Their Favourite Drawing Instruments
Roz Chast: Rapidograph pen
Roz Chast’ s anxious characters have captivated readers of The New Yorker since 1979, when she was hired as the first female staff cartoonist there.
“ I went to the World’ s Fair when I was 8, and the only thing I remember was the Parker Pen Pavilion, which was very, very cool. Then my cousin gave me a Rapidograph when I was 12. I was in love. As a leftie cartoonist, dip pens are always a problem because we push the pen and righties pull it. With some other pens, that clip gets in the way. And ink that doesn’ t dry immediately is always problematic for lefties, because of the smearing factor.
Illustration by Roz Chast
My first Rapidograph was black and heavy-barreled. It had a double zero point so you could really get a lot of detail. Even though it clogged all the time, I didn’ t care. Then they discontinued it. So I switched to the white Rapidograph but I wasn’ t totally in love – the line seemed a little scratchy. I like a very black line because I put water color wash over it. So I tried the Rotring Rapidoliner and fell in love again. Then they stopped making that. I bought a bunch that I am slowly using up, but should have bought the whole factory. I am in mourning for my discontinued pens and also jealous of righties because they get to dip.”
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