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6:21 AM, Monday January 25th 2021
edited at 3:13 AM, Jan 31st 2021

If you have a bit of isopopyl alcohol you can pop off the metal nib and drip a bit in there to revive the dried out ink. There should be a little notch in the plastic where it meets the metal nib. You can take a needle or thumbtack and wiggle it in that hole. It should come off pretty easily. You can look up videos on youtube for how to refill microns. They'll show you how to do it.

I wouldn't say it is necessary to redo the ones you've done already. You'll revisit the exercises in the future for warmups anyway.

Tips:

Keep the pen at a 90 degree angle to the paper. Don't press hard. I've found that the superimposed lines exercise does a real number on the felt regardless of hand-pressure. Something about the repeated, fast, friction against the ink already on the paper causes it to destroy the tips particularly fast in my experience. ymmv I generally don't revisit that exercise too often. Instead I just do parallel lines for warmups(or use a different pen).

As an alternative I've also used Pilot Precise V5's and thought it was pretty comparable line-quality wise. If you are in the US you should be able to find some at your local big-box store. It works out to be about $1.50/ea The ink isn't archival quality so it will fade to blue after a while. Also be aware that using a rollerball pen can leave trenches in the paper that can throw you off. So again, don't press hard.

I hope that helps! Best of luck and stick with it! :)

edited at 3:13 AM, Jan 31st 2021
2:13 AM, Tuesday January 26th 2021

Thanks so much for the reply! I actually use Pilot Precise V5's as my regular pen of choice for writing, so I have a bunch already, and I've been drawing with them outside of the lessons to preserve the other pens. I did get a pack of new Microns in today, so I'll take your tips to heart and make that part of my practice :)

Thanks again!

The recommendation below is an advertisement. Most of the links here are part of Amazon's affiliate program (unless otherwise stated), which helps support this website. It's also more than that - it's a hand-picked recommendation of something I've used myself. If you're interested, here is a full list.
Staedtler Pigment Liners

Staedtler Pigment Liners

These are what I use when doing these exercises. They usually run somewhere in the middle of the price/quality range, and are often sold in sets of different line weights - remember that for the Drawabox lessons, we only really use the 0.5s, so try and find sets that sell only one size.

Alternatively, if at all possible, going to an art supply store and buying the pens in person is often better because they'll generally sell them individually and allow you to test them out before you buy (to weed out any duds).

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