The Weekly Sketch ~ Themed Drawing Prompts For Members

[ThyPenMaker]

I like that, Inkfillet. It reminds me of Quentin Blake.

I guess it shows how long I've been away from the art world I had to go look up Quentin Blake. But I love his stuff, I do sort of think like that.

[SNAK]

I couldn't decide on the one favourite pen so I went for 4 of my current favourites.

 

I also remembered to take photos of the work in progress stages. I hope they are useful to someone, but I would love to see others' step by step too! Especially people who colour with inks. Please!

 

#5 Favourite Pen

 

Pencil drawing. I choose the good lines and eliminate bad ones as I go, using the kneaded eraser.

 

Inked the outlines.

 

Erased pencil lines and added more detail ink lines.

 

Underpainted with yellow (New Gamboge PY153) and red (Quin Rose PV19) watercolour for a (hopefully) glowing finished result. Left the white of paper for highlight areas.

 

Added more layers of pigments.

 

Worked on details and added shadows, and got myself out before I started to fiddle too much.

 

Tools used this week.

 

Watercolour over ink.

Pen used for drawing: Pilot Custom 823 with FA nib

Ink: De Atramentis Document inks mix to a mousy brown

 

Pens sketched are: Montblanc 142 (Green Striated), Pelikan 400NN (Brown Tortoiseshell), Pelikan M101N (Red Tortoiseshell), and Nakaya Mini Decapod in Aka-tame Nuri.

 

Thoughts: Pens are something I love looking at and playing with all the time, so the forms and shapes were very familiar to me, and I didn't find them particularly hard to sketch (for a change) this week. But to put colours to them was really really hard for me. This week I was going to try using ink wash, but I abandoned that idea pretty quickly. The shiny metal highlights were tough to do (and that's why I didn't show the nibs! )

[inkyfingr]

Really nice work SNAK! The pics of the different stages are great. The pencil lines establishing the vertical midline of each pen and forming the shape of each end, the multiple layers of watercolor, etc. This is exactly what I was looking for - a sort of "how to" workbook.

 

Thanks!

[ThyPenMaker]

 

Themes: December 2015

December 6 -12

#5 ~ your favourite pen

December 13 - 19

#6 ~ key(s)

December 20 - 26

#7 ~ festive / holiday food of your choice*

December 27 - January 2

#8 ~ crumpled piece of paper

*Note: Because we are an international group embracing many backgrounds, I thought it would be fun to share a drawing of a edible item that we personally reserve for or generally encounter in the month of December.

 

a reminder for me....

[Ted A]

Oh, you are good, SNAK. I like your work and wish I could do so well.

[SNAK]

Weekly sketch #5 - My favourite fountain pen

 

The choice was easy - my Lamy 2000. It's also not too tricky to draw, in theory. In practice I've had a very "bitty" few days, so instead of one quick sitting this was done in snatches over 3 days. That has made consistency tricky with lighting and perspective. I was going to treat this one as a first attempt, which meant I could experiment (hence the choice to draw the oak table too) but I don't think I'll have time to do it "properly" so this will have to do, mistakes and all.

 

I'm glad I chose not to have the cap off, since the pen would have long since dried and clogged

 

- Very rough pencil outline

- Gillott 404 dip pen

- Higgins Eternal ink

- Moleskine Pocket Sketchbook

 

I'm not particularly happy with this one, but it's a learning process, especially when you have a screaming child failing to sleep properly.

Oh I remember those nights when my boys were much younger. Hand in there, it won't last very long.

 

I loved your Lamy 2000. Wonderful textural effect, you've used your Gillott 404 masterfully. I particularly like the ink lines on wood grain of the table.

 

@SNAK: I ran a water test (no photos) on the acrylic inks (dried at least 3 minutes) and there was no visible smearing. The paper was soaked.

snowbear, thanks so much for checking the waterproofness of the acrylic inks. Yours were Daler & Rowney weren't they? I have seen them at my local art supply store. I shall try a few colours.

 

Yeah....this is totally cheating, because even though I nicknamed it Speed Racer, it's not my 'favorite' pen (how could I ever choose among them?!?) and I did it a million years ago. I should probably go crawl under a rock now.

 

http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/4214/4967/9865/Hero_569-640p.jpg

It's hard to choose THE favourite pen, I found. They all have different "pen-sonalities" and I love most of them for different reasons. Your sketches always brighten my day. Thank you.

 

parker drawing 001.jpg

Lovely Parker 45 (?). What ink did you use for the lines and the wash?

 

Here is my contribution for favorite pen. It's a Nakaya Decapod that is very special to me because my wife gave it to me as an anniversary present after consulting with one of my friends who also collects fountain pens. It was a complete surprise - especially since my wife doesn't really "get" the fountain pen thing.

 

I'm including the pencil sketch, followed by the inking with Platinum carbon black, and then painted with water diluted inks.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

I love your Decapod! Is it Heiki-Tame Nuri? It was great to see how you handled the angles of the pen. It gives me courage for me to hopefully try ink wash next time. I see some texture on the paper. Was it cold press paper?

 

Really nice work SNAK! The pics of the different stages are great. The pencil lines establishing the vertical midline of each pen and forming the shape of each end, the multiple layers of watercolor, etc. This is exactly what I was looking for - a sort of "how to" workbook.

 

Thanks!

Thanks, I am only a beginner and I don't know if what I am doing is considered the right way, but it works for me for now, with watercolour. I am still experimenting a lot of things. I hope it helps somewhat.

 

Oh, you are good, SNAK. I like your work and wish I could do so well.

Thanks so much Ted, I really appreciate it.

[Pterodactylus]

I couldn't decide on the one favourite pen so I went for 4 of my current favourites.

 

I also remembered to take photos of the work in progress stages. I hope they are useful to someone, but I would love to see others' step by step too! Especially people who colour with inks. Please!

 

#5 Favourite Pen

 

Pencil drawing. I choose the good lines and eliminate bad ones as I go, using the kneaded eraser.

 

Inked the outlines.

 

Erased pencil lines and added more detail ink lines.

 

Underpainted with yellow (New Gamboge PY153) and red (Quin Rose PV19) watercolour for a (hopefully) glowing finished result. Left the white of paper for highlight areas.

 

Added more layers of pigments.

 

Worked on details and added shadows, and got myself out before I started to fiddle too much.

 

Tools used this week.

 

Watercolour over ink.

Pen used for drawing: Pilot Custom 823 with FA nib

Ink: De Atramentis Document inks mix to a mousy brown

 

Pens sketched are: Montblanc 142 (Green Striated), Pelikan 400NN (Brown Tortoiseshell), Pelikan M101N (Red Tortoiseshell), and Nakaya Mini Decapod in Aka-tame Nuri.

 

Thoughts: Pens are something I love looking at and playing with all the time, so the forms and shapes were very familiar to me, and I didn't find them particularly hard to sketch (for a change) this week. But to put colours to them was really really hard for me. This week I was going to try using ink wash, but I abandoned that idea pretty quickly. The shiny metal highlights were tough to do (and that's why I didn't show the nibs! )

 

Amazing picture Snak, I love it.

Especially the progress pictures are great, thanks for showing it.

 

 

I can't participate in this challenge as I don't have a favorite pen, I have many pens I like.....

[snowbear]

There is some gorgeous work this week, so I'll have to try harder.

 

I'm debating on including an item for this next go-around. It would be familiar to those in the Washington, DC area, but probably not the rest of the world. I'll think about it.

 

 

@SNAK - Yes, I have seven bottles of D&R and two bottles of Liquitex. I haven't used it enough to tell if one brand is really any better than the other. I do have a bottle of glittery gold (think J Herbin 1670 but mostly glitter) - not the easiest to use as you have to keep stirring/shaking to keep the stuff suspended.

 

@Pterodactylus - Sure, you can participate. Pick one of your top three (or ten, or 50) faves!

[ThyPenMaker]

@SNAK - J Herbin for green, Montblanc Corn Poppy Red, and Noodler's bulletproof black for pen body with tiny little lines.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Inkfillet

[snowbear]

OK. I have keys. Lots of them.

One pen this week - the Lamy Safari with a Lamy black cartridge. I added washes of Cross black, Apache Sunset, and Fahrneys (rebranded Private Reserve) Black Cherry.

 

#1. Pencil layout.

cmw3_d40_6517 by Charlie Wrenn, on Flickr

#2. Inked outlines, some shading.

cmw3_d40_6520 by Charlie Wrenn, on Flickr

#3. Washes applied (finish)

cmw3_d40_6521 by Charlie Wrenn, on Flickr

There are three sets of keys: the obvious are the computer keys and the door keys. Where's the third?

[ThyPenMaker]

cmw3_d40_6521 by Charlie Wrenn, on Flickr

 

There are three sets of keys: the obvious are the computer keys and the door keys. Where's the third?

 

Those are two bells tuned to the key of C. or:

The key to a happy life is a pair of big headlights.

There has to be a key stone for each of those two tunnels.

[SNAK]

I'm thinking, I'm thinking, ......

 

Coming up with nothing...

 

I'm pretty sure the picture on the screen is a big clue. But. Nothing.

[SNAK]

Oh but did you say something about something Washington, DC area?

In that case, I give up as even though my family lived in Baltimore when I was little, I was nowhere near DC.

[snowbear]

Yes, the bridge is the last Key. Interesting that you'r family (and you) lived in Baltimore, because that is also related to the bridge. It is the Francis Scott Key bridge, which spans the Potomac River between Rosslyn, Virginia and Washington, DC at Georgetown. For those that aren't familiar, Francis Scott Key (from Georgetown) was a lawyer. During our War of 1812, the British Royal Navy occupied the port of Baltimore. Key was on one of the ships, helping negotiate a prisoner release/exchange when the Royal Navy bombed Fort McHenry (1814). Key was also an amateur poet and wrote Defence of Fort M'Henry which ultimately became The Star Spangled Banner, our National Anthem.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Okay...

 

Keys. On old, thin, wrinkly journal paper that takes fountain pen ink surprisingly well. Even does washes. Used two different pen/ink combos: a sailor Clear Candy with Kobe Indigo, and a Hero Youth with Noodler's Henry Hudson, which I used mainly for the outlines. Didn't erase my pencil lines, but they probably don't even show.

 

I like this journal. It's got a nice, nostalgic feel. My mother got me two different packs of them from a mail-order catalogue, and this is the last one, and it's about a quarter-full.

 

 

[snowbear]

Okay...

 

Keys. On old, thin, wrinkly journal paper that takes fountain pen ink surprisingly well. Even does washes. Used two different pen/ink combos: a sailor Clear Candy with Kobe Indigo, and a Hero Youth with Noodler's Henry Hudson, which I used mainly for the outlines. Didn't erase my pencil lines, but they probably don't even show.

 

I like this journal. It's got a nice, nostalgic feel. My mother got me two different packs of them from a mail-order catalogue, and this is the last one, and it's about a quarter-full.

 

 

 

Nice. I think I'm going to switch from the sketchbook to something else - at least smaller so I can scan.

[Tas]

 

 

 

Loving this!

 

Okay...

 

Keys. On old, thin, wrinkly journal paper that takes fountain pen ink surprisingly well. Even does washes. Used two different pen/ink combos: a sailor Clear Candy with Kobe Indigo, and a Hero Youth with Noodler's Henry Hudson, which I used mainly for the outlines. Didn't erase my pencil lines, but they probably don't even show.

 

I like this journal. It's got a nice, nostalgic feel. My mother got me two different packs of them from a mail-order catalogue, and this is the last one, and it's about a quarter-full.

 

 

 

So so pretty. The ruled lines, especially the wiggly one, make this a work of art !

 

Must pull my finger out. I've still to sketch citrus and pen . . .

[I.M.]

Must pull my finger out. I've still to sketch citrus and pen . . .

 

Or you just hop back on the train without playing catch up

 

Whether time and the muse converge favourably for 'just' keys (or next week's theme), or we get keys, citrus and pen from you all in one go, it will be worth the wait!

 

Kudos and respect to all who have been sharing their artwork here.

Edited December 15, 2015 by I.M.

[Tas]

Great idea but I don't think I could sleep at night .

 

Can I cheat a little? I have a drawing of my favourite pen, I drew it a long time ago, but it's still my favourite . . . just.

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_vhs_nib_sketch.jpg

 

I look at this now and dislike how it's drawn. Strange what a couple of years can do.

 

Visconti Homo Sapiens, EF
Ink - "Sepia Grey Black" 3 R&K Sepia, I Diamine Grey, I Noodler's Black.

Paper - Seawhite of Brighton

[I.M.]

hmmm, to me it looks pretty good... but it you're really that unhappy with it... don't let us hold you back from drawing v2!!

Edited December 15, 2015 by I.M.