I usually end up writing with a pen because I find the greater level of contrast easier to read; I have pretty bad eyesight. Lately I've been using fine-point Sharpie pens and they're great for readability.

I do a lot of pencil drawings, though (http://orng.us/ob8yao) and I do find something magical about the feel of pencil on paper, and even the smell of the graphite. I can lose myself for hours. But if I'm writing, I like a darker line, which means softer lead, which means more smudging.... bleh.

I've found that fine-point sharpies bleed through every kind of paper. What kind of paper do you use?

Sharpie makes a pen specifically for writing with now; grandparent post is probably not referring to the gray permanent marker you're envisioning.

Just a Mead 5-subject spiral notebook. It's not super thin paper, but it's not really heavy, either. I've never had an issue of bleed through, but I don't write on the back side of the page, either.

A Pigma Micron might work well for you: http://www.sakuraofamerica.com/Pen-Archival

Nice work on the big cats :)

Thank you :)