Pen and Ink Drawing

Learn to Draw

Drawing with pen and ink used to be a very popular method of art, that has sadly declined throughout the ages. It is a drawing process that requires a steady hand, experience and conviction as mistakes can be difficult to rectify. The boldness and variation of line, along with the stark contrasts of black ink upon white paper, are what gives pen and ink its beauty. It can be used in conjuction with other mediums such as watercolor, or shading can be achieved through ink washes, stipuling, or hatching, all of which are covered in the lessons below.

John Singer Sargent, Venetian Street

An ink and wash drawing after Sargent's Venetian Street oil painting. This exclusive short study follows the steps in building up quick values using ink washes on watercolor paper. This approach can also be adapted to creating thumbnails of limited values at slightly smaller sizes.

John Sargent Ink Drawing

Drawing Trees Pen and Ink Art Lesson

Vincent Whitehead's passion for drawing is guided by his belief in God and family values. Much of Vincent's work is amazingly carried out with ball point pens, overcoming the common problems such as 'blobs'. This pen and ink tutorial concentrates on 'stumps and trunks' and how to render realistic looking tree bark.

Drawing Trees

St. Peter's Church Chetnole Dorset, Pen and Ink Drawing

Mike Budden was born in England during the second world war, and started his first drawings at the age of five, using roof slate and chalk due to rationing. After leaving the army Mike devoted more time to his passion for art, and has held several exhibitions in his home town of Gosport.
In this demonstration, we are taken through step-by-step details showing Mike's pen and ink techniques to render a beautifully detailed drawing of St. Peter's Church in Dorset.

Pen and Ink Lesson

Inking Tutorial - Pen and Ink Drawing

Tom Richmond is a cartoonist and humorous illustrator who draws for MAD Magazine alongside occupying himself with many freelance projects. Tom generously shares his expert knowledge with this detailed tutorial showing how you can get the best out of inking your pencil drawings.

Inking Lesson

Drawing Tree Foliage, Pen and Ink Art Lesson

This pen and ink demo concentrates on the foreground and drawing tree foliage.

Drawing Tree Foliage

Existential Art - Dead Rat - Pen and Ink Drawing

Socar Myles lives in Vancouver, and her passion for rats can be seen in many of her intricate and imaginative drawings. This dark art lesson, depicts a small dead rat being sucked into a carnivorous hedgerow.

Dark Fantasy Art

How to Draw Trees, Pen and Ink Lesson

This free lesson focuses on the mid-ground and distant trees.

How to Draw Trees

Learn How to Draw an Oak Tree

A pen and ink lesson, demonstrating the drawing of an oak tree. Detailed step-by-step stages show how to build up the detailed and complex texture of the bark, using stippling and the 'drag' method and even blending ink with a paper towel or stump.

Learn How to Draw an Oak Tree

Palace of Fine Arts, Free Pen and Ink Drawing

This free pen and ink lesson (including video clips) demonstrates an architectural / landscape drawing created with pen and ink. The drawing is done with a traditional pen nib and holder, and the sky, and water are created with a brush and ink washes.

Pen and Ink Lesson