beautiful ink drawing with dip pens - nib pens

Dip Pen / Nib PenDelacroix, Van Gogh and

SFAI Students

Pen and InkUC Berkeley Extension Summer 2016

Glenn Hirsch, Instructor

6/20         PENS blind contour, 7 kinds of line, imagination

6/27         Master Study (Strips)

7/11         NIB PENS

7/18         BRUSH AND INK

7/25         BRUSH AND PEN

8/1           COURSE PROJECT "Series" of 5+ drawings (due last class)

8/7           MUSEUM STUDY Sunday 930-1 Legion of Honor Museum

8/8           continue course project

8/16         continue course project

8/22         Final Critique

Nib Pens A nib pen consists of a metal nib with capillary channels mounted on a handle. They are used for calligraphy, illustration and fine art. They are very sensitive to variations of pressure and speed.

Three kinds: * traditional pointed tip nib. Varies from super flexible to moderately stiff or a very delicate and flexible nib. Its lines can be fairly reminiscent of brushwork.

* crow quill nib. This is the most popular nib for comic work and illustration. It is smaller than traditional nibs, is formed into a tubular shape and uses a smaller holder. They are capable of producing lines so fine that they are irreproducible when printed. They can also deliver very bold lines, and hold a lot of ink. It has a stiffer, pencil-like action. Good for rapid sketching, crosshatching, etc.

* calligraphy nib. Has a built-in reservoir  “spoon” type nib, holds more ink and give a very constant line. And the tip is stamped into a shallow bowl shape to keep from catching on the paper. While intended for calligraphy, they can also be used for drawing. Speedball nibs come in square, round, flat and oval points. Holds a lot of ink and has a smooth feel (like a ball point or roller ball pen).

Rico Lebrun

Touch the tip to a towel or on scratch paper to make sure there are no blobs after you dip it in the bottle

India inkwaterproof

Sumi inknot waterproof

masters who use ink

Eugène Delacroix

(French, 1798 – 1863)

“Delacroix was passionately in love with passion, but coldly determined to express passion as clearly as possible."

- Baudelaire

Delacroix profoundly influenced the Impressionists with his use of expressive line, brush and movement (rather than clarity of outline and carefully modelled form). His passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist movement and, later, the Surrealists.  He travelled to North Africa in search of the exotic, and was also inspired by Lord Byron, with whom he shared a strong identification with the "forces of the sublime" – the forces of nature in violent action.

The Death of Sardanapalus

study for The Death of Sardanapalus

study for The Death of Sardanapalus

Vincent van Gogh

(Dutch, 1853 - 1890)

Vincent used drawing to:

• observe interesting subjects • capture an on-the-spot impression• tackle a shape before painting on canvas• to prepare a composition.

He also made drawings of his paintings after they were done to give others an idea of the work.

Although known for his oils, he created more than 1,100 drawings, most during the two years he spent in Provence. He believed drawing was “the root of everything.”  

inspiration for your drawings

work by SF Art Institute

students