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FAQ: India Ink & Watercolors
10 years ago
Been getting some questions about how I use the inks and/or watercolor. I try and put under each submission, what I used specifically for each piece, but I think sometimes there's confusion (or my write up is so short it gets missed.)
Most of the stuff I do with India Ink, is done as an ink wash: inks applied with a brush, usually diluted with water, though sometimes not. The more water, the more muted, or soft the colors are. For bright vivid colors, its either less diluted inks -or- a build up of many diluted layers of ink. I like using inks more than actual watercolors because I can build up layers without worrying the under layer will lift and bleed. Watercolors tend to lift and bleed (for me at least, possibly because of the brand of paper I use.)
The paper I use is watercolor paper, which may be throwing in some confusion that I primarily use watercolors. I'll use watercolor sometimes, but its not that often. Its a safe bet, its always India ink these days. Sometimes I do combinations, but the watercolor will be an an accent, usually applied after the main ink wash area but before any ink pen additions. (My paper brand is Strathmore Ready-Cut, coldpress. There are plenty of better papers out there but this is a decent paper that won't break the bank!)
Some of my art has some ink pen in there for more dramatic lines. I don't like to use them all the time, especially not if the subject matter should remain on the delicate side, cause the ink pen adds a LOT of contrast and makes the subject sort of pop up from the background. Good for some scenes, not so much for others. The pen I use is a .005 Micron. If they made them smaller, I'd probably use that instead!
The best thing I can recommend for anyone looking to play around with colored inks is to do just that - play around with them. I picked up neat little effects by experimentation with water amounts, layering different colors or even letting two color areas stay wet so they'd bleed into one another before they dry.
To start experimenting, all you really need is a single bottle of ink, a brush, some water and some watercolor paper. You'll get a good feel for how it moves, dries and layers. If its something you find you like, you can then invest in some other colors. That's how I got into them anyway. Mistakes will happen. Ink will get where you don't want it, but part of doing ink washes is to let go of having control and working -with- the mistakes and allow them to add to the piece.
Dunno if that helps answer some questions, but maybe it will! :) If anyone else wants to chime in with tricks, additions and other methods of ink madness, go for it!
Oh! Forgot to add this. It seems to help keep the paper from warping permanently if you tape it down. I use blue painter's tape and pressboard clipboards. All the white boarder areas in my posted art is where the tape was.
Most of the stuff I do with India Ink, is done as an ink wash: inks applied with a brush, usually diluted with water, though sometimes not. The more water, the more muted, or soft the colors are. For bright vivid colors, its either less diluted inks -or- a build up of many diluted layers of ink. I like using inks more than actual watercolors because I can build up layers without worrying the under layer will lift and bleed. Watercolors tend to lift and bleed (for me at least, possibly because of the brand of paper I use.)
The paper I use is watercolor paper, which may be throwing in some confusion that I primarily use watercolors. I'll use watercolor sometimes, but its not that often. Its a safe bet, its always India ink these days. Sometimes I do combinations, but the watercolor will be an an accent, usually applied after the main ink wash area but before any ink pen additions. (My paper brand is Strathmore Ready-Cut, coldpress. There are plenty of better papers out there but this is a decent paper that won't break the bank!)
Some of my art has some ink pen in there for more dramatic lines. I don't like to use them all the time, especially not if the subject matter should remain on the delicate side, cause the ink pen adds a LOT of contrast and makes the subject sort of pop up from the background. Good for some scenes, not so much for others. The pen I use is a .005 Micron. If they made them smaller, I'd probably use that instead!
The best thing I can recommend for anyone looking to play around with colored inks is to do just that - play around with them. I picked up neat little effects by experimentation with water amounts, layering different colors or even letting two color areas stay wet so they'd bleed into one another before they dry.
To start experimenting, all you really need is a single bottle of ink, a brush, some water and some watercolor paper. You'll get a good feel for how it moves, dries and layers. If its something you find you like, you can then invest in some other colors. That's how I got into them anyway. Mistakes will happen. Ink will get where you don't want it, but part of doing ink washes is to let go of having control and working -with- the mistakes and allow them to add to the piece.
Dunno if that helps answer some questions, but maybe it will! :) If anyone else wants to chime in with tricks, additions and other methods of ink madness, go for it!
Oh! Forgot to add this. It seems to help keep the paper from warping permanently if you tape it down. I use blue painter's tape and pressboard clipboards. All the white boarder areas in my posted art is where the tape was.
I apologize for the questions, I just love talking traditional art haha.
Yeah, I have some watercolor brushes, some liners and some multi-media ones. My favs seem to rotate all over the place.
With the ink washes, when it dries, it DRIES and you can layer on top of it again without losing the crispness of the layer beneath. May be worth it to give it a go!
I honestly think people don't bother to read the descriptions before posting. That's the only explanation I have for the inane comments I get about thinks that are clearly explained in the picture description.
re. Dr. Martins-- I used to use their watercolor dyes extensively but stopped when I heard they had very bad problems with fading. I currently use FW Black Acrylic ink for all my inking-- it's waterproof and works well with both a brush and dip pen.
Good to know about the watercolor dyes! So far with the inks, I haven't had any fading. If I hit the point where I'm ready to try out dyes, I'll (hopefully) remember to avoid!
Oddly, its not as much of a problem these days... But I tend towards markers and hard colored pencils when I do color work.
I keep experimenting with acrylic paint...But I am clearly doing it wrong, as I just don't like the results.
I haven't really had the time or energy to do more and deeper research into layering paint though, so thats probably the source of my lack of satisfaction with the technique.
-Badger-