Drawing With Black And White Ink On Toned Paper

My online workshop, "Fundamentals OF Cross-Hatching: The 6 Basic strokes" is this weekend, Sunday, February 9, 2025 from 9 AM to 12 PM (Pacific Standard Time). This is a followup to my "Fundamentals Of Cross-Hatching" Workshop, and deals with more advanced rendering topics. For more information, and to register please visit my website:
mkompan.squares...
For more information and my downloadable classes (and to purchase them), please visit my Vimeo page:
marckompaneyet...
The drawing shown in the video is Hans Baldung Grien
Here are the materials:
Strathmore Toned Grey Sketchbook
Strathmore Toned Tan Paper
CAnson Mi-Tientes paper
Higgins Black Magic Waterproof Ink
Speedball Super Black
Higgins Waterproof Super White
Liquitex Waterproof Brown Acrylic Ink
DeAtramantis Document White (for fountain pens)
Hunt Globe 513 EF drawing nibs
Faver Castell Soft pastels
TWSBI ECO fountain pen

[@sweetbb125]

Mark, I don't understand why you don't have more subscribers, with the wonderful videos you are putting out for the world to learn from.

[@mkompan]

It’s also beyond my understanding. :) Thank you.

[@creativecolours2022]

@@mkompan Hi Marc. I don't think that you need more subscribers, particularly the kind of random ones, those who are not interested for drawing, because as soon as your subscribers get above a certain number you won't be able to interact with them. And then your channel will become impersonal as many other large channels. You can have a discussion with the people that are following you and express their opinion on let's say 100 comments. You can't say a thing if you have 2 million subscribers talking in 30 thousand comments. Then the comments become just noise not to mention that you'll have to adapt your videos to the subscribers needs and wishes, your videos will get infested with ads even if you don't monetize them and you'll have to post videos every other day in order to feed the algorithm monster. And then you'll spend your time creating "content"... your art and art experience will become content....

[@mkompan]

@creativecolours2022 I agree, but I think there's still room for growth without compromising on the kinds of things I enjoy making. 2 million is out of reach, unless I start doing stunts, but I see channels similar to mine at around 100K. Will I be able to interact with every commenter?Probably not. But I'm sure I'll still have time to respond to thoughtful comments such as yours.

[@creativecolours2022]

@@mkompan 100K are way too many subscribers. I personally subscribe only to art related channels ( including those of classical music and ballet) and I have noticed how the videos of such channels changed along with the number of the subscribers. And that happened even to the channels of some friends, fellow artists who had to hire people in order to deal with increased viewership and the demands of running a 100K++ channel. They got into the ΦΑΥΛΟΣ ΚΥΚΛΟΣ/ the vicious cycle situation. If they want to keep the subscribers they have to produce more content, and when they produce more content they don't have time to produce art. And talking btw about producing more art, I've noticed that you have lost a good amount of weight the recent months, up to the point that is shows on your face on your videos. If that is not the result of a diet that you are doing according to your doctor's orders, I would suggest you to start eating more because there are videos were you look very tired. That is a well meant suggestion ok. Don't take it wrong. English is not my first language to say it with a more refined way. It is just an observation.

[@dora-u2v]

Excellent lesson - Thank you!

[@mkompan]

You’re very welcome!

[@dimitrioskalfakis]

solid linework and impressive contrast - very convincing from a distance.

[@mkompan]

Thank you!

[@jamesfodera2191]

Thank you, Prof. I’m inspired to start toning!

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome. Happy to have inspired you!

[@caseyfrechette]

This looks like a lot of fun and I am definitely going to try it! Your homage to Durer and Grien looks great. Thanks again for great ideas and inspiration!

[@mkompan]

You’re very welcome! Grein really deserves to be better known.

[@JoeJoe-pf3ej]

Strathmore also carry a toned blue mix media paper that is really nice , one of my favorites!😊 love your channel by the way

[@mkompan]

@@JoeJoe-pf3ej thank you! Strathmore toned papers are usually very smooth, good for pen and ink.

[@sweetbb125]

Thank you!

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome!

[@thekevermelho]

Thank you for advising regarding DAtramentis white clogging your pens. I have been looking for a white ink but I am more a fountain pen lover than a dip pen convert. As usual, great to see how you structure the hatching. Thank you

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome! I have a review of DeAtramentis white on my channel. It’s very fun stuff, but yes, a bit of a hassle.

[@opp67]

This was helpful, I’ve been sitting on a couple of Strathmore’s toned gray, blue, and tan papers for ages . The Higgins white was a great suggestion as the Sakura white gel pens were ‘meh’ when it came to the toned paper.

[@mkompan]

Glad this was helpful to you! There are so many toned papers on the market that it’s impossible to try them all.

[@ichirofakename]

The white ink I am currently using is Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleedproof White Fine Art Paint. Not really ink, I guess, though it comes in a little bottle. It is nice and opaque, as long as any ink beneath it is waterproof and so doesn't reliquify and bleed up into the white. In my hands the results can be kind of harsh, but sometimes harsh can be rather ok. You have to thin it quite a bit to use it in a dip pen, and in fact I thin it for use with a brush.

[@mkompan]

I need to try out more white inks honestly, so that might be a good one. The old masters used lead white, which is superior to the zinc/titanium pigments used now. But given lead’s toxicity I don’t think I’ll be using it in water based media.

[@ichirofakename]

@@mkompan I tried some lead white oil paint but it did nothing special in my hands.

[@mkompan]

@ it’s only benefit is its transparency, warmth, and brushstroke holding abilities in oil painting, which makes it better for painting the figure. I can’t imaging it holds any advantages for the painter of abstraction.

[@daveh3339]

Well, that’s a happy coincidence. I bought a small book of the Strathmore toned grey last week and my white ink arrived yesterday. I did a quick test and found the ink (Daler-Rowney System 3 acrylic) to be much more viscous than the other colours in that range. Is that typical for white ink ? Thanks for another excellent video. It will help to focus my experiments with the white ink.

[@mkompan]

Glad that this coincided with your purchase. White inks do tend to be thicker/denser than other ink colors, perhaps having to do with the particle size of white pigments. Don’t be afraid to dilute it to get the right flow.

[@creativecolours2022]

A good way to stain your paper is with coffee or black tea. And you can use both on already toned papers in order to give to the paper a more antique and more "abstract" base for your drawing.

[@mkompan]

This is definitely a good way to give your drawings an antique look, though not the most archival.

[@creativecolours2022]

@ Perhaps. If you really believe paper manufacturers' claims that the papers that they produce are archival.... Personally and judging by how fast the paper sizing deteriorates at some quite expensive brands of paper, (let's put aside the cheap ones), such claims probably exist just for the sake of being there. My point is that this is mostly just a psychology thing!

[@mkompan]

@creativecolours2022 paper, no matter how archival, is a very fragile thing, which is why museum usually exhibit their drawings for short periods of time, and then in darkened rooms. I’m not obsessed with making sure everything is archival, but with tea and coffee you’re basically setting up your drawings to self destruct. :)

[@creativecolours2022]

@@mkompan Perhaps but it is a way to get very interesting results and at the end of the day you can always scan the drawing and print it digitally with archival inks on archival paper. Texture is the most difficult thing to retain even if you use the best , materials, because texture is all about the surface and stays on the surface. That is the reason why I'm interested on illustration techniques. Illustrators play a lot with different materials and textures because they know that they will reproduce the original, and that is the reason why they don't trouble themselves with how permanent are the materials they use.

[@stefanoboninsegna3475]

Mark, I purchased your video drawing the head in pen and ink but in topic 6 I can't see your drawing because it is covered by the photo references. for a better result for your students I suggest you correct this problem Stefano

[@mkompan]

@@stefanoboninsegna3475 Hi Stefano. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’m not sure what can be done now, but I still have the original footage, and will try to correct it.

[@stefanoboninsegna3475]

thanks Mark I didn't do it to be picky but just to make an excellent video course more usable

[@robseraphine]

1:39 looks slightly painful

[@francoisvanderwalt4673]

Have you tried Noodler’s white ink and if you have would you recommend it? Also can you recommend a black paper to draw on with a fountain pen? Thanks

[@mkompan]

@@francoisvanderwalt4673 The “Whiteness of The Whale” ink is not white. It’s an invisible ink that is only visible under UV light. Talens Art Creations make a sketchbook with very nice black paper, but I’m not seeing for it sale at the moment.

[@katyakompaneyets7982]

Marc, you draw really well. Maybe it’s time to clean your messy studio.😊

[@mkompan]

I’m too busy drawing to clean anything. :)

[@katyakompaneyets7982]

@@mkompan😀

[@Art_culture_livin]

Why white inks are expensive 😢

[@mkompan]

@@Art_culture_livin The Higgins Super White is around 6 dollars here in the US, only a little more expensive than their black ink. I suppose it depends where you are in the world.

[@Art_culture_livin]

@mkompan for dip pens yes have several cheap options but I wanted to use them on fountain pens