I was a bit disappointed in my first attempts at Halloween notan studies because I used India ink and it tended to show my messy brushwork. A single layer of India ink has a matte surface, but as brush strokes overlap, the shellac in the ink becomes glossy as you can see in the photo below.

Speedball India ink on Strathmore Bristol

One of my third year classmates, Scott McCall, suggested I try gouache instead and it made all the difference in the world. Gouache dries quickly like india ink, but it is also opaque and its matte finish does not show brushwork. You can work and rework the goauche and no one will ever know.

Holbein Artist’s Gouache on Strathmore Bristol