Introduction To Technical Pens For Beginners: Sketching With Steel Nib Technical Pens

Have you heard about technical pens? What are they? Are they just fancy fineliners? Can you sketch with them? Why do they exist? If you have any of these burning questions then get ready, because this class will answer them all!!

So let me introduce you to steel nib technical pens! My name is Imran and I’m obsessed with all things art and design and love trying different art materials and tools to explore the wonderful world of expression & creativity!

I’ve been sketching with technical pens for a few years now and initially I wasn’t too keen on using the steel-nib variations for my specific style of sketching but I gradually became accustomed to these little tools and now use them quite often in my more detailed sketches.

If you’ve always been curious about technical pens, or just want to feed that pen addiction, or if you just want to try a new art tool then your in the right place!

In this class we will:           

1. Delve into the technicalities of technical pens: steel nib technical pens
2. Discuss inking options, brands and their constructs
3. Analyse the surfaces they work best on
4. Look at their maintenance and general features

We will then complete some simple exercises using the worksheet provided (download from class resources) to get our memory muscles accustomed to these fantastic little tools by creating mini drawings using:

1. Hatching
2. Cross Hatching
3. Scribbling
4. And Stippling

We will then observe how these pens interact with other mediums before the exciting part of the step-by-step full sketch!

And finally, we will then complete a full sketch using just our technical pens and a combination of the techniques from the mini-exercises to produce a gorgeous little artwork, which will be a step-by-step process in real-time.

On completing the exercises and the full sketch, you will be ready for your class project and be super excited to express yourself using these wonderful tools for us all to see!

This class will give you the direction, inspiration, and motivation for you to quickly get started in using your technical pens for sketching and doodling using beautiful cross hatching textures.

This class is aimed at all levels of skill from beginners to seasoned professionals and we will mostly work in real-time at a nice and steady pace for you to follow along (the step-by-step drawing produced in the class will be available as images that you can follow in the resource sheet if required).