Bichromatic Outlook?

I’ve started experimenting with black and white and a second ink color. This drawing was done with Waterman Havana, a reddish brown that turns just a little too pink when spread too thin. Still, it adds some warmth and character to the drawing while still retaining the B&W character.

The drawing itself presented a number of challenges. The light and shadow relationships were difficult, and the herringbone pattern in the jacket was as well. As usual I’m troubled by how difficult it is to lay down consistent hatching. There is a lot of discipline I need to develop, and my control over flexible pens and brushes leaves something to be desired. I’m on the lookout for more flexible fountain pens, as the flow of ink with dip pens can prove very difficult. I’ve been experimenting with a pen that takes dip pen nibs called the Ackerman Pump Pen but so far I’m more pleased with the concept than the pen itself. It came with a Hunt 101 nib which I like a lot for drawing, but I’m having a lot of trouble with the ink flowing way too freely. At one point I lost a tremendous amount of ink and the whole thing would have been ruined if I hadn’t been working on vellum.

The tools that ended up going into the final drawing: Two extra-fine Rotring 600s, a fine and an extra-fine Rotring 700, a few rapidographs, the Ackerman Pump Pen and a Kaimei brush pen. I’ll provide more details on all of those tools at another time.