Explore fun, approachable exercises with guidance from professional illustrator Matt Rota and discover the thrill of creating a composition and completing it with color, texture and contrast. Learn to use a pen and nib to create a variety of marks and line widths, each with its own visual language. Add the brush to create washes, tones, and drybrush textures, then add watercolor to the mix to lead the viewer's eye into compelling atmospheric space. Master these fundamental techniques and more while you discover the secrets to successful still lifes, portraits and landscapes!
Mixed Media: Pen, Ink & Watercolor
Create captivating, expressive artwork defined in ink and brought to life with luminous watercolors.
01: Getting Started
Meet Matt Rota and learn about pens, ink and brushes and how to handle them. He'll also help you avoid some common mistakes.
18 min
02: Line
Discover the line variation and mark-making possibilities of pen and ink as you define a sketch with inked contour lines.
27 min
03: Value & Tone With Pen
Learn to build form and dimension with hatching and crosshatching. Choose to work from Matt's provided portrait or use your own.
26 min
04: Value & Tone With Brush
Explore smooth brushwork as you create texture and shadow with dry-brushing and ink washes.
18 min
05: Exploring Depth
Using both pen and brush, explore space, depth and scale as you render a landscape.
35 min
06: Watercolor Wash
Enhance your pen and ink drawings with watercolor. Matt demonstrates how to use color in harmony with linear marks to add emphasis and mood to your piece.
29 min
07: Compositing an Image
Combine elements of multiple photographs to create new, imaginative compositions that tell a story. Matt shows how to choose your horizon and work from there to build up your drawing with both pen and watercolor.
34 min
Overview Course No. 40330
About
Matt Rota is a New York-based illustrator and fine artist specializing in narrative technique with watercolor and ink media. He teaches fine art and illustration at the School of Visual Art in New York City and The Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. His clients include The New York Times, McSweeney's, The Washington Post and other publications.
