Tag: Japanese

Drawvember 2019 Days 11-15

This series focuses on Japanese men warriors.

Sugegasa

Warm grey ink drawing of a man seen from the side. He wears a Sugegasa (conical straw hat) and holds a sword at his side with both hands.

Sugegasa (conical straw hat).

I used a few warm grey PITT artist brush pens from Faber-Castell, and my black ink Pentel Brushpen.

Zen

Thick black strokes to draw a young man in cross-legged position, arms folded, head bent and his sword propped between his shoulder and arms. There is a large black rectangle as background.

Young man in cross-legged position, arms folded, head bent and his sword propped between his shoulder and arms.

I used a black ink Pentel Brushpen without drawing a sketch first.

Sword

Thick broad black strokes create movement around a young man with long black hair wielding a sword.

I didn’t like how this one turned out 🙁

I painted directly black ink strokes with a coarse brush to create movement, and then added detail with a black ink Pentel Brushpen.

Duel

Think black lines depicting two dueling samurais seen from above. One wears a Sugegasa (conical straw hat) and has his sword in front of him, while the other is about to unsheath his.

Dueling samurais seen from above.

I used a black ink 0.05 mm Graphik line maker from Derwent.

I’m not very good at hatching and cross-hatching, but if I ignore that aspect, I like how this one came out.

Musashi vs. Denshichirō at the Rengeōin

Black and grey ink drawing of a two samurai fighting with swords on the railing of a wooden deck by a temple near vegetation. One just missed the other who jumped high above the railing and whose sword is ready to strike.

This is how I imagine the duel between Musashi and Denshichirō at the Rengeōin (from the Eiji Yoshikawa novels). I really enjoyed doing this piece and love love love how it turned out.

I used black ink 0.05 mm Graphik line maker from Derwent, a grey ink brush pen from Kuretake, and black ink Pentel Brushpen.

Drawvember 2019 Days 6-10

This series focuses on Japanese women in traditional attire.

Lantern

Ink drawing of a woman in a dark blue kimono, seen from behind, holding a paper lantern

Lantern. Woman in kimono, holding a paper lantern. I used a grey ink brush pen from Kuretake, indigo ink Cambio brush pen, my black ink Pentel Brushpen, and a touch of red watercolor.

Tea

Two women having tea, kneeling on a platform by the water

Tea. Two women having tea, kneeling on a platform by the water. Again I used a grey ink brush pen from Kuretake, indigo ink Cambio brush pen, my black ink Pentel Brushpen, and a touch of yellow, green and red watercolor.

Wagasa

Delicate young woman, holding an umbrella and wearing a white veil over her head. Her long kimono is pale yellow outside and pale blue inside. Her obi is black with starry white motifs.

Wagasa (Japanese paper umbrella). Delicate young woman, holding an umbrella and wearing a white veil over her head. I used a Seiboku ThinLINE grey brush pen for the outline, a fine black line maker for the face and hands, my grey ink brush pen from Kuretake for the background, black ink Pentel Brushpen for the wagasa and Obi (belt), watercolor for the coat decorations and a white Posca pen for the motifs inside the coat and on the Obi.

Maiko

Grey ink drawing of a maiko (apprentice Geisha) checking her reflection in a portable round mirror, and adjusting her hair.

Maiko. Very quick drawing using a Seiboku ThinLINE grey brush pen. This maiko (apprentice Geisha) is checking her reflection in a portable round mirror, and adjusting her hair.

Onna Bugeisha

Very detailed pencil drawing of a seated Onna Bugeisha (female warrior) who carries a fan in her right hand and rests her left hand on the sheath of a sword. My iphone displaying the reference photo is at the left of my drawing. My mechanical pencil is visible next to the drawing.

Onna Bugeisha (female warrior). I got carried away sketching the detail work of her kimono, so I finished the piece in pencil and snapped a photo. But I wanted it in ink, so I erased much of it. See next.

Grey ink drawing of a seated Onna Bugeisha (female warrior) who carries a fan in her right hand and rests her left hand on the sheath of a sword.

Onna Bugeisha (female warrior) in grey ink.