Colorverse - Hahoe Mask

Colorverse - Hahoe Mask - Ink drop

You can’t have an ink series focused on Korea without including something inspired by Hahoe masks! Colorverse Hahoe Mask (하회탈) is the perfect representation in ink. It has all of the soft complexities of the carved, lacquered wooden masks that have been important cultural symbols for more than 1000 years. Used in entertainment, celebration, and in ritual activities, the masks are carved in a way that reveal varying emotions as the viewing angle changes.

Colorverse Hahoe Mask fountain pen ink color

Just as the depth of lacquering, and the shadowing of the carving give the masks subtle color variations from one area to the next, there is a lot of variety in the colors of this ink along written strokes of pens or brushes. The base is a gentle caramel light brown, but there is a strong orange influence and interesting grey aspects strokes go from more to less saturated. There’s good shading that reveals the variations in color. Check out the chromatography. This a quite an unusual ink, with a lot of potential of interesting results with a waterbrush!

Ink Swatches on Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River

In writing, this is a wet ink. It flows well and comfortably. I wouldn’t call it a dry ink at all. There is some spreading in broader nibs on some papers, but on others it is largely sharp and clean. I didn’t find bleedthrough on any other than spots on cheap office copy paper, and only very light showthrough on some of the uncoated premium papers. Drying was very quick on uncoated papers and slightly longer than average on coated papers. The chromatography shows good water-resistance in the grey components, too.

Writing sample on Cosmo Air Snow paper

This is an ink that should interest artists and creative hobbyists, but it’s a nice writing ink, too. It has a gentle, very pleasant visual personality, and the color complexities add emotion. Beautifully packaged, as usual, Colorverse offers all of the inks in the Korea Special series in 15 ml bottles. You can easily find Hahoe Mask and the other in the series wherever you find Colorverse inks.

Colorverse Hahoe Mask ink writing samples

Thanks to Colorverse for sending this and a few others over as a gift. It is much appreciated!

And as always, whether I buy an ink or pen or receive it as a gift, my reviews aren’t influenced in any way. I love finding new favorites, but if there’s a problem, I always mention it.

Colorverse Hahoe Mask - Swatch Card

Colorverse Hahoe Mask - Swatch Comparisons

Colorverse Hahoe Mask - 15 ml Ink Bottle and Box