Coffee and Ink Drawing

We found the combination of black ink and coffee made for an exciting drawing but if you are struggling to get hold of any ink just use coffee on its own. You can vary the strength to make it darker or lighter.

I use 3 heaped spoonfuls of instant coffee in a small cup or mug filled a third of the way up.

In my classes we use a variety of improvised sticks for dipping...wooden kebab sticks, cocktail sticks, the end of a paint brush whittled with a knife.   Drips, splashes and accidental results often make for the most fun drawings so be free, work fast and enjoy it.

Draw your object out roughly if you want some help in getting the shape right but otherwise go straight into using the coffee. Boots and shoes are quite hard to draw but leather and all the detail of the laces etc work well with this task.

Add ink later to make your darks really dark. You can also add a wash with a brush at the end if you want.

Fun tip...wet some coffee granules at the end, flick them onto your drawing and rub them around for extra effect.

Materials: Black drawing ink and/or coffee, an improvised point or dipping pen, pencil, pot, rag/kitchen paper.

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