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Introduction to Inking

In this 12-week course, instructor Miles Yoshida will provide you with a complete manual for inking. You will start the course by examining old Renaissance drawings. You will study the essential materials needed for inking, including a ballpoint pen, a technical pen, a dip pen, and a brush. Then, Miles will demonstrate hatching and creating gradients using straight and curvilinear lines. From there, he will show you how to apply those skills to a compositional study of basic forms. You will also get a chance to create a master copy which will further strengthen your hatching ability. Toward the second half of the course, Miles will teach you how to draw a still-life, hands, animals, and landscapes in different approaches. Lastly, you will learn to create a self-portrait drawing from life on toned paper using a combination of black and white inks. This course will offer you many opportunities to practice your hatching skills so that you can capture any subject and master the art of inking.

12 Lessons 28h 34m 32s of videos

In week three, Miles will teach you how to create an ink copy of the master drawing, “Study to Battle of Cascina” by Michelangelo. You will learn how to start the block-in using a mechanical pencil and slowly build up the drawing using a dip pen. This lesson will help train the hand pressure and the direction of your mark-making.

In week four, you will learn how to create a still-life drawing in ink using a direct method. Miles will share how he creates different levels of diluted ink to work from light to dark. You will practice taking your time to lay in the initial drawing directly with ink and making adjustments throughout the process.

In week five, Miles will teach you how to draw the hands from life using ink. You will learn that your hands are the most convenient and accessible references to practice from. Miles will show you how to capture the gestures of the hands and hatch around the forms using a variety of inking tools.

In week six, you will study how to create an ink drawing of a cat using a dip pen and a brush. In the demonstration, you will notice how Miles varies the direction of his mark-making to achieve different surface textures. Throughout the lesson, Miles will also talk about the importance of taking good photo references in your art practice.

Common Questions

Is this course beginner friendly?

Yes, this course is appropriate for the beginner and intermediate levels.

Are there any assignments in this course?

This course includes downloadable assignment PDFs, that help you practice the materials taught by instructor Miles Yoshida. Keeping up with these assignments will maximize your learning outcomes.

What materials do I need to get for this course?

A material PDF list is linked in each lesson under the description. Please check the file to see what you need to prepare.

Can I do this course digitally, using Photoshop or Procreate?

Although we highly recommend that you use ink for this course, all New Masters Academy courses are designed to be done traditionally or digitally. Software changes constantly, but the fundamentals stay the same. It will be up to you to translate the information that you are learning to your software of choice.