Pen and Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide

Best book on Pen and Ink. The book is very instructional from the basics on up.

I am an art student who sucks at line work so I bought this book to try to improve. I love Alfonsos way of teaching. I enjoy his YouTube videos as well. The instructions are clear and concise and easy to follow. I got the workbook also so I am able to read a section them practice what I learned. My line work has definitely improved since I started using this book. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to improve fine motor control or drawing skills.

No existe nada mejor que este libro

I have recently retired and needed something to do with my free time, so I took up photography and adult coloring books. I had wanted to learn to draw for a long time, but there was nothing that I could find for a truly beginner, I did a lot of research on YouTube on learning how to draw and came across Mr. Dunn's channel. After watching more videos than I probably should have at one sitting, I purchased Pen & Ink Drawing, A Simple Guide.. I have had this book for about 2 weeks now and feel I can give an honest and thorough review.Pen & Ink Drawing - The bookThis 165 page book is easy to understand with clear explanations and examples that you are encouraged to do yourself. The chapters covered are supplies, strokes, shading,simulating texture, sketch booking, stages of a finished drawing, and secret of line balance. Each chapter goes into specific detail and is well organized. There is an extensive chapter on shading which, to me, is the most important chapter in the book, because without shading, your drawings will not look realistic, There are a lot of drawing books on the market, but they are filled with pictures and examples that you can copy. Mr. Dunn has taken that to another level explaining the "why" behind each stroke, simple forms, etc., which is what sold me (I'm the type of person that needs to know why I'm doing something and the reason behind it - maybe a little OCD going on). For example In the chapter, "Lines of Balance," he explains what the line of balance is and examples of how to draw animals, portraits, nature, hair, the human figure, discusses rhythm and a lot of other things you would never think about that goes into drawing. Throughout the book he gives a "why" to whatever he is doing. You can tell Mr. Dunn put a lot of effort into his book, not only showing you, but explaining the "why" behind it.- very well done!To supplement this book, I would highly recommend you watch his YouTube videos where he covers some things in the book in more detail and you can also draw along with him as he takes you step by step, There is a video that tells you about basic lines (which I would have like to have seen a brief chapter in the book about). Watching his videos is like sitting in an art class with an instructor who knows what he is doing and what he is talking about. In the videos he goes into great detail about simple forms, how to pay attention to structure and proportions and too many others to list here. In addition,he has video series on landscapes, etc. - just too many to mention - Just check them out and have your pen ready to take notes. You won't be disappointed!The most important thing that stuck with me while watching the videos is to not just look but observe as well. When you observe, you can see simple forms (cubes, cylinders, spheres, triangles) in everything you look at. You have to adjust your thinking and think about everything before you put your pen to paper. (this too is covered in the videos), so now I literally don't look at things the same :)What I would change - The order of some of the chapters. After the supplies chapter and before the stroke chapter, I would have included a small section from the Youtube video, the 7 basic lines of drawing. I thought this was really important to explain vertical, horizontal, parallel and perpendicular lines. Another thing, which is totally personal preference, I would have put a table of contents in the front rather than an index in the back, or maybe both (I was looking for a table of contents). Other than these, two issues, there is absolutely nothing I would change.Conclusion - This book is for the beginner as well as the seasoned artist. I had no experience in drawing and wanted to learn and now I feel very confident that I can do this (though haven't started using a pen yet, but I'm working on it). My sketch book is full of practice pages and everyday I look forward to and am excited to work on something..One thing I would recommend is to make a chart of the basic type of strokes (page 24 so you can have it handy when you ink your masterpiece.The key to a fantastic ink drawing, sketching or anything is practice, practice, and practice some more. Everyday I get better and better, but most of all, with my photography and now my pen and ink drawings, I am having fun!!Thank you, Mr. Dunn, for your generosity in sharing your knowledge. I look forward to whatever you have in store next!On a side note, I also purchased "How to Sketch: A Beginner's Guide to Sketching Techniques" by Liron Yanconsky.

I bought this book because the author, Alphonso Dunn, has a lot of excellent youtube videos on drawing with pen and ink, so it was a way to repay him. I liked the book fine, but really needed something with more detail/guidance. I found that Claudia Nice's books are more step-by-step and guide the reader/student in more detail. I found myself using her books a lot more. I started with the Nice book in the "First Steps" series, and later got some others after reading reviews. My funds are somewhat limited, but I'd still want to reward the youtube creator. If a person's funds are seriously limited and can only buy one book, I'd go for Claudia Nice's book. But definitely recommend Mr. Dunn's videos.

This book is more than pen and ink. The author does a great job of explaining how to properly depict light and shadow on objects. I have taken advanced courses in realism but I feel he explains this better and simpler. It’s a great resource for all rendering. Thanks!

Finally bought it. Its insightful. I'll have to actively read the book to see how this could apply to ballpoint pen. The author is really helpful with tutoring on how to draw with textures and perspective. So id think this book would be helpful.