Pen and ink rendering can seem a bit intimidating, but it helps to just take it slow and work one step at a time. This ginger root seems complex, but it was all a matter of patience, time, and care.

And a good underdrawing. Don’t rush in and think, “Oh, I’ll fix my wonky drawing as I’m inking,” because you can’t. (Ask me how I know.) Working in ink isn’t the same as working in oils or charcoal or anything else; you really do need to spend as much time as it takes to get your initial drawing right before moving on the the ink part.

For the ink part, I’m using Sakura Pigma Micron pens in tiny size, .005 and .05.

Here’s the beginning stage of the ink rendering. You can still see my underdrawing, done in 4H pencil. I don’t bother to erase until the end; you’d be surprised at how little is left to erase.

I tend to work in an in-and-out manner. I work for a while on the big picture, doing the tonal sculpting of big forms, and then focus in for a while on a smaller area. And then do it all again…big picture, then detail…big picture, then detail.

After a lot of drawing, I’m almost finished, broadly speaking. Notice how I’m trying to gradually deepen my tones in an overall manner. Overworking is my worst ink habit, and I try to work as lightly as possible at every stage.

Also notice that, on this drawing, I’m using a combination of contour hatching and standard crosshatching. I’m actively experimenting with different ways of doing this.

And here’s the finished drawing. It took another couple of hours to go back in and refine detail; this final refinement is actually my favorite part of the pen and ink process. Those last few tiny marks, made oh-so-carefully while peering at the subject (sometimes through a magnifier) are what make a drawing really come to life.

This little ginger root represents hours of pleasant exploration and observation. Looking, and really seeing the small things of this world can be an act of love. And I do love it.