Pen and Ink Drawing Workbook

I've always been into art, but never went through a class, and most books I tried were too frustrating to finish. Due to adult responsibilities and a move, I took about 1 1/2yrs to go through this book from start to finish. The pictures attached were completed on my own as I was working on the last section of this workbook. Before this book, my drawings had inconsistent results, and I didn't touch ink for the same reasons most people don't- it's intimidating. Now I love it! The author makes it feel so approachable. Now I do recommend the accompanying book too. It's worth the cost. But the workbook is more valuable in my opinion. He has many exercises that build strength and skill in an effective way. As a teacher myself (not art) I appreciate the author's teaching skills as well as his artistic ability. And that's honestly what makes this book so amazing. Many art instruction books are written by very good arts, but that doesn't mean they know anything about teaching. It doesn't matter how good a person is at something, if they can't teach effectively, the student is going to struggle to learn. Mr. Dunn will teach you not just about ink, but so much more about art in general. You'll learn about form, value, texture, composition (in the main book), and more. The only basic principle he doesn't cover is color, for obvious reasons, and I do believe he has a video about that on YouTube. This workbook has not only improved my ink skills, but has taught me much that I've been able to apply to other mediums. There's one down side, and it's not the author's fault. The publisher could have done a better job. I won't complain too much about the paper. It's not the best, but it would be very expensive for them to print it on high quality art paper, and this is a workbook; it's not meant for you to take it out and frame it. However, there are a few projects in the back where the publisher altered the shape slightly in order to make it fit on the page. It seems like a small adjustment, but on the bird drawing, the propertions are a little off, and it does affect the end result. It's minor complaint, but one worth noting. Here's some of my favorite features about this workbook: -treats the consumer like an equal who can learn if so desired (non of this gatekeeping nonsense some artists do) -sufficient explanations, and excellent if you pair it with the instruction book -skill and pen control exercises -opportunities to self evaluate -teaches you HOW to draw, not just to copy his work -because of the above, you're free to explore and develop your own style as you go -provides tracings and outlines for projects. Even if you feel confident in doing it yourself, this reduces the time spent and allows you to just focus on your ink skills -ends with projects that give you confidence to branch out and continue learning on your own

Being in my 70's, I needed the right art teacher to realize my lifelong dream of creating art. Scanning YouTube, I stumbled on a video featuring only fingers, a pencil and pen, and paper. A calm and assuring voice wrapped the package! I clicked on the video and discovered Alphonso Dunn. For me, his expressive fingers, drawing examples, and his voice explaining various aspects of art, were incredibly understandable...I became addicted. Discovering he had two art books, I immediately ordered them from Amazon and in a couple days they arrived (thanks Amazon). Tearing open the package and flipping through the pages, I discovered what will be my main go-to for art instruction books. Use of hands and drawing various objects as he explains various concepts, without knowing, is surely his expertise in another art: pedagogy. As a teacher, he uses his skills very effectively. These books extend his teaching avenues to the print field, and are just as impressive as his videos, on which he has based some material in the books. Again, a pedagogical success! Hopefully, as I’m redecorating my house, he has finished pieces I can purchase to both grace my walls, but also as reminders to keep going in this fulfilling adventure of art. Everyone needs a hero! I believe each person must find their own teacher, but Alphonso Dunn came along when I most needed what he offers. Each person must also decide which teaching books will best suit their own way of learning, but having purchased a lot of books, these two will surely be my most prized. If there are more books in the works (and Dunn has hinted that possibility) I’ll be purchasing those as well. I highly recommend if anyone reading this post is looking for an art book, or looking for a teacher, try Alphonso Dunn. I wish him the best as he follows his own art quest, but that as he grows, I also hopes that he shares his knowledge with us who are desiring to do our best to learn and grow. L Terry

If anyone is familiar with the very famous Dynamic Sketching class, you'll know that you need to be using ink the entire class. I've done Drawabox before and doing textures was absolutely horrible for me. I knew I'd had to do it again for DS so I got this and the companion book GET BOTH! Because the book with information will help you a lot with the actuall drills in this workbook. My rendering in pen and ink has improved so dramatically! This is such an effective book to help you get mastery over the control you need to work with ink. It isn't a how to draw book, its a how to use pen and ink effectively type of book. I know DS isn't about rendering however I do think it'll help you when you do plan on rendering later down the line as the class is more focused on construction. I almost wanna cry when I look at my pen and ink drawings with how proud I am. You will not regret buying this workbook and putting the work to do the drills! Alphonso created really effective practices to really cement you understanding. These are practices I'll take with me forever because of how helpful they were. They actually make things click in your brain on how pen and ink work in terms of control, messaging and value. Great teachers are so rare and if anyone has seen Mr. Dunn's videos you know you're in for true learning. You will not regret this book!

If you own and liked this first book then it's very likely that you'll like this one just as much. It includes great exercises to help you learn a lot of the techniques covered in the first book by starting you through them and giving you specific areas within its pages to continue them on your own. All of the examples and other artwork are very well done. In my opinion each topic/technique is very useful--not just for pen & ink--but many carry over to drawing in general. As with his first book this one seems to be geared towards those who have at least a small amount of drawing/sketching experience--it's not a learn how to draw book--although you certainly don't need more than basic drawing skills. At the same time the techniques shown can be used by everyone from those with the basic skills up to advanced artists who may be highly skilled in pencil, charcoals, etc., and are wanting to learn the different skills required with a pen where you have to convey values very differently If you watch his YouTube videos you already know that Alphonso is very skilled. He often draws interesting objects in perspective for use as the basis for his shading techniques. For many people just drawing these starting objects can be a struggle, making it more difficult to get to the point where you can practice the shading. Many of the exercises in this book will start you off with a pre-drawn shape or object, already rendered in perspective, and allow you to practice the shading (or other) techniques. The next step might be having you both draw the object *and* shade it. This is one ways people of different skill levels can find value with this book. I appreciate Alphonso's excellent YouTube channel so much that I'd have purchased this book regardless of its content, but fortunately for all of us he's put the same hard work into this book that he puts into his videos, making the book an excellent resource--not just for those owning its companion book--but for anyone wanting to draw in pen & ink. Of course you'll get more value from this book if you *do* own his first one.

This is the first Alphonso Dunn book I have purchased. Completely overlooked this being a workbook to be paired with his first book, 'Pen and Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide'. His YouTube channel is also enormously helpful to those new to pen & ink, like myself, and is what led me to purchasing this here. Sir Dunn is a great teacher, as he provides instruction that is straight-forward sensible. The exercises have allowed me to observe my habits (good & bad) while drawing. They're also fairly meditative. Looking forward to seeing my progress while moving through this book. A small detail I appreciate: the margins around each exercise in which I'm able to make small notes and write the dates I completed each exercise. Also, the exercises are fairly short, so I can use them to warm up my hand for drawing. Explanations for the attached photos: 1. Picture of the open workbook: I wish there were a spiral-bound option for buying this book, as there is with his first book. I find the closer I get to the binding, the less control I have over the quality of the lines I'm drawing. Didn't reduce my "star-rating" because it's minor, and everything else about this book is quite swell. 2. Drawing collage: This is a drawing I had done for Inktober, ironically enough. I simply used various exercises throughout this book to fill in most of the blank space, to create a "dream-like" collage above a sleeping person. Of course I have a lot to learn, and I am looking forward to more Alphonso's instruction to help lead me in the right direction(s).

I had toyed with the idea of purchasing this workbook for some time until I ran across a review of it by another artist on YouTube (who swore he did not know Mr. Dunn and had no affiliation with him) that was greatly impressed by the lessons and exercises in Volumes 1 and 2. I was not what you would call an expert with pen n ink but I did okay, and while I don't have Volume 1, I can definitely say that Volume 2 is a very good set of exercises for developing or sharpening your skills. IF you go through the exercises in this workbook and practice them until you're happy with your results, I have no doubt your skills will be greatly improved. I have seen a definite improvement in my inking skills although I wouldn't go so far as to say that I've mastered the media, but I'm working on it. LOL. It's a very good guide for beginners or the not so advanced such as myself.

I first began my pen and ink journey with Alphonso Dunn in late 2016 and enjoyed his first book and his YouTube channel tremendously (and still do!). I worked with microns and technical pens at the time. Earlier this year I discovered that I really loved using traditional metal nibs even more than working with the microns, but there's a steep learning curve associated with each type of nib (and even the same nib type can be drastically different between manufacturers). I needed to really get used to each nib, to learn how to navigate them as nibs are not direction-agnostic like technical pens are. Fortunately I had this exercise book waiting for me, and I started using the exercises, from the very beginning, to do some serious working out with my Brause Steno nib. The Brause Steno (which closely resembles the original Blue Pumpkin from another manufacturer) is an excellent calligraphy nib and very expressive, which is part of the problem. It's more difficult for me to handle than a slightly stiffer G nib, and I often didn't flex the tines enough or flexed them too much and made ink messes. Taking the nib through these exercises, however, helped me learn a TON about how the Brause Steno handles in pretty much all drawing situations, and how best to adjust to it. And the best part is, this ended up being an express lesson that I could complete in about a month (if you're not chronically ill and can art for longer periods and every day, you could even get up to snuff in a week) and see vast improvement. I've now started to also take the Tachikawa soft maru (as its name implies, a softer version of the typical stiff maru/mapping nib) through the exercises which is also helping a lot in terms of figuring out how to use the soft maru appropriately to express the subtle yet delicate line variation I needed. I actually don't draw in the workbook; I copy things, usually by hand, to sheets of paper appropriate for the hard bite of metal nibs and work with those. This is an excellent companion to the first book as well. Highly recommended.

Taught me a lot of pen and ink techniques and allowed me to make fun pictures.

Attention ce livre ne vous apprendra pas à « dessiner » en tant que tel, il vous apprendra la régularité du trait, ainsi que comment ombrer, simuler les textures, donner du volume aux objets. Je pensais que les exercices de ce livre seraient relaxants, récréatifs. Ils demandent au contraire une très grande concentration, beaucoup d’application et de rigueur. C’est un retour à l’école du dessin d’une façon très interactive et progressive, accessible à tous. Ce livre nous met réellement au travail, il nous fait progresser en nous demandant notre participation, et c’est en cela qu’il est irremplaçable. On pratique!!! On peut tout simplement en faire un peu chaque jour, même 30' nous permettent d’avancer sans s’en rendre compte. On peut le prendre à tous les niveaux, même débutant, mais celui qui a l’habitude de manipuler le crayon ou la plume y arrivera plus aisément. Les exercices apparaissent tout d’abord comme un entraînement un peu abstrait, des lignes de traits à reproduire dans un sens, dans l’autre, des courbes qui se répètent régulièrement, des traits simulant le volume, le sens, du remplissage... Ils prennent tous leur sens lorsqu’on les met en application en remplissant comme on l’a appris une forme géométrique de façon a lui donner un volume par exemple. Hé oui, bien dessiner au graphite ou à l’encre c’est d’abord beaucoup de travail, on s’en serait douté... Une chance: A. Dunn nous offre là encore un petit miracle de pédagogie. Ce gars est vraiment très très doué pour transmettre son art. Merci Alphonso!

nice thick book with plenty of exercises to complete. However it lost a star due to the pages being thin- if you use anything other than pencil it will show through. I will be scanning and printing

Bra övningar och enkla, tydliga tips och förklaringar. Klart minus boken kom bucklig och med uppfläkt pärm.

I kept looking at this workbook but felt it was a little over my budget however I bought it as a birthday gift and wow, it was a 6 week course of tips, practice and more practice. I did each activity, sometimes more than once and it took my artwork to a whole new level. I’m so glad I invested in me, if you have a little skill in drawing then you’d probably benefit, it might be tricky if you’ve never drawn before however don’t let that stop you. Don’t look at this as just a book. It really is a course in its own right & I teach! Invest in yourself, you won’t regret it! Have fun x Thank you Mr Dunn x

Até agora, atendeu totalmente as espectativas, muito bom utilizar o livro para praticar após ler o livro teórico. Após alguns exercícios já consigo perceber a melhoria na qualidade dos meus traços e ainda estou em cerca de 1/10 do material