Pen
and Ink Drawing 2
Beginning
with Pencil
The
first stage in this drawing is to sketch the scene in
pencil. Draw the image lightly in line and avoid shading
any areas. It is important to keep the paper clean because
you will be applying transparent watercolour paint at
the final stage.
This
is the time to make any the big decisions about your
composition: what to include and what to leave out.
At this stage you can change your mind and erase or
simplify details, but you don’t get a second chance
when you start inking. Once you are satisfied with your
composition you are ready to start drawing in ink.
Ink
Drawing in Line
Using
a nibbed pen and waterproof Indian ink, draw over your
pencil lines. As the ink can often take some time to
dry, it is advisable to plan your ink drawing. If you
are right-handed, start at the left hand side of the
paper and work towards the right. This way you will
avoid smudging sections that you have previously drawn
which may still be damp. If you are left-handed, reverse
these instructions. Once the ink is dry you can start
to pencil in the patterns and textures of the tiles,
slates, brickwork and bushes.
Adding
Pattern and Texture
In
a detailed landscape like this, it is advisable for
the inexperienced to lightly pencil in the tiles, slates,
and brickwork. Without the guidance of a pencil line,
you could get into some difficulty when inking these
small, complicated areas. However,
some artists prefer not to use an underlying pencil
line as they like the spontaneity of their marks and
accept their ‘mistakes’ or lapses of concentration
as part of the natural drawing process.
Some
of the walls in our drawing have been patterned with
brickwork, while others have been stippled with dots
to suggest a pebble dash texture. (Stippling
is an ink drawing technique where you apply tone and
texture in small dots.) A few have been left plain
to evoke a stucco finish. The bushes have also been
stippled in graduated tones to convey their texture
and form. Slates that are too small to draw individually
have been suggested by hatched lines. (Hatching
is an ink drawing technique where you apply tone and
texture in rows of parallel lines.)
Practicing
Tile and Brick Patterns
Click
here to download an A4 copy of these tile and brick
patterns
We
mentioned on the previous page, when talking about shapes
and colours, that a landscape drawing or painting does
not have to be an identical copy of what the artist
can see, but that it may have some of its elements adjusted
to create a better composition. The same applies to
patterns and textures. You can change, simplify or enhance
these for creative effect.
To
help you think about appropriate patterns and textures,
we have created a sheet of tile
and brick patterns for reference and practice. This
is not an exclusive list and you could invent more variations
that suit your own approach.
