Classes
About
Meet Claire Blog
Contact

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the 2025 Ink Sketching Course home page! This is our online hub where you  will find the recordings, reference image libraries, and other resources. I'm so glad you are here! 

While the live version of the course is now completed, the adventure continues in the recordings! Whether you are just starting the course or returning to review a section, I hope the Ink Sketching Course will continue to be an online place of fun, learning, and exploration.

Class List & Themes

  • Class 1 - Mountains & Simplification Strategies Part 1
  • Class 2 - Trees & Simplification Strategies Part 2
  • Class 3 - Rock Patterns
  • Class 4 - Water (streams, lakes, and simple wave patterns)
  • Class 5 - wildflowers and foliage
  • Recording from the optional group chat/ ending celebration also added to the recording list below

Course Folder: Here's a link to the overall course folder of reference images, practice images, and downloads. Folder linked here. For each class below, I link to the relevant sections. You will have access to all of the Ink Sketching Content for however long you are an Adventure Art Academy member (the course is part of the library, so it is here if you leave and come back!).

Thank you for sketching with me!!

Pre-course video - Materials Overview

If this is your first time sketching with me, I highly recommend watching this video BEFORE the main course starts, especially if you got new pens. The fountain and brush pens take a few minutes to setup, and then it will take some time for the ink to flow down the pen into the tip/ nib. 

I also share some tips on paper and the sketchbook, as well as answer common materials questions like how to travel with pens.

To watch click the image or here. 

< to view the old content from the 2024 course click here >

Class #1 - Mountains & Simplification Techniques

Here we go! I am so excited to kick off the course with our first class. This week is all about sketching mountain patterns, getting to know our new tools, and exploring ways to create depth with lines and shading. 

Class #2 - Trees & the SAVE Simplification Method

In this class we explore evergreen trees, deciduous trees, and a composition and simplification method that uses thumbnails and value sketches to help us draw a scene.

Class #3 - Rocks

Rocks are often one of the hardest and most complex elements of a landscape to sketch. I hope that this class will give you some new tools to explore, simplify, and draw the amazing patterns and shapes of rocks, from close-up views to far away cliffs. 

Class #4 - Water

Building on the prior session on rocks, this class explores a variety of watery landscapes! From distant ocean textures to moving water, my goal with these lessons is to give you a bunch of new tools to approach scenes with elements of water. 

Class #5 - Flowers & Foliage

In this final instructional session, we explore the complex patterns of foliage (especially grasses and bushes) and the beautiful shapes of various wildflowers!!  

Ending Celebration, Thank You, and Group Chat

This final recording does not go over any new instructional content. Instead, it is intended as a space for folks to reflect on everything you accomplished, and during the live session, for folks to say hi which we didn't have much time for!

Topics include: choosing materials for painting or sketching outside, combining ink and watercolor, future sketching classes ideas, discussing the possibility of a book version of the course, continuing sketching momentum, and a bit more! 

Bonus Mini Lessons

 These short lessons expand on the concepts explored in main lessons. In each, I walk you through an entire sketch from start to finish. The times listed are the length of each lesson (remember- you can take as much time as you need to rewind or pause the recording). Scroll down to the materials section to see the reference books flip-through video.

If you would like to share your work, ask questions, and say hi to others in a supportive community space, I created a space for us using a program called Discord. This app (for both desktop computers and mobile devices) does not require any social media accounts, and is a space for folks in this course and my Adventure Art Academy classes. Alumni are also welcome to continue hanging out in the space even after a course or class ends. 

I hope you might check it out!  Last year the Discord group was a super fun space where folks shared their daily sketches, questions, and supported each other. I look forward to seeing anyone there who wants to hop in! When you are in the program, look for the Ink Sketching section near the top on the left side column. 

Invite Link: https://discord.gg/x6hG5qu4RV

Orientation video: https://youtu.be/6Qjqvr4ALw4

Favorite Reference/ Learning Books

There are a handful of books that I used to learn more about sketching landscapes, especially with ink. I made this little video to show you what these books look like! For links to each book see the list below. 

The books shown include Northwest Trees and Timberline Illustrated by Ramona Hammerly, the illustrations of Francis Lee Jacques in My Wilderness, and The Law's Guide to Nature Drawing & Journaling. 

 

Materials List

  • Brush Pen Option 1: Pentel Pocket Brush Pen- This is the most affordable option (https://amzn.to/40DjfmR) and comes with a few extra cartridges of ink as well.  It does have a longer brush tip, which makes for a wider line variety but less control. 
  • Brush Pen Option 2: Kuretake No.13 Brush Pen- if you know that you will want the maximum control over your brush strokes, this pen costs about $10 more, and some students last year found that the the shorter and smaller brush tip was easier for them to use. (https://amzn.to/3OZwAkm)
  • Fine Tipped Pen- Something like a Micron pen is great, but I found that I was using them up quickly, so I switched to a refillable fountain pen. I love the Platinum Desk Pen- affordable, feels nice to hold, and designed to work with waterproof ink. (https://amzn.to/3NeN2gs)
  • Sketchbook/ Paper- If you want to use printer paper, you can! Or any kind of non-textured paper.  I unexpectedly really loved having all my sketches collected in a book. I like this one ( https://amzn.to/3ufZNAy) because it is not too expensive, ink flows beautifully on the pages, and the thinner paper actually helped me let go of perfection and worry less about results! 
  • Pencil and Eraser- Anything works here! My go-to pencil is always this little pentel mechanical pencil (https://amzn.to/3Tz2p7t), as I like the soft lead and no sharpening required. 
  • Carbon Black Ink- my favorite refill ink for the Platinum desk pen and the brush pens. Might clog or be slow in other pens with more narrow feeder mechanisms. If plan to draw every day you will need the refill ink!  https://amzn.to/35ryS8I 
  • Refill Needle- I use blunt tipped needles to refill the ink cartridge that come with the pens- easier and cleaner than the other cartridge options I tried! Here's the link for a 5 pack from Amazon (I bought mine originally from Jet Pens or Goulet Pens when I ordered some ink!) - https://amzn.to/4bBfpzU

Reference Books: 

  • Northwest Trees illustrated by Ramona Hammerly - a book I got a decade ago that was really helpful as I tried to learn about drawing and painting tree shapes! (https://amzn.to/3taTM3W) 
  • Timberline Illustrated by Ramona Hammerly - if you liked the first trees book, this one has more illustrations! Smaller but equally lovely. https://amzn.to/3HHVDoL (this links to the new edition, plenty of used here on Amazon and elsewhere!)
  • The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing & Journaling by John Muir Laws - a good book if you are looking for more traditional drawing techniques, especially for natural objects and subjects like animals and plants - https://amzn.to/42IiIDg

Books for Additional Inspiration

  • My Wilderness by William O. Douglas - the illustrations by Frances Lee Jacques in this book are awesome, and the writing is good too if you are into nature writing. This one has far fewer illustrations overall than the first two books. Used copies only available now, I got mine from eBay. 
  • Yoshida Hiroshi - The Complete Woodblock Prints - This book is expensive ($80 USD), and I plan to make a flip-through video of it so you can see the images. It catalogs the woodblock prints created by renowned Japanese artist Yoshida Hiroshi, and I use it for inspiration for linework. (https://amzn.to/4gxqmUp)

Additional Fun Materials: Tools and materials mentioned during the live sessions. These are not required by any means!  

  • Squishy Eraser- This is the large eraser you see stuck on to my mechanical pencil! I think these perform pretty similar from all brands. Mine is made by Faber Castell, bought from Blick. I tear off hunks to stick on the pencil. 
  • Shiny Ink- The manufacturer is Organics Studio, and the ink name is Nitrogen. Be forewarned- this stuff likes to get everywhere, and is super staining. Even the little dry flecks from the lid make a mess, so I am putting it in a different jar. I also am not putting this in any of my pens because of how messy it is.
  • Glass Dip Pen- Unlike a fountain pen or the brush pen, this pen does not have a cartridge to fill with ink. Instead, it has grooves above the tip that hold ink. It's really cool! And what I use with the messy ink. I wanted a narrow handle one, so I got the Herbin Straight Glass Dip Pen from Goulet Pens (same place I got the fun ink and refill needles). 
  • Brush Pen with Smaller & Shorter tip- The Kuretake No.13 brush pen. I find that this one is a bit easier to make fine lines. Currently on sale at Amazon for $16.50 (https://amzn.to/3O15Bor)  (otherwise Jet pens is the cheapest place to get it). 
  • Fude Fountain Pens- I've never tried these personally, but I think I might need to now! They have a special fun bent tip that creates a wide variety of line thicknesses.