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< Technique ~ Dr Lara is in residence |
| liquidscissors |
 Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:23 am |
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Joined: 27 Dec 2004
Posts: 164
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Any and all questions on methods, materials, genres and tricks shall be answered, or at least answered with a convincing lie.
I'm a commercial artist of some years standing, which means that I've used just about every medium, every genre, every style and all had to be done yesterday, if not earlier - if I can't answer your question, I have a decent sized little black book of fellow pencil pushers who can supply the answer instead.
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Last edited by liquidscissors on Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:57 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| Guest |
| Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:52 am |
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Perhaps because I hate the very idea of commitment, I've always shied away from ink. It's so permanent! You mess up, and you have to start over. Especially when sketching.
So, my question is: for your ink drawings, do you begin with pencil, or is it all done in ink? Do you find it easier/more difficult/just different from pencil?
For some reason I ended up with a bottle of inda ink, and it's been challenging me for months to use it. I'd only need to buy the (I know they're not called calligraphy, but it's the best my mind is providing) pens and tips, and I could start.
Btw, I love your work. |
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| Guest |
| Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:16 am |
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Depends on how confident you are and what style you're using, and whether it's a brush or nib you're using.
If you're using India ink with a medium filbert or dense mop and are working fluidly, then I wouldn't do linework first as the ink with run into any marks in the paper fibre and create an ink skeleton. Draw your plan a few times on a similar sized piece of paper until you know how your arm and hand is going to move and have confidence in your reproduction, then use the ink and brush. If you're test drawing in pencil, hold the pencil like you would an ink brush, high on the handle and with the tips of your fingers, because different ways of holding the utensil will affect your own movement.
With a nib or fibre nib, it's much easier to lightly mark out a basic sketch in 2B pencil (H pencils, although much lighter, have harder graphite and will scratch the paper and affect the ink flow later), ink over and then carefully erase the sketch later. Nibs don't put out as much liquid, so the rag of the paper remains strong and can handle a gum eraser being pulled over it. If you heavily mark the paper with a B pencil, graphite will build up in a shiny layer and repel the ink - it's an interesting look in itself, but it doesn't scan or photograph well.
Paper is pretty important when you're mucking about with ink - heavy rag paper has longer fibres which will 'suck' at the ink and cause feathering, whereas paper with short fibres (typing paper, etc) will take longer for the ink to penetrate the paper itelf, leaving open the possibility of accidental smudges. Generally a good rule of thumb is to use heavier paper such as card for ink applied with brushes, and medium weight mid-fibre paper when using nibs. I find that the grained paper in most sketchbooks or visual diaries makes ink applied with a nib bleed slightly, so I use basic 90gsm acid-free typing paper when drawing with fibre-tipped pens or narrow cylinder nibs.
Have you tried diluting the ink and playing around with washes? If you mix 1 part ink to 12 parts water, it creates a medium wash that applies nicely with flat or mop brushes. Inkvine does a lot of wash work, although their work is mostly done in watercolour, the effect is the same. Build up the shapes you want and work up their density, then switch over to a fine nib and add in linework over that.
For pro work, I redraw something at least five times before switching over to good paper and drawing it with as few guides as possible. For things like my drawing of Azkaban or Hagrid's hut, it's all freehand - I'm more interested in giving the illusion of depth and texture with one density of ink rather than creating something particularly refined or 'correct'.
Ink is really fun stuff to play with, because it's so adaptable and there's no real right or wrong way to apply it. Just muck about and make your own test drawings until you find a way of application that you dig, and go from there. Just don't forget to clean your hands afterwards, because it's ridiculously easy to leave black handprints all over the house 
hope this helps! |
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| liquidscissors |
| Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:18 am |
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Moderator
Joined: 27 Dec 2004
Posts: 164
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| Whoops! The above reply was from me, I'd forgotten to sign in. |
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| harp |
| Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:43 am |
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Joined: 22 Mar 2005
Posts: 8
Location: Canada
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I hope you don't mind if I add a bit here?
I'm by no means a professional artist, more a rather occasional dabbler. I agree with all the talented liquidscissors has outlined above. Additionally, it's important not to be afraid of the permanency of working in ink (yes, I do softly pencil in a rough outline first or I'm bound to mess up proportions) but instead take it as a different freedom - as you cannot afford a mistake, make your piece so there aren't any. Well, this isn't turning out very clearly, but I encourage you to try it and see - like many things it makes more sense when you try it instead of reading a description.
On another note, I need to scan at least one item to post - a certain toad that is missing from the albums |
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| tripperfunster |
| Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:47 pm |
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Joined: 09 Dec 2005
Posts: 20
Location: Canada
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Sorry, I realized I asked a question in the sticky, so I deleted it and made a new post. DUH 
Tripp |
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