An illustration using line work

Advanced techniques for pen and ink rendering

This pen and ink drawing of the main gallery of the Natural History Museum in London was completed at the museum over a few days.The object of this newsletter is to show you some of the techniques which I use generally and which define my style., but I'd recommend them to anyone as they add sparkle and interest to a drawing. I'd appreciate any feedback you may want to offer.

The tonal values of the picture are built up using linework which describes the architectural details rather than cross hatching , although cross hatching has been used in places to darken shadows. The brightly lit areas are left as blank paper. 

In this close-up you can see how the shading was built up. The indirect light in this gallery meant that there were no harsh shadows and forms were softened ; the lack of contrast can be seen in the even tones of this drawing. Visual interest is provided in the details of which there are plenty such as these climbing monkeys. The style of shading becomes very important as the layering of lines could quickly become a confused mess. The object is to try to retain the clarity of the detailing whilst adding hatched shading.

The solution is in the direction of the shading. You should aim to shade so as to describe the 'grain' of the surface. The hatching on the columns follows the curving forms. The hatching on the flat walls to the left describes the direction of the light falling on them; The shading on the monkeys reveals their three-dimensional forms

The use of linework should always be as economical as possible to achieve the desired result. This means that in the darker areas lines need to be heavier and cross hatching may be necessary as well. Spacing of hatching lines depends on the depth of shadow. Further hatching on top of this may be needed and the direction must vary from the first lot but not as much as 90° or else this will stifle the sense of movement in the hatching. 

A couple of things to note in this close-up of the furthest wall of the gallery.

Firstly, from a distance the horizontal lines look straight but on closer inspection you can see that they are, in fact, quite wiggly. This is partly intentional. When drawing straight parallel lines, it helps to introduce a slight wiggle into the line. This hides the fact that the line is not exactly straight and it also adds character to the drawing. Look at the window sills and the stone coursing in particular.

Secondly, notice how the hatching on shaded areas is not parallel. The constant variation in the angle is partly to avoid drawing parallel lines which may not end up parallel, but also to relieve the monotony of uniform shading. The result is a lot more pleasing to the eye.

Here's a close-up of the vaulted ceiling. The use of line here is the minimum necessary to give the impression of rooflights and brightly lit panels. Some lines are thicker and others very light. Some are missing altogether.

 

This close-up illustrates most of the points we have looked at already : the wiggly lines, the hatching which varies within a general direction, the minimum number of lines necessary to describe the scene, heavier and lighter strokes etc.

I hope you found this article interesting. I would love to know what you thought of it, and whether there's some other aspect you'd like me to address....