Pens and Inks, Continued
Drawing over
pencil lines in
ink
You may draw in ink over lines previously drawn in pencil. The pencil
sketch may be drawn directly on the paper surface or on tracing paper and
transferred to the paper surface. After the inked in portion of the drawing is
complete, remove the graphite underdrawing with a soft eraser. If the basic
pencil drawing contains too much graphite, the ink will crawl, or roll away
from the pencil line. Should this occur, carefully remove some of the
graphite with a soft eraser.
Ink washes
Drawings made in diluted ink with a brush are called washes. Washes are
continuous-tone renderings. Washes are difficult to control because of the
amount of water in the medium and have very little latitude for correction.
Ink washes require preparation and planning.
Preparing for
Before putting the brush to paper, you must do a basic drawing, prepare the
ink washes
paper surface, and mix the value range of your washes.
Preparing a
paper surface
Washes are painted on watercolor paper. The weight of the paper determines
whether or not you need to fix the paper to a solid surface before painting.
This procedure is called stretching the paper. Thin paper that is not stretched
will curl and buckle during the painting process.
Thick paper, rated at 300
lbs or more, does not require stretching.
Stretching the
Paper
To prepare watercolor paper, follow this table:
Step
Action
1
Select a paper and allow it to soak fully submerged in lukewarm
water for approximately 20 minutes.
2
Remove the paper from the water and place it on a solid board.
3
Using craft-paper tape, tape all around the edges of the paper.
4
The paper is ready for use when the sheen of the water disappears
from the paper surface. You can also wait until the paper is
completely dry.
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