Creating my pen and ink sketches. Or,
Pen and ink drawing examples!
When drawing, an inaudible hum courses through my body – A semi-state of mindful meditation, I would assume, or as close as I have got to it. If I knew how meditation felt, aside from feeling the urge to fidget.
My meditation comes when I apply pen to paper with a certain joy in both failure and success. It is a warm feeling, often occupied by mild frustration and pleasure in equal measure. Sometimes I will see a hideous mess of lines or something a little better than a stick man, I enjoy how I got there. This is all part and parcel of drawing with pen and ink. What I see is also an example of how far I have to go.
When I draw with my pens, the absence of sound is only broken by the dull scratching of pen on paper as I apply lines to make an image. Occasionally, this quiet sound is broken by the sound of the wind, the postman, or when I feel the need to listen to the radio.
I hope to paint a picture in your mind when I approach creating my pen and ink drawings.
Pen and Ink Drawings, Sketches & Doodles
Dear readers and drawing enthusiasts, I would like to share examples of my pen and ink drawings for your leisure! OR, displeasure, but I cannot make any apologies for displeasure inflicted – for that I am sorry!
These ink drawings were created using a combination of black fine liner pens, Windsor & Newton ink, and my trusty black marker.
Since the latter part of 2024, I have been using my fine liner pens for both work and as part of a larger project. For the curious, I would encourage you to read more on ‘that project’ and, if you are feeling daring, to sign up for my newsletter. It could be of interest if you enjoy gothic pen drawings and tabletop gaming.
In this post, you will find a range of pen drawings from my travels, work, and those I have sketched randomly as and when.
Pen & Ink drawings, sketches, and doodles | the journey begins
For those of you who do or don’t know me, you may already know that my pencil drawings are one of my go-to tools for illustration. I often scribble and draw random things that either capture my eye or my imagination.
In the latter part of 2024, I started to use pens for various drawing projects. With that, today I wanted to share pen and ink drawings as examples the craft of drawing with pen. IF you are interested in knowing what pen and ink drawings are or are here to share in the enjoyment of drawing with a pen, enjoy.
My enjoyment of drawing with a pen grew from my time holidaying. I have an entire article dedicated to my sketches from my time in Orkneys, a mystical and fascinating place, which I believe raised my enthusiasm for drawing with the humble pen by circumstance, as that is all I had to hand.
For those who are interested in reading more on my pencil work, you may find these posts of interest.
That is enough story, onto the ink drawing examples.
Ink drawing of cloth
This is a decorative piece for a project I am currently in the process of drawing. Pen and ink drawing of a tattered cloth will either adorn headings, backgrounds or be used across other forms of digital print media.
To draw the cloth, I used a black fine liner pen and a marker.
Equipment Used :
- Pen Type: Uni PIN fine line – water a fade-proof pigment ink
- Marker: Black Windsor & Newton Promarker
- Paper Type: Daler Rowney A4 marker pad
Example Ink Splats Using Windsor & Newton Ink (
pen and ink drawing examples )
These need very little in the way of explaining, but as part of my collection and rounded up examples of Ink, I felt it was worth adding these.
These ink drops and ink splats were created using a mixture of processes and techniques, from dipping an old toothbrush into an ink pot to fully immersing a brush in the ink and then allowing the ink to run off from the tip onto the paper. Forming larger splats!
Orkney Artwork – Pen Drawings
As part of a round up of my ink drawings, this pen drawing was inspired by my time in Orkney ( did I mention? ) The islands are covered with old buildings and crofters huts that are brimming with mystery and bleak beauty, I would encourage you to visit if you get the chance, or you can make do by for now by visiting my blog post with some Orkeny pen drawings.
Equipment Used :
- Pen Type : ( 0.3 ) Uni PIN fine line – water a fade-proof pigment ink
- Paper Type: Daler Rowney A4 marker pad
Dark Souls-Inspired Pen Drawings
It only takes a glance to see that these are a fan service selection of pen drawings created in honour of the Dark Souls series. I half remember drawing them on the train.
For some of you who are fans of the DS series, you can see where some of the inspiration came from with a character who even had a West Country accent! How could I not draw him?
The images are at least 10 years old now, and I struggle to suggest what medium and equipment were used in their creation. Due to the slight capillary action and bleeding around the edges of the ink. I would assume that this is a fine liner pen of some make on my typical A4 cartridge paper. To hazard a guess.
‘The Fallen’ Pen Drawing
I have dubbed this pen drawing “the fallen” for now, as I can’t really recall what I call it. But hopefully, this will set the tone for what Dark Souls is like. As an inspired drawing, hopefully this will evoke “ yeah… I know that feeling.”
You could just as easily call this piece “you died”; those who played the game would know, for example, what it is.
Andre the Blacksmith (Blacksmith pen drawing )
Drawing a blacksmith would be exciting enough on its own and perhaps something else that is similar to a drawing I was involved with helping to create for another project – Cornish Smelters. This is my ink drawing in homage to Andre!
Likely Medium Used:
- Fine Liner pen of some brand – 0.5 or 0.8
- On A4 cartridge paper
Am I open to pen and ink commissions?
I am open to commissions if you are interested in hiring me as a pen and ink artist for your project. If you have a brief or a project in mind, please send your query via my contact form. But please note, I can only take serious requests for work and cannot work for free!
Can I create prints of my pen and ink artwork?
Yes, prints can be made on prior payment and request. Prints are created by an art supply supplier and can also come with a certificate of authenticity. Please keep in mind that due to the size of some of the pen and ink drawings shown in this article, there is a limit to their size and scale. ( A5 or smaller! )
The prints are produced by a 3rd party supplier, with anything from a 3 to 4 week lead time in non-busy periods. You can read more on buying prints from my brochure website.
Can I buy examples of my pen work from shops?
I would encourage you to do so, as this will support not only me as an artist but also the shops selling the prints to. My prints are sold in shops in Looe, Cornwall, and in Bedfordshire, and I am actively looking for new shops and stockists for the future.
I have written a recent post about the batch buying my postcards to business readers, seeing this.
For now, please show your support by visiting these shops.
Are there affordable versions of my pen and ink drawings?
The most affordable versions of my pen and ink drawings are found mostly in shops. These prints come in the form of postcards and bookmarks and are very affordable! Art for everyone, but please remember that I don’t set the final retail prices in the shops and galleries.
Just so you are aware!
Pen and ink drawing examples – Can I see more examples?
You can, in the future, see more examples of my pen and ink drawings, be it sketches, doodles, or something else entirely. To do so, I would encourage you to sign up for a newsletter or read more on this page!
And that concludes pen and ink drawing examples – September 2025! Please watch this space for more art sharing in the future. I would also like to encourage you to follow me and my artwork on social media.
JD illustration on LinkedIn Business Page
Other similar posts
- Orkney Drawings – The Crofters’ Hut
- Pencil Doodles
- Study of an elephant skull
- Sketches of lower limbs
Pen and ink drawing examples – Copyright Jim, James Odell – JD Illustration
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