The Hated Red Pen, Revisited

I’ve been thinking about the pen that I hate and I decided to give it another try. I’ve been watching some of Marc Kompanayets’ videos about pen and ink drawing and thought I’d try with this pen, which has a slightly flexible nib. (Marc is a fanatic about super-flexible nibs, which allow for maximum line variability.)

Hatching, and especially crosshatching, is a skill that takes some time to master. I’d love to be really good at it. Marc’s 10 Essential Cross-hatching Techniques is excellent but he’s particularly adamant about keeping the gauge consistent. You can vary the line length, direction, line strength, and even whether if curved or straight, but if the width between the lines is inconsistent, the effect quickly gets messy. The idea is not to draw attention to the hatching unless this is your goal. His prime example of a brilliant hatcher (in pen and etching) is Rembrandt.

The pen is still fighting me a bit but I’m sure it’s much better for sketching/drawing than writing for me, so I’m going to persevere.

Below is a Rembrandt self-portrait. It’s messy, it’s all over the place, and it’s brilliant. If I could only ever be an eighth as good as this, I’d be so happy.