Pencil vs Ink Drawing -- Which Looks Better?

[@GeorgeHermann-iy4er]

I like the sharpness and contrast in the ink drawing better than the softer pencil drawing.

[@stephentraversart]

I probably could have drawn the pencil one with greater clarity, looking at it now in hindsight. 😀

[@ellenperrin629]

I like the pencil version better. I really like the softer marks. While the ink version is more clear, the pencil version leaves a bit more to the viewer's imagination. Thanks for this comparison !

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks Ellen. Good to hear. 😀

[@spacebeauty]

ink one is great. im practicing with ink lately, and really enjoying it.

[@stephentraversart]

All the best with it. 😀

[@Animation-m8q]

Love you and love your Art 💓 thank 👍

[@stephentraversart]

That’s very kind. Thanks😆

[@NancyParsons-y3g]

The ink allowed for stronger contrast and more defined values, Great lesson. Thanks!

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks Nancy😀

[@DorisKrugerArt]

I think I love the ink one more but for sure both are perfect ❤

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks for saying so. 😀

[@StevenCalwas]

Interesting comparison. Of course, the shortcomings of the pencil drawing could be remedied by (1) partly erasing the "overdone" parts, such as the background, (2) sharpening the pencil when its point became blunt, and (3) moving to a softer lead to achieve a wider value range. If those things were done to the pencil drawing, would the strengths of the ink drawing stand out as much? I don't know. Cheers.

[@stephentraversart]

You’re right. But the shortcomings are clearer to see once it was finished and in comparison with the ink drawing that wasn’t drawn till the next day. I don’t think the background value could have been effectively erased without smearing, it was too thick. Thanks for your thoughts 😀

[@scablet]

wonderful. i just love how there's do over with ink...and you just keep going and going and going like it's almost instinctive...and the contrast is better! thanks for sharing!!

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks. Not so much instinct as becoming so comfortable with the technique that it feels partly intuitive at times. 😀

[@thedandycowboy]

Both are great. But I think my preference is the ink one.

[@stephentraversart]

Great to hear. 😀

[@kichoamn]

I love how ink looks, it was always going to be my favorite. thos maybe to get a more fair comparison, it would be nice to do an ink drawing first and then make it on pencil

[@stephentraversart]

I’m certainly more comfortable with the ink these days. 😀

[@JohnYoung-o8g]

I like the ink version better but I do think that had you worked the tonal areas darker in the pencil version it would be as good. As you said, drawing the same scene again you can change the things you don't quite like. The tree looks good in both. Foreground, water and hill beyond look better in the ink, I'm sure using the same methods in pencil would have made them look just as good as the ink. I like and appreciate the comments made already. they are both very good.

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks for your thoughts John. 😀

[@breichard100]

Ink drawing is superior to me, but they're both awesome!

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks, much appreciated 😀

[@SusanColeman-ir7pu]

I am a graphite pencil artist but I much prefer the ink version.

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks Susan. Why not have a go with the ink for a change?🤔

[@verdedoodleduck]

Before I watch the drawing, I would guess it is ink. *watching...* After watching it, for me the ink is better - contrast and coverage was better. You were very consistant between the two. As you pointed out, the trunk of the tree is significantly improved and the surround of it is in better contrast. Thanks - that was a fun comparison!

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks Scott. Yes, it was fun to do, although I hadn’t planned it that way when I drew the pencil one. 😀

[@ROlson-dx2jc]

I like the ink drawing best it stands out more.

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks for saying so 😀

[@Amanda11762]

Pencil. It softens the scene.

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks for your thoughts Amanda😀

[@ralphherrick596]

The ink version.... although it would take me a couple of days with ink ... any suggestions for a new sketchers of ink?

[@stephentraversart]

My playlist for Self-Taught Artists has a lot of videos on this. 😀

[@ralphherrick596]

Thank you

[@jomen112]

I am gonna make a prediction before I watch the video: I'll will find the ink version "better" (in quotation because I use better in the same sense that an apple is better than a pear in resembling an apple). The reason I believe the ink drawing will be "better" is because ink will punch darker values. Secondly, and more important, your pencil drawing is an ink drawing technique applied to a pencil which is not fair to the pencils drawing, i.e an apple will always beat anything else when it comes to looking like an apple. Third reason: your pencil drawing will act like a warm up for your ink drawing, i.e. you have already done all important observation and can now refine them in the ink drawing.

[@stephentraversart]

Actually, this how I’ve always drawn trees in pencil, so it naturally became the basis of how I drew them in ink when I began ink drawing about three years ago. The pencil technique came from a decade of painting them in oils, which is why ( I imagine) there is an emphasis on creating value. I had no plan to redraw in ink when I drew the pencil version, but as I say in the voiceover, there was the advantage that the pencil one invariably served as preparation in many ways for the ink drawing. But although I was happy enough with the pencil drawing, I feel it could have been better with less mid value and more control over marks in different areas of the drawing. I disagree with you, in that I think the pen drawing is a better pen drawing than the pencil drawing is as a pencil drawing. that could also be because I’ve had more experience drawing in pen now than pencil. My preference for the pen drawing is not about darker values per se, but rather greater clarity. Thanks for your thoughts. 😀

[@jomen112]

Watching the end result and comparison, I still hold on to my first assessment; your pencil drawing needs more clarity in the values, which is something you took note of yourself. In my assessment, it all boils down to your line work, i.e. your mark making. And this is all related to the use of a blunt pencil. While I was watching I was wondering why you allowed your pencil to be blunt, maybe you had a reason for this, i.e. maybe this is how you wanted the lines to look like. When you finished your drawing, I felt you stopped premature, it was only halfway done. I miss the darker values in the details. Again, it was not clear to my why you finished it premature, maybe you had set a time constraint on the drawing time. Anyhow, from what you no say in the self critic, the reason seems to be that you got lost in the drawing process and simply forgot to sharpen the pencil (which I am all to familiar with myself, in particular when using a soft pencil as you did). In doing so you may have felt in the end that your line work did not improve the drawing thus time to finish up. However, the lack of improvement would then be due to a blunt pencil rather than any actual completed drawing. And as an external observer I felt you could have brought ,more clarity with your line work and go deeper in the darker values, i.e. to improve the contrast in the drawing. As it stand now, all those mid values makes the drawing unclear, and the blunt pencils prevented you from working with the details and/or fine line works. All of this is the main reason I expected the ink drawing to be better; i.e. your pencil drawing was not completed, but I assumed your ink drawing would be. So, in conclusion, it looks like you've picked up a bad habit from all your ink drawing, namely the "no need to sharpen" your drawing tool. :-D

[@jomen112]

Watching the end result and comparison, I still hold on to my first assessment; your pencil drawing needs more clarity in the values, which is something you took note of yourself. In my assessment, it all boils down to your line work, i.e. your mark making. And this is all related to the use of a blunt pencil. While I was watching I was wondering why you allowed your pencil to be blunt, maybe you had a reason for this, i.e. maybe this is how you wanted the lines to look like. When you finished your drawing, I felt you stopped premature, it was only halfway done. I miss the darker values in the details. Again, it was not clear to me why you finished it premature, maybe you had set a time constraint on the drawing time. Anyhow, from what you now say in the self critic, the reason seems to be that you got lost in the drawing process and simply forgot to sharpen the pencil (which I am all to familiar with myself, in particular when using a soft pencil as you did). In doing so you may have felt in the end that your line work did not improve the drawing thus time to finish up. However, the lack of improvement would then be due to a blunt pencil rather than any actual completed drawing. And as an external observer I felt you could have brought ,more clarity with your line work and go deeper in the darker values, i.e. to improve the contrast in the drawing. As it stand now, all those mid values makes the drawing unclear, and the blunt pencils prevented you from working with the details and/or fine line works. All of this is the main reason I expected the ink drawing to be better; i.e. your pencil drawing was not completed, but I assumed your ink drawing would be. So, in conclusion, it looks like you've picked up a bad habit from all your ink drawing, namely the "no need to sharpen" your drawing tool. :-D

[@stephentraversart]

I actually had 3 sharpened 3B pencils which I rotated to try and minimise blunting disruption. When I did draw in pencil a few years ago I used a mechanical pencil so blunting was not an issue. I’m sure if I redrew the pencil version I would do a better job. Perhaps my drawing tempo has sped up with my pen drawing experience in a way that’s not so helpful with pencil. 😀