All things pen plotter artwork, drawing machines and generative art

Tag: plot party

Beyond the Pen: Plotter Art Made with Paint, Sand, & More!

The last prompt for next week’s Plot Party is “no pen.” Do you need a pen to draw artwork with a pen plotter? Definitely not, below are many different ways to create pen plots without pens!

If you are thinking of picking up a NextDraw pen plotter (the successor to the AxiDraw pen plotter), you can take 5% off a NextDraw pen plotter or accessories with discount code DIRTALLEYDESIGN2024 when you buy directly from Bantam Tools.

Painting with Plotters

One of the first plotter artists that comes to mind when it comes to watercolor painting is Licia He.

Pen plot painting by Licia He (IG: blahblahpaperblah)

Licia’s colorful pen plot art are created with code and painted with an AxiDraw v3 using a custom program.

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Small Pen Plot Art: Postcard Art for Plot Party!

The second to last prompt for next week’s Plot Party is postcard! This will also be an art exchange for everyone participating in Plot Party (more info to come!)

Time to scale things down, what kind of pen plot postcards can you make?!

If you are thinking of picking up a NextDraw pen plotter (the successor to the AxiDraw pen plotter), you can take 5% off a NextDraw pen plotter or accessories with discount code DIRTALLEYDESIGN2024 when you buy directly from Bantam Tools.

Tobias Grothmann: Maze Postcards

How about these playful maze postcards by Tobias Grothmann?

Postcard pen plot by Tobias Grothmann (IG: tobias_grothmann)

The solution to the maze is revealed when hit with UV light!

Postcard pen plot by Tobias Grothmann (IG: tobias_grothmann)

Tobias also keeps things simple with black and white patterned postcards too.

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Multiple Line Widths: Example Pen Plot Art!

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Plot Party is coming up (Nov 8-12), and the second prompt for the five day pen plot art challenge is “multiple line widths!” What does that mean exactly?! Whether you use one pen or multiple pens to accomplish, let’s look at some inspiring examples from some of my favorite pen plot artists!

If you are thinking of picking up a NextDraw pen plotter (the successor to the AxiDraw pen plotter), you can take 5% off a NextDraw pen plotter or accessories with discount code DIRTALLEYDESIGN2024 when you buy directly from Bantam Tools.

Pilot Parallel Pen: Varying Line Width With Just One Pen

The Pilot Parallel Pen is a unique italic calligraphy pen (refillable!) that can also be used for pen plotting.

Example artwork by Con Ryan (on Instagram @conryan.design)

This pen is different from most calligraphy pens in that the nib is made from two plates which allows ink to flow evenly across the entire length of the nib. That means you can create broad strokes, but you can also use the corner to create a thinner line.

For the multiple line widths prompt, that means you can create thin and thick sections in one line!

Example artwork by Targz (on Instagram @targz)

Targz advises running the Pilot Parallel pen slowly, and filling the ink cartridge with watercolor. Overlapping your lines with different colored inks when plotting can create additional colors where the inks overlap!

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Weather as Art: Inspiring Pen Plot Art

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support! If you are thinking of picking up a NextDraw pen plotter (the successor to the AxiDraw pen plotter), you can take 5% off a NextDraw pen plotter or accessories with discount code DIRTALLEYDESIGN2024 when you buy directly from Bantam Tools.

The second ever Plot Party is around the corner (Nov 8-12), and the first prompt for the five day pen plot art challenge is “weather!” Question is, what kind of pen plots can you make that might relate to the theme of weather?

plot party by michelle chandra

Local Weather as Art

If you are in need of local inspiration, you can use the actual literal weather, for starters! Daniela Krohnert did just that at the first ever Plot Party (held last July) by leaving out a sheet of paper for a few minutes during a Viennese summer rainstorm.

Work by Daniela Krohnert (also @daniela_kroehnert on IG!)

The paper dried curled, and created an uneven texture when plotting 42 straight lines with a Faber Castell Artist Pitt Pen with a soft brush tip.

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