Colorverse - Under the Shade
This is Under the Shade from Colorverse Ink. It’s part of their season 6, Joy in the Ordinary, and is ink number 76 in their online catalog. This series was introduced in Nov. 2019, and showcases six soft, gentle inks themed around simple, everyday joys. Together, the box images create a fun collage that you can see below. I’ve reviewed the other five, as well, and they’re definitely worth checking out.
Visually, Under the Shade is a gorgeous grey, and it stays true to the other inks in the series. It’s a soft, powdery, cool, smoky grey, with hints of yellow and very slight blue undertones. There’s some shading (for me, greys need shading to really be delicious), and in the pencil world, I would say that it ranges from a 6H in the lightest areas, to a 2B in dark areas. On premium papers, there’s a nice halo edging that makes strokes pop. With the edging, it really contrasts beautifully alongside the soft coloring. It’s a very comfortable grey for readers, and lovely on the page.
As a writing ink, it’s extremely smooth, and has great flow. It’s neither wet, nor dry, but that isn’t problematic at all. Strokes were sharp on all papers, but especially on premiums due to the crisp, darkened edging. Coated premiums showed the most pronounced edge. Shading was seen on all six papers tested. The light and dark areas give passages character, and beautifully accent strokes. Drying was quick at 15 seconds on coated papers, 5-10 on uncoated premiums, and under 5 on office copy. This is a very nice writing ink.
Colorverse makes some beautiful inks, and Under the Shade is a beautiful, pillowy grey. It’s a lovely reader’s ink on paper, and the writing experience is exceptional. You’ll find it available in the convenient, and well-priced, 30ml bottles. I definitely recommend Under the Shade. In fact, I recommend all six inks in the series. I bought one bottle, then another, and soon had them all!