Ink and Watercolor Sketching Tips

An Artwork Collection of life drawing poses on your iPad, iPhone, Tablet, or PC from sculptures in Google's new Art Project.

2012-04-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

It is wonderful to have photos of models always available on your computer screen, smartphone, iPhone, iPad, or Android tablet from which to practice sketching whenever you have a few moments free. To sketch from sculptures as if they were models in a life drawing class, you can tour 17 art museums in the new Google Art Project and make your own collection of sculptured figures, or you can sketch from my Artwork Collection of 32 statues.

Above is my pen, ink, and wash sketch from the statue of Hebe, in the Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, as presented by the Google Art Project and as displayed on my Dell Streak 5 Android cell phone/tablet.

Above is my drawing of the statue of Diana, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, as shown on my daughter's iPhone.

My daughter, an engineer, added even more technology to this project by using the Brushes iPad App to sketch the image from her iPhone onto her iPad. She employed many layers to soften the shadows as she refined her drawing.

Artists have always sketched from live models in order to study the human figure, to refine their observations, and to practice drawing techniques. Live figures in action poses are the most desirable models, but this process of sketching from sculptures of human figures in action poses has it's own benefits. The models hold perfectly still, and the sketch artist can work as long as desired to study every aspect of the subject.

My son refers to devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and Android tablets as the ultimate sketcher's partners.

Click to view my Artwork Collection from the Google Art Project
or create your own.

Download the free tutorial for Practice Life Drawing.

An English Coastline Graphos Pen Sketch - Done in 1954

2012-01-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

I was looking through some old boxes and found the sketch above. It was done in 1955, somewhere in England, using my prized Pelikan Graphos pen designed to hold real India ink. India ink contains lacquer, is waterproof when dry, and allows tinted watercolor washes to be brushed over dry black ink lines. It cannot be used in fountain pens because it clogs them. Prior to getting this exciting pen, I had to use India ink only with dip pens and only indoors where my bottle of ink could sit on a table.

This sketch in London's Hyde Park is drawn on the back of the coastline sketch above. My new Pelikan was expensive for a twenty-five year-old, and I tried to save by using both sides of each sketchbook sheet. Luckily, we now have scanners, so we can see both sides at the same time. My new pen came with a variety of fine nibs that were messy to insert but well worth the trouble because I could now carry my pen outdoors where I could sit and work directly from my subject to my sketchbook. I can remember the pleasure of sitting in the park on a summer day while sketching the people around me.

The Graphos pen had interchangeable nibs.

Here is a scan of the little sketchbook I used in Hyde Park. If you look closely you can still see the penciled price of 2/7, that's two shillings and seven pence, or about 35 cents then.

My Sketching Tips List - Download Free pdf Tip Sheets and Tutorials

2010-02-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Click here to download free Sketching Tip Sheets and Tutorials in PDF format. You will find many free downloads for Pen, Ink, and Watercolor Wash. http://www.peninkwatercolorsketching.com/
Sketch when inspiration strikes.
Keep your smallest, fastest sketching kit next to the spot where you read newspapers or magazines. When you see a picture you'd like for a reference, grab your tools and take five minutes to put it on paper right then, not later. You can also sketch when you are viewing videos online. Just pause the frame at an inspiring scene, animal, or person. It's like asking a live model to "hold that pose for me."
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Why are artists told they can't use black?

Because for some reason student artists are told they should not use black, they often end up using too few darks, and their paintings lack strong contrast or what is sometimes called "eye pop." The no black rule may come from the theory that color mixes are interesting while black is just another pigment. After years of following the "no black rule", I now use Winsor Newton's Sepia for a warm black and sometimes make a cool black by adding a Paynes Grey wash over my black ink.

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Thumbnails can precede sketches that precede paintings.

Sketching probably started as a way to test subjects and layouts for larger works or paintings, so one rarely thinks of making a little trial sketch before a bigger sketch before a bigger painting. I very much like the idea of trying little thumbnail sketches before starting larger sketches and often draw a one- or two-inch frame to try a quick tonal arrangement of objects before beginning a sketch.

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Record the date, place, paperstock, and special materials for each sketch.
Because sketching is done at the moment, later it can be difficult to remember all the elements that came together for the sketch to emerge. The notes you take on the edges or on the back of the sketch can be valuable tools when, later, you wish to retry a technique you used in the sketch.

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Sketching is a journey, painting is a destination.

Paintings must turn out right. They get framed and the finished result is what counts. Sketching is about how much you can discover along the way. How it turns out does not matter. The fun part is to look carefully at what we see and evaluate how it would look in a sketch. What new techniques can we try next? How many rules can we break? Contrary to the "warms in the front and cools in back" rule, can we make a picture work with a cold ice blue foreground and a hot red background?
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Don't be afraid to try something new.
If you have an idea for a new sketching technique, try it. And if the sketch doesn't work out, don't throw it away. Date it, note the technique used, toss it in a box, and try another. Remember that you learn from your failures as well as your successes
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Establish a Goal Before You Begin

Because a good sketch is spontaneous, I never spend more than a single session on a sketch, seldom adjusting it later. This makes sketching more like a musical practice session. Before starting, I decide what new technique or criteria I want to work on: color harmony, focal point, mood, perspective, source of light. For instance, I am currently working on composition and hope that establishing the darks first may be helpful. When painting, there are a lot of things to consider, and you have to address them all at once. With sketching, the process and not the result, is what is important. So with each specific sketch, I can concentrate on getting one thing right: warm or cool colors, line quality, scale, soft or crisp edges, foreground vs. background. You know the list.

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Watercolors with ink are easier because darks are established first.

Many artists say that transparent watercolor is more difficult than oil because white and light areas must be reserved during the painting process, while, with opaque oils, highlights can be added as the final touch. Try starting with hot press watercolor paper, a waterproof black ink such as Platinum Carbon or Noodler's Bulletproof, and a waterbrush. Sketch with the ink and, with the brush, pull gray washes of varying densities from the black lines. After the ink and washes have dried, use watercolors to glaze hues over the gray tones. I find this initial placement of darks on my paper makes it much easier to arrange objects and create a balanced composition before adding mid-tones. In the past, teachers used a similar method by having students first sketch with dark charcoal, then spray with fixative, and finally paint with watercolor. New waterproof inks offer an easier technique.
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Come back soon. We will regularly add more tips and downloads.

View from Pt. Lobos in Monterey County

2010-01-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

This little sketch is looking from Pt. Lobos across the water to a bluff with a glimpse of a Monastary above. Platinum Carbon ink with watercolor wash.

Comparison of Platinum Carbon, Noodler’s Bulletproof, and Pelikan Fount India Inks.

2009-06-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

For ink and watercolor drawings, sketcher's need a waterproof ink that will not run or smear. Many inks work in dip pens, but would clog fountain pens that can be used for outdoor sketching. These three inks are made for fountain pens and I have used all successfully. Noodler’s is a dye-based ink that becomes waterproof when it contacts the cellulose in paper. Platinum Carbon is pigmented and comes with a warning that fountain pens must be cleaned regularly to prevent clogging. I applied very wet washes over the flowers and leaves of the first two sample drawings below. You can see that the black lines remained sharp and did not run or smear on either Noodler's or Platinum ink.

These first two are totally waterproof, while—as you can see in the lettering samples below—the pigmented Pelikan Fount India will smear and run a little although it retains the basic black line. To demonstrate these qualities, I lettered the name of each ink with a heavy, thick pen line, allowed it to dry, and then washed it with wet blue watercolor. Then I lettered it again with a light thin stroke and washed it with red.

To test the Pelikan Fount India Black ink on a sketch, I washed red watercolor over the blossom on the left above and found that rather a lot of black pigment ran out into the color. I then tinted the flower on the right with a dryer brush being careful to limit the amount of water that touched the black lines. Pelikan Fount India is not completely waterproof, but it can produce satisfactory results when used with care.

MY OPEN SKETCHBOOK

Sketching with a friend in Oregon is always fun! Sketch onsite and tint later.

2009-06-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

On a recent visit to Ashland, Oregon I was able to sit comfortably and sketch with a dear friend. We chatted and laughed as we worked and discussed whether one should draw first with a pencil or just barge right in. My friend used a pencil, then worked beautifully in watercolor. I used Platinum Carbon black ink and, as you can see by my first inaccurate lines, would probably have been wiser to start with a pencil. I peeked around some foreground trees and left them out in order to include more of the mountains. When finished, we enjoyed looking at each other's compositions which were quite different even though we were sitting very close together. 8" x 6" Strathmore Series 400 Drawing Paper.

Sitting quietly by a rocky Oregon creek in the Siskiyou forest is a good time to sketch with a vintage pen, Noodler's Bulletproof black ink, and small grey washes pulled from the black ink. 9 x 6 inch Strathmore Vellum Bristol.

Later, I sometimes like to scan the line sketch, make a laser print, and tint the printed copy.

Sketches of Flowers Combine Ink Lines with Watercolor Washes

2009-05-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

New Platinum Carbon ink was mixed with Sheaffer Brown ink for this 10 x 7.5 inch sketch on Saunders Waterford hot press watercolor paper. Drawing on this smooth paper with my vintage black hard rubber Wahl pen is delightful because the flexible nib will create either a very fine line or a broad flexed line. The black Carbon ink is waterproof while the water soluble brown Shaeffer ink washes out and combines with the watercolor washes.

A quick flower sketch done at a weekly painting group on a 9 x 12 inch pad of Strathmore Series 300 Plate Bristol with Platinum Carbon Black ink, a Waterman vintage #5 pen, and watercolor wash.

Sketches at Beaches in Carmel, CA

2009-05-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here is my sketchbook with a drawing done last month in Carmel, CA. It was a chilly day, so the ink was barely dry when I added the wash on an 8" x 6" page of the Strathmore 400 Drawing Pad.

A spring day in March reveals a small sandcastle left on the beach. Sketched with Noodler's Bulletproof Black ink. Strathmore 300 Plate Bristol comes in 9 x 12 inch pads that can be easily cut in half for a convenient outdoor sketching size of 9 x 6 inches.

No ink on this sketch of people on Carmel Beach. I just used a small palette of limited colors and a flat waterbrush to work in a 9 x 6 inch Aquabee Super Deluxe Sketchbook with 93#paper.

Download FREE pdf Blog Help Sheets

2009-05-20T18:14:00.001-07:00

This pdf shows you the easiest way to sign in to your new Google "My Account" and begin building your blog. Click here to download the
Free pdf "Sign In" Help Sheet. It will open in Acrobat Reader.

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Optimize and add an image to the Header of your blog.
Click here to download the
FREE pdf "Add a Header Image" Help Sheet.

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Add Picasa to your Google account and make it easy to upload pictures, slideshows, and manage photos for your blog. Click here to download the FREE pdf "Add Picasa" Help Sheet.

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Add a Slideshow to Your Blog. Click here to download the FREE pdf
"Add a Slideshow to Your Blog" Help Sheet.

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How to Create a Navbar for your Google Blog. A Blog Archive of your posts is the default listing that lets visitors select and view a post on your blog. The Archive is arranged chronologically. But, using Labels or Link List, you can also create a navbar list of your posts that is arranged alphabetically. Click here to download the
FREE pdf "Create Navbar" Help Sheet.

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And for advanced bloggers, this help sheet shows how to create a navigation list with a link to each of your posts. My sample for this list of my posts uses the Link List widget to create the alphabetical right nav list in this blog. Click here Help to get your copy of the
Free PDF "Link List" Sheet.

Download My Step-by-Step Guide for Building this Blog

2009-05-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

The screenshots of all my posts to set up this blog are published in a 29 page step-by-step e-book guide to building a blog. Below, you can see the cover for the guide and click the link to download the free PDF e-book that will open with the free Acrobat Reader.

Cli ck here to view the 29 page guide.

If you wish, you can download the free PDF file.
Below, you can see the first text that I typed in my new blog.
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I can type my text in this block, then format it with the buttons above. This line is colored red and set in italic using the buttons as used in a word processing program. Clicking "Preview" at top right will show me how it will look when published. "Hide Preview" also at top right will return here. Then I'll click the orange button labeled "PUBLISH POST." This is located just under the text that I typed.
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You can even sell items on your blog. The following link will take you to the blog of "merchantmaidens.blogspot.com" where they have created a tutorial for you to set up PayPal to sell products on your blog. Click here to view the instructions on the MerchantMaidens blog.

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Sketching with My Favorite Mix of Brown Ink

2009-01-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

Sketching with black ink line. Tinted with watercolor wash.

Sketching along a path in Carmel with my favorite brown ink is a pleasant early spring pursuit. Standard brown inks always seem to have too much red, so I mixed this walnut color ink using Platinum Carbon Black, Skrip Blue, and Skrip Green.