I’m often asked about my Bic pen drawings and how I do them. It starts with a good foundational drawing, the ballpoint pen part is just trying to colour within the lines. I try to do my best to explain the process, but the best way to show my progress is by posting my efforts to master pen drawings over the span of 3 or so years. I have been doodling/drawing with ballpoint pens as far back as I can remember - they were cheap, readily available and always lying around the house. It wasn’t until I was bored during a particularly long team meeting-conference call (around 2016-17) that I started to think about the possibilities of ballpoint pens as serious portrait illustration tools. My first experiments with full colour ink portrait drawings were rather crude, but that’s the point of learning new techniques—as long as the curiosity and the love of drawing is there, you can transfer that skill and passion into any medium. Remember, the most exquisite drawings and paintings you see didn’t materialise fully formed, they started out as failed experiments. Failure after failure after failure. It’s important to remember this when you get discouraged (I've failed spectacularly over the years). The only difference between the accomplished artist and the beginner is hundreds of hours of practice. Talent can only get you so far. It’s the hard work that you do behind the scenes that makes your work look effortless. Keep doodling. Keep learning. Stay curious.
My mum and i call him morise. (His real name is moritz). he made us delicious tea and coffee in his artstudio. we talked, painted and i drew alot at his place. he turned into family. when i heard that he passed away, i couldnt pick up a paintingbrush, acrylics or watercolours because it reminded me so much of him. now, for this drawing i started to experiment with watercolours again and added it in the drawing. honestly, i cried during the process of painting but i am proud that i dared to use it. i enjoyed to experiment.
thank you so much for reading, wish you a wonderful day !
My pen sensitivity has gone on my pen tablet. I think I need to get a new one. In the meantime though, it has been interesting experimenting with the different types of art I can create without the sensitivity, such as these flat characters.
This was my first try using paint pens. Played around with shapes to get used to the texture of the paint and how it feels to use the pens. Done in a watercolour sketchbook.
