Pen & Ink Drawing Tutorials | Ballpoint pen portrait demo

[@spanixtanspanixtan8757]

Great ballpoint pen.Also it brings to mind the old days in high school: filling the blank spaces of textbooks like that, I almost got the knack of it. But college ruined it: hours writing notes full blast. And no more dull boring lessons to motivate you. I still got those old books and wonder at how lack of practice and motivation can take away some skills maybe forever.

[@alphonsodunn]

never forever. Never

[@rickcroucher]

I just wanted to tell you that your book arrived in my mailbox today. A fantastic guide. I have to tell you that you have some the best teaching videos I have seen on line and believe me I have been through hundreds. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I know God smiles on you for such a wonderful venture with the gift He gave you. Thank you.

[@alphonsodunn]

Thanks so much for supporting my book. Means alot

[@nfirest]

Hey man. Just wanted to let you know that your videos are a huge blessing to me. I m a single dad going through a divorce from a very abusive relationship. I wasn't really allowed to draw anymore while I was married. Now im trying to get back into it and have been kinda lost and trying to find my feet. Your videos are on point and you have a way of explaining techniques in a way that's understandable. Thank you for making these. They have been a real help. Keep up the good work!

[@kohlgriffin4086]

Why the heck is your drawing on your pfp so good?! You've improved so much!

[@urjadwivedi6379]

You really inspire me!!

[@bengagliardo1080]

ink has its own feel.. I've always been afraid of it but im starting to dig it. now you keep it up and ill keep it up practicing and watching that is.. thanks.. great book to..

[@neshizzle]

You're a great artist, man. And a great teacher too. Keep posting your tutorials. I'm addicted to your videos. :)

[@alphonsodunn]

neshizzle :-) thanks so much

[@liverpool_of_life]

Thanks mate for the video! I Like this method, and I still learn it with the different drawing tools.

[@alphonsodunn]

thanks...it works

[@DRAWTIST1]

These videos are highly refreshing and educational. Reminds me of my high school days at Jago. Keep up the good fun, you DUNN know

[@alphonsodunn]

lol thats waaaaaay back! Mr Barrett and Collins get much respect

[@DRAWTIST1]

***** Mr.Collins is my hero but, Barrett pretty decent still. Dude I'm kinda in shock mode right now, but I know its a small world eh. I attend St.Jago High 99-2002. Do you know Keith Noel??

[@AkuRipatti]

One of best art teachers in yt

[@alphonsodunn]

thanks so much :-)

[@Danadane314]

So true! You offer in depth instructions.... Well done!

[@peteryokwe9950]

Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing! Much respect from the Uk

[@JetSetAlchemyst]

Your work has a very definitive style. Its really beautiful.

[@alphonsodunn]

thanks

[@Danadane314]

James Baldwin! Unbelievable likeness....! The lines! Wow! Thank you sooooo much!!!! :) No one draws him... I'm sending my sons to your channel!!! Thank youKZbin, for opportunities like these!!!!

[@alphonsodunn]

Thanks so much : )

[@Danadane314]

+Alphonso Dunn Yw

[@DreamingCatStudio]

Wow. Magical to see him appearing on the page... Thank you!

[@alphonsodunn]

:-) YW

[@KennyKeen]

Great work! All that with just a ball point pen... Just goes to show that the tool an artist uses isn't that important, it's what they do with it.

[@alphonsodunn]

Kenny Keen agreed!

[@thecreativebeast6732]

man I get pumped up when I watch these videos I feel like I wanna draw something wooww

[@alphonsodunn]

+milAn dhOdi just draw something

[@thecreativebeast6732]

I did a sketch of my nephew

[@laeythh__1211]

I love your style so much! You're a reference to me now :)

[@alphonsodunn]

gomz sister :-) thanks. That means alot

[@firemazeheatray5194]

I'm thank you Alfonso....I'm getting better with your teachings

[@alphonsodunn]

:-) progress...i love that

[@ivancastillo5783]

I love how you showed that you don't need to have super expensive pens and materials to do this, I understand this sort of thing because, I started with the ball point pen and move up from their to other pens and pencils....

[@alphonsodunn]

Yup...me too

[@ivancastillo5783]

***** lol....

[@joymurray5557]

I'm really enjoying your videos and learning a lot. I would like to know how long it took you to do this beautiful portrait of James Baldwin, who said, "Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor in to pleasant tasks." Thanks for making our tasks more pleasant.

[@alphonsodunn]

No worries at all, and thanks. It took a good 30-40 mins.

[@danielnichevo3667]

I've been trying to find a great tutorial on drawing skin tones and textures. I wonder if you have one? I've looked but couldn't see one. Wondering if you might be able to create a tutorial on this. I've been focusing (obsessively) on drawing eyes lately and wrinkles present a huge challenge for me ... trying to understand the shading involved with their form. So ... my humble request: one of your awesome tutorials on wrinkles.

[@alphonsodunn]

daniel nichevo Let me know if this helps, kzbin.info/www/bejne/amazq56sbNeCp7M

[@g108d7]

I took a screenshot so I can zoom in close to see all the details. Thanks again for the awesome video(fifth one I watched today).

[@alanamiller3953]

Fantastic channel! Your drawing is spectacular

[@alphonsodunn]

Alana Miller thanks much

[@pablopistola5535]

Good stuff! What kinda paint do you think is best for this approach?

[@Blokheadz]

love it. can u do an updated video on drawing a nose in a few different directions..and drawing lips.. PLEEEASE. im having a bit of an issue with it.

[@alphonsodunn]

will work on it

[@احمدرعدالرسام]

You are truly a creative artist, my greetings and my admiration

[@alphonsodunn]

+david slman thanks much

[@PeterPalmiotti]

Excellent work, really impressive.

[@alphonsodunn]

Peter Palmiotti thank you

[@devindavis7292]

Great work here , it's good that u understand at such a young age

[@alphonsodunn]

lol its a been a loonnnnngggg time coming

[@guidoguarnieri7411]

That's a great potrait of James Baldwin!

[@alphonsodunn]

Guido Guarnieri thanks 👍

[@andresisthename]

Another great one Alphonso, thanks!

[@alphonsodunn]

Thanks

[@chrizcrossz]

Thank you! Wow, gonna go practice with my ballpoint pens now.

[@alphonsodunn]

chrizcrossz have fun xD

[@womanonfire8]

Love that you drew James Baldwin

[@alphonsodunn]

:-)

[@ShatteredGlass916]

Bro, can you do basic shading tutorial with ballpoint pen ? Like on a sphere, pyramid, or even cube ?

[@yanderekiller7542]

Man ! Awesome ! I love you so much ! This Helped me !

[@alphonsodunn]

Yandere Killer :-) Very welcome!

[@yanderekiller7542]

Hehehehe ~

[@yanderekiller7542]

+ALPHONSO DUNN Can i make a request ~?

[@christopherfunk5654]

Thank you for sharing, Mr. Dunn. For me this is truly incredible because of the fact that you cannot erase and change lines. Much of my drawing consists of restatements, and you have none of that! haha. Perhaps the finality of using a ballpoint would force me to improve. Just out of curiosity, do you think that rendering is more effective with a ballpoint or using a nib and jar of ink? Or a fountain pen, I suppose . . . I think with a ballpoint you can use variations in pressure to control how much ink is placed on the paper.

[@alphonsodunn]

Christopher Funk I wouldnt say one is more effective than the other. Each creates a different effect and play to what favors the results you want

[@christopherfunk5654]

Okay. cool.

[@JB-Photography]

Christopher Funk You can vary the pressure of a ballpoint pen so much that you can get so many values from just 1 pen! with a fountain pen and ink you are drawing (in most cases) a much thicker line that makes it difficult to get light values, unless you're drawing is very very big. Sketching with a pen is very useful in building you're skills and making you think before you draw, and it doesn't smear!

[@christopherfunk5654]

Hey! Thank you, Jared. You know, after I read this, I started reading a book on sketching that I got, written by Scott Robertson. He advocates using only a ballpoint pen. I was thinking about stickign to graphite, but after reading your post here, I am going to going to use a ballpoint. Kind of helped me make my decision. I have this "uni-ball vision elite" ballpoint, but it's more like an inking pen than a straight ballpoint. I think it's awesome, but it doesn't allow for much variation. Do you have any recommendations for ballpoint pens? Anyway, thanks for the response!

[@JB-Photography]

Any ballpoint pen! Free ones from a business or the cheap ones from an office supply store, they are pretty much all the same. What I do recommend is every so often while you're drawing dab the sides of the pen on a scratch piece of paper. Ink builds up every so often and can cause some unpleasant blobs on your drawing. And thanks for the sub!

[@danielnichevo3667]

Stunning

[@alphonsodunn]

daniel nichevo thanks

[@chejo6095]

THIS IS AMAZING!!

[@alphonsodunn]

Chejo Hernandez :-) thanks

[@jakelovescinema]

I used to always use pencils but then I started to learn pens and cross hatching and I don't want to go back to pencils because it is so much easier for me to get a dark black value

[@Epilogue_04]

as usual awesome work!, what kind of paper do you use for ink and ballpoint pen?

[@alphonsodunn]

+XDEATHK0 mixed media paper with some texture

[@EndlessShots]

wow nice one :) Great results while using cheap tool

[@alphonsodunn]

Yup. Certainly is. And thanks

[@fcbayernyo]

Great video! You are my online-teacher! :)

[@alphonsodunn]

fcbayernyo :-)

[@joketer34]

How come there are no ink blobs since you're using ballpoints?.. Awesome job as always Alonso!

[@anwarallie]

Do you work from a photograph or are you drawing from imagination? Either way is amazing what you achieve.

[@alphonsodunn]

Sure did :-)

[@BacalaoBrad]

Fantastic !!!

[@alphonsodunn]

thx

[@aidahazirah9229]

Hi, I'm 14 and from Malaysia. Your tutorials are so helpful, thank you ^^ I'll start practicing from now on :) (b4 I draw using graphite ^^)

[@alphonsodunn]

Aida Hazirahkeep going, dont stop :-)

[@RazaSid]

I'm not sure if someone's asked this before, but I love using fountain pens over pencil. But when I try to use them to sketch free hand or for quick gesture drawings, I find they are slippery and the ink flow is not continuous. What is your opinion of fountain pens? Have you or would you use them? Is there a technique to using them? Thanks in advance and btw your videos are just fantastic!

[@alphonsodunn]

I like them, but just not a big fan but not for any particular reason perhaps than the convenience of that having pen sets offer...but I may do a tutorial or two using them just to provide ideas

[@RazaSid]

That would be wonderful, thank you!! I like that they are refillable and you can essentially use the same pen with a whole array of ink types and colours!

[@alphonsodunn]

you're absolutely right. In that sense they can last a long time and wear many hats

[@benfitness5730]

Great video keep it up:)

[@alphonsodunn]

Benjamin Drake thanks

[@ranchyeti688]

It's 12 in the morning and I just drew something almost exactly like this. Save my soul.

[@danielnichevo3667]

And ... James Baldwin ... love and respect.

[@alphonsodunn]

daniel nichevo :-)

[@Justin-General]

BIC's are actually the better pens for drawing when it comes to tone. It's all I use for photorealism in ballpoint. When doing Ballpoint Technique, alphonso, layer you're tone so you're not doing crosshatching. Ballpoint is a pen system that allows you to do full-bodied tone, no line. Use ballpoint technique vs, pen and ink technique "with a ballpoint" . *Thumbs up*

[@alphonsodunn]

Thanks for the comment. I appreciate your opinion. You can do with pencil what you do with pen, and you can do with pen what you do with pencil. But no matter how well you use a ballpoint pen you can never fully simulate the effects of pencil and vice versa. My point? Pen and Pencil have different qualities that makes them unique and you get the best out of each when you focus on each's unique quality. So I use pens primarily for what pens do well. Thanks again for sharing your opinion :-)

[@Justin-General]

You're welcome. And that's the beautiful thing, ballpoint tone to me looks so much better than pencil, that's why I use it, hope you like my timelapse vids as well :D keep up the great vids.

[@alphonsodunn]

To YOU it does lol...But will definitely take a look at your stuff

[@Justin-General]

awesome thanks! Let me know if you want to connect via facebook after as well. Always looking to network with other pen and ink artists. :D

[@ChadSmith1452]

***** I agree with this approach 100%. In fact your video has me on my way out the door to pick up some ballpoint pens. Are you a fan of James Baldwin? I read some of his essays a few years ago and was quite impressed, but have never read any of his novels.

[@littlemissme260]

How long did this take you in real time?

[@murilodj]

Muito bom, parabéns!

[@Adomako_]

Okay so question. How do you actually get it to look like the people you intended to draw?

[@alphonsodunn]

Pay close attention to proportion

[@mistyyy696]

This is amazing

[@alphonsodunn]

Thanks

[@COLORPAPERPRINCESS]

do you use a graphic paper?

[@alphonsodunn]

+colorpaper princess (colorpaperprincess) nope

[@pablochamber1622]

Thanks for your videos!

[@alphonsodunn]

very welcome

[@kawagomes2048]

Perfect.

[@stanTrX]

thanks for showing drawing should not be expensive

[@alphonsodunn]

sirri tanribilir no problem

[@rojitox]

awesome!! thanks

[@alphonsodunn]

+TITOY welcome

[@chrishartmann8069]

Hey Alphonso... Nice, as always. I can powder or whip shade anything if I have a pattern. I get what Stephen gazsi is saying. I can powder shade ( or whip)something with a ball point pen and have it come out as smooth and soft as something you could do with a pencil and stump. I can get ball point to look real sweet if I take my time and seen other guys work that would put mine to shame. You can definately tell it's pen and not pencil but not because you can see lines in any way.... Thanks as always for your vids!

[@alphonsodunn]

Thanks

[@killoucoo9998]

You good tutorial very much like

[@alphonsodunn]

andre marlly thank you :-)

[@Moebius007]

G.R.E.A.T~!!

[@alphonsodunn]

:-) Thx

[@tiberiu_nicolae]

Before the video: "I don't have the right pen" After the video: "I don't have talent"

[@randysajol8521]

i sub this , so prettygood man

[@alphonsodunn]

Thanks much : )

[@Epsio0]

this is going to sound weired but I have trouble knowing what kind of shading (or is it value) to use at different parts of the face/ body :/

[@alphonsodunn]

Epsio0 you mean what kind of mark-making or what values to apply?

[@Epsio0]

A bit of both really, I know I coul use cross-hatching and use that to along with the contours of the shape, but when it comes to skin, especially the face area, I find it difficult.

[@tzanetuchiha333]

Epsio0 Me too.......... You draw the entire drawing good but it becomes all messed up at the face region.

[@asolo4169]

what's the name of the instrumental ?

[@alphonsodunn]

I'll try to post it in the description

[@13Moondancer]

Love your style but, geez, the music is so stressful.

[@alphonsodunn]

13Moondancer lol oops

[@carlosmillergomez1173]

halo alphonso dunn can you draw me a airforce f-15e with p207 0.7 mm mechanical

[@alphonsodunn]

carlos Miller Gómez hmmmm

[@devindavis7292]

What's that song name

[@alphonsodunn]

I'll check for you..its from the YT audio library

[@obiehn276]

And what exactly are the basic principle you keep referring to, I'm having trouble advancing my skills :T

[@alphonsodunn]

+Obinna Nzekwe Proportion, Shading, anatomy and structure, etc

[@superpitchmen]

+ALPHONSO DUNN do you have video tutorials on those

[@alphonsodunn]

yup

[@general_iroh_]

+Obinna Nzekwe just dont try to imitate or compare your works on other peoples work , you have your own style , you create your own world while you are drawing , no one can say what you should do , what you can and what you cannot do while you are drawing ,

[@alphonsodunn]

:-)

[@Godwin4577]

Brilliant. Are you on Instagram? Would want to follow you if you are.

[@alphonsodunn]

Not yet. Thanks

[@stanTrX]

thumbs up.

[@alphonsodunn]

sirri tanribilir thanks

[@cierasmith7120]

love you

[@alphonsodunn]

love you too :-)

[@jessgonzalezz]

Ive seen too many tutorials where they use grids to draw portraits. Personally, I dont believe in that method. Is it possible for you to make a tutorial on your free hand process?

[@alphonsodunn]

Jessica Gonzalez This was done with construction lines, not grids...grids can make people lazy, especially if they use it exclusively, put it has its place when you want to copy something exactly to every detail

[@jessgonzalezz]

I know, I meant that I had been watching previous tutorials but seeing yours was helpful since you didnt use grids and if its possible to show how you do this free hand drawings. Sorry I should have been more specific ! :p

[@alphonsodunn]

oh ok lol...no worries, I can definitely do that

[@rickcroucher]

James Baldwin?

[@rickcroucher]

If I had waited 30 seconds more you would have told me that.

[@alphonsodunn]

+Rick Croucher lol

[@savagecommenter7714]

cross-hatching

[@alphonsodunn]

: )

[@RA-hs6ry]

0:56 lol

[@osvaldoneto7190]

Do you like Moleskines? Sometimes i see ink draws in moleskines and i remember yours. Hug!

[@alphonsodunn]

lol Never tried them

[@osvaldoneto7190]

If it is possible, try some and give yor professional impressions of "the thing"! haha

[@alphonsodunn]

I may just do that lol

[@ChadSmith1452]

You didn't ask me, but I fucking hate Moleskines. I'm sorry, but I *hate* them. They contain totally inferior student grade paper bound up in a fancy, ridiculously overpriced cover. They're not an art supply, they're a fashion accessory. If you want a truly superb sketchbook (for actual sketching) get the Aquabee "Super Deluxe". It's excellent for just about every medium but oils. Read the reviews on Blick, nearly every reviewer gives them five stars.

[@osvaldoneto7190]

Thanks for the information. I never tried them, but i see a lot of people drawing and i liked the black ink in that yellow paper. Be that as it may, i'll try both. I'm curious about this one you mentioned. I'm doing a research right now.

[@cierasmith7120]

show me all you got

[@alphonsodunn]

:-)

[@joiezkomorebi172]

Who is James Baldwin? WHAT IS JAMES BALDWIIN's book all about? Wikipedia entry: Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time" The second point of dissection in the book is its detailed, unrestrained examination of Christianity and its role in both American society and in the oppression of the Negro race. This examination takes place in the first part of the second essay, in which the author describes, with occasional poeticism, the joy with which he first became involved in the Christian church. He also describes his subsequent growing disillusionment with the church and its teachings. He describes at length how that disillusionment simultaneously deepened and broadened as he became older, detailing what he sees as the church's hypocrisies, developing theories about how the hypocrisies affected and continue to affect American life. He suggests that the only way America can become what it has the potential to become is to abandon Christian teaching.

[@alphonsodunn]

hes a writer

[@joiezkomorebi172]

I also researched for Maya Angelou, they are both civil rights advocates.

[@bengagliardo1080]

im good at scribbles . not a good speller.. o well the world needs more artist not more ace spellers.