Pen and Ink.

I began pen and ink week by playing with the medium, and testing out different techniques while drawing different subjects. The only instructions we were given was to focus on still life, so it was extremely easy to find subject matters for each drawing! I think this week has really pushed me because I wouldn't usually gravitate towards using pen and ink for a project - I really feel that I have learned a lot.

I started by testing out my brushes and each nib for my dip pens. I also created a new brush by taking a flat chisel brush and then cutting slits in the bristles to create five individual lines in one stroke. It definitely became one of my favourite tools to use during the process. I then tested each nib with differing techniques for each page and drawing. It really allowed me to get a better sense of the best way to use the medium.

 I began The week was then finished off with the task of drawing a room inside of our house. It had to emanate the character and feeling of the room, therefore I chose to draw the kitchen as it is the area we spend the most time with each other within the house. My goal was to try and replicate the idea of the space being lived in, and almost busy in a sense. I began with a very basic pencil drawing just to map out the perspective of the room and then I went straight in with the larger dip pen. That was followed by details created with the smaller pen. I didn't want to sketch out too much initially, as I thought it would make the drawing look too calculated. The mistakes and wobbles give the drawing much more character in my opinion.

To finish the illustration I then corrected any smudges or large blobs of ink with Tipp-ex to make it look slightly cleaner. Overall I'm extremely happy with the outcome, and surprised myself with how much I enjoyed the process.