Inking Techniques and Things…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used to post a lot over at Deviantart:

www.deviantart.com

Whilst I was there, I received a lot of questions about my inking techniques. These questions ranged from the usual “Where do you get your inspiration’ to ‘How do you do (such and such…). Here are a few things I’ve learnt along the pen and ink path…..

1) I’ve learnt so very much about the medium from looking at work by my favourite artists using pen and ink, among my favourites are: David Wyatt (illustrator-genius), Franklin Booth, Arthur Rackham, Chris Riddell, Charles Vess, Alan Lee and Mike Kaluta. Each has something uniquely different to say.

2) Trying out different techniques. Pen and ink is a beautiful medium and has a wide range of rendering techniques to offer. From cross hatching, to dotting techniques, every little nuance is worth exploring and many different effects can be achieved within a single image providing you’ve added them to your arsenal of expression.

3) A very popular question is “How do I get my own style”… There really is no short cut… ‘Repetition’, Just doing it over and over is the answer. A ‘style’, or ’Look’  comes with time. I don’t believe you can set out with a particulr style in mind. Whether you’re learning from the same source, copying diligently, you’ll develop your own ‘look’ after a certain amount of time… Even using different techniques, you’ll find that the eventual flavour will be uniquely your own. One thing I can definately say I’ve done consciously though, is that I’ve spent a long time trying to ‘clean up’ my lines over the years. This can be achieved by concentrating on ‘economy of lines’ and a good under-drawing. Sketchy, indefinate drawings produce sketchy indefinate line art.

4)  When’s enough ‘enough’? This comes with practise. Heavy blacks and hatching can be overdone. Paying attention to negative areas as well as rendered areas is also very important. When learnig techniques from other artists, also bear in mind the ares they leave free. It’s about allowing ‘breathing space’ within an image.

5) What pens do I use? Another question I’m frequently asked. I’ve used really expensive Rotring pens with VERY fine tips, I’ve used dip pens and indian ink. For the last few years though, I’ve been using generic art store/ newsagent drawing pens. My favourite sized tips are: .1 .2 .3 and .5 for a wide variety of line width.

If anyone has any more questions not covered here: feel free to fire away.

Here are a couple of other recent B&W drawings….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also been trying out inking on the PC… Why? For sheer speed. Sometimes I get really busy and the error factor when working traditionally can be especially high when I’m feeling rushed, working digitally reduces the mistakes as there’s always an ‘edit’ button. Here are a couple of examples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Lauren, If you’re reading this, thanks sooo much for the lovely words on your DA page. I appreciate it. Stay in touch…