# Should i start?



## Sketchaetchable (Aug 16, 2011)

Hey im new to the form. Anyway I was wondering some tips for ink. I almost always do a pencil and paper so idk how to do much ink working if you have a Skype and have the time i would be happy to learn. If not have any advice or video reverences? If you wana see my my pictures i have done go to the graphite section.


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## WatercolorStain (Apr 11, 2011)

The best way to prepare for drawing with pen and ink is to draw without erasing. I have an unfinished (because I messed up) ink drawing that I started a year (or more) ago. I'll post it here if you're curious. 

Aside from that, there isn't really much to it. Take a pen. It could be a ballpoint pen, it doesn't matter. Take a sheet of paper, any paper. Thick paper is nice but for a ballpoint pen printer paper is fine. Practice your strokes. Make a light line by using little pressure, and then another in the same direction, and keep doing this. Then go over those light lines with more light lines in a different direction. That's one way to do shading in pen. Do a simple drawing and then try this on it.

There's many different techniques and many different types of pens that I have a basic understanding of that I'd love to share, but I don't want to bore you off the bat. I don't use my Skype but reply to this post or send me a PM and I'll share more, if you're curious.


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## Sketchaetchable (Aug 16, 2011)

yha go ahead and send long messages if u want, once i start reading i get lost into it


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## WatercolorStain (Apr 11, 2011)

Hehe. Well, just so you don't get _too _lost into it. 
I'll start off with a picture I did as example. It's singer Bjork. I just took a reference off of the internet. I did it by overlapping the tiniest and lightest strokes I could. It's a cellphone pic, but look closely enough and you can see this.










My favorite type of pen (as of today) is cartridge. Typically, these pens unscrew, you take a disposable/refillable cartridge, stab it into the nib, reassemble, and the ink will continuously flow out of it. That's what I used to do the light strokes on that picture. For $10 I got a set of 6 pen nibs and a little box of cartridges at my local craft store. Granted, these cheap pens aren't the most reliable things, and that's why they are so great for doing light strokes. Half of the time, they didn't flow smoothly. The other half, they barely flow at all.

Next is the inkwell/quill/dipping pen. These are the ones you dip into the inkwell like all the ones we picture people using 200+ years ago. There's a little hole in the nib that holds the ink and it flows down through a slit to the tip and onto the paper. The more pressure used, the more it flows. These pens are more reliable, but they have a tendency to drip. That's how that large spot there happened.Then I smudged the spot with a finger. A double no-no. 

You can't really fix a mistake in pen, but that doesn't mean that something's ruined if you mess up. I don't reccommend white-out. It almost never matches the color of the paper. You can take a pen/small knife and GENTLY scratch off a line to remove it. This ruins the tooth and can change the way that the paper takes color, pencil, etc. This works best on thicker paper as it can tear a hole into thin paper, which I've also done. Practice it; it's a skill worth knowing if you're desperate. 

I'm going to sum up the longest post ever posted to this forum by saying: even if you aren't sure, try it. It's good to be flexible. Practice with a pen you have on scratch paper. Index cards are my favorite. If you like it, then invest the $10-20 into getting a different type of pen, or maybe even ask your school's art teacher if they have anything you can borrow. Trying a new medium can go either way. No body else has to see it if it doesn't turn out as planned. If it does, then you've just expanded your talent a bit. 

I'd love to see anything you may have tried if you care to share. A lot of the stuff that you've uploaded with outlines (like the anime people) would look pretty good done in ink. The stuff with shading will be harder because you can't smudge ink like you can smudge pencil (correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the technique I notice from the thumbnails of your uploads), but I'm sure with enough practice you'll get it. I can offer techniques and advice, but if you decide not to share, I respect that and wish you luck in other mediums. 


Here's my scratchwork so you can see _just_ how much practice I did before each time I worked on her.


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## Sketchaetchable (Aug 16, 2011)

lol thanks for all your info, yes i do blend, sometimes on purpus and sometimes on accident, allot of the older one i did on accident. But anyway i have a Pentel stylo sketching pen that i need to find :/ and a brush pen with i fail with as of now. if i ever do come with something decent i will post it and i have some new pics i think to add here. if u have anything like a practice sorta warm-up type things for me to try that would be great. and sorry for any mistakes on this post, its 11:00 on a school night were i get up at 5:00 am soo... not the best. but thanks again for your help. if u can Skype that would also be great.


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## WatercolorStain (Apr 11, 2011)

I had a lot of blending issues too. It helps to have like an index card down under your hand to keep it from smudging. 

If you can't quite find that pen, that's okay. Just take an ordinary one. I like the Sharpie pens, personally. Try a few different things, like some band logos or tribal symbols to get a feel with that style. I always liked the look of the NIN logo, or Godsmack's, but that's just what I like. Do something you like. After that, try a few simple drawings, like a cartoon/anime figure. I personally enjoy drawing Brian from Family Guy. He's kinda simple. Then you can practice your shading by doing cross-hatching like I did and then try doing something more realistic, like a picture you took or from a friend or one online of something or someone you like. 

I understand about the whole school-nights thing. That's the reason that I can't always reply right away. Sometimes I get distracted. I'm in the middle of making a Skype. Just check my profile when you see this and it'll be there under contact info.


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## Sketchaetchable (Aug 16, 2011)

yha i havent been able to run my youtube since school started


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## Sketchaetchable (Aug 16, 2011)

i did this one in like 15 min i think, my first ink


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## WatercolorStain (Apr 11, 2011)

That's pretty good for about 15 minutes and a great start. I can see where you've done the shading in the background and it shows a lot of potential. Can't wait to see you apply that to a more involved sketch with a little more time and shading. I know we don't always get free time, but keep working up to that when you get a chance!


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## Sketchaetchable (Aug 16, 2011)

Here we go, i think this was a much needed improvement from before.


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## WatercolorStain (Apr 11, 2011)

I must agree! You really really are getting the hang of shading appropriately.. It's not too dark or too light where it shouldn't be. Good picture overall, too. My next critiscism: Nice control of the pen. You're very good at shading in one direction. Next, maybe you can try cross-hatching (overlapping lines in different directions) on your next sketch. It'll make things look a little smoother if done right, but it takes quite a bit of control to do it right consistently.


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## Sketchaetchable (Aug 16, 2011)

yha i haven't learned any crosshatching yet, ive just been kinda winging it while i have free school time.


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