Rahul Jain - Pen and Ink Drawing Workbook Vol. 7: Learn to Draw Nightscapes

The aim of this workbook is to teach you how to draw pleasing nightscapes as shown below. Though they look involved, they are based on simple techniques for drawing night sky and other elements and after completing this workbook, you wil be able to enjoy doing these pleasing nightscapes and connecting with your creative side. Hi, Thank you for the purchase of this workbook. Doing simple drawings with pen and ink is a very relaxing and enjoyable hobby, and with this workbook, you wil soon discover how easy it is as wel . The primary aim of this workbook is to teach you how to draw night landscapes. The darkness and faintly visible light of a pleasant night holds a special place in our hearts and my aim with this workbook is to show strokes and techniques that can be used to express that special feel and emotions we have with night.

A night landscapes is not only about expressing darkness (though it can be that) but is also primarily about setting a mood between interplay of darkness and faint intensity of light. In the fol owing pages, we wil cover lot of different techniques to capture these aspects and express them through simple medium of pen lines. In a night landscape (or nightscape as I cal it), Sky holds a prominent place. Indeed, it is the rendering of Sky (strokes used, distribution of light via tonal variations etc.) that sets the overal mood of the drawing. With this in mind, considerable part of this book deals with different techniques for drawing a night sky. In addition to Sky, ground and other foreground and background elements also play important roles in giving a nightscape its appeal.

These are covered as wel though keep in mind that these elements are not covered in detail in terms of their basic drawing steps. This is covered in detail in other volumes of my workbooks series. What is focused on in this book is how to texture them to give them a feel of night. I encourage you to consult other volumes in the series to learn how to draw them. You can find more information on other volumes at www.pendrawings.me/workbooks Special consideration is also given to composition themes that can be used as a starting point for your drawings. These are some of the ways different elements can be combined to create an effective nightscape.

After you try these, try some others from your imagination. The size of drawings in this book is around 3 by 4.75 inches (their original drawing size). Carry a pocket sketch book with you and try to attempt them in your breaks or whenever you find some time. If initial attempt is not to your liking, then try again. Dont be afraid to experiment and enjoy the process of discovering your creative side. Happy Drawing, Rahul Jain www.pendrawings.me For more information visit www.pendrawings.me/getstarted 2 Note on Pen and Paper:So, what is a good pen for drawing?Quite frankly, in the beginning, any good gel pen will do, kind you will find in any local stationary shop.

Choose onewith fine tip (0.5mm wide or less) if you can find one. Gel pens for writing are often medium tip (0.7 mm) and theirlines are often too thick to get good texture. As you progress in your journey and you desire better quality pens fordrawing, you can check out my website and videos for more information.www.pendrawings.me/penpaperchoicesAnother great option is fine liners, which you can easily find with fine tip. One very popular brand is PigmaMicron, but to reiterate, any good fine point gel pen or marker/fine liner will do in the beginning.I would suggest not using pencil. Most pencils dont give sufficiently dark lines that you need to create texture withlines alone. Permanence of pen lines also promote good observation and avoid draw-erase-draw cycle thatfrustrates many beginners.

Use of ordinary ball pen is also discouraged as their ink is not dark enough to enableproper texturing, especially the darker tones of a nightscape.Most importantly, make sure that you dont get discouraged from trying activities in this workbook because youdont have a good quality pen.As for paper, in addition to this workbook, any normal paper like the one you use for normal printing will do. Avoidtextured paper as this will interfere with flow of nib. Choose a smooth paper instead. There is again an incrediblevariety of paper available for drawing and you can find discussion on relative merits of these for pen and ink drawingat the above link. For more information visit www.pendrawings.me/getstarted 3 Note on Proper Use of Pen for Drawing:A key aspect of drawing with pen is to let your pen float on the paper with the nib/tip touching and releasingink.Never dig into the paper by pressing nib/tip in the paper.Hold your pen lightly and release the tension in your hand. This will help you get the freedom of pen movementand lightness that contributes to good drawing practice.A good quality gel pen and marker will provide a nice line with gentle touch on paper. If you find that you needto dig to get the ink out, then change the pen.

Forcing ink out of pen is never recommended. It will ruindrawing paper and create hard lines and ruin the drawing experience for you.In the following pages, different pen strokes are illustrated that can be used to convey different textures. Whenattempting them, keep your hand supple and most importantly, keep it moving. The stroke shouldn't be done ina slow and deliberate manner, as this makes it rigid and un appealing. At the same time, dont rush through it.Find your speed and rhythm at which the pen line has a natural appeal. the light should not fal directly on the drawing. the light should not fal directly on the drawing.

This is because nightscapes have much darker tones and direct light fal ing on such drawings messes up our perception of relative darker tones in these drawings. Use only reflected light for viewing these drawings. You wil know when the light is right when viewing these drawings. Another aspect to consider is the level of detail that you want to incorporate in your drawing, especial y the tonal variations that you want to incorporate in the night sky. With bigger drawing area and finer drawing nib, more details including finer tonal transitions can be incorporated in the drawing. This helps to bring out the desired feel in the drawing.

But as we wil see in subsequent pages, very pleasing night drawings can be done at relatively smal size of 3 by 4.75 inches. Such size can be easily attempted in a pocket sketch book that can be carried anywhere and the drawing can be finished relatively quickly to get a satisfying feel. I would suggest drawing initial y at this size and as you progress in your journey and want to incorporate more details, you can attempt drawing at bigger size. The strokes and techniques discussed here can be used for drawings at different sizes, unless noted otherwise. When you come across a pen and ink drawing on paper or screen, it is important to understand that if might have been scaled down, especial y if you feel that the lines/textures in the drawing as you are seeing are too fine to be rendered. Pen and Ink Drawings with finer details are usual y drawn much bigger and then their scanned image is digital y compressed/scaled down and used for printing purposes.