Drawing Animals in White Gel Pen - Badger Tutorial

 

I have finally managed to get my YouTube channel up and running so I can demonstrate how I create my art. I'm planning the channel to be a mixture of draw and paint with me videos. I think creating is so good for mental wellbeing, I would like to encourage others to have a go.

I thought the badger would make a great first subject since it's striking and bold, and also there's room for stylistic interpretation since the badger stripe is so recognisable. Gel pens are also relatively inexpensive to get started with for beginners.

The initial drawing I do lightly with a Derwent studio pencil. If you find it challenging to draw on the black paper, because I recommend keeping linework to a minimum due to issues erasing, I believe you can get white graphite transfer paper that you could use a tracing with. I don't know if it works, but it could be a possibilty to use with the black paper.

If you do make a mistake you can use a black pen to tidy things up. I know a lot of beginners, and even more seasoned artists, can worry about going wrong. I do too, but you have that safety net if needed.

I think working in pen is great for giving confidence, and also teaching commitment to decisions. In todays world where we can work digitally, with multiple undos and layers, making a decision and reacting to the effects of that decision is a good exercise. Sometimes when you feel you've gone "wrong" some creative ideas can arise as you try to pull the drawing back around.

I hope you enjoy this project if you decide to have a go. Gel pens are a lot of fun and give striking results.

I used the following materials -

Sakura white Gelly Roll pens, Clairefontaine Paint'On black, Sakura Pigma Micron Fineliners