Coloured Gel Pen Art

Coloured gel pens can create wonders once you know how to use them to your benefit. I bought a pack of 24 pens comprising of 12 ball-point pens and 12 gel pens in all rainbow colours, black, pink, purple, dark green and brown. I didn't really had anything in mind during the time when I bought them but I knew I would use them a lot since I love working with coloured pens. Not only do they give you neat pictures, you can add details and depth with extreme ease too. I especially love using the black pen, both gel and ball-point pen, very extensively. Also, they are an excellent way of doing something productive while you procrastinate when you are severely bored from studying…

So, one day during the time I had to work on my MSc project, I was quite drained and tired of studying and working on my thesis. I drifted in and out of fantasy world and day dreams… Just then something hit me and I had to get it down on a paper.

It was not extremely clear but there were lots of wavy lines, geometric figures and many bright colours. I just let my imagination take control, I wasn't sure what I would find at the end of the whole activity, whether I would love it or it will end up in the bin… I started with a pencil, the rough sketch… Not sure if that would be the end result.

Honestly, all sorts of thought kept springing in my head… I had a lot to do for my MSc project, and I didn't know where to start. There were so many possibilities… I was tensed, scared for the future unknown… I hadn't planned ahead yet… Questions like, "I finish my MSc and then what? Is it worth going back for a job?"kept springing up again and again with no solution. These were big decisions… Decisions that can make one worry and stress out senseless. Decisions only I could take for myself… Decisions that would pave way for my future… All these can make a person ill, literally…

All the while, I started to use the black ball-point pen for outline. I used ball-point instead of gel pen since they make thinner, lighter and more controlled lines. I drew and drew and drew till I was satisfied. Now, time for the colours… A splash of orange, a little bit of green, a lot of blues in shades both light and dark, a touch of yellow here and there, some purples and some pinks… I kept adding more and more… Just like a toddler learning to draw for the first time… A magical skill discovered… No wall is large enough to their new venture…

I used gel pens for this part and also retouched all the outlines with the black gel pen. Finally, once finished, I sat back and stared at it for a while… Man I really do work better under pressure :p

This is the product:

Mother nature finally had it

Kind of looks like the chaos in my head, hanging on my wall...

...pinned on my board

Anyway, the possibilities are infinity… for both the result of what the picture would have looked like and my future… But it always comes back to us… We choose that's why we are… Lol, enough of philosophy :P 

Check out my other picture I made, once again, while procrastinating from studies as well as while watching the episodes of The Boondocks series… 

Strawberries

For this one I only used gel pens and used my finger to blend the colours together to give the smooth shades that give depth to the picture… 

As a tip, here is what you can do:

First put some base colour on your drawing. Start from a small area. While the gel is still wet add the lighter colour, for example in this case, I used red as a base for my strawberries. Once coloured, I added orange on the red colouring and blended it by smudging it with my fingers. Then go on top of the red part with your red pen once again on places where you want darker shades as the colour slightly darkens when you add some more of the same colour on it… I also added some yellow for much lighter shades, however, the places where I wanted it to be yellow, I left them blank (as in no red colouring) to keep them very light.

Then the same procedure was used on the leaf tops. Normal green base, topped with dark green colour and then smudged together, followed by yellow to give the light and dark contrast...

Do let me know how you find them and if you enjoy working with gel pens too.

Till then,

Love always...

rJB ac