Test with brushed inks, several techniques attempted.

About the sketch: I just started doodling and wound up with what Nedded might envision when he looks in the mirror. The entire point of this was to test inking.

About the inks: I consider this a victory and a mystery. This was my first time even picking up a brush to do linework, so the fact that any of the lines are anywhere near the pencils is a miracle. Also, no ink got on my fingers or desk in the making of this, which is beyond a miracle.
However, you will note that I had an odd problem with the inks graying out. This happened everywhere, even with an otherwise dry brush dipped directly in the inkwell and applied to dry paper. If there are any traditional inkers out there who can hazard a guess as to what happened, feel free to make suggestions.

Note: I only did an inkwash in the background, using a water brush that had been filled with diluted ink. Otherwise it was 100% india ink brushed directly onto the acid-free dry page. Look- even the dry brushing is grayed!

UPDATE: My google-fu is back and I've turned up this excellent resource. Turns out I just need to let my brandy-new inks condense, something I'd specifically tried to avoid up until now! It also comforts me to know that I got a semi-decent ink, of the choices available at the time.