The Technical Pen

Here, for the first time, is a book devoted to a medium that has gained increasing popularity among artists who work in pen and ink. Originally designed for architects and engineers, the technical pen moves smoothly and easily over the paper's surface and offers a precise and predictable line quality that can't be matched by any other type of pen, permitting both loose, gestural sketching and tighter, more deliberate renderings that make it an ideal tool for fine artists, illustrators, and graphic artists alike.



Simmons then shows how to put the pen strokes to work through step-by-step demonstrations that illustrate the ins and outs of good, solid image construction, from initial pencil sketch through final inking. He explains how to build form, tone, texture, and "color" in drawings, and how to make sure that the pen strokes do what you really want them to do—a major concern in pen-and-ink rendering. For instance, perhaps you've added a layer of hatched lines over a bird's feathers to create a shadow effect, only to discover that you've suddenly obscured their texture, or maybe one area of your drawing has become too dark. Gary Simmons addresses these and other common problems of mastering the medium and tells how to avoid or solve them.



A special, ground-breaking section explores working with the new acrylic-based color inks, including advice on basic color theory, ink selection, color mixing and layering, and how to build an image in color step by step.



Gary Simmons, who has been teaching pen-and-ink techniques for some thirty years, covers every aspect of working with the technical pen, beginning with a thorough explanation of its anatomy, operation, and care and including troubleshooting tips as well as advice on choosing appropriate nib widths, inks, and drawing surfaces. He shows in detail how to achieve the wide variety of strokes and stroke patterns the technical pen makes possible—continuous parallel line, crosshatching, stippling, and more—and explores, with copious illustration, the different effects each of these can create alone and in combination.