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Learning To Draw With Pen & Ink


daniellem

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Love the sketches, Rob -- keep 'em coming! I think we'd all like to see what other sticky situations the mighty lizard can get himself into... :) Nice job on the portrait and the paw; you did a great job with the texture and shading.

 

Candidvn, I really like your ink sketch of the mannequin -- it's very loose and the lines fairly vibrate with energy, you can almost feel the pen gliding across the paper when you look at it!

 

I'm itching to get back to the Lohan excercises, and I found a very cool vintage pen and ink book I'll post about one of these days, but for now here's a quick sketch done while on vacation awhile back. Pens used were a platinum pocket pen with Platinum carbon ink, and the Sailor Fude de Mannen pen with the sailor cartridge ink that came with the pen. The paper is Canson watercolor paper -- the kind in the postcard pad. I did use this as an actual postcard and sent it to my mom. She was very put out that the post office stamped over the artwork, but I think that gives it more character! :)

 

fpn_1378872449__postcard1.jpg

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Ooh, that's lovely. Is the coloration ink or watercolor?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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daniellem and candidvn very lovely pieces of work. I've never been a fan of watercolor work when I was younger but seeing these pieces it is widening my range I think. Love it.Think I'm going to buy this exercise book you are all using and give it a go, looks like a lot of fun.

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It matters not one wit. Whatever floats yer boat.

 

I practice my drawing BASICS (cuz I stink) in pencil, but I love to sketch in ink. It's a commitment that used to terrify me. What if I make a mistake!? (gasp) I'm sure you see it in the uneven spectacles of yer Bennett sketch. But, who gives a rodent's patoot? No longer I. I think yer sketch is killer. Keep doing it and it and you will only improve .....unlike myself and bowling. ;)

 

The specs do annoy me, but hey, as you said, I am trying not to give a rodent's pahoot about it :D

 

I thought I would try pencil sketches first earlier today and the results were dreadful! The pencil sketches were "ok" (I rushed a couple in my lunch break), but the inking afterwards went completely pahoot about face. For some weird reason my wrist stiffened up and everything went wrong. The lines were completely lifeless and dull, you could see they were just following a predefined path.

 

So i guess what "floats my boat" is the freedon of blank paper. Gives me the heeby jeebies though, knowing that one false move will mess the lot up ;)

 

Rob

 

P.S. My bowling started bad and has stayed consistently bad for the last couple of decades, so I know what you mean!

Edited by RobertP

There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write.
William Makepeace Thackeray

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fpn_1378872449__postcard1.jpg

 

Wow. Love this. I am hugely jealous! :notworthy1:

As soon as I get anywhere near any form of colour (watercolours, oils, acrylics, anything...) it all goes haywire with me. I really respect and envy people who can put so much depth and character into a picture using colour, especially with a skillfully chosen "restricted" palette like this!

There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write.
William Makepeace Thackeray

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http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3815/9668652719_20d743aa77_z.jpg

 

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3776/9668656129_73a382b415_z.jpg

I am crazy about stonework!

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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Candidvn, Nice job on the rocks and stonework. Reminds me of entrances to tile roof style homes.

 

Daniellem, Love the postcard. The watercolor detail is so fine. It all works for me. The sky, trees, perspective. You've caught the feel for sure.

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Thank you so much for the kind words, Rob and Muldi! I have not had the chance to pull out the paint for many months -- getting some time to sit, sketch, and paint while on vacation was such a treat.

 

Candidvn, the paper I used was the Canson Montval Watercolor block in the 4x6 size if that helps when you look for it. But I think any watercolor paper in that size would work as a postcard, as long is it's sturdy enough to survive a trip through the postal system...

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Thank you all for your comments.

@Kmart_security: I use the Moleskines sketchbook and Sakura Koi kit, it's convenient for draw outdoor.

@Daniellem: Thank you for your help. I want to try the Stillman&Birn but don't know which one is good for ink and watercolor.

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I've been doing some sketching over the summer, started trying faces, first eyes were hard, then not so hard, then noses, impossible! Ok, sort of understand noses, now ears are a challenge! Wow, faces would be so much easier to draw if they didn't have so many parts!

I broke all the rules with this one. Tried sketching from a small picture in an italian cookbook of a man who is selling his beans, he looks like he's proud of his beans, but not so comfortable with getting his picture taken.

The image on the left was the first rough/fast sketch I did, then on the right is one that is proportionally much more accurate, I pencilled the large features on the right first, then inked it.

Here's what I think about these 2 renderings. The one on the left, while rougher, and not technically as accurate, has more life to it, the one on the right seems a bit lifeless. Anybody else agree or disagree with that?

Lots of nice sketches and drawings showing up here folks!

post-103573-0-86763400-1378950719.jpg

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I have to say I like the one on the right for its look of gentle reticence which fits your comments about being proud of his beans, but shy regarding the picture. There is a warmth about the face that you capture.

I like the one on the left for it's openness and pleasure. It does show more 'life' or sponteniety.

I like them both for different reasons!

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Weltyj, faces are so hard to do in pen and ink -- you're doing a wonderful job! I'm drawn to the sketch on the left; I like his melancholy expression and the softer look to his features that you achieved with the stippling and the finer lines. I don't find it lifeless at all! The sketch on the right does indeed have a happy, more playful look to it, though. Roughly how much time did you spend on each version?

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daniellem, yer postcard is excellent. Not jes the muted palette, but the way you've managed to capture the essence of water. Water is a difficult image to convey and you've pulled it off quite nicely.

nulla dies sine linea

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I have to say I like the one on the right for its look of gentle reticence which fits your comments about being proud of his beans, but shy regarding the picture. There is a warmth about the face that you capture.

I like the one on the left for it's openness and pleasure. It does show more 'life' or sponteniety.

I like them both for different reasons!

Thanks for your thoughts on that. It's nice to have someone else see something I missed, and now that I look back at it, I do see some warmth to the face on the right. "gentle reticence", good way of describing it!

 

Weltyj, faces are so hard to do in pen and ink -- you're doing a wonderful job! I'm drawn to the sketch on the left; I like his melancholy expression and the softer look to his features that you achieved with the stippling and the finer lines. I don't find it lifeless at all! The sketch on the right does indeed have a happy, more playful look to it, though. Roughly how much time did you spend on each version?

I think you mixed up right and left in your comments, but I see what you mean.

 

So, how much time did I spend? I'd have to guess 30 minutes for the "fast" sketch on the left, probably 3 hours on the right. Both were an enjoyable endeavour :) I'm thinking the one on the right might have been better served by not using stippling but more of a single direction hatching around the nose.

 

I like both of them. Sketching people is really hard. I have tried to sketch my wife and my daughter while we were on the train.

Oh, and you have a hand there too -- Drawing hands are another mountain for me to climb!

 

Thanks for the comments everyone, they are very helpful. Keep on drawing!

Edited by weltyj
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I think you mixed up right and left in your comments, but I see what you mean.

 

 

 

That I did -- I don't know where my brain was when I did that. :blush: Glad you knew what I meant, though. Thanks for posting your times, it's always so interesting to get a peek into peoples' processes and the time it takes.

 

I think stippling can be so effective when done with care, although I know it is extremely time consuming. Have a look at this amazing piece of in-progress artwork that I came across online -- a truly masterful example of the effect it can produce: http://harikaszaza.blogspot.com/2013/04/and-then-theres-this.html and also this: http://harikaszaza.blogspot.com/2013/04/feeling-it.html

 

 

Water is a difficult image to convey and you've pulled it off quite nicely.

 

 

 

 

notbob, thanks so much! Been doing any more sketches with those Pilot Parallel pens lately? Do post!

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So you think you've seen some good pen and ink drawings. Check these sketches out:

 

http://www.animationillustrationart.com/search/label/P M Sreenivasan

 

So much detail, turns 2D into 3D. Scary good. I've looked all over the web and have found no trace of these books, which I would purchase in a heartbeat if I could locate where/how.

 

Jes thought y'all might enjoy. ;)

nulla dies sine linea

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