Pen and Ink Drawing Workbook Paperback – August 4, 2018

I've always been into art, but never went through a class, and most books I tried were too frustrating to finish. Due to adult responsibilities and a move, I took about 1 1/2yrs to go through this book from start to finish. The pictures attached were completed on my own as I was working on the last section of this workbook. Before this book, my drawings had inconsistent results, and I didn't touch ink for the same reasons most people don't- it's intimidating. Now I love it! The author makes it feel so approachable.Now I do recommend the accompanying book too. It's worth the cost. But the workbook is more valuable in my opinion. He has many exercises that build strength and skill in an effective way. As a teacher myself (not art) I appreciate the author's teaching skills as well as his artistic ability. And that's honestly what makes this book so amazing. Many art instruction books are written by very good arts, but that doesn't mean they know anything about teaching. It doesn't matter how good a person is at something, if they can't teach effectively, the student is going to struggle to learn. Mr. Dunn will teach you not just about ink, but so much more about art in general. You'll learn about form, value, texture, composition (in the main book), and more. The only basic principle he doesn't cover is color, for obvious reasons, and I do believe he has a video about that on YouTube. This workbook has not only improved my ink skills, but has taught me much that I've been able to apply to other mediums.There's one down side, and it's not the author's fault. The publisher could have done a better job. I won't complain too much about the paper. It's not the best, but it would be very expensive for them to print it on high quality art paper, and this is a workbook; it's not meant for you to take it out and frame it. However, there are a few projects in the back where the publisher altered the shape slightly in order to make it fit on the page. It seems like a small adjustment, but on the bird drawing, the propertions are a little off, and it does affect the end result. It's minor complaint, but one worth noting.Here's some of my favorite features about this workbook:-treats the consumer like an equal who can learn if so desired (non of this gatekeeping nonsense some artists do)-sufficient explanations, and excellent if you pair it with the instruction book-skill and pen control exercises-opportunities to self evaluate-teaches you HOW to draw, not just to copy his work-because of the above, you're free to explore and develop your own style as you go-provides tracings and outlines for projects. Even if you feel confident in doing it yourself, this reduces the time spent and allows you to just focus on your ink skills-ends with projects that give you confidence to branch out and continue learning on your own

I like this artist very much; Alphonso Dunn. He has videos on YouTube and they are well worth the watching. I got this book because of his videos. This book is an entré into the world of sketching, drawing, and pen & ink rendering. This book gives you a catalogue of textures to learn, reference, and work with. This book also demonstrates how a drawing goes from a light sketch to a finished picture. I highly recommend anything by this artist/teacher. He's very detailed and encompassing in all that he does. If you take each step of each exercise and work on it fully and thoroughly before moving on to the next step, when you finish, you will have begun to acquire some very reliable mastery skills. (Watch him on YT, too.) 😊

If anyone is familiar with the very famous Dynamic Sketching class, you'll know that you need to be using ink the entire class. I've done Drawabox before and doing textures was absolutely horrible for me. I knew I'd had to do it again for DS so I got this and the companion book GET BOTH! Because the book with information will help you a lot with the actuall drills in this workbook. My rendering in pen and ink has improved so dramatically! This is such an effective book to help you get mastery over the control you need to work with ink. It isn't a how to draw book, its a how to use pen and ink effectively type of book. I know DS isn't about rendering however I do think it'll help you when you do plan on rendering later down the line as the class is more focused on construction. I almost wanna cry when I look at my pen and ink drawings with how proud I am. You will not regret buying this workbook and putting the work to do the drills! Alphonso created really effective practices to really cement you understanding. These are practices I'll take with me forever because of how helpful they were. They actually make things click in your brain on how pen and ink work in terms of control, messaging and value. Great teachers are so rare and if anyone has seen Mr. Dunn's videos you know you're in for true learning. You will not regret this book!

I've been dabbling with pen and ink for the last few years, have read books on pen & ink, and took a pen & ink class earlier this summer. The instructor mentioned that this workbook had some good exercises, so I ordered it. (I do not own the book which this workbook was designed to accompany.) Since getting the workbook a month ago, I have worked my way through the first 64 pages of exercises, almost halfway through now. The step-by-step exercises are truly excellent for building control over the pen, including practicing techniques to achieve different tones, how to emphasize parts of a composition, and how to render artistically. Each progression includes an example (unless the exercise is to extend skills learned in the preceding exercise), some extra guidance where needed, and space to do the exercise right in the workbook. Note that the paper stock in the workbook is okay for technical pens; I found the paper a bit too absorbent for a fountain pen. (I've been using Sakura Pigma Micron and a Copic Multiliner pen in the workbook.)