How to use hatching and crosshatching with ink?

Question

Recently I have been trying to learn some new media, and ink is one of them. I love what some people can do with it, both modern comicbook artists and old masters. I would love to achieve effects similar to what Durer did, for example like this:

I cant really find any useful info on how to do that. The youtube videos I watched on hatching with ink were all about shading spheres and boxes, small ones I might add. Not very useful, when I tried to apply it to a portrait.

What are the guidelines for learning and using ink for portraits and similar art? Are there any good resources on the topic? Where should I be looking for them?

While someone corrected me in the comments, and told me the work I posted as an example of what I want to achieve is an engraving, it is still doable with a pen and ink - it's all black lines, and black lines are what pens do really well. I would like to ask for answers focusing on the drawing with ink aspect and ignorign the engraving thing - I have a quill dip pen and i want to learn how to hatch to get the threedimensionality and awesomeshade gradation that Durer's pieces have (ignoring how he made them). A less awesome example of how I would like to draw is this:

The thing that I like about the Durer example is that it has light tones that arent pure white. The others show a lot of white - especially the Santa example has blazing white cheeks and nose right next to pretty dark shades. I like the softness of shade gradation in Durer's autoportrait.

How can I learn shading this way? Are there any guidelines? Could you recommend any resources to learn from? Or maybe you could instruct me on how to learn this in an answer?

Answer 1

The main problem we are having is that the image was achieved by drawing with white, so you are asking how to simulate the "not mark making."

In any event, white or black, the defining feature of this work is the line weight variability, where the expressiveness of the lines is created by a relaxed pressure on a carving tool.

You will need to figure out how to specify a line and then sketch around that line. Perhaps use a pencil, then fill in with ink where there is not pencil, and then erase the pencil.

If you use black paper and white ink or go with Stan's idea, you will achieve the look you want directly.

For white ink, you need a tool which will allow you to modulate line weight, such as a dip pen (aka fountain pen or quill dip pen).

A decent fountain pen is a pleasure to work with BTW.

As a sort of zen side note: why is a pencil or ink required in order to be a drawing?

Answer 2

Use Scratchboard to get the engraved effect you show.

We used to make our own in grade school.

1. Start with a sheet of heavy bond paper.
2. Cover the paper with a thick layer of wax. We used crayons in various saturated colours.
3. After the paper is covered without any gaps, cover the whole page with india ink. Add a drop of detergent so the ink will stick to the thick wax layer without cracking.
4. Let it dry thoroughly.
5. Using various tools scrape off the ink to reveal the brightly covered wax underneath.
6. Various types of lines give various effects.

Professional scratchboard has two layers and removing the top thin white layer reveals the stark contrast of the jet-black layer underneath. The light layer on the top allows you to sketch your composition before actually starting to remove the overbearing.

Various scratchboard tools are available that look like pen points that fit into pen holders. Some look like rakes with different thickness of the tines to get parallel lines as you drag it over the surface of the scratchboard. Dragging the rake at a cross angle produces the cross-hatching effect that resembles engraving. The more you remove of the top layer, the darker the composition becomes. You can touch up mistakes with Graphic White.

It's fun and a few people still do it now. There are computer programs (image texturizers) that take posterized art and assign a pattern to the tonal value of the lines or areas of the image.

Good Luck, Have Fun.

Answer 3

The quality of line you are looking for can be achieved with ballpoint pen I am not trying to say that ballpoint pen and dip pen are the same not even close to each other ballpoint pen has its own look and feel and so does dip pen for me ballpoint pen is another way. To produce art with ink Also ballpoint pen can be frustrating to learn it has taken me about five years to produce the look I want to achieve but is well worth the time and effort just depends on how dedicated to doing the type of art you visualize also I'm not saying to abandon dip pen for ballpoint pen the ability to use either one will expand your art

Answer 4

From the comments above I think the most important issue is being overlooked. If one were to watch youtubes of Alphonso Dunn he insists ( and I agree with him perfectly) that any subject you tackle must be related to a square cylinder or sphere and observe how the light falls on it. If that principle is overlooked no amount of technique would make the drawing look convincing. Perhaps that is why the gentleman is finding the results frustating.

Also I believe that he(or anybody else) should never strive for a Durer look or a Picasso look because there is only one Durer and only one Picasso and only one gentleman like him.

Just concentrate on expressing the volume knowing the edge where the subject turns away from the light and express it. Let the subject itself be your own teacher by your patient observation and assessment and you will have a beautiful result which would be entirely your own.

Good luck friend.