Home Forums Explore Media Pen and Ink How to Shade This Image

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  • #463816
    Probie887
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        How would I shade this picture, I could draw the house in ink but I am not sure how to shade it.

        ~ Dwight

        #716663
        Anonymous

            Sorry Dwight but your question requires a book (or 5 books) in response !

            Very basically – you can use a selection of pens which give various thicknesses of lines & use a very thin one to “suggest” the foreground grass & use a extremely thin pen using a broken line to suggest the background trees.Then a thick pen to make a solid block of black for the roof & a slightly thinner one to do the tree on the left etc. the closer your lines are together the darker the tone is.This is the most difficult but most rewarding technique.
            OR
            You could use a stippling technique – lots of dots of various sizes put in using differing densities to create different tones.
            OR
            The easiest method, make up 3 small ink bottles of 3 different tones of diluted ink. Then use undiluted ink to do the roof & right hand tree,windows etc. Use the other tones as the reference dictates.

            You have asked the question which penmen take a lifetime learning & refining !
            I would advise you to have a good long look at all of the past posts in this P&I forum , see which technique of depicting tone lights your fire & practice it.
            It is totally different from any other medium but is challenging & rewarding in equal measure.
            Mike

            #716661
            Probie887
            Default

                Thank you so much for the in-depth reply Mike. I believe your 3 option of the diluted ink would work the best. One more question, would applying the diluted ink not disturb the ink drawing?

                ~ Dwight

                #716664
                Anonymous

                    Hi Dwight pleased that was of some interest because I never know the level of experience someone might have I’m always treading cautiously to avoid patronising anyone.
                    You can draw – brilliant ! that is THE major obstacle to overcome, I’ll write this as if you draw but have no experience of pen & ink or it’s tools.

                    You are quite right, you will indeed have to use a waterproof ink for the house & fence posts & then go on to apply the various strength of washes with a dip pen or finely pointed brush.

                    However I’ll tell you about a variation of pen & ink wash which I like to use, it is quick & trouble free.
                    This method uses a fountain pen , 99.99% all fountain pen ink is soluble in water. Advantage is taken of this by spreading the ink by putting a patch of water next to the line & the ink “bleeds in a wash from the line. If it is a large or dark wash you want you can scribble the pen onto a piece of scrap paper & dip a wet brush into that or touch the back of the pen nib for really dark bits. Often when using this method a tissue is in my left hand & that is used to weaken the line or stop the spread of the wash.
                    Here is a quick 5″x7″sketch where this technique was used.

                    A cheap as any disposable pen but high quality fountain pen is the “Platinum Preppy”, as the name suggests this is a cheap pen that can be had for the price of a disposable “micron” yet it is a lovely pen to draw with. I like a really fine line & the extra fine nib size Preppy will give you a line of 0.2 when you use it normally, if you use the back of the nib you can get a really fine hair line. It is available in a wider line version, medium (0.5line) I recommend you get both sizes. I would also advise you buy a cheap plastic syringe to squirt a few drops of water into a half empty cartridge so you can dilute the ink & draw in a weak grey colour – just like your background trees.
                    Cheers Mike

                    #716660
                    Probie887
                    Default

                        Wow very nice image… looks like a ton of work there. Your information is very helpful to me about how to get the shading I am looking for with this image… it is one area I have never been able to figure out in my mind. I will look into the “Platinum Preppy” pen. Also look into purchasing waterproof ink.
                        Thanks for your time in helping with this situation, it is greatly appreciated.

                        ~ Dwight

                        #716659
                        jonc50
                        Default

                            Hello Dwight,

                            You might try the ink used with a brush and diluting the ink with water to get the different shading intensities…then use the ink full strength over the shaded areas for detailing.

                            Jon C.

                            #716662
                            Probie887
                            Default

                                Hi Jon C. I will give this a try… wish me luck.

                                ~ Dwight

                                #716658

                                Very helpful thread!

                                The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
                                -Helen Keller
                                The question is not what you look at, but what you see.
                                -Henry David Thoreau

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