My hand hurts!
How I Do Pen and Ink
First, i start with the sketch, be it on my ipad or in a real, live sketchbook.
A church doodle. I really wanted to frame the town and the setting sun, as though the viewer was with the boy and the cat.
Then, I printed out the clean lineart from my ipad and transferred it using tracing paper.
I set up camp at my desk with all my tools and stuff.
Black Magic India Ink, a cup of water, a cleaning kleenex, two crow quill pen nibs (102), and a pen holder. I switches nibs whenever one started to act up (probably every 30 mins or so)
This is my “scratch board.” after dipping the nib in the ink, a draw a couple of lines to make sure it’s all flowing okay. Make sure to clean off your nib every couple of dips! ink clogs up the channel and cakes on, making the nice lines not as clean, and can cause splatters and such.
A quick, important note: when you are inking, have the channel of ink FACING the direction you’re drawing. if you were to look straight down the barrel of the nib, it would make a C. Drag the C in a line, with the concave part facing the direction of the line, if that makes sense.
The beginning is always the worst o_O
I realized after I removed the blue tape that the lines were JAGGED. The tape prevented a smooth line down the edge, unlike paint. I’m still working on figuring this part out.
working on the columns and clouds. Shadows are where I struggle the most in rendering. Also, do not draw clouds without a reference, they’ll look like trees…
Taking a break from dumb clouds to work on a wall! much more fun:) I liked making each brink textured and interesting.
Here I forgot to take pictures, because I had to wait on new nibs and got REALLY excited when they came it.
The city and tower are done. I am trying to figure out the sky and sea.
The boy is now done. Tyying to get really fine strokes for the sky.
Done! I peel up the tape and grab my eraser.
I like how it turned out, though it wasn’t quite what I had pictured. In some ways, I like the sketch a lot more, but I believe that this is compositionally better.
back and forth with the sun and the boy. Compositionally it’s chef’s kiss :)
The Aesthetique :)
I will be doing more of these in the future! If I remember to take pictures… If you have any comments or questions, let me know! More pen and ink artists are what this world needs >:)
Watercolor
I often combine ink and watercolor. You know how much I love ink, but watercolor is really growing on me…
Look! He’s hanging all his armor on the line! Yes, I know they wouldn’t hang on twine. It’s magic, hush.
Look at the texture of that paper! Sure, this watercolor paper isn’t that good… but I love it when paper has a tooth that just grabs the paint. It makes me happy:)
The way you can use watercolor to show light and shine is fascinating. I think I could practice a hundred years and still not figure out everything that I can do with it! Here are twins. And a snake. And green fire.
This was inspired my a picture on pinterest. The wavy background, I believe, isn’t messed up even once! Perfectionism DOES pay off!!!
An early Poison Ivy redesign, except way more mystical and like a fantasy druid or something! I like the energy and floaty-ness of this piece.
Some of these are for sale in my etsy store!
Pen and Ink planning Sketches
Do you ever get images stuck in your head? That’s how quite a few of my drawings start out:)
Here are a few of my pen and ink planning sketches! Who knows how long it will take me to go them…
Augh, I can’t WAIT to get my gold in the mail…. Can you imagine….me, armed with gilt…I’d be unstoppable
She’s in bed. It’s raining. At this stage, the idea is now on paper so that I don’t forget it!
I did a little version of this one in church. I’m excited to see it BIG
When I finish this, I’ll post all my photo references! When it comes to portraying indigenous peoples, I really, really want to use accurate refs and such. I’m looking forward to the sweeping scenery!
Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived. You should listen to Six! the musical and also read Alison Weir’s book about the Six Wives of King Henry the Eighth!
This one is all ready to be inked! I just need to set up my phone, because I want to film this one >:)
The concept was HILARIOUS to me, and I was right, it’s just as funny on paper!
If you know me, you know Gravity Falls holds a special place in my heart. I don’t really do fan art? I don’t know why. This will be a practice watercolor piece because I…need the practice.
Do you enjoy pen and ink? It’s definitely one of my favorite mediums to work in!
Ivanhoe, by Walter Scott
Yet another grad school project. I chose to illustrate Ivanhoe, which was not as good as I wanted it to be. But, Pen and ink suits medieval novels very well.
Cedric makes his dog leave the table :( and Wamba makes a witty, probably insulting observation.
Bois Gilbert and Prior Aymer travel, hoping to find some shelter before the storm. Being struck by lightning is too good for them.
A convenient monk fresh from the HOly Land! Who could it be? Not the sworn enemy of Bois Gilbert:)
No really, it’s definitely the only Saxon knight who can defeat the Norman champions and it’s CERTAINLY not the estranged son of the lord whose mansion he’s pointing to.
Rowena, a beautiful and spirited heroine in love with Ivanhoe. Not to be confused with Rebecca, the beautiful and spirited woman in love with Ivanhoe.
Pen and Ink... my original love
I LOVE pen and ink. It’s been too long since I broke them out. Procreate and my ipad have spoilt me haha. These were from an illustration project my sophomore year, to illustrate a classic book. Dracula was the obvious choice:)
Mina looks for a sleepwalking Lucy and spies a dark figure crouched over the slumped form of her friend.
The Captain of the Demeter meets a horrible end…Easily one of the creepiest passages on the book is his memoir, clutched in his hand that describes the descending paranoia and madness of the crew, as one by one they are picked off by…something….
Oh, Lucy. What a terrible fate to meet, and what a horrifying visage to face. Your beloved is a creature with no morals or mercy, an unfeeling thing of the night. One of the saddest passages of the novel.
Dracula’s revenge. Turning the team mascot into the thing that they fight would be pretty sweet revenge.
“You will join us soon, sister! Come, come!” Also a very creepy part of the book. The brides (who earlier ATE A BABY) cokme down from the castle and taunt Mina with her impending, eternal doom.
The end. Quincy is sacrificed and Dracula is vanquished.
I posed for these very gladly and enthusiastically. I made my roommates pose for many of these as well. They were less glad and enthusiastic, to varying degrees.