Guidelines

• 1). Place the sketchpad in front of you and dip the fountain pen in the ink. Start sketching; make sure to carefully look at and note details of light, surface and form of what you're drawing.
  
  
• 2). Experiment with several types of nibs. There are fine point nibs that make a thin line as well as wider nibs that create thicker and more calligraphic lines.
  
  Also experiment with water, and techniques for lifting water off the page. You can achieve a range of effects from diluting and spreading ink around the page, and then use a sponge, paper, a clean brush, or even bread or saran wrap to lift ink up and create texture.
  
  
• 3). Experiment with layering mark-making techniques. Once India ink dries it is waterproof, so you can return to the page and draw on top of it. A frequent technique that artists use is to lay down a light wash, let it dry, and then return to the drawing and define forms with lines.
  
  With pen and ink a number of different marks can render changes in value. Hatching and crosshatching (short parallel and criss-crossed lines) can create shadow. Also you can create areas of tiny dots. The denser the dots the darker an area can be.
  
  
• 4). To sketch your favorite subjects, practice sketching them again and again and again. Even trained professional artists often have to make hundreds of sketches before capturing the effect they want.