May 26, 2010

An Ink Star, I Am Not

I did a pencil sketch of Firestar last night that I was pretty satisfied with. I wasn't sure if I wanted to destroy it with ink, or not, but tonight I figured I'd never get better at laying down the ink unless I just jumped into it.


My inks aren't great. They never have been, but I try. I use a number 6 Windsor & Newton Series 7 Sable, which is about as good a brush as you can get, but I'm just not very skilled at it. To make matters worse, I decided to try doing an ink-wash for the shading, which I've never done before. It was pretty fun, but I think I had my water-to-ink ratio all wrong. With some practice I think I could really get into it, and make it my standard method of rendering my drawings. I could sure use some ink-wash tips, so if you're an artist and have some experience with it, I would sure appreciate the advice.

I think tomorrow I may go ahead and use my Copic Markers to add a bit of color. Maybe it'll take the eye off of all of the flaws in the piece. Either way, I know that the only way to get better is to just keep doing it. I appreciate you folks following me along while I practice.