Hey guys, a really useful pen and ink book imho is Alphonso Dunn's book and specifically workbook. He has some amazing excercises in there that I love doing. Peter's Dynamic Bible is excellent and my copy is getting pretty beat up from being carried around and read so much. Alphonso's soft cover workbook is a great way to fill a quick 15 minute break with an easy pen and ink session. I like that you do the work right in the book. I'll share the cover and some of my completed pages.

Hey, I wanted to share one of the pages I regularly practice before drawing. I’ve done plenty of warm-up exercises before, but Peter Han really emphasizes some crucial points that have completely changed how I approach them. What’s your take on the idea of using pens instead of pencils? The idea is that it forces you to be more deliberate with your decisions, which could help you improve faster.

Sketchbooks filled since fall 2022. Another thing Peter emphasizes is mileage and I have found it to be helpful

Sketchbooks I've filled since Fall 2022

Funny enough, the only other art class I have taken in 25 years is a sit in seat in Peter's Dynamic Sketching. These exercises are familiar from that course, but it is a great reminder to keep them up. I was pretty rusty even though I just took that course in spring! It's nice to hear from Peter again, I really like his teaching style and think it meshes well with Marshall. I wish their dual presentation at lightbox a couple years ago was online somewhere. Going through my sketchbook and engaging in this practice more again has made me realize how far out of the habit I had fallen. And how much more in the habit I would like to be. Time to start actively thinking of doing a bit of this before jumping in to sketches.

One area where I can at least excell in quantity if not quality. These other sketches put mine to shame. But I do try and fill up sketchbooks fast. This book I filled from 10/8-11/14. I try to watch sketching videos and imitate people I admire like Kim Jung Gi, Peter Han, or Karl Kopinski. I like experimenting with different materials and paper. I like iterating on similar themes and doing comfortable drawings to warm up.

The idea to think of cylinders and being inside a large cylinder, was super useful. Imagining the cylinder top and bottom distorted by perspective and the horizon line in front of me really helped. I gave it a shot a couple times with varying materials in my sketchbook.

This type of stuff is so new to me. I only vaguely u.derstand some of these. I tried the same one out a couple times just to see.

The advice of thinking like you have tools even when working freehand changed the way I look at a piece of paper. Due to a hectic schedule I very very often work in a 5x8 sketchbook with no tools at hand. Thinking like I have a square or a triangle for those fancy perspective tricks is very insightful to me. The cutting a rectangle halfway with a line from the corner to find the next highest corner is entirely new to me. I am excited to learn more from someone who so obviously knows their business both drawing and teaching.

You say advanced warning like it's a bad thing. I would feel happy with my investment if all the videos were just you talking for 5 or 10 minutes about a single piece you admire. The insight and knowledge you provide is incredible. I am very much a novice artist and am still learning skills. And even I can appreciate your advice and wisdom when looking at pictures like this and jack frosts palace from Nemo in dreamland. How you point out subtle ways perspective plays a part really helps me. I am by far the least skilled person in this class amd probably the least deserving of your time investment. But I just felt like you should know, even for someone like me, you make it relatable. I was inspired enough to give it a shot in my sketchbook. It is not uncommon for notes from class and thumbnail sketch drawings like this to overlap.