** Can any one give me hints or a "how to" when it comes to inking pictures? I really need this information for my year 12 art assignment. Scapper Black Dragon and any one else who could help, please relpy. **
Well, here's some hints I can give that I rarely (if ever) see given.
1) Check to see how well your paper/ink works together.
Art paper is designed for different types of art - some is more porous to take pencils and pastels bettter (having a rougher surface when you feel it) while some is made for more 'wet' media (like inks), this will have a smoother feel. Basicly, the higher a paper is listed as 'compressed', the better it is for wetwork like inking. If you are unsure, take the tip of your pen and hold it against the paper and move it slowly over. If you see the ink bleeding into the paper (you'll know what it is when you see it - it seems to spread out quickly from the tip as the paper soaks it up like a sponge) it will most likely be unsuitable for inking unless you have a large degree of skill or work with very quick light lines.
2)Make sure you use art pens.
Just because a pen is expensive doesn't mean it's suitable for art. And just because it is for art, doesn't mean it's good for your style of drawing. Try getting several types of pens (if you can) and try each out on suitable paper - see which seems to give the best results based on how you like to draw.
3)A good foundation is the key to good artwork
Don't start the picture by laboring on making the best face you can, then trying to finish the body and other parts. Plot out all the peices of the picture loosely first (you may want to use some cheap scrap-paper and a pencil to get a feel for what you want your picture to look like), then get to work on doing the layout for the finished picture on your good paper with your best tools. Nothing sucks more than drawing what *would* have been a great picture...until you noticed you made the head too big for the body you drew because you didn't plot things out right!
4) Don't be too proud to use reference materials
If you are drawing a picture, get some reference work to look at so you at least have a general idea of what you are drawing. This especially goes for anthro work - since it is based off of real-life animals, you'd better get the parts that are based off it right if you want people to be able to tell your cheetah from just any old cat! Every anthro artist is guilty of this, and most artists in general. With the internet being such a huge morass of pictures people post about things, there is simply no excuse for not trying to look things up using the simplest of search-engines. This applies from everything to forests to the bridge of a battleship - if you can name it, odds are there is a picture of it out there for you to use as reference when drawing.
5) Learn to live with your mistakes
So you think your picture didn't come out too well? Well here's a secret - most artists don't like how their work comes out. This is because when everyone else sees your work, they judge it by what they see. When you look at your work, you see what you *wanted* to get on the paper in your mind...and what parts of your picture fell short for whatever reason (time, lack of experience ect). Don't get discouraged because your picture falls short of your expectations. Show it to a few friends, and let them guage how well things are coming along.
6)If you don't try, you won't improve
It's very easy to fall into the trap of saying 'I will never be good/get better/ as good as' and give up trying to learn. Nobody started creating great art at birth. While it does seem to come easier to others (for whatever reason), everyone has the potential to become a great artist if they are willing to work at it hard enough.
While these may not be the hints you might be looking for, they are useful - and besides, there are tons of 'how to draw like me' helpsites on the net. These are things you don't hear every day, but probably should. :)
~Piccillo
Received on Thu Feb 17 2005 - 13:44:04 CST