Show me your fountain pen sketches

[penwash]

@penwash, I love how the tugboat seems to be one with the choppy sea. It is incredible how you can capture movement and nostalgia in a tiny little sketch....

Are you hinting that I need to work on the size of my sketches?

Just kidding of course, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I truly do.

[penwash]

Let's talk a bit about inspiration. I recently bought a book called "Art of Fallout 4" which is a behemoth of a book, containing 380+ pages of full color artworks which chronicles the artistic concepts and sketches that went into the production of the popular PC Game. It is so satisfying to flip through the pages.

Why is this such an inspiration for me? Because the whole Fallout "universe" is modeled after styling cues between the 1920s and 1950s Americana which almost exactly matches the favorite theme of my sketches.

Here's an example:



PS: Yes, even those of you who are not familiar with the universe would spot that I missed a letter in the sketch. I apologize if that bugs you

[Sailor Kenshin]

Love the theme, too. What Parker is that?

[penwash]

Love the theme, too. What Parker is that?

Sorry, I should have mentioned it. It's the last version of the Parker 50 "Falcon" released in early 1980s.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Love the theme, too. What Parker is that?

Sorry, I should have mentioned it. It's the last version of the Parker 50 "Falcon" released in early 1980s.

Thanks! Very cool-looking pen.

[Chrissy]

@penwash, I love how the tugboat seems to be one with the choppy sea. It is incredible how you can capture movement and nostalgia in a tiny little sketch....

Are you hinting that I need to work on the size of my sketches?

Just kidding of course, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I truly do.

Will, the sizes of your sketches are perfect. No additional working on them is required. Small can be beautiful.

[penwash]

@penwash, I love how the tugboat seems to be one with the choppy sea. It is incredible how you can capture movement and nostalgia in a tiny little sketch....

Are you hinting that I need to work on the size of my sketches?

Just kidding of course, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I truly do.

Will, the sizes of your sketches are perfect. No additional working on them is required. Small can be beautiful.

Thank you, Chrissy!!

Interestingly, I never consciously think about the size of my sketches. Once I had an idea, I just start from one spot and continue until I'm done with the outline. Looking back, most of my sketches will fit into a postcard, some with a lot of room left for whitespace <-- which I happen to like, I don't like "cramped" sketches that butts into the edge of the paper.

But yeah, I've seen some larger sketches that fills an 8x10 inches space and no, I don't feel the need to match those.

Also, the writing size of the nib kinda affects the size of my sketches. For example:


That's my stub BB on the 146, that one sketch is bigger than a postcard.

I love vintage German nibs with that sharp italic character, these allow me to sketch smaller even though they are certainly capable of making wide lines. For example:



Having said all this, I'd love to hear yours (and others') thinking process behind your sketches.

[Yazeh]

@penwash, I love also "miniatures". I find them much more satisfying. A big "canvas" is too much for me and my limited skills. A tiny sketch, drawn in the spur of the moment, besides some ideas in a notebook is more than enough and satisfying

[christof]

Having said all this, I'd love to hear yours (and others') thinking process behind your sketches.

I also like small sketches. From Postcard size down to post-it size. It's a matter of time. Larger sketches takes mor time and since I am no artist and my work will never be exhibited, size doesn't matter (I don't eve keep my sketches...)


postcard


post-it

[penwash]

Having said all this, I'd love to hear yours (and others') thinking process behind your sketches.

I also like small sketches. From Postcard size down to post-it size. It's a matter of time. Larger sketches takes mor time and since I am no artist and my work will never be exhibited, size doesn't matter (I don't eve keep my sketches...)


postcard


post-it

Christof, you may not think yourself as an artist, but I suspect there are many artists who woud love to have your mindset and skills in executing cool *and* clever sketches.

[penwash]

How about a cola-dispenser machine that survived an apocalypse?


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9ea959d1_c.jpg

The handsome German piston filler is the Osmia Supra with a very cool chasing pattern. The nib is a 14ct BB stub which is so nice.

[Cyril]

Lovely Work Will.
Surprisingly this BB stub gives some fine lines too ???
It is a beautiful pen !!!

[penwash]

Lovely Work Will.
Surprisingly this BB stub gives some fine lines too ???
It is a beautiful pen !!!

Thanks Cyril.
A good BB stub is certainly capable of producing fine lines if we keep the nib horizontally-parallel with the direction of the lines.
As a bonus, when I need a thicker line, all I need to do is to angle the nib.
Though it does impart a certain look (at least with my sketches) that is different than the ones where I use Fine/pointy nibs.

And I usually find good BB stub/italic nibs on German piston fillers such as this Osmia.

[christof]

some gardening...