Drawing Questions: Pen Alternatives & Color Additions

[Sadmemo]

I have some questions, so if you like to joke or anything--offtopical points are also welcomed..

In order to draw something, we need a pen and a paper, so if we don't use the pen, what can we use ?

Second, when we draw something we can use crayons or color pens to add colors to the pictures, but beside such a boring color addition, what else could you think up to add to your painting ?
In my case, i use a little bottle full of ink to spread around the picture but not to make it dirty. How about yours ?

 

[i_wish_i_was_smart]

i use a pencil, not a pen

 

[Sadmemo]

So what else will you do to complete your painting ? You also can give an example of a painting you draw or someof the people you know or some of your relatives did before ? Some descriptions please..

 

[hypatia]

I've used the coal end of a burned twig to draw with, then colored it with my fingers dabbed in red clay.
A lump of Talcum{or other soft mineral} on dark paper works well too.
In the middle east, I've seen pictures made by pulling single stands of cotton{as fine as spider webbing} through indigo cloth.

 

[Sadmemo]

Some other ideas come up to mind, please post...A bunch of thanks to you all.

 

[matthyaouw]

I've seen a landscape picture done entirely in human hair. The artist was a coroner. Nice...

 

[Lisa!]

writing or painting!

I have some questions, so if you like to joke or anything--offtopical points are also welcomed..

In order to draw something, we need a pen and a paper, so if we don't use the pen, what can we use ?

Second, when we draw something we can use crayons or color pens to add colors to the pictures, but beside such a boring color addition, what else could you think up to add to your painting ?

I usually don't use colors.I just paint and write some poems.When I was a child I painted and tried to make a story about the picture.Without having a story in my mind,I never painted.

 

[marlon]

Some other ideas come up to mind, please post...A bunch of thanks to you all.

use the blood from your fingers (you will need a pencil to pierce them) or use your own ****, like Marquis De Sade did when he was in jail...

marlon

 

[zoobyshoe]

use the blood from your fingers (you will need a pencil to pierce them) or use your own ****, like Marquis De Sade did when he was in jail...

marlon

Hmmmmmmm...??

 

[Danger]

Most of my hand drawn stuff is sketches for mechanical designs, so I use whichever is handiest. (I always have a .5mm mechanical pencil and pen in my pocket, so whichever one comes out first is used.) If I'm doing art type stuff, which is rare, I use the pencil. All of my 5th Dementia cartoons are done completely in Illustrator. (I can actually do a lot better than than, but why waste the time and effort on a gag?)
One that I didn't see above is wood-burning, with a soldering iron or such like. Really, as long as you have a medium and substrate of some kind to put it on, the possibilities are endless.

 

[Gale]

well, i use pen when I'm drawing. i like not being able to erase. i always press kinda hard when i finalize my lines, because i have faint scribbles everywhere. and so it makes bumps, and then sometimes, i'll take my drawings, and lay another piece of paper over it, and then do that thing with a crayon so it makes lines where there's bumps. i forget what that's called... but it looks neat, cause its my same drawing, just in a new way...

 

[Moonbear]

You can use charcoal, or pastels (they're crayon-like, but much softer), ink, pencils (you can get a variety of hardnesses for those to suit your tastes or the effect you're going for), paints, markers, or a drawing palette on the computer. If you like the dirty, smudged look, charcoal, pastels and soft pencils are all very nice for creating that effect, as well as for just softer lines with some very light smudging. Painting with watercolors will allow you to get that effect too.

I haven't played with any real drawing since junior high and high school art classes, but it's one of those things I keep contemplating doing again as a hobby. Not that I'd be any good at it, but sitting around keeping my hands occupied sketching stuff sometimes gets my mind back to thinking more creatively again when I get stuck in a rut. Like today, it's a pretty day outside, and would be nice to just sit out with a sketchbook if I had one on hand. Hmm..maybe I'll just go grab some paper and colored pencils and doodle for a while anyway.

 

[hypatia]

Try the water color pencils moonbear, when your done sketching, you can take a small brush-w-water and it turns into a water color. I've had a lot of fun with it.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Hmm..maybe I'll just go grab some paper and colored pencils and doodle for a while anyway.

I love colored pencils. Prismacolors.

 

[Evo]

I was going to scan in some of my small drawings and they're gone. I am so upset! Someone moved them.

Here is a little comic my older daughter did when she was 11-12. Unfortunately you can't see the outline of the poodle clearly. I need to have her send me some of her more recent stuff.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Evo, I can't see them. Can't you PM Evo and tell her your waiting for an approval?

 

[Evo]

Damn, they're huge.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Damn, they're huge.

She was only 11 and those are 20 times better than all the Paint cr@p people have posted lately.

 

[Danger]

Here is a little comic my older daughter did when she was 11-12.

That's great! I like her sense of humour.

 

[Moonbear]

Try the water color pencils moonbear, when your done sketching, you can take a small brush-w-water and it turns into a water color. I've had a lot of fun with it.

Sounds like those books I had as a kid...you know, where they have them dotted with watercolor inks and you just "paint" with water.

 

[Moonbear]

Here is a little comic my older daughter did when she was 11-12. Unfortunately you can't see the outline of the poodle clearly. I need to have her send me some of her more recent stuff.

Oh, that's great! You can even see the look of disdain on the poodle's face!

I did go out and doodle for a while, but the sun started going down and the shadows kept moving, so I had to stop...I already draw badly enough to wind up with an oddly skewed perspective, I didn't need all the shadows in different places as the sun moved too. I don't know if what I've drawn so far will scan well. I might try later...what the heck, I've already posted a picture of my foot, how much more could I possibly embarrass myself at this point?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Sounds like those books I had as a kid...you know, where they have them dotted with watercolor inks and you just "paint" with water.

What she is talking about look exactly like colored pencils, and they go on the paper just like colored pencils. However, they are water soluble, unlike regular colored pencils. You can get a "watercolor" effect by dissolving strategic parts with a brush and water. Thay are just as expensive as good colored pencils, too.

However, I don't use water color pencils. I love the regular colored pencils.

 

[Danger]

how much more could I possibly embarrass myself at this point?

That depends. Does your scanner work with the lid open?

 

[brewnog]

She was only 11 and those are 20 times better than all the Paint cr@p people have posted lately.

That better not have been aimed at me.

 

[zoobyshoe]

That better not have been aimed at me.

I can't say yet. Link me to it if you dare.

 

[brewnog]

I can't say yet. Link me to it if you dare.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=76518&page=5

Post 72 ish.

I don't care if you don't like it, FredGarvin was blown away, and Danger's still drooling. Simple things...

 

[Danger]

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=76518&page=5

Ah yes... back to the good old days when the art told a story.

 

[Moonbear]

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=76518&page=5

Post 72 ish.

I don't care if you don't like it, FredGarvin was blown away, and Danger's still drooling. Simple things...

At least we knew what your drawing was! Well, the first one anyway. The second one I could have held upside down and never known it.

 

[brewnog]

At least we knew what your drawing was! Well, the first one anyway. The second one I could have held upside down and never known it.

Don't worry, it's taken me 3 years of study to be able to produce those, I wouldn't expect you to be able to appreciate it.

 

[Moonbear]

Okay, here's my lame drawing from this afternoon. I got lazy and took a picture of it instead of fussing with the scanner, so aside from being a bit light, there are weird shadows around the corners, but it'll do. Maybe tomorrow I'll fill in some of the background around it, though it's currently at the stage it's most likely to look best (it's only going to get worse as I add in things like trees and lawn ).

http://img174.echo.cx/img174/2813/deck3uq.jpg

Hmm...actually, I'm just noticing that shrunken down here, it looks better than the original. That's pretty pathetic.

 

[Danger]

Okay, here's my lame drawing from this afternoon.

That's pretty good, Moonie. I don't know why you were worried about your handling of perspective. It looks spot-on to me. It's also quite neat to have those bits of colour in an otherwise B&W image.

 

[Evo]

MB, that's very pretty! But you know, it looks like a brain.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. It is very pretty!

 

[Moonbear]

That's pretty good, Moonie. I don't know why you were worried about your handling of perspective. It looks spot-on to me.

Well, what's really funny is that it's not what I was intending to draw. I was sitting on my deck drawing that, but it appears to be more the way I imagine you'd see it as viewed from the roof! I had to fill in stuff that I couldn't see because the perspective got skewed.

It's also quite neat to have those bits of colour in an otherwise B&W image.

Now you're really giving me more credit than I deserve. It's a color sketch. The flower pot thing is white (in reality too), the rest is all in color. It just doesn't show up too well in a photo of a light drawing. But, pretty much everything I was drawing there uses straight lines, so it's a lot easier than when I get to drawing landscape and stuff like that. Then it starts to look like a child drew it (and even worse if I try to draw in any animals or people). Um, so, yeah, in retrospect, you're right, that would have been really cool to do as a B&W sketch and then just draw in the pink flowers. Maybe I can try that variation another day. It was kind of nice to just sit out on the deck this afternoon with all my colored pencils drawing.

 

[Moonbear]

MB, that's very pretty! But you know, it looks like a brain.

Wait until I try adding a tree in. Maybe if I try drawing it to look like a brain, it might look like a tree.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. It is very pretty!

Those are the flowers I planted last weekend. My drawing doesn't do them justice.

 

[Gale]

well... since moonbear posted a drawing.. i kinda...

well, here's something i did. its weird, most of my friends hate it or love it. eh... i like it, and that's what really matters, but um, whatever I'm going to share. I also think its better zoomed in a little... but that's me. i like the details. http://www.memetika.com/media/341_409_193025155lGDJUB_fs.jpg

 

[Danger]

well, here's something i did

That's pretty cool, in a squirrelly sort of way. Doesn't fit on my monitor, though, so I have to scroll around it.

 

[Moonbear]

well... since moonbear posted a drawing.. i kinda...

well, here's something i did. its weird, most of my friends hate it or love it. eh... i like it, and that's what really matters, but um, whatever I'm going to share. I also think its better zoomed in a little... but that's me. i like the details. http://www.memetika.com/media/341_409_193025155lGDJUB_fs.jpg

I notice it's on notebook paper...just how boring was the class you were drawing that one in?!
That's a lot more like what I would consider abstract art. My eyes were really drawn to that road in a star for some reason. Pretty nifty.

My notebook doodles are much more doodle-like. Just patterns of lines and swirls, nothing recognizable as anything.

Oh, speaking of doodles, when I was doing my post-doc, I was sitting in on one of the med classes my mentor was teaching just to get an idea of the content of such a course for my own future knowledge for teaching, so of course I sat way in the back out of the way of all the students...sitting right in front of me, this guy started doodling, and as the class progressed, I realized he was drawing a caricature of my mentor...it was actually pretty good! It would have been even better if this wasn't a med school class and this future physician wasn't paying a damned bit of attention to the lecture on reproductive physiology!

 

[Gale]

I notice it's on notebook paper...just how boring was the class you were drawing that one in?!
That's a lot more like what I would consider abstract art. My eyes were really drawn to that road in a star for some reason. Pretty nifty.

hmm, i don't remember if i drew it in class or not, but it took me days. i prefer drawing on notebook paper... seems more... something... and i like the pen too... I'm really sensitive about my drawings cause some people hate them or make fun...

anyways, i started drawing, and this was my first thing.
http://www.memetika.com/media/M_409_193025226nlOcbj_ph.jpg
this one was my attempt at some skill...
http://www.memetika.com/media/M_409_193025396qTYcgi_ph.jpg

i like the abstract stuff... its very much how my mind works. and my prose for that matter. I'm kinda all over the place sometimes... anyways...

sorry danger, these are also big... my browser shrinks them automatically.

oh, hey, i have an actual doodle here as well..
http://www.memetika.com/media/M_409_Doodle.jpg

 

[Moonbear]

hmm, i don't remember if i drew it in class or not, but it took me days. i prefer drawing on notebook paper... seems more... something... and i like the pen too... I'm really sensitive about my drawings cause some people hate them or make fun...

anyways, i started drawing, and this was my first thing.
http://www.memetika.com/media/M_409_193025226nlOcbj_ph.jpg

That seems more like surrealism than abstract. It struck me as very Dali-esque!

this one was my attempt at some skill...
http://www.memetika.com/media/M_409_193025396qTYcgi_ph.jpg

The stick figures in the glass of water made me laugh (especially the two fighting at the bottom ). The rest is quite good.

oh, hey, i have an actual doodle here as well..
http://www.memetika.com/media/M_409_Doodle.jpg

Pretty elaborate doodle there! Inspired by Mushroom, mushroom!? Hey, that guy in that doodle has the same top hat as you had in the other drawing! You must like drawing top hats.

 

[Gale]

That seems more like surrealism than abstract. It struck me as very Dali-esque!

The stick figures in the glass of water made me laugh (especially the two fighting at the bottom ). The rest is quite good.

Pretty elaborate doodle there! Inspired by Mushroom, mushroom!? Hey, that guy in that doodle has the same top hat as you had in the other drawing! You must like drawing top hats.

i get the dali thing a lot. i didn't even know who he was till someone said my art was similar... now I'm a fan. i was really proud of the water distortion though. and yes, i like top hats, clocks, guitars, pedastals and trees. is it odd to draw certain things often? think it means something?

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

There is a subtractive medium called Scratch Board. It's a piece of card stock coated with clay and a thin top coat of ink. You take the handle for an ink pot pen and put a special "scratch nib" in it instead of a pen nib and you use this to scratch lines into the ink layer. They also make scratch board with multiple layers of ink, each a different colour.

 

[Gale]

There is a subtractive medium called Scratch Board. It's a piece of card stock coated with clay and a thin top coat of ink. You take the handle for an ink pot pen and put a special "scratch nib" in it instead of a pen nib and you use this to scratch lines into the ink layer. They also make scratch board with multiple layers of ink, each a different colour.

ya, that's fun, you can make your own too. we used to draw pretty colors in colored pencil onto paper, then you cover it all with black crayon, then scratch it off to make cool drawings.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

These are a bit small but at full size they are really big.

I haven't worked on any art in quite some time. It's rather depressing.

 

[Moonbear]

i get the dali thing a lot. i didn't even know who he was till someone said my art was similar... now I'm a fan.

I really like Dali myself.

is it odd to draw certain things often?

It probably depends on what you draw often. Those things in your list seem pretty normal.

think it means something?

Yep, you're good at drawing those things, or they have shapes you enjoy drawing. Actually, only you can answer that.

 

[Moonbear]

These are a bit small but at full size they are really big.

I haven't worked on any art in quite some time. It's rather depressing.

Very good. You make the rest of us look like kindergarteners!

Hey, maybe we can fix up enigma with that winged woman!

 

[Danger]

i'm really sensitive about my drawings cause some people hate them or make fun...

I really like those, especially the 2nd one with the flying baby. Sort of reminds me of Terry Gilliam's drawings for Monty Python. And that's a really good drawing of the dude in the doodle (is that why the call it that?). I notice that he has feet like Moonbear, though.
Don't worry about the size. I just copy it into Illustrator and zoom out.
Mr. Ape, I can't see yours.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Very good. You make the rest of us look like kindergarteners!

Hey, maybe we can fix up enigma with that winged woman!

Thank you Moonbear.
I think everyone's drawings look very nice. Generally when I look at the artwork of others I feel like mine is inferior. I think style plays a big part in it. Mine is more or less borrowed from the comic books I read as a kid so they tend to look childish to me.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Mr. Ape, I can't see yours

Sorry Danger. They seem to kinda come and go. Until Moonbear commented I wasn't sure tehy were showing up properly or not. I think you'd like the winged lady she was referring to though. ;-)

 

[Danger]

Sorry Danger. They seem to kinda come and go. Until Moonbear commented I wasn't sure tehy were showing up properly or not. I think you'd like the winged lady she was referring to though. ;-)

You stashed them, perhaps, as bitmaps? Normally those work okay, but I couldn't see some here until Evo converted them to jpegs. Doesn't make sense why I can access them on some sites and not on others.

 

[Moonbear]

Sorry Danger. They seem to kinda come and go. Until Moonbear commented I wasn't sure tehy were showing up properly or not. I think you'd like the winged lady she was referring to though. ;-)

At first they showed up as broken links, then I clicked "quote" and copied the URLs to view them, and they showed up okay after that. I thought you fixed something between when I first viewed them and when I clicked "quote."