Hello Arts Club,

Thank you to everyone who has come out to the last two skill share meetings! I think it's been really fun to learn from and share with each other.

I had a few questions about materials for the ink wash, and so I thought I would list them all here. Like I said, there's no wrong way to do it, and no wrong materials, but here's what I use:

-Sennelier shallac ink (various colors e.g. ultramarine, turquoise, prussian blue, grey, raw sienna, sepia, olive green)

-Fabriano Artistico hot press watercolor paper (640gsm/300#)

-Raphaël Kaerell varnish brush (Acrylic Brush Series 291 Flat #100)

Other people have had good results with Fabriano Artistico hot press watercolor paper 140# (lighter weight) and different brushes and inks. You can try all kinds of combinations of materials.

Once the paper is prepped, I draw on it with HB and 2H pencils, as well as white chalk. I also use a 2B pencil for dark accents in the shadows. The paper erases pretty well, but I like to do my drawing on another sheet of paper and then transfer it over to keep everything as clean as possible.

If you're interested in working with charcoal instead, I would recommend against using the specific materials listed above since charcoal doesn't really stick to this prepared paper. If you're would like to work with charcoal, I would recommend a using a different paper (perhaps cold press watercolor) and a water soluble ink. Please comment if you have any questions, or if you have any of your own techniques you'd like to share.