How to Draw with Pen and Ink

Pen and ink is a great artistic medium to work with. It's great for drawing comics and graphic illustrations. Mastering the technique of pen and ink will allow you to add beautiful detail and sharp strokes and outlines to your drawings. This article will teach you all the techniques you need to know to start illustrating with pen and ink.

Step 1. Chose your weapon

Go to your local art supply store to pickup the necessary supplies. The first thing you will want to choose is a pen. If you're not exactly sure what end result you're looking for, you may want to buy a variety of different pens to experiment with. Dip pens, markers, and technical pens will all produce different results. Ask a sales person to assist you and perhaps demonstrate some of the differences.

Step 2. Chose the ink that best suits your needs

There are a few different types of ink you can choose from. India ink is usually black and can come in both waterproof and non-waterproof. Colored inks also come in both, and have a tendency to fade over time. Non-waterproof inks are best used with most pens and nibs for letter writing and calligraphy. Waterproof ink is best used with dip pens, ruling pens, quill and brushes.

Step 3. Chose an inking surface

Now it's time to pick out the best surface for your artwork. Absorbent paper that has a polished finish is the best surface for illustrating with pen and ink. You may also consider art board, mylar, drawing paper and watercolor paper.

Step 4. Test the ink flow

Test the ink flow by drawing a line on a piece of scrap paper. You can increase the ink flow by wiggling the nib and drawing the nib through a drop of ink. You can also slightly draw the nb across a damp paper towel to increase ink flow.

Step 5. Vary the thickness of your lines

Practice varying the thickness of your strokes. Going from very thick to very thin lines will make your illustrations more dynamic and visually interesting to look at.

Step 6. Practice shading techniques

Work on developing your shading techniques such as cross hatching, which is done by overlapping lines in a criss-cross pattern.

Step 7. Practice your own techniques

Spend some time working on your own style and technique. Be very open minded to experimenting and trying anything that comes to mind.