or ink washes. On watercolour paper the beauty of this ink and it’s chromo-shading effects can be truly appreciated. 

 

No fountain pens were harmed in preparing this review. ;)

 

Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier. :)