Artist Inks Exquisite Imaginary Landscapes Framed in Bold Geometric Shapes

French artist Valentin creates miniature worlds inside of crisply drawn geometric shapes. He uses a fine-nib pen, compass, and ruler to sketch diamonds, triangles, and circles which he then fills with imaginary destinations made up of delicate details. From sunrises over mountain ranges to calm seas illuminated by starry skies, his work captures the essence of a place in time.

Similar to tattoo art, each of Valentin's illustrations features strong linework in the form of hatch marks and stippling. These drawing techniques fill out the simple, stamp-like shapes in a striking way and provide visual contrast with the large areas of black and white. Trees, for example, are decorated with numerous parallel lines of varying lengths, and sprawling meadows are embellished with dozens of tiny dots.

The artist also shows his creative process vias Instagram videos so that viewers can see how his toolkit comes into play at different steps. Valentin starts by sketching the desired shapes with a pencil and a compass or ruler (or sometimes both). Then, he carefully adds a simple nature scene or cityscape inside the panel. Afterward, he traces over the straight lines using a technical pen and ruler and inks the circles by attaching the pen to the compass and turning the device on its point.

Scroll down to see more process videos and ink drawings, and follow the artist on Instagram to keep up to date with his newest projects.

French artist Valentin creates mesmerizing pen and ink drawings using geometric shapes.

Valentin: Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Valentin.

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Margherita Cole

Margherita Cole is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and illustrator based in Southern California. She holds a BA in Art History with a minor in Studio Art from Wofford College, and an MA in Illustration: Authorial Practice from Falmouth University in the UK. She wrote and illustrated an instructional art book about how to draw cartoons titled 'Cartooning Made Easy: Circle, Triangle, Square' that was published by Walter Foster in 2022.
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