Drawings with a gel pen and a ballpoint pen. Is it possible to create a masterpiece?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Somehow it so happened that a pen, ballpoint or gel, is recognized only as a tool that you can write, but certainly not draw. The only exception is scribbles in abstracts. However, I really want to refute the prevailing stereotype, because I know for sure: drawings with a gel pen, just like with a ballpoint pen, can be real masterpieces. These tools are just as good for drawing as pencils, pastels and other art materials.

Personally, when creating my drawings, I do not use preliminary pencil sketches, since my hand is already full. However, it is better for novice artists to sketch with a pencil what they would like to portray. After all, it is not possible to erase the ink with an eraser, and to create a drawing with a gel pen, you need a firm hand and confident movements. If the brush trembles, it will not be easy to correct the drawing. The complexity of drawing with gel ink also lies in the fact that, no matter howno matter how hard you press on the rod, the lines from under it will come out with the same saturation. You can only reduce the thickness of the lines by holding the pen at a slight angle. Therefore, when creating really beautiful drawings with a gel pen, it is very important to pay attention to shading when applying shadows and partial shadows. In the darkest places, the surface will have to be shaded, or, more simply, painted over. And in order to smoothly move from a shaded area to a lighter one, it will be necessary to make strokes - more and more rare, fading away.

With a ballpoint pen, this is a little easier. In this case, the saturation of the tone can be adjusted precisely with the help of pressure: the stronger it is, the sharper and clearer the line. A barely noticeable movement of the rod on the paper gives pale, barely visible lines. And small defects can be carefully removed using either a rough eraser or a special clerical putty, better known as "Stroke". True, the paper in this case should also be white, and the “Stroke” layer should be thin and paint over only what is needed. When using a rough eraser, it is worth considering that the paper must be thick enough. It is unacceptable, when correcting drawings with a black pen, to rub too hard. You can simply make a hole.

But whatever pen you draw with, please note that this is not a pencil that can be rubbed if necessary to get some volume. Although, strictly speaking, rubbing and it is not accepted. Drawings in which rubbing can be traced,are considered bad manners and a sign of unprofessionalism of the artist. Therefore, when creating drawings with a gel pen (or ballpoint pen), achieve a three-dimensional image only with the help of hatching. And these are by no means straight lines. If, when drawing a ball, you shade it like a ruler, even with shadows and lights, you will get just a flat circle. To achieve volume, the direction of the strokes should not be thoughtless, but as if following the contours of the ball. The same applies to other items. Therefore, before creating drawings with a gel pen or ballpoint pen, practice hatching with a pencil: work out all directions and types of monochrome fills, pressure, gradation, uniformity, etc. After all, hatching should maintain the shape of the object, and not distort, if not required by certain or other individual elements of the picture.