From classical Chinese paintings to modern comic books, ink has remained a favorite medium for artists who enjoy having the ability to create both painterly and graphic effects. Allowing watered-down inks to flow over a piece of paper like the edge of the ocean lapping onto the beach gives ink drawings a fluid, watercolor-like affect. Develop ink wash drawings or paintings gradually to maintain control over a medium that may initially seem less than forgiving.
Create a light pencil sketch, outlining an image on a piece of watercolor or similarly heavyweight paper. Watercolor paper has "tooth," the texture that prevents the ink wash from spreading across the paper too quickly. Avoid using thin paper, as it will buckle and wrinkle from the moisture of the ink wash. After outlining the image, use the pencil to lightly outline the shadow areas to separate them from the light areas.
Create a series of ink washes with a range of shades, from light to dark, in disposable cups. Start with a line of 5 to 8 cups. Place several drops of ink in each cup. Add twice the amount of water to the first cup to create a light-black shade. Add water to each additional cup, reducing the amount of water gradually with each successive cup to create gradually darker shades. Leave the last cup with pure ink for the darkest black.
Dip a clean, wide, flat brush in the ink wash that has the lightest tone and use it to block out all of the general shadow areas of the image drawn on the paper. Keep the brush saturated, re-dipping frequently, and allow the wash to spread naturally over the paper. Avoid letting the brush dry out or overworking the ink wash on the paper to prevent scumble marks, which consist of dry-looking marks that show the scratchy appearance of bristle lines. Keep the paper white where the lightest areas of the image exist.
Rinse the brush in fresh water and pick up some of the next darkest ink wash. Start to break down the shadow areas into two tones. Leave the light wash untouched in the lightest areas of the shadows and darken the darker areas. Apply successively darker shades while the previous layer is still wet or after it has dried. If applied when the previous layer remains wet, the layers will meld together and create a softer transition. Applying a new ink wash after the previous layer has dried results in a sharper transition.
Continue to deepen darker and darker areas, working successively toward the darkest ink wash until you have captured the complex range of light to dark.
Dip a small, round brush, an ink pen or a stick into one of the lighter ink washes and use it to delineate subtle details or help define soft edges. Use a medium tone to delineate slightly more defined details and sharper edges, and a dark tone for the sharpest details and hardest edges.
Allow the ink drawing to fully dry, then use an eraser to remove all visible pencil marks.
