5 Ways to Illustrate using Pens

Watercolour pens can be used in a variety of different ways. When mixed with water, they can be blended together and can also create beautiful drip effects.

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Fineliner pens are great for creating fine, detailed designs. The small nib makes these pens perfect for intricate details such as the texture of skin or shells.

Top Tips
Use lighter hand strokes for lighter lines, or heavier hand strokes for thick lines.
Use soft strokes for your outlines and then build on them as your design develops.
Add hatching with light strokes and keep layering the strokes to build up your shading.
Avoid water based products with these pens.

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Ballpoint pens are a wonderful, inexpensive medium that can create beautiful illustrations.

Top Tips
Ensure you scribble on scrap paper with each pen before use, so that the ink does not bleed.
Use soft strokes to outline and then build on these later.
Use softer strokes for shading, so that you get a nice hatching effect.
For darker, more intense shading use heavier hand strokes.

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Paint markers are a fantastic way to add blocks of vibrant colour to your drawings. When dry, further detail can be added with a fineliner pen.

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Brush marker pens are perfect for bold, colourful designs. The finer end of the pen can be used for more precise details.

Top Tips
Avoid any sections you want to highlight by keeping them white.
Put the lightest colour down first, and add darker colours as you go.
Build up your shading with the darker colours, using the darkest shade for intense shading.

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Mixing different pen types gives a great effect and allows you to add colour as well as details.

Top Tips
Ensure you draw any outlines and shading with a ballpoint pen.
Avoid using handwriting pens alongside marker pens as they will smudge.
Use lighter marker pens to add colour, following the shape of the strokes of the ballpoint pen.

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