Sources for Learning Pen and Ink Technique
October 13, 2019 4:58 PM Subscribe
What are your best recommendations for learning to draw with pen and ink? I have some general grasp of composition, but I'm wondering about videos, books, or other sources of technique descriptions, demos, or exercises.
I've tried pen and ink (dip pens; liners; brush pens; fountain pens) over the years, even thought about making comics, but my reach falls far short of my grasp. My goal these days is to be able to make representational drawings without endlessly struggling for how to capture value, texture, etc. My hand shakes a bit too much for uber-precise, whether I'm drawing or painting, so I'm aiming at something like loose environmental concept art.
I've taken no classes in pen and ink. I have watched a few videos on YouTube (sample), read a few articles online and copied things, and I have a copy of Guptill's Rendering in Pen and Ink on the way. I've looked through AskMe and seen one helpful Ask, but found no others that seem to apply.
Contemporary artists I like in the vein I'm thinking of are Ian McQue or Ralph McQuarrie. Less concept-y, I love the work of Mike Mignola, Charles Vess, John Coulthart, Michael Kaluta, and "classics" like Bernie Wrightson or Frank Frazetta. Further back, the drawings, etchings, prints, etc. of Pieter Breugel, Hieronymus Cock, Wenceslaus Hollar, Rembrandt, Rockwell Kent, and more. (I like piles of Chinese and Japanese work, but I'm not pointed in that direction right now.) (I also like the drawings of Egon Schiele, Käthe Kollwitz, and some others, but again, not pointed in that direction right now.
(Aside, if you love any women, NB/GNC, and/or non-white pen and ink artists, I'd love pointers. My taste in painters or writers isn't so monolithic, but my pen ink horizons... need broadening. And I've seen way too many "the 75 best inkers" or "10 best pen and ink artists" that are literally all white dudes.)
I've tried pen and ink (dip pens; liners; brush pens; fountain pens) over the years, even thought about making comics, but my reach falls far short of my grasp. My goal these days is to be able to make representational drawings without endlessly struggling for how to capture value, texture, etc. My hand shakes a bit too much for uber-precise, whether I'm drawing or painting, so I'm aiming at something like loose environmental concept art.
I've taken no classes in pen and ink. I have watched a few videos on YouTube (sample), read a few articles online and copied things, and I have a copy of Guptill's Rendering in Pen and Ink on the way. I've looked through AskMe and seen one helpful Ask, but found no others that seem to apply.
Contemporary artists I like in the vein I'm thinking of are Ian McQue or Ralph McQuarrie. Less concept-y, I love the work of Mike Mignola, Charles Vess, John Coulthart, Michael Kaluta, and "classics" like Bernie Wrightson or Frank Frazetta. Further back, the drawings, etchings, prints, etc. of Pieter Breugel, Hieronymus Cock, Wenceslaus Hollar, Rembrandt, Rockwell Kent, and more. (I like piles of Chinese and Japanese work, but I'm not pointed in that direction right now.) (I also like the drawings of Egon Schiele, Käthe Kollwitz, and some others, but again, not pointed in that direction right now.
(Aside, if you love any women, NB/GNC, and/or non-white pen and ink artists, I'd love pointers. My taste in painters or writers isn't so monolithic, but my pen ink horizons... need broadening. And I've seen way too many "the 75 best inkers" or "10 best pen and ink artists" that are literally all white dudes.)
Oh! Forgot one--Gary Martin's The Art of Comic Book Inking, which is about to be released in its 3rd ed. I have the 1st ed. and it's amazing--shows examples of different inkers' approaches to the same pencils, talks about spotting blacks, rendering techniques, etc. I don't know about 3rd ed. but my 1st ed. used copy even still has the original Bristol board insert with a page of non-repro blue pencils of comic so you can practice inking them after having seen several professionals' approach to the same page!
posted by yhlee at 6:26 PM on October 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by yhlee at 6:26 PM on October 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
I was going to recommend Arthur Guptill, but then I saw you already have a book on the way. I've loved his books for years.
I note your list of inspirational artists does not include Heinrich Kley.
posted by snarfois at 3:29 AM on October 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
I note your list of inspirational artists does not include Heinrich Kley.
posted by snarfois at 3:29 AM on October 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
For a female inspirational example, Claire Wendling, for consummate drawing skills, not specifically pen & ink (although that too).
posted by snarfois at 3:37 AM on October 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by snarfois at 3:37 AM on October 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
Oh, and I follow Barbara Malley on Instagram -- her sketchbooks are an inspiration.
posted by snarfois at 3:45 AM on October 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by snarfois at 3:45 AM on October 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you, all, for the tips and artists. Had not heard of Malley or Wendling, and had forgotten about Kley!
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:05 AM on October 15, 2019
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:05 AM on October 15, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also worth investigating is Shawn Martinbrough's How to Draw Noir Comics. I found this much more advanced rather than starting at a beginner level, but it also broke my head open for black and white art. I *think* he's a PoC as well.
A couple female ink artists I enjoy are Becky Cloonan and Alice Picard. I'll be watching comments to see who else shows up in recommendations!
posted by yhlee at 6:22 PM on October 13, 2019 [4 favorites]