DRAWESOME

One of the big issues that seems to come up is how people interpret the phrase "DRAWING IN INK" from the official rules.

Is it just using a black ink pen on white paper? If so, then the only way to produce a range of values is by varying line width (hatching/cross-hatching) or stippling with dots, right?

Last year for Inktober, I actually found that using a ballpoint pen can be quite close to pencil shading, in that the more pressure I put on it can result in a darker effect.

Or if you're using a grey ink pen or coloured marker, then perhaps the more layers added can result in darker values.

And then there's the option is ink and paintbrush right? It's almost like painting with watercolour in a lot of ways, in that the lighter values can be created by diluting with water.

And nowadays, I see a lot of tutorials where they're using a white pen to go back in and add highlights.

Last year, I think I tried a lot of these, and even overlaid a couple with watercolour paint afterwards. I think for me the main focus was learning how to use ink in various forms.

This year, however, I think it would be a good learning opportunity to challenge myself to achieve a variety of effects using just a single pen or colour ink. So, I'm thinking of maybe designating one week for just that purpose.