Drawing with ink and a bamboo pen
The fun of wonky lines
If you like wonky, expressive lines you will have a lot of fun experimenting drawing with ink and a bamboo stick. We will practice a simple line drawing. Observing turning your bamboo to get thinner or thicker lines.
It is time to choose your subject! Since we are exploring NATURE, why not head into your garden (or balcony) to enjoy the outdoors. I will do the same as well, but to make filming easier I am choosing a plant in my studio for this time.
You can draw on paper, or your sketchbook. I added a little collage on my sketchbook page before starting my drawing. When you start using the bamboo the ink runs out quickly, and the lines are shore, but as you continue the pen will absorb more ink and the lines will be longer. That is when the fun begins.
Tip: Sometimes I dip the bamboo for a while in water before I start drawing, that helps!
How to start the ink drawing
- I trace with my hand the composition of my subject to imagine where it will go
- I often start somewhere in the middle
- I look more at the subject than at the paper, I am drawing on
- After I made the first leave, I look what is right next to it, and observe: in what direction go the lines, how are the proportion compared to what I just drew
- I also check the negative spaces (the spaces between the leaves)
- I add later some lines that I would like to be stronger
- I add a background (it can be in watercolors, color pencils but I chose oil pastel)
Material I used
Bamboo pen bought in an art supply store Black ink Handmade sketchbook
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