‘Art pens’also have a fillerad aptor which enables you to fill them with a range of liquid colours.
| DRAWING INKS | For monochrome drawings, Indian ink is still the favourite choice of many artists, as it is both permanent and waterproof. Sepia and blue-black inks also have their own appeal, and all can be diluted with water to produce a range of light-to-dark tones in one drawing. |
Waterproof coloured inks
Waterproof coloured inks, also called artists’ drawing inks, come in a range of about 20 colours. Waterproof inks are essential if you intend to apply a wash or tint on top of a line drawing, otherwise the linework will run. These inks are denser than non-waterproof varieties, drying to a slightly glossy finish that gives the work a precise, painted quality Unfortunately, the shellac that is added to the ink to make it waterproof also makes it clog up easily, so be sure to clean brushes and pens thoroughly after use. Never use waterproof ink in fountain pens or technical pens.
Non-waterproof coloured inks
These contain no shellac, and they are primarily used for laying washes over waterproof-ink drawings. They are fine for line drawings, too, as long as you don’t overlay them with washes. Non-waterproof inks sink into the paper more than waterproof types, and they dry to a matt finish.
Soluble inks
If you want the flexibility to be able to dissolve and blend lines, you should choose a soluble ink such as Chinese ink (see here), which is also more delicate than Indian ink.
Linework
Pen-and-ink drawings are usually composed of lines; hatching, crosshatching, stippling, dots and dashes, spattering and scribbling are just some of the techniques that can be employed to convey form and volume, texture, light and shade.
First strokes
Do not begin pen-and-ink work until you have tried drawing and practising movement and line with a pen or a brush. Work on a smooth paper, and learn to use a minimum of pressure to get an even flow of ink from the nib on to the paper. If you are practising with a dip pen, learn to judge when the ink will run out, so that you are not in the middle of a long unbroken line when it happens.
Spontaneity
Leslie Harris (1906–89)
Preparatory Studies Ink and wash on paper Various dimensions
It is a great advantage to make a very light preliminary design with a soft pencil if you want an accurate pen-and-ink drawing, rather than a quick sketch. But once the technique of pen-and-ink drawing becomes more familiar, spontaneous free-flowing lines and observations translated instantly onto paper will often make a far more exciting ink drawing than one which is premeditated. An ink drawing must be completely dry before preliminary pencil lines are erased or any washes added. Drying time is at least 12 hours, and even longer for a thick layer of ink.
Pen-and-ink work must be positive to look successful: once an ink mark has been made on paper, it is very difficult (and sometimes impossible) to erase, so there is no room for hesitation. Ideally, you need to have had enough drawing practice to know exactly what you want to put down before you start.
Pen drawing
Edmund J. Sullivan (1869–1933)
Bearded Man Pen and ink on paper 15 × 12.5cm (6 × 5in)
The illustrator Edmund J. Sullivan was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the finest draughtsmen of his day. This sketch displays great control of line and tone, allied to a remarkable sensitivity to the subject. It is a triumph of penmanship, all too rarely found today.
Using the techniques mentioned earlier, you can create areas of tone, volume, texture and the illusion of light and shade with just pen and ink. Increase your options by adding washes of ink or watercolour – an exciting fusion of drawing and painting which allows you to build up experience of both disciplines.
Line and wash
Richard Bell
Cat Sketches
Sketching pen and water-soluble
pencil on paper
Various dimensions
Line-and-wash drawings are highly expressive, suggesting more than is actually revealed. The secret is to work rapidly and intuitively, allowing the washes to flow over the ‘boundaries’ of the drawn lines and not be constricted by them. The combination of crisp, finely drawn lines and fluid washes has great visual appeal, capturing the essence of the subject with economy and restraint. Line and wash also helps to improve your drawing skills because it forces you to be selective and to develop a direct, fluid approach to your work.
Line-and-wash methods
Hil Scott
Squatting Nude
Pen, brush and ink on paper
43 × 33cm (17 × 13in)
In this vigorous line-and-wash study, Hil Scott combines calligraphic lines, drawn with a reed pen, with fluid tonal washes of Chinese brush and ink. With her sureness of touch she is able to convey a wealth of information – form and modelling, gesture and mood – with breathtaking simplicity and confidence.
The traditional method is to start with a pen drawing, leave it to dry and then lay in light, fluid washes of ink or watercolour on top. Alternatively, washes can be applied first to establish the main tones, with the ink lines drawn on top when the washes have dried. The most integrated method is to develop both line and tone together, so that they emerge as an organic whole. You might begin with a skeleton of lines, add some light tones, then some bolder lines and stronger tones, and so on until the drawing is complete.
Brush drawing
Brushes tend to be overlooked as instruments for drawing, as they are usually associated with painting techniques. Yet many great artists of the past – Rembrandt, Goya and Claude among them – produced some of their finest drawings with brush and ink.
Gordon Hales
On the Estuary Brush and ink on watercolour board 15 × 22cm (6 × 9in)
Speed and fast attack are both vital in capturing the telling gestures of a moving subject. Gordon Hales distilled the essentials of the scene above with his confident brushwork, using dilutions of ink to convey light and movement. Richard Bell sketched his subject with an expressive bamboo pen outline, filled in with a dense black mass of ink.
Diluting coloured inks
Coloured inks may be diluted with distilled water, not only to improve their flow, but also to produce a range of lighter tones. The inks can also be mixed with each other, but it is advisable to stick to the range of a single manufacturer, because brands of ink vary in consistency and in the surface finish they produce when dry. Pigment in ink settles