Doodling with a ballpoint pen changed my whole approach

I used to be one of those people who only sketches with a mechanical pencil, thinking you needed the erasability to get anything right. Then I sat next to this older guy at a coffee shop last Tuesday who was drawing this crazy detailed portrait with just a cheap Bic pen. He told me that not being able to erase forces you to commit and work with your mistakes, which stuck with me. So I tried it during my lunch break, and honestly my lines got looser and more confident right away. Has anyone else had a tool or material flip their whole drawing style like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

hunt.nora7d ago

Honestly, that bit about "work with your mistakes" is spot on. I switched to fountain pens a couple years back for the same reason. Pencils let you agonize over every line, but with a pen you just have to own each mark and move on. It totally flipped my mindset too, my drawings got way more expressive and less stiff. Try using a cheap ballpoint on some cardstock or thick mixed media paper, it feels different and gives you a bit more control.

the_anthony7d ago

Did you find yourself hesitating less in other parts of life too after making that switch?

reeseperez7d ago

Man, @hunt.nora nailed it about committing to the mark. I tried switching to a ballpoint once and ended up with a drawing that looked like a crime scene sketch drawn by a drunk octopus. Guess some of us need that eraser more than we want to admit.