I’ve been trying to sketch something everyday and build up what I call my muscle memory. Some days I have only 15-30 minutes to complete a sketch. To help keep me motivated through the week, I will spend an hour and sketch a few objects in my journal to be “painted” when I have time. This helps when I have moments where I do not know what to sketch. I can just flip through a few pages and select something based on the amount of time I have to create a pen & ink sketch.
I always start with a loose pencil sketch. Once I have the overall shapes in place, I redraw a few lines with my Platinum Preppy filled with Platinum Carbon ink. It’s a permanent ink that dries quickly.
For my Calla Lily, I drew a few lines with my Carbon inked pen. I try to avoid creating continuous lines in my final sketch.
Once the permanent ink lines are drawn, I take an eraser and gently erase the unwanted pencil lines from my sketch.
Before I begin adding color to my flower, I look for the direction of light and the shadows that are casted onto the flower. Once I figure it out, I start adding the dark color to the dark areas of the flower. My Lily is starting take life and not look as flat on the paper.
I build up the flower by creating layers of color and keeping the “highlights” in certain areas of the Lily
I add lines of color to show the curves of the Lily.
I try to keep my sketches simple and try not to overdue by adding too many layers of colors.
Pens: TWSBI GOs with Stub 1.1 nibs
Inks: Robert Oster Lipstick Red, Jade, and Thunderstorm
Journal: Stillman & Birn Beta
SusieG Studio 