Beet the Blank Page with 'Ink Naturally' Artist Dylan Sara
Create natural ink in just a few minutes with one ingredient, and draw a portrait with artist Dylan Sara.
Natural ink artist Dylan Sara has introduced thousands of students to the beauty of drawing with handmade inks.
In this lesson, from his popular class Ink Naturally with Dylan Sara, he demonstrates one of the simplest ways to create ink: grating a fresh beet and squeezing out its rich, natural pigment by hand.
No chemicals, no additives—just pure color straight from nature.
With a relaxed, intuitive approach, Dylan shows how easy it is to turn kitchen staples into vibrant, expressive drawing tools.
If you don’t have a beetroot on hand, no problem—many students have experimented with other natural materials or simply used their favorite brush, pen, and watercolor to follow along.
In a bonus video, Dylan demonstrates how to carve your own calligraphy pen from wood, just like the one he uses in the main lesson.
Whether you’re making your own ink for the first time or looking for a fresh way to loosen up your portrait practice, this lesson invites you to embrace the unpredictability of natural materials and enjoy the process of creating with what’s around you.
Ready to beet the blank page with Dylan? Let's get started!
