Learning To Draw With Pen & Ink

[subramaniyam]

Absolutely superb, Rita!!!!!

[notbob]

I have finally finished the church drawing I posted earlier in the thread.This was supposed to be a loose sketch with ink wash. I guess it didn't exactly turn out that way .

 

It's beautiful, Rita.

[notbob]

perspective. I definitely need to spend some time figuring this out. There are so many books out there that deal with perspective in art -- any recommendations?

 

 

Entry into this excellent peniverse has re-awakened the long dead artist in me, which I abandoned in my misspent youth. Now, I'm all over the map with pen and ink, calligraphy, pencil sketching, watercolor (inks too), etc, enjoying what I can in the time I have left. My primary goal is simply to re-learn how to draw.

 

The single most brilliant resource I've run across are the books by Andrew Loomis. He pretty much covers all aspects of drawing and you can download six of his books in pdf form off the internet for free. His one book, Successful Drawing, goes into perspective to a degree of detail that could make a professional draftsman quail. I can attest to this, as I was one.

 

Here is one download link: http://illustrationage.com/2013/04/02/free-andrew-loomis-art-instruction-downloads/

 

I wish I'd have known about this guy when I was 14.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Andrew Loomis? Holy cow... I have one of his books!

[daniellem]

 

The single most brilliant resource I've run across are the books by Andrew Loomis. He pretty much covers all aspects of drawing and you can download six of his books in pdf form off the internet for free. His one book, Successful Drawing, goes into perspective to a degree of detail that could make a professional draftsman quail. I can attest to this, as I was one.

 

Here is one download link: http://illustrationage.com/2013/04/02/free-andrew-loomis-art-instruction-downloads/

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the recommendations and link, not bob!

[Rita_K]

Thanks so much for the kind comments everyone !

 

daniellem - yes, I expect there will accumulate a lot of wonderful reference material from this trip. The reference for this drawing is from a photo taken during my last visit. This is one of the churches in the small village where my parents were born.

 

notbob - +1 on the Andrew Loomis books. I have three of the ones that were recently re-released. I must admit I was totally overwhelmed when I looked at Successful Drawing. I'll have to give it another go when I'm feeling a little more courageous . Thanks for the link for the downloads. Please share some of the things you've been working on.

 

subramaniyam - thank you ! good to see you again.

[attika89]

 

My Lohan book has arrived and I look forward to trying the exercises.

I'll be going on an extended trip to Hungary to visit relatives and plan to take the book with me. Hopefully it will be a distraction during my 7.5 hour layover.

 

I have finally finished the church drawing I posted earlier in the thread.This was supposed to be a loose sketch with ink wash. I guess it didn't exactly turn out that way .

 

Pen and ink on Fabriano HP watercolor paper.

Pacini katolikus templom 100.jpg

Very nice drawing Rita!
I love your pencil drawings on your site as well!

[Rita_K]

Köszönöm Attika !

 

Thanks for taking the time to look at my art blog.

I will be leaving for Hungary next week . Can you recommend any good pen shops in the Budapest or Miskolc area ?

[attika89]

Köszönöm Attika !

 

Thanks for taking the time to look at my art blog.

I will be leaving for Hungary next week . Can you recommend any good pen shops in the Budapest or Miskolc area ?

I have sent you a pm

[andymcc]

I stumbled into this thread today and I've loved seeing everyone's drawings. I use my fountain pens to draw everyday, each night I do 20-30 minutes sketching to unwind. I've attached a couple of recent ones, I mainly use a twsbi mini & kaweco sport AL raw and diamine inks(rustic brown for these two). I use a really cheap diy lining paper that I bind into sketch books, I like the texture of the paper and as it's cheap I feel freer to experiment. I also use a cheap brush pen that I fill with water to add quick washes, the washes help build tone and form and also erase or knock back errors.

 

Seasick Steve

 

Lemmy

 

I can't wait to see how everyone develops their drawing

[subramaniyam]

Woohoo!!! another wash enthusiast!!! Welcome, comrade :-)

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oh. My. Gosh!

 

Amazing...and you call that a 'sketch?'

 

Great work, andy...now I'd love to know exactly what kind of paper that is!

[andymcc]

subramaniyam: thanks comrade, I keep trying not to use washes but they just look so cool

 

Sailor Kenshin: Thank you, I think of most of my pen & ink drawings as sketches, it stops me getting precious about them. The paper is really, really cheap(£1 a roll for 3.97m2) it's the lining paper that you hang before you wallpaper a room, you should be able to find it in any DIY store. It's the best paper I've found for pen & ink(and I've tried lots & lots). It's not archival so it will yellow if left in the sun but that's not an issue for me, I have pictures that are over a year old and the paper still looks fine, the rolls are about 21inches wide so I usually cut sheets 10.5"x13" and get loads of them from a single roll. I bind them into basic books of various sizes, you can find how to do that with a quick web search, apart from fountain pens and Diamine inks it's been one of my best finds for art stuff

 

A couple more sketches from the last few weeks

 

Wibble!

 

A quick one of the Blues Brothers, I done this to test Diamine Ancient Copper ink, I'm loving it so far.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Just awesome. I am rofl at .. is that... Mr. bean? I know him as Blackadder.

 

Lining paper. Wonder what it's called in the US. I used to hang wallpaper but never used a 'lining paper.' Off to the innerwebs to see!

[notbob]

OMG! Now we're talkin'.

 

I tried a straight pen and ink rose with Diamine Ruby, but was not impressed with my effort, so I twisted up a piece of paper towel into a point, dipped it into water, and tried a few strokes! Wow. Now that's what I was looking for. The color leaps off the page. I'm a closet watercolor fan, but suck at it, but I think I could do this. I have a pretty good selection of ink samples and enough pens, both dip and fountain. Now looking for some applicable brushes, as I have not a single brush in the house. Regardless, I LOVE this ink wash approach. That Seasick Steve piece is freakin' awesome. I'm gonna try another rose......

[notbob]

Look out! I found a brush.

 

 

 

Here is my very first ink wash post to FPN.

 

Whoo-hoo! This is more fun than poking a geek with a stick. Diamine Ruby Red in Safari 1.1 and Sailor Epinard with Hiro dip pen. I found the brush in a $2 Crayola water paint set I bought at the supermarket and have yet to use. I can see where this is leading.......

 

 

[penultress]

Look out! I found a brush.

 

 

 

Here is my very first ink wash post to FPN.

 

Whoo-hoo! This is more fun than poking a geek with a stick. Diamine Ruby Red in Safari 1.1 and Sailor Epinard with Hiro dip pen. I found the brush in a $2 Crayola water paint set I bought at the supermarket and have yet to use. I can see where this is leading.......

 

Very pretty! I love Ruby and this wash idea is great!

 

 

[daniellem]

andymcc -- amazing sketches! Does the paper help with the smooth blended look you get with your washes? Very inspiring work.

 

notbob, your rose looks great -- I like that green ink you are using for the leaves, too.

[andymcc]

Sailor Kenshin:You're right it's Blackadder from Blackadder goes forth :-)

 

notbob: welcome to the wash club :-) you can see the form/light in your rose already.

 

Daniellem: thank you :-) the paper plays a huge part in the look of the sketches, the lining paper sucks ink in and dries really quickly when washes are applied, it's the only paper I've found that let's you almost erase lines with water too. Certain inks stain the paper more than others and some don't build tone well but the diamine rustic brown & ancient copper work really well and I've just mixed my own sepia from their raw sienna & quartz black that looks like old master ink drawings :-)

Edited May 13, 2013 by andymcc

[Rita_K]

andymcc - your "sketches" are absolutely wonderful. I definitely have to play around more with washes. You and others here have inspired me.

 

notbob - I'm so glad you found a brush. The rose looks great.I'm looking forward to seeing more from you.