Transcripts
1. Intro: Sometimes we either don't have time or don't know what to draw, and this class is going to help you by exploring one of the most popular mediums, inks. My name is Anne Socolow and I'm a professional published illustrator living in Berlin, Germany. I work with clients from all over the world using both digital and traditional techniques. So why inks are so special? Let me tell you a short story. When I had one of my first commissions years ago, I went to the art supply store and I was so overwhelmed by the choices, and honestly, by the prices of the materials. I also had this weird notion that to create a good piece of art, I needed to combine the finest art materials in some special secret manner only professionals would know, which is totally false, it's all about your head and your hands. Then I saw inks, just one bottle, one ink pen, and that's it. I've created illustration for a poetry magazine, and it was one of my first published artworks. Since that day, the whole new world opened to me and I'm happy to explore it with you. In this class, I've prepared a one week practicing program to let you explore different inks techniques. We'll start with simple warm up exercises and continue with drawing silhouettes, illusions, flowers, all these subjects are universal and can be applied to postcards, patterns, vain labels, anything branding. We'll also get inspired by traditional artists such as Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, and the master of graphics, Aubrey Beardsley. In the second part of the class, we'll work on iPad in Procreate. If you don't have iPad, no worries. The principle is the same in Photoshop or in any other software. This class is for you, if you're illustrator, artist or designer and want to step up your art game. If you're a beginner, you'll get a great overview of what you can actually do with things. Regardless of your level, just jump in anywhere. If you're professional, I'm sure you'll find this concepts and exercises helpful or just enjoy drawing with me. I actually can't wait to get started, but one more thing, Skill Share and I are giving away one year of premium membership this time. All you have to do is post your artwork in the project gallery before end of June. Yes, and follow me here on Skill Share by pressing this button above. You can also post your artwork on Instagram by using the hashtag, ThinkinINK. Now, let's dig in, work hard and have fun.
2. Materials: Welcome to the studio. Here we go. I'll make a quick overview of the inking materials but you can use just a simple set of ink bottle and any pen, or just a liner. There is absolutely no need to have everything, just choose what you love, you don't have to buy expensive art supplies, but there are a couple of things I'd pay attention to. What do we have here? Usual Indian inks. I prefer using waterproof inks. There is no brand preference. The optimal option would be liquid Indian ink, water resistant, and O-pack. Of course, it can be in usual designer bottles or a vintage like inks but in this case, please pay attention to these two signs. This little square over here means OPACITY and for example, it means semi opec,. The stars mean lightfastness. You can also use acrylic inks. The difference is they have a bit oily, glossy. I would even say lugish feel when they dry. Let me show you but the color can be really vibrant and bright. I'll be using it for drawing flowers later in the class. With things you can use either a brush like a usual watercolor brush or any bam. A small tip if you're working with acrylic inks, use separate brush don't spoil your favorite water color one. I'm using Japanese brush and some are synthetic inexpensive brushes. This one is number two I think. Now the neap bams can be so different, they are pretty inexpensive, so you can try and choose what you love. I prefer the ones with a very sharp tip. But I have many. For example, this funny one with a finger or this one is a tallow neap found on the regular stationary store. I also have this weird one. You asked me a lot on Instagram, what this terrible looking weapon from middle ages is for. It's time to reveal the secret. You will see the answer in the first practicing video of the cloth. These are optional materials and alternatives. A brush pen, it's the only brush pen, I am using. The tip is super fine and it's almost like a real brush. So you can ink on the go. Different liners. The size can vary, but mostly I use this type. It's O3 and O5. This is my favorite option. It's a fountain pen. I really love to use to my sketch book or just write with it while traveling. Honestly I'm very petulent about choosing a pen so invested in a good one with extremly fine tip. It's really a feeling when drawing. But of course, it doesn't have a percentage of lines like a classic neap bam. Now, the paper I've used in smooth bristol type paper and watercolor paper for, Wet on wet techniques. When I practice, I use the cheapest copy paper possible for a stress free drawing. For the second part of the cloth, I'll be working on iPad Pro using Procreate app and Apple pencil. If you don't have it, no worries, no problems. You can use Photo shop or any other software and graphic tablet. That principle is always the same. Now that we have all the materials ready, join me in the next video and let's explore some inspiring artworks before we start.
3. Inspiration: Welcome back. If you're watching this class, you're probably like me, a lifelong learner, you want to know how it works, why it works. You can find inspiration everywhere. Artists from many cultures, including the very ancient ones, used inks for their fine art drawings. Let me show you some astonishing illustrations from my home library collection. Welcome again, and let's get inspired. Do you recognize this artist? I'm sure you've seen this sunflowers painted by Van Gogh. But did you know, he was a huge fan of inks? Recently, I visited his museum in Amsterdam and was amazed by the collection of presented drawings. Drawings are equal partners to his paintings, and it's widely recognized. Many of his drawings were executed using highly light sensitive ink, and now look dramatically changed. But we can still see the typical flow in lines. We all know these lines, very beautiful. Now, let me show you another legendary artist. If you love inks, and you love books, you've probably heard of Aubrey Beardsley. To be honest, I like only some of his art series, but it's definitely a master of line and composition worth exploring. I found this book in antique store. By the way just drop me a line if you have some advice on how to repair and take care of antique books. I have some problems over here. Just look at this graphic perfection. The subjects are so simple, but they create patterns with contrast and divide the whole scene beautifully. Beardsley, illustrated books and magazines. Look at this great use of negative space. He explored themes of history and mythology. Just look at this movement and design. I'm sure you recognize Oscar Wilde and [inaudible]. Now, wait for the real treasure. Just a moment. Here it comes. I still can't believe I have this book, it breaks a tone. I had to ask my husband to help me bring it home. You're right. It's Leonardo da Vinci. This is so impressive. All the details and textures, everything. I just wanted to show you several artworks. This is so very impressive. The details and textures and inks are everywhere, along with pencil of course and some other materials. These are the studies of mythological series. This is my favorite portrait. Here are careful studies of different flowers and herbs. I also wanted to show you amazing cartography. Just a moment. Yeah. These are birds' eye view map illustrations. It's truly amazing. I can browse it for hours, but really have some exciting things to do. Let's move on to the next video and finally start creating. I hope it inspired you and now we're ready to start our one week practicing program. Let's move on, join me in the next video to start.
4. Monday: Warm Up: We are inspired and can start our Monday practice. I'm taking my inks and using the pipette, put a small amount in the porcelain plate. I prefer working this way because when using the nib pen, it's easier to see the exact amount of ink I need and I love the process. Let's begin with simple mark-making. I love the sound so much. It's a warm-up. I'm using before any project. I've prepared special working sheets for you. You can find that in the class project section and you can work with it anytime. Make any marks you can imagine. I know some artists prefer to work in squares, but honestly, I don't like any rules in art. I just want to feel free and sketch as I go. You can try different shapes and imagine some textures in mind, maybe trees or wood. Now the intricate shape is going to be design elements, some geometry, anything that comes to your mind. You can even create shadows by adding additional sketch elements. Something like this and another one. It's very relaxing and it's a great warm-up regardless of what you're planning to draw and now, let's move to the next exercise using pressure. I slightly touched the paper at first, then make some pressure and lift it up and again, slightly touch, pressure, lift it up. It looks like calligraphy and another shape, not a line. Let' see how it looks with a brush pen. I'm holding it vertically, now, slightly touch, press a little bit and lift it up and repeat. I have prepared these lines also in the working sheets and this line. It looks almost like a leaf. It's a great training. Now let's test aligner. You can already guess how it looks like. Of course, we won't see any of line no matter how hard the pressure is, but it's great for hedging. Now the fountain pen. The change is highly seen, but the feeling is great and hedging is very comfortable. The same line. I love just sketching with it anything, any line. Let's try the next exercise with it. It's called speed up and we imagine how everything starts slow and then goes faster. Very slow and then goes faster or when it's like hearing some noises. At first, we're quiet and then some loud parts, and then quiet again or like a classical music. You can imagine the shapes. Imagine your favorite composition and try to depict it with a line. It's a very loose relaxing exercise. We need another sheet of paper. This is the new one. I'll use a brush pen, and let's imagine a chimney of some sort or pipe. Something like this. It's like a ship's funnel, some shape and of course, there is a smoke at first some small circles, not the full circles, of course, and they are getting bigger and bigger like a ship's funnel. Try to use bold, loose strokes. This sketch is great for practicing your brush technique. Try to variate the pressure. Let's show some speed here. Try to variate the speed. Brushstrokes can be very fast, spontaneous, like the smoke. Like this. Now what's next? I call it a swirl. The idea is we create a swirling movement and change the diameter along the way like a whirligig, like this. It's pretty easy and very effective exercise. Again and again. Let's grab another sheet of paper and repeat our whirl with a liner and then we'll try the next exercise I call a compression. Now a whirl again. It's easier to draw it with a liner but the effect is different. The next one, compression. I am using the same circle of movements and change the perspective or compression. You can see this illusion and once again, I'll start with a full circle and then change the perspective. This one looks like an S. Now, let's try the same with a brush pen; I mean the nest and then we'll move to compression. You can see better all lines. Now, I'm starting with a falling loose curve and it compresses at the end like this once again and with a liner. One more final drawing using this exercise. It looks like a wing of a bee. Let me show you. I'm drawing the circles from one side and then the other side, small eyes and tiny little fellow is ready. He needs a friend obviously, so here comes another one. This one is a bit difficult. It's called a two-point fixation and it takes a bit of practice. You can see I'm changing the angle but I always try to keep these two points inside the circle. Try to practice a little bit and I'm sure you can do better. Two points and now the little fellow. It's really fun to draw them. Yeah, so we did great i think. Now it's time to reveal the secret of the scary-looking nib we've been talking about before. We need another sheet of paper and where is it? Where is it? No. Here it is. Let me show you what it can do in a sec. It's a new one so we need more ink, more than usual. Let me see. Not enough. I need more. Still not enough. It's a new one, so it takes time, but I think you can already see. Right, almost did. It's a note leaf nib which means it's used for music notes or for music sheets. But if you have fantasy, and I'm sure you do, you can create fantastic effects with it. It's pretty addictive. You can create margins, folk art motifs, lettering, draw hair, fur, anything you can imagine. It's pretty addictive. I really can't stop till I fill all the space of this paper with it. Every time I work with this nib, something new appears. It's great for decorative forms. Anything, some science fiction, graphic, geometry, anything you can imagine. I think we did great practice and let's move to the final exercise for this day. A huge letter A. You probably don't see it yet, but I've made a very light pencil sketch. Choose your favorite letter. Mine is A because my name starts with A and that's how original I am. The idea is that we fill this letter using all the materials and marks that we've been using before. I'll start with a brush pen. The font is better to be with surfs. It's more interesting. I start to draw some marks and I can't wait to see your letters, and what letter will you choose, and what marks will you make. I'll space over here and over here. Well the inks are dry, you erase the sketch and your letter is ready. I think we did great and we're ready to move to the next day.
5. Tuesday: Silhouettes: Welcome to the new part. It's one of my favorite. Guys, we'll be working with silhouettes. It's my sketchbook with lettering and pick of character. Silhouettes are universal and can be used in many different areas. For example, to create a flattering book illustration. Look at this texture. Branding, stamp and playbook characters, almost anything. The verity is huge and we'll work on most popular subjects. But you can choose anything you love. I really enjoyed creating these artworks for the class. I'll put everything away, my precious sketchbook, and we'll start working on the first silhouettes. The most important thing is shapes. Regardless of what you're drawing, shapes should be recognizable. This is the most important thing to remember. Trees are a perfect example, so we'll start with trees. When you draw a tree, try to imagine a group of different shapes at first. This can be a very simple shape. I'll make a quick hatching to define it better, and more loose hatching to define this shape. Shapes can be various. For example, this tree, it looks more like a circle. It's really easy to imagine this shape at first, and then just draw details lying around it. Some grass, we'll need the background, and again, a bit of hatching afterward. You can see how the tree pops up. The space between the lines is much bigger than the one I used for background. Now, let's take some small brush and draw a silhouette. I'm starting with the big shapes, as we discussed. It can be not so precise, just an impression. A simplified form, like a logotype. These type of images can be easily reproduced in press for branding, or just a small, tiny artworks for an exhibition. It's really great. Now, the branches, I like to draw curvy lines with a bit of vintage feel. You can notice I left some, let's call it free space. Now, the next step would be to cover everything with black. Some final touches. You can see I've left a negative space. It will add some interest to our illustration. These white spots, you can add some small details, different leaves. Now, let's try brush pen and draw another type of the tree, like a Christmas tree, but more forest type thing. It consists of very defined conical shape and brushstrokes that are getting bigger. It's a great exercise to practice your brushwork. You can change the speed of the brush stroke to see how it looks. It can also work great with dry brush. I'm making my way down. It's not very detailed, but still I want to have these small elements to be seen, fluffy tree. This can also look beautiful if you color it with gold. You've probably noticed that when you see the illustration or this type of a tree, there is always a smaller one just near. It's like a classical approach we used to see its children. His friend is very close and we have a nice composition. Add in some grass, add some small branches, tiny, tiny. Add resemble lines and sharp top to refine the shape. I think we're almost done. Yeah. That's it. I think it's done and now let's change the paper and start working on another part. Next, we'll be working on ornaments. I'll start with a main line and we'll decorate it with small, tiny leaves. This ornament is really easy to draw, but it looks so effective and it's used for borders, for book illustrations, for invitation and any decoration that comes to your mind. You can draw symmetry or diversity of this leaves. What I love, that you can change the direction of the main line anywhere you want, for example, for a lettering or make it like a square shape. Let's try a new one with a small brush. I'm drawing a simple flower. It's white inside but we'll create ornament around it, colored with bold black and it will create a beautiful composition. Let me show you. In here we'll have the leaves, colored with black fillets. You can already see how the color although we don't have a color, but it affects us. This would look very effective on a stem or with a floor or any two-color print. The next one is very graphic and decorative. I'm starting with the white shapes and then we'll use a combination of black and white areas. I'll color it with black right away and I'm leaving the small negative space lines. It looks great, I think. I really love this effect. So you see, I don't color the full petal, just the parts. It looks very impressive in print and in small size which is very important when you have exhibition, or when you use it for merchandise, or for stickers, or maybe on t-shirt, even. I'm adding some details. Now, when I draw it I think it can look beautiful in a small poetry book, this one-color print, and it can be both very affordable and so beautiful or maybe leather pressing. You will also find this ornament in the working sheets I've prepared for you. The PDF is in class project section. It's a great ornament to practice. It may look easy but it's not so easy to repeat as it may seem. Pay attention to borders and combine the lines with different thickness, some tiny elements. Small details. Now, it look good. The next one shows you how to draw an acorn in a decorative manner. I couldn't resist the rule, I get to it. I get such a thing for subject matter. I'm going to start with an outline, defining the angles and then, just feel everything was black. Just this tiny phase. Then, the shapes are almost symmetrical. The most important is the tail. Then, we just color everything with black. Please, don't forget about whiskers. I'll color the tail. Tiny fur. For whiskers, I'll use a small brush. It works great with silhouettes. I can have small details like fur or refine the shape with the small brush. Now, in other poles, it can be mentioned as a simple geometric form. Like so, and another one, but smaller. Now, we can draw over this shape and create along a silhouette of a cat who is not interested in our attention. I'm sure you've seen it 100 times. You can see just back of a cat and she's not interested in what you're doing, but she's always somewhere near you. I'll cover everything with black and smoothen some shapes. Let's fill this tiny body and the tail. Small ears. We'll fur the side, and of course, whiskers, the favorite part. I think we practiced really great, and of course, I couldn't resist but to show you the iconic imagery of a deer. I may add a pencil sketch and will start working afterwards. I'll fine sketch a little bit and will work with my Japanese brush. It can take lots of ink, so it's really comfortable. I'll start inking right away. It's really more comfortable to rotate your canvas when drawing long lines. [NOISE] I'm adding the small details. This imagery can be used in so many exciting ways. Now that we have mastered silhouettes, we're ready to move forward to the next day.
6. Wednesday: Wet on Wet: Welcome back. It's Wednesday and we'll explore a wet on wet technique. I'll be working straight on a paper pad. I've made some borders using masking tape, but that's not necessary. Now, let's put some water on the paper using big brush or a sponge. I'm carefully putting the water and try to cover all the surface. You can hold it to the light to see if there are some dry areas left, we don't want it. Now, I think it's almost ready. I want it to look ink slow bit so it won't be so intense. Just with water. I put some inks on the palate and then add some water and I'll be also using white inks this time. Let's check the paper if it's dry enough. It shouldn't be, I'd say wet. Using Japanese brush, I am planning to make bold brush strokes and draw clouds. I'll take some diluted ink and draw clouds like so. I'm making bold brush strokes and you can experiment with the angle and you can already see how beautifully ink is bleeding. You can achieve different textures using this technique. Some abstract art or figurative. Even for patterns. I'm in the last strokes, I'm taking a paper towel and lifting up some pigments, just like with watercolors. Actually, the principle is almost the same. I'm lifting up some pigments and you can create any shape of the clouds you want. It's almost like a sculpturing. Shape the clouds with some movements. Now it looks like mountains. Actually, clouds and mountains are painted almost the same but ups and down, of course. The paper is still wet and so are inks. I'm thinking of adding some additional layer of inks in the bottom. You can see, you can shape how you lift the pigment. I'll be adding some more inks and up to that, we should wait till it's dry. Or we can use a hairdryer. I'll probably use a hairdryer. Be careful of the sound. Now using white ink, I'll clear it a bit. With white ink, I want to add some texture. It's a great reason to experiment with amount of water and different brush angles. I love this technique so much. No expectations, just play with the brush. In this scenario, I love to use Japanese or Chinese brushes. I have some imaginary texture in line, not some real clouds or real mountains. Something unexpected which can be scanned afterwards and used as a background probably for some poster or maybe even a book illustration. Speaking of books, now I can see almost Japanese woodcut imagery in there, and I think I will add some trees afterwards. I'll play with texture a bit. Can they see we can literally shape ink? What a great effect it can be for some actionable illustration. Now, I add some trees using small brush. It will be Japanese style, landscape trees. I've never seen it, but I imagine it this way. I'll paint some trees here and there. Just how I feel it'll look nice and some white essence. I'll take white inks. It's a permanent ink so make sure you keep that in mind. Some white details always look great on darker background. Loose strokes. I can't wait for the most satisfying part. I'm sure you know what I mean? This is so awesome. But careful, sometimes it happens that no matter how light your masking tape is, it can damage the paper. You can use hairdryer to warm it up before you take it off, sometimes it helps. I have very light masking tape, very light. Go away. How can I do this, it's a challenge, and the illustration is still wet. I have to be very careful on how I handle it. Sticky thing. Our landscape is ready. I'm really happy with the result. Couple of more. I always wanted to add more and more details. It's going to last forever. I'm happy we have some time. Let me show you another option. With inks using wet on wet technique, you can create very beautiful animals drawing. You can guess. Especially with the big white or black ones, like big cats, bears, or seals. Let me show you. I have this cage of a white seal. We're going to work with it. The most important is always the shape. You can work without sketch. But I prefer creating little almost transparent pencil sketch before our work. You can guess that the shape is very simple. I prepare the artwork, putting water all over the seal shape, but not inside. That's the most important thing. Make sure it's enough water. I work in straight on the paper Pet also is A3 format over 100 percent cotton paper. But it doesn't matter here. It will work on any paper thick enough. But as a water color paper just in case. Now the most important thing is to use just one bolt brushstroke to define the shape. It's the most important thing in this technique. Let's begin. Some diluted inks and using them big brush. I'll work my way with one brush stroke. Don't stop. The whole seals should appear. I already see him or her or it. Not sure how to say it correctly. Always beautiful and I love how the Inks are bleeding. It's so mesmerizing. This can be separate artwork. Just this little piece of ink. I'm adding inks right from a bottle, right from here. Everything is a mess when you worked. The next thing I want to do, is to add some water inside the shape to create smooth shadows to define the face. I put the same amount of water. Here in there. Where the shadows should be or this tiny little black parts. Like for parts. It shouldn't be fairly detailed. Now I define the shapes, the shadows. Is on a wet on wet technique. We can achieve really smooth, gentle shadows. You can put, a little bit more water to smoothen it up. We're getting closer and closer to face. You can pick up another animal like a beer or a big white cat, maybe sleeping one. I smooth everything around the face. It's a cotton paper, a 100 percent cotton paper. That's why everything dries so fast, which I love. I can work on the face very soon in just several seconds, I think, I'm not planning to make it very detailed image. Whether you can do whatever you want, of course, so you can draw detailed paws and some fur. Now it's time to show the face. The eyes are most important form worst of animals or portraits. I prefer to start with it, to define where they are. Then our seal has very recognizable features, which we should definitely show. The paper is still pretty wet. I think we will be using hairdryer before we can add fine details. Right now, we can just refine some small shapes here and there. Which are on parts that are drying up. Let let me think, a nose? Can be a good idea. It's still wet. I think we'll use a hairdryer. In some small details. What can work on eyes, then in brows. When working on eyes, don't forget to leave highlight. I'm using white of paper as a highlight. But of course you can use white inks or aligner or permanent marker, on top of black inks. I just prefer to work that way. Actually no rules about it. But I somehow like it when the surface is even. When you work with the marker, it adds additional layer, tiny details. We're here and over here. Actually, I really can't wait to see what animal you choose and what you create. It's always such a special thing to draw animals and it can be so touching. Well a nose, and a dot. It may be easier to make this dots with aligner because it's easier than with a brush. I didn't want to make very detailed, but honestly I can"t stop. I'm adding these elements here and on the other side also, make sure they are different layer. It will look more interesting. How about some more details may be on paws, it can last forever. Maybe here. I really think we've learned a lot. Now, some small details here. Maybe his nose or this tiny parts need more strokes. Let's see, some emotion, everything around eyes adds emotion, so be careful on black. Now we've mastered the wet on wet technique. I think we can move to the next video, and the next day of practicing. The seal says, we can go.
7. Thursday: Illusions : I'm happy to see you're practicing, so let's move on. This part is about creating illusions. Illusions of volume, illusions of size, shapes, and textures. Let's start with simple circles and see how it can become a tree. I'm sketching several circles of different size. Very simple and the line. I've been working with an ink pen and make small marks. I'm moving over this round shape to create an illusion of volume. I'm using this marks we've have been practicing in the first day of this class, so I'm repeating the shape but with small marks. It's important not to overwork this image. I'm using very light touches and the shape is not enclosed. We can already see the tree just add some branches. It's a typical tree from a textbook. More elements. Same principle goes for the second tree but it's a little bit more complicated. I will show you that in a minute. Ground. The second one is more complicated. As you can remember there are several circles, but I combine them, merge them together in my head, and use only parts of this elements to cover with marks. When you practice enough, you can work right away without any pencil sketches. You will already have this image in your head. The shape is over here. It seemed complicated at first but you can see it isn't. I decided to do thicker lines with a brush. Now, this one is exciting. I'll take a fountain pen and we'll create a full illusion of cat anatomy. We'll start with the silhouette, of course, like we did in the previous part, but the borders will be a bit fluffy so the silhouette of a cat with fluffy borders. Now this parts symmetry, and now here comes the big part. We're getting closer to tail. Where is it? It will be right here. Then we move but we imagine the invisible muscles and shapes to define our lines directions. It's almost like painting but with a pen. Just imagine what there is inside not in a creepy way, but then you have this feeling that you should add more shadows here, or that the line should be long like here. You can see this effect. This is a really illusion of volume we have here and a lot of fur. This is just the usual form, it can be used anywhere. So I'm hedging here fluffy borders. More shadows here and off like a friend, it's almost ready. Now the tail. It's important to keep the lines horizontal because the tail is lying on the surface, so my lines I repeat in this direction. Tiny shapes. I think it's almost done, and there's more shadow. Now, another type of illusion. It's often used in books, in gravings, slathering, and wine labels. I'm sure you've seen it. I'm sketching a small circle and a line, such a lantern. Now, using any ink and instrument I create hedging avoiding the areas I have sketched just like this. Let me show you. I'm avoiding my sketch. Rotate the Canvas so it will be more comfortable for you. It's often used in children's book illustrations, when drawing the moon or initial letters. Put your Canvas in comfortable position for a confident lines. Now we can almost see the lantern. It's very effective technique. You can add black lines to define it better. Now it's a real lantern. You can make it as accurate as you want just don't forget to erase the pencil marks and it'll look even better afterwards. The next illustration will show you this approach in more elaborate way. Hence kitchen, a village or a country house and some cloud shapes. Make sure that cloud shapes are big enough. It's always great for effective composition. Yeah, I think it's ready and then I'm starting to ink it. Now the scenery is almost ready and it's time to work with the clouds. Just this little tree over here. I just needed to draw it. Yeah, quick and start work on the clouds. I'm making hedgings just as I did with long-term avoiding the cloud shapes. It's very, very relaxing by the way, once you get used to it and when are not nervous, it's a great practice. I start to form, turn it a bit or like this. I prefer starting with short lines. Now you can see the shapes are already appearing. Guess it's been more comfortable without this thing so I'll take it away. It's always different with every artwork so just listen to yourself and don't think about any rules or recommendations. Now, that's much better. I can make it quicker. Line work [MUSIC]. Look, it's beautiful, but I feel something is missing. Let's add some trees. I'm starting with an alpine. It feels like I need a bigger brush for that. Let me think a minute. Small details, but yeah, I'll take a bigger brush. You know that creating a contrast between the bold and subtle lines is a great option. It's much quicker to work with brush pen in this situation. I try to keep the shape of leaves constant so it will be in balance with our sky. Some trees over here, some bold lines, background here and some elements right here. Now this side, I'm working behind the house so it pop up more. We can see the difference very quickly. Then grass, something right before our eyes so we have some places to focus. These bushes over here. Maybe here. I'm trying to make the strokes easy looking, not very precise, and here. Some perspective. Don't forget to erase pencil marks when everything is ready. I think we have awesome result. Now, I am erasing everything we don't need. You probably don't see it good enough but the difference is big. We have a wonderful illustration I'm really happy with. I'm cleaning up a little bit with the brush and let me show you another illusion. Here's the little tiny option I wanted to share. It's a black swan and it's painted with just a few brush strokes. Let's start with a neck. Just one stroke, neck and another one and here's the head of the swan. Now the beak, of course, we're not forgetting about this important part. I almost forgot honestly. Now holding the brush like this, we create the light illusion of feathers and water. You can work with a dry brush; its very effective like this. If you love swans, check my class online I got, where we work on the ugly duckling tail and illustrate beautiful swan. The illusion of water is also here. I added some feathers in a very loose manner, water; it's like a Chinese illustration. Thanks so much for joining me and see you in the next day.
8. Friday: Colored Ink Flora : Welcome again, and this part is mega exciting. Why? Because we'll be working with colored acrylic inks and a bit of black. I'll prepare the inks. Using a pipette, I'm put in some black inks in my palette. The first color is dark violet. I love this one. Some more, and some green. A few drops. You can dilute it with water if you want. You can test it on paper. We're going to draw an eggplant in a very special loose manner. I'll be working with my Japanese brush. Let's fill the brush with violet. This color is magical. Then we need just a small tip of black ink. Now using the side of the brush, we are creating the form like so, and again. Remember, just a very tiny tip, and again. Do you see how interesting the colors interact? Now I can refine the shape. It looks more beautiful in real life, believe me. Now, some leaves. I'm painting with another brush. The colors are so intense. Try different brush strokes. Acrylic ink dries pretty fast, so you can add some small elements with violet on top of the green right away. This tiny details make a big difference. Some more over here. Everything is in very, very light manner. I'm using mostly tip of the brush. The shape should be a bit more defined. Yeah, I think it's enough, and we are ready for the next one. We'll draw a loose radish and obviously, we'll need a red color for that. We'll take this additional red, fill in the brush and making a round shape like so. It shouldn't be a perfect circle. Just some hint. Very loose manner. Now taking a smaller brush, I'm planning to add some fine details. It's pretty easy and you'll see the result. Look, it already looks like a radish the moment I've added this details. After that, we'll be adding leaves, but now I want to have some shadows. It's very convenient to use violet instead of black. It looks more rich. Now the leaves. The most important is to let yourself go and draw free lines.You will draw your unique lines. Is like a handwriting. Some shadows. It's always great to use two or more colors for shadows and highlights, regardless of your style. Tiny details. Yes, it's almost ready and can be used for surface button design or anything else. Some shadows here. I'm using the smallest brush, and here. Yeah. I'm happy with the result and I think it's time for the next one, a ladybug. A ladybug, yeah. We'll definitely need more red for that. I'm adding a few drops and I also want to dilute black ink, so it will be sort of grayish. Now using the side of the brush. I'm creating the first element, and another one. I'll be adding details right away. Look, these tiny elements make a difference. You will soon recognize the ladybug, and it comes alive. Now we'll fill the brush with loads of red and create the shape we need. The form is very loose, and on the other side. It's not perfect but its [inaudible] We should add little poles. I'm taking this small brush and working on details on each side and here. Now we need black spots to make our bug a bit more recognizable then here. I think white can make a tiny but important effect on our artwork, that's why I decided to use it too. I'll mix it with green. A bit more and add some spots here and here. I think we need more green. It looks better now. Maybe a few strokes here and there. Green is a complimentary color, so it will add the effect we need. That's it. We can move to the next one, a very loose flower. I plan to mix white with red and start with the pink. It's more for practicing than for creating the final artwork so don't think a lot, just try different brush strokes and have some flower in mind. But it's not that very refined work. We're just experimenting and trying some colored inks mixes. Try to vary the angle of the brush, like this. The speed, the intensity of the color. You can add color without fear. Just some shapes. I'll add another tint of green and indigo. I'm going to try how it looks like. Mix green and indigo and add some elements just to practice, just to see how it looks like. It's a great mixture for shadows and it's used in watercolors. The principle is the same here. We did a wonderful practice and now can experiment with one of my favorite subjects, a fantasy bird. This is my paper. I'll prepare the burnt sienna for outline color and some yellow. I'll work with a small brush and create a very loose outline of the bird. I'm just in the color and creating the outline with a mix of burnt sienna and diluted black ink. This is the outline of some imaginary bird. But of course, I have a kind of a robin bird in mind. It's not a natural history illustration, so it can be as free as we want. It should sit on a branch. That's the most important part for me always. I try to draw the eye at the beginning so I have a special connection with the artwork. The outline, is almost done, and we can add color. I think the time has come, let's be brave. Mix some red and yellow and start adding color. and some more. You can work almost like with watercolors. Adding colors and mixing as you like. Now I feel I want to add some very contrast background, something like blue. I need to test the color at first. Wonderful. I have deep blue and mix of ultramarine blue. This will be a great contrast. I'll add some strokes behind the bird. I think it's a great idea to add a splash technique. I'm filling my brush with blue, a dip in yellow. Using this movement creates splashes, all over the place. It's like a paper marbling. If you don't know what it is, you can check my other class on paper marbling, by the way. Why not experiment even more? Let's put some yellow-red from the bottle. I have no idea how it looks like. But it's always so satisfying to experiment. Here, yellow has a great contrast near blue. Now another color right from the bottle, I can't stop. It's a fantasy bird so it should look fantastic. How about we draw some lines right from the splashes. With confident lines. Everything is mixed like in watercolors. I think I want to add a bit more details on the bird. Like should be smiling and maybe red cheeks. Let me see. All right. I think we're ready and congratulations on finishing this part of the class. I'm very excited to move forward and explore digital inking. We'll meet again in the new video. I can't wait to begin.
9. Weekend Inking in Procreate: Now, welcome to the weekend part of the class. We'll be working on iPad using Procreate App. But no worries if you use Photoshop or any other software. The principle is the same. Let me share with you my recent project I did for a local cafe here in Berlin in a very vibrant international neighborhood. The client wanted to depict a mysterious feel of the city famous for its exceptional art scene. Yes, every project is different. Sometimes you just want to experiment and go with the flow and sometimes you want to feel the satisfaction of the finished piece. I love working digital since I don't have to wait til the paint is dry. I can work on the go. I can show client quick sketches or make changes easily. The illustration should be eye-catching and it can be applied to all the possible surfaces. During our initial meeting, I got tons of this empty coffee cups and started sketching right on the way home. You see I still have some of them. Yeah. That's supposed to be a hat. Well, now let's get professional and start working on our project. Join me in the next video to start creating.
10. Saturday: Settings and Inking: Welcome to the second part of the class. I'll be working on iPad Pro using Procreate app. But before we start, there are somethings I'd like to set before working. We go to General settings, Procreate, Time-Lapse Recording Quality, and I chose 4K. Then I also switch off, Simplified Undoes because I like to have a very precise control. Now we're back to Procreate and creating new canvas, and it says we'll do, it doesn't matter right now. There are some preferences I want to check. We go to Preferences, Gestural control, General, and I switch on Disabled Touch actions because I don't want to have unintentional marks. There's also this quick menu which appears with three fingers swap or any other settings human like. Now we're back to the canvas and I'm choosing a standard 6B pencil, from a sketching set. I'm planning to make small thumbnail sketches, and grid helps us at first. You can hold the tip of the pencil, and the line will be straight, just like this. We don't need it anymore, now I select the shape, swipe with two fingers, Copy this shape, and Paste it. I have two similar squares, It's very comfortable for sketching, one more time. Maybe it will be a bit smaller, so make sure you use magnetic, so it will be equally transformed, I mean proportionally of course. I'd like to have an even smaller square, so the same Copy, Paste, and have two small squares to working. Now with a pencil, I'm planning my first sketch. The first idea I did show you in the previous video, read on the coffee cup. This is our character. I sketch very loose, so I won't feel guilty to spend too much time on an idea that won't work for example, these big glasses, I test the pencil, thumbnails are great for testing the composition, you can see shapes, negative space, and essence right away. I also keep in mind that this is a promotional illustration, so it should attract attention. I wanted to have a bit dramatic look, a bit more black, but at the same time, a very hand drawn feel, so no ideal shapes here. Eraser helps a bit. I can already imagine how it looks like, [inaudible] back or in print. I spend only a few minutes on this one, and then it will be time to go to the next one. The idea is pretty clear. The next idea, I was thinking about maybe some tree branch, something like this, maybe fallen leaves or just leaves, and of course birds in some beautiful arrangement. Let me see, some bird over here and she needs a company. I usually create 3-5 sketches to choose from. Very rough sketch. By the way, you can pinch and rotate to rotate the canvas. It can be really useful. On this little squares, I'll try another idea. The portrait of a girl. One part will be in the first frame, and it will smoothly move to the another. This can be a pretty friendly character, it looks too sweet. But I'm just testing the composition and everything. The hair goes over here, like a deep [inaudible] the shadows to define the face, more details. I'm just testing this idea so with rough sketches, and let's see how it looks on a coffee cup. I mean this artwork well can be printed on anything. It's always great to imagine. I'm sketching a coffee cup, there remember to hold the tip of the pencil to make a straight line like this. I hardly can hold myself not to paint eyes, and to make this a separate character, but that's not our purpose right now, some shadows. I'm selecting this cup, Copy, Paste, and we have another one, a bit smaller. Make sure magnetic is selected, I used the free hand selection. Now it's time to make a sketch. The idea is that this black cup is actually ahead. It was my original idea and sometimes it's the best one. Although I usually try several versions because you never know. This fashionable lady or some character, not necessarily a lady, add some shadows. Now I'm selecting the cup using pre hand selection, Copy and Paste it, because I want to try out this idea with a girl portrait. The face will look different, it always happens like this. We saved a huge amount of time, just 10 minutes, instead of working with color and so on. Now I'll see how hair will look like. It looks like a smoke, but a weird one. I'm not sure it will look beautiful when holding a cup. I'll add some shadows here and there. Now I can see that we have the winners, and I'll make more clean sketches. In the next video, we'll continue working on our chosen artworks. I think it'll be the first sketch, and the second one. This two can look really nice. Let's move on and join me in the next video.
11. Sunday: Details and Final Touches: Welcome back. Here to refine sketches from the previous part. This is an obvious VR and I continue working with it. I just select with a quick menu I copied, and then create a new custom Canvas. This size should be enough for any purpose. Just make sure it's 300 DPI in case you want to print it. I wanted for sure. Now we'll set the name Better New York cafe, and working with new Canvas, I paste the sketch. I enlarge the sketch, make sure the magnetic is switched on, so it will be proportionally enlarged. Now, I need to change the opacity. We go to layers, and then change the opacity right here. Oops. I locked it first. Now unlock. It should work now. That paste is something like this, and then I'll lock the layer so we won't put any marks on it. I'll be working on top player and using a standard ink brush, make sure the streamline is not so high. I like to have a full control of my hand. I start inking, just like on paper, making my way comfortably rotating the Canvas. I can do it for hours. One more awesome thing about procreate, is that you can fill any enclosed part just by dragging the color. Look. Oops. It means there are some gaps. It should be totally close to work. Let me try again. So far, it worked. Now, I want to fill the round glasses and an easy way would be to choose a selection and the round shape. I create a new layer. Using the round shape, prepare the form and fill it with black. Now easy you transform tool. She looks like a pirate. I"ll deliberately distort the shape a bit to have this not ideal form. Now, of course my plan would be to copy and paste it afterwards. But I want to check how it looks like in different shades of gray here. Now, I want to erase the corners a little bit, just to make it more sketchy. It won't look any mechanical or perfect. The whole idea is that illustration has a Handel's sketchy feel and it's impossible to sustain with perfect shapes. Now, another one. Now, I want to match those layers. It's just my habit. I like to work with analog technique. You either have to do it. I immerse the layers and continue inking. Now it's time to add some shadows. I create a new layer underneath that ink in one and I'll be working with a standard round brush. As a color I choose dark bluish. Let me test it. I need a bigger size. I'm just on transparency and the size. Then I'll draw some shadows. Not too much, but to create depth and interest. Just like west traditional art, I prefer several layers of the transparent color. It did highlight by holding the finger and choosing the right color. I use several layers in the other one. I'll be there in just a few highlights, and here, and this color is light enough. Now, it's time for as much still. Just the same brush, and smoothen some shadows like this, and I will continue working. It's time to highlight the glasses. I'm creating a new layer, and here's in selection. Make this form, and then fill it with light blue. I want to change the opacity, and work with edges as much still I smoothen the edges. So it'll suit better to our style. Than using quick menu, I copy and paste this element, Some transformation, it's a distorted perspective to suit our purpose and then change the opacity. Now I have all the layers here, I've create a new one, and my plan is to draw a moon and stars. In the hands drawn manner is in a small brush. Like this or this one. I start with the moon. Of course you can try it with shapes, but it will look too perfect. Now, this moon should be filled, it can be better. Once again. Well, this one is not so bad. I'll fill with color and erase the shapes a little bit, and then continue sketching the stars. One more last thing to add the quality, I'm creating another layer, it should be the top layer. I'm choosing some color I would say this one, it suits perfectly. Fill the layer, and then change the opacity and change the layer option to multiply. Then we go to effect and add some noise. I'm not sure if you can see it, but I really see the difference. I think it should be even more opaque. Now you can try different layer options and play with the settings. Yeah, I think it's enough. We are ready and we can export our artwork by going to actions, share just among this format, and for example, share it with the shared albums. I forgot I don't have any, but I think you have the idea, just a format and you can choose the simplest thing just to save the image, the first great art on the left. You can do the same right from the gallery by swiping left, and you have the same list of options here. Now I'm checking the final check, I'm really happy you join me. Please experiment. I just showed you the way I do it. I'm sure you can refine and perfect your own style, and of course share it with us. Some small refinements here and there, I literally can't stop. I'm sure you know the feeling, so you better go and check the next video.
12. Your Task: Congratulations, I'm happy to see you are still here. With this dedication and practice, you can achieve great results. Your task is to create an artwork using at least two techniques we've learned in this class. You don't have to upload the final project, just show me your practicing sheets. I'd love to see your process too. You can also post it on Instagram by using the hashtag, "think in ink" and tagging me, so I could feature your artwork. Now, join me in the next video to hear some final thoughts.
13. Final Thoughts: You did great. Thanks for drawing with me. If you'll regularly devote just a few minutes to practice some examples from this class, I guarantee you'll feel immediate improvements in your art techniques. If you enjoyed this class, please take a few moments and leave a review. Just clicking these buttons or writing a short note will make a huge impact. Don't forget to follow me here on Skillshare by pressing the button above and on Instagram where I share your artworks and share some behind-the-scenes videos. You can also check my other classes, for example, on watercolor secrets, very inspiring class with tons of examples. Or monotype, I highly recommend you to try this technique, whether you have this creative block or not sure what to paint. There's also class on modern folklore, fashion, illustration, and more to come. I really have big plans. Thanks again for joining me. Don't forget to upload your project in the project gallery for a chance to win a one year of premium Skillshare membership. I can't wait to see your artworks. Feel free to jump in anywhere and experiment, and then come back and do it again and again. That's the most important. All it takes is little time, dedication and determination. See you next time.
