Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor

I really like this book, but I will agree that it is a duplicate of Painting with Watercolor, Pen and Ink. That book actually has more information in it. Claudia's realism is absolutely amazing!

This is an excellent book... IF you don't already own "Painting with Watercolor, Pen and Ink" by Claudia Nice. The material in this book is entirely duplicated in the "Painting with..." except for the last chaper called "Fur and Feathers". Please do not buy this book if you already own a copy of "Painting with Watercolor, Pen and Ink". I did and was disappointed that there was only one chapter of new material in this book.Now, if you own the other book "Painting Nature in Pen & Ink with Watercolor" then I highly recommend this book as it has subject matter that was not covered in the "Painting Nature..." book. If you don't own any of her books, then buy the "Painting with Watercolor Pen and Ink" ISBN 158180265X because it completely combines the material in both "Creating Textures..." and "Painting Nature..." books.

As a new botanical illustrator working in mostly in watercolor I have often found rendering realistic fine detail and texture a difficult and frustrating task. This marvelous book introduces the artist to a new approach that produces detail and textural effects that are both effective and fairly easy to achive.The illustations are beautiful and the explanatory text is clear, to the point, and easy to follow. The book is well organized; starting with the various pen and ink methods and how they can be combined with watercolor techniques. This is followed by the demonstration of how these techniques can be applied to achive realistic rendering of multitudes of surface textures from apples to zebras and almost everything in between..

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in pen & ink drawing. Instead of trying to explain techniques in detailed text, it shows you step by step with color illustrations. It is written for all levels & the instructions are easy to follow.There is information on types of lines, value and contrast. A wide variety of techniques are also covered. These include, dry surface, damp surface, wet on wet, spatter, blotting, impression, stamping and salt & alcohol. It shows how to draw & paint metallic objects (gold, silver, iron, rust), baskets, pottery, brick, stone, marble, granite, textiles, clouds, weather, earth textures, rocks, wood, trees, leaves, foliage, flowers, fruit, & eggs. Another section includes instruction on drawing transparent objects such as glass, eyes and many varieties of water. There is also a section on animals covering butterflies, animal hair, scales & feathers.

I bought this book when I was just beginning watercolor. The book is awesome to look at, but a bit on the overwhelming side for someone just beginning watercolor. However, the contents of the book is well worth the investment.I had experience in the distant past with pen & ink and was fascinated at the way that Mrs. Nice put the two mediums together for very realistic pictures.There are pages with many illustrations of examples of textures in each medium, and many contrasting examples of textures using the same object so that you can easily compare the different effects of each technique. I find these pages invaluable and something that I refer to over and over. These reference pages are worth the price of the book.However, once you get past these pages, there are breathtaking examples with many notes listing colors used and information useful for duplicating the same texture. The topics range from natural subjects, to man-made subjects, such as marbles, glass, rusted metal, and blue jeans! Also of great interest to me is the small section of eyes from both man and animal. This book is a treasure trove of information for anyone interested in capturing realistic textures of almost anything. It is a book that you will not only gaze at for fun, but also refer to again and again.