Using the right tools for the job is essential.

Sure, when you’re starting out, sketching with anything can be fun. You certainly don’t need to spend a fortune on pens. However, if you want to get a bit more serious and look at refining your art further you could do a lot worse than invest in some Rotring pens.

A friend recommended them to me and they’ve quickly become my pen of choice (I’m not on commission by the way!).

In a previous post I shared my love of the old school DnD art from the late 70s / early 80s. I grew up with artists like Larry Elmore and Erol Otus – fantasy artists that mastered the art of creating a sense of peril and drama that was characteristic of those earlier versions of the Dungeons and Dragons game.

The sketch below is a homage to that style, but this one is done using Rotring pens.

Compare this image with the one in the earlier post. I’m not asking you which one you prefer, as that’s quite subjective, but look at the detail, especially in the hatching. This second sketch allows for much finer strokes, which in turn allows you to create more detail.

I simply couldn’t have achieved that level of detail with the old pens.

Of course, more detail takes more time and requires more patience to perfect your sketch. I’m still working on my patience!