How To Draw A Raven With Pen And Ink - The Virtual Instructor

In this pen and ink lesson, we’ll take a look at drawing a raven. Since texture is so important with this subject, we’ll explore several approaches to creating convincing texture with ink.

Over the centuries, ravens have been the subject of mythology, folklore, art, and literature. They’re a symbol of prophecy and insight. Also, there’s evidence that ravens are unusually intelligent.

This lesson is dedicated to these mysterious creatures. Ravens, with their all-black appearance and glossy feathering, provide an interesting challenge for any pen and ink artist. Let’s explore how to achieve the desired effects of contrast and texture in this drawing.

For this project. I’ll be using two black ink liners (technical drawing pens) – 0.1 and 0.05. Feel free to use a nib pen if you prefer. The principles we’ll discuss are quite flexible and apply to either type of pen.

We’ll begin with an ordinary graphite pencil to create our sketch. You’ll also need an eraser to remove the graphite marks once the ink has dried.

Sketching the Raven with a Graphite Pencil

Before we get in to the ink, let’s begin with a graphite sketch.

We’ll first decide on the pose and positioning of the raven. I create several small, rough sketches. They don’t have to be perfect – the goal is to convey the mood and lay out the general composition.

After making a few sketches, I decide to depict a raven that is sitting on a piece of wood, with its head turned to the side.

Now that we’ve decided on the composition and pose, let’s move on to our final surface.

I mark the general shape of the head using light marks with the graphite. Then I add the rough shapes of a massive beak and large body. The head and body are joined, forming the neck. The feet and tail feathering will be added in the next step, so leave some space for them.

An improvised core line that runs through the body helps to construct this basic framework.

I add the shape of the wing, tail feathers, and the framework of feet. The small circles mark the joints. There are three front toes and one more toe is facing backwards.

I also add a line that indicates both the direction and position of the wooden piece on which the bird will be standing.

It’s time to refine the head of the raven. I change the contours of the eye and the beak, making it sharper, curving the line downwards.