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Intricate Pen Drawings Beautifully Combine Animals with Nature

Using fine-tipped pens, Muthahari Insani (also known as @sweeneypen) creates intricate drawings of animals that are often cloaked in beautiful blooms. Silhouettes of bears, birds, and rabbits are shaped with winding branches, layers of petals, and growing toadstools. It's a fantastical take on the typical portrait, and Insani's additions are a unique and imaginative way to combine two facets of the natural world.

To build form and imply depth in his drawings, Insani makes tiny marks that produce hatch and cross-hatching textures. Depending on how close the lines are to each other, they appear more or less dark. This meticulous pen technique creates a variety of shadows, giving his surreal designs a three-dimensional feel that looks incredibly lush. It's as if the visible vegetation is just a small hint of what lies beneath the surface.

Check out Insani's Instagram for more impressive pen drawings, including a peek at his works in progress.

Muthahari Insani: Behance | Instagram
via [Lustik]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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