What kinda pens do you use???

[Lord Jermaine Retail]

A customer of mine was sorry to hear that you were in fact at WW Chicago because he would have gone to talk you in particular. He apparently wants to know what materials you use. Pens, brushes, etc. I sold him all of your Pulse issues and Superman War of the Worlds Elseworlds. Forgot you did that one.

[Michael Lark]

I'm snowed under right now - have to finish...um.....4 more pages before nightfall tomorrow. I'll reply after I've caught up on sleep on Monday.

[Yano]

I'm snowed under right now - have to finish...um.....4 more pages before nightfall tomorrow. I'll reply after I've caught up on sleep on Monday.

Tease.

[Brian Reed]

I'm snowed under right now - have to finish...um.....4 more pages before nightfall tomorrow. I'll reply after I've caught up on sleep on Monday.


SLEEP?! YOU'VE BEEN SLEEPING?! Well... that explains everything... :)

[Donal DeLay]

Slacker.

[Olivier E.]

SLEEP?! YOU'VE BEEN SLEEPING?! Well... that explains everything... :)

We should buy him a monkey, everytime he fells asleep while working, the monkey hits him, so that he ahs to go back to work :twisted:

[milx]

We should buy him a monkey, everytime he fells asleep while working, the monkey hits him, so that he ahs to go back to work :twisted:

or..the monkey do the work?

[dEnny!]

or..the monkey do the work?

I think Bendis owns all the worker monkeys.

[Olivier E.]

I think Bendis owns all the worker monkeys.

Those have also became lazy lately :miffed:
maybe he should begin to try Millar's whiskey trick

[Kody]

Last time we chatted, Lark was usings the Pentel Colorbrush. It comes in a couple of different sizes and I have a few myself. I think I did the last two issues of Bloodsucker Tales with the colorbrush. It's awesome!

http://www.quietfiredesign.com/images/colorbrushblack_jpeg.jpg

[St.-]

Last time we chatted, Lark was usings the Pentel Colorbrush. It comes in a couple of different sizes and I have a few myself. I think I did the last two issues of Bloodsucker Tales with the colorbrush. It's awesome!

http://www.quietfiredesign.com/images/colorbrushblack_jpeg.jpg

They look and sound expensive.

[Lord Jermaine Retail]

They look and sound expensive.
From the makers of the Colormaster 3000 and the Shadowblaster ink cannon comes the new and improved MECHA-Shadowblaster ink cannon! Now with optional morphine drip attachment for those "bad hand" days! Not sold in stores these pens are custom made and one of a kind! Get yours today for the low, low price of all the money you have on your person or stand to gain in the future! Operators are standing by!

Do not attempt to operate mecha-shadowblaster ink cannon if you have been using alcohol or are pregnant

[Yano]

They look and sound expensive.

Doesn't seem too pricey:

http://www.currys.com/pennibs/prodinfo3.asp?SubcatID=4503&catID=17 (http://www.currys.com/pennibs/prodinfo3.asp?SubcatID=4503&catID=17)

http://www.paperinkarts.com/en-us/dept_119.html (http://www.paperinkarts.com/en-us/dept_119.html)

[Michael Lark]

Well, now that I've sent Brian Reed all his pretty pictures, and had a good night's sleep for the first time in about 6 weeks, I can finally reply to this thread.

The most important thing anyone ever taught me about choosing drawing tools is that you need to find a tool or tools that feel like an extension of your hand. If you read "how to" books about inking or comics art (DON'T!!!!), they'll all say you need to use windsor-newton series 7 brushes and crowquills. Well, that's bullshit. You don't NEED to use anything if it doesn't have the right feel. Those tools are fine, nothing wrong with them, but they don't feel right to me, so I don't use them.

The look of what you're going for is important, too. Were I into stuff that had a lot of super-clean lines and hatching and feathering and stuff like that, I'd probably have to use the tools I mentioned above. But I've never liked that stuff, and I don't have the patience for it anyway.

So, to (finally) answer your question. :)

I use a few tools regularly. The first is the Pentel Color Brush (http://islandblue.com/catalogue.cfm?main_id=17&sub_id=87&product_id=24), which Kody mentioned. I love using brushes, but I hate cleaning them, I hate dipping them, I hate the way you'll be right in the middle of a drawing and the ink runs out and you have to stop drawing and dip them in the ink again and then there might be too much ink or something. What a pain. I'm lazy. The color brush works perfectly for me - the black barrel of the pen is a detachable/replaceable ink cartridge made of soft plastic. When the ink runs low, you just give it a squeeze, which adds ink to a resevior which feeds the brush. You can get all kinds of effects from them, from dry brush to split brush to just plain old brush. They're extremely durable and hold their points perfectly. I can mush it down and get it all messed up, then just give it a little twist and get it pointed again and it's as good as new. I love them. They come in a couple of different sizes, roughly equivalent to a size 1 and size 3 brush.

I also like the Pentel Pocket Brush (http://islandblue.com/catalogue.cfm?main_id=17&sub_id=87&product_id=25), which is similar. It's a little smaller and looks more like a pen, and it doesn't have the squeezeable ink cartridge. It supplies a constant flow of ink to the tip. You can't get the drybrush and textured effects, but the constant flow is nice if you're looking for more fluid lines.

For more detailed brush work, I use the Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen (http://www.dickblick.com/zz207/59/) with a brush nib. This is a marker with a fake brush tip. When they're new, you can get incredibly fine lines. They tend to lose the "newness" pretty quick, though, and the tip gets too mushy. But, for a dollar a piece, they do the trick. I know a lot of artists who use these exclusively. They are, by far, the best brush-tip markers on the planet.

I also use several different pens. My main pen is a Pentel Fountain Pentel (http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Fountain_Pentel.html#a582). (I should buy stock in Pentel!) This is a marker with a plastic fountain pen nib. You can get a pretty wide variety of line weights out of them, without any of the hassles of a true fountain pen or crowquill. I've been using these for years. Unfortunately, they stopped carrying them in the US, and I have to buy them from Europe. Still worth it, though.

I also sometimes use Rotring Artpens (http://artsuppliesonline.com/catalog.cfm?cata_id=1733), which are true fountain pens. I don't use the ink that comes with them, but instead use piston-fill ink cartridges (http://artsuppliesonline.com/catalog.cfm?cata_id=1883) filled with Sheaffer fountain pen ink (http://www.dickblick.com/zz208/23a/). These aren't as flexible as the Fountain Pentels, but they make nice lines that are a bit more mechanical. I have 5 sizes - the extra fine and fine sketch nibs, and the medium, bold, and extra bold lettering nibs.

For white out, I use a pentel correction pen. I hate brushing on white-out, and have yet to find a white-out that I like for that purpose. I do it as little as possible, cause I don't like drawing over the white.

For paper, I use watercolor paper excusively now. I like paper with a good tooth/texture. I find that Bienfang and Canson make it in a texture that I like best. For my comics pages, I use Bienfang Aquademic 90 pound paper (http://www.dickblick.com/zz100/26/), which is heavier than drawing paper but lighter than bristol or regular watercolor paper. I can put it through my printer and/or use it with my lightbox much better this way.

I scan all my art as 1200 dpi line-art/bitmap. Then I do a lot of work on the pages in photoshop. This is where I do most of my corrections. I also add textures, some backgrounds, and other little things to the art. In my first Pulse issue, I did all the rain in Illustrator, which I then imported onto the art in photoshop. I then used a variety of brushes to add fog, steam, smoke (from J.Jonah Jameson's nonexistent cigar!). I use a Wacom Intuos3 6x8 (http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/6x8.cfm) graphics tablet. On the stylus, I find that the felt nip feels best to me, cause I like the feel best, but I doubt that really matters. Everything gets converted to a 400 dpi bitmap - no grayscale! - before being sent in.

So, that's about it. I think. My fingers are tired.

[Michael Lark]

Does anyone know anything about these Copic refillable brush markers (http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Copic_MultiLiner_SP.html)? I like Copic pens, they're nice. I wonder if these are any good.

[Kody]

Does anyone know anything about these Copic refillable brush markers (http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Copic_MultiLiner_SP.html)? I like Copic pens, they're nice. I wonder if these are any good.


I hadn't seen those before. They look nice though. I've liked most of hte Copic stuff I've bought over the years, they make good pens.

[Michael Lark]

I hadn't seen those before. They look nice though. I've liked most of hte Copic stuff I've bought over the years, they make good pens.

My concern is mostly over the durability of the nib. With my pitt brush pens, the nib always gives out long before the ink supply.

[St.-]

Doesn't seem too pricey:

http://www.currys.com/pennibs/prodinfo3.asp?SubcatID=4503&catID=17 (http://www.currys.com/pennibs/prodinfo3.asp?SubcatID=4503&catID=17)

http://www.paperinkarts.com/en-us/dept_119.html (http://www.paperinkarts.com/en-us/dept_119.html)

Anything over five dollars that deals with making art is to much IMO. :lol:
unless its a huge cheap combo set.
I saw Mack draw a sketch for me with one of these types of pens once and it was pretty cool.

[St.-]

My concern is mostly over the durability of the nib. With my pitt brush pens, the nib always gives out long before the ink supply.

I don't draw as much as you do so i can't say how the durability will be for you but i find them to be pretty good.

[Michael Lark]

Anything over five dollars that deals with making art is to much IMO. :lol:


I hope you're not serious! The old addage of "garbage in = garbage out" definitely applies. I'm a notorious cheapskate, but when it comes to my art stuff, I get the best stuff I can get for the lowest price possible. You get what you pay for when it comes to art supplies.

[St.-]

I hope you're not serious! The old addage of "garbage in = garbage out" definitely applies. I'm a notorious cheapskate, but when it comes to my art stuff, I get the best stuff I can get for the lowest price possible. You get what you pay for when it comes to art supplies.

In my experience more expensive usally means better but does not reflect the increase in price.Meaning the price increase is way more then the quality you should be getting. But to each his own. :D

[Michael Lark]

In my experience more expensive usally means better but does not reflect the increase in price.Meaning the price increase is way more then the quality you should be getting. But to each his own. :D

I'm not saying more expensive equals better. You just have to choose the tools that work best for you, regardless of price. I'm annoyed that I have to use the ink cartridges for the Pentel brush pens, cause it would be so much cheaper to fill them with my own ink. The only problem is that every ink I've tried dries up and ruins the pen. So.....I spend the money on the cartridges. If it makes my art better, it's worth it. They are still cheaper than buying high-end sable brushes - which don't work well for me cause I'm so hard on brushes, and I don't clean them well, etc etc. So I'm spending less, but for me I'm getting the best tool for the job.

Does any of that make sense?

[St.-]

I'm not saying more expensive equals better. You just have to choose the tools that work best for you, regardless of price. I'm annoyed that I have to use the ink cartridges for the Pentel brush pens, cause it would be so much cheaper to fill them with my own ink. The only problem is that every ink I've tried dries up and ruins the pen. So.....I spend the money on the cartridges. If it makes my art better, it's worth it. They are still cheaper than buying high-end sable brushes - which don't work well for me cause I'm so hard on brushes, and I don't clean them well, etc etc. So I'm spending less, but for me I'm getting the best tool for the job.

Does any of that make sense?

makes sense to me. I just always like the challenge of cheap stuff and every once in awhile i'll get a deal on some more expensive stuff or use the 1/2 coupon at micheals but rarely have I been so impressed to come back. I do enjoy the use of gold in paint work though and expensive paper is really cool but never really pens, pencils, and the like. :)

[Freddie Kemp]

Michael,


Thanks for the original reply to "Lord Retail"... I'm the "customer" that was peeved to find out you were in Chicago but not on any lists. :-?

The Copic Multiliner Brush Pen holds its tip a little better than the Faber-Castell PITT's in my opinion, but the quality of the ink is cheaper and tends to bleed. But if you are going to use it on water color paper you may not have that problem.

I do have another question for you though, how do you usually work when starting a page? Do you thumbnail the page out, then blow it up on a copy machine. Or do you go straight to the full size page?

Thanks

[Michael Lark]

Michael,


Thanks for the original reply to "Lord Retail"... I'm the "customer" that was peeved to find out you were in Chicago but not on any lists. :-?

Blame Wizard. I had registered as a pro months before the show.




I do have another question for you though, how do you usually work when starting a page? Do you thumbnail the page out, then blow it up on a copy machine. Or do you go straight to the full size page?

Thanks

Thumbnails > shoot photo ref > layout pages in photoshop, putting in dialogue and background ref for placement purposes > print out full size panel borders/crop marks on watercolor paper > VERY light, loose pencils for placement purposes > ink > scan and touch-up in Photoshop.

At serveral of these stages I usually insert a good amount of procrastination, cursing, whiting out, pasting in revisions, more cursing, and a nap or two.

[Freddie Kemp]

At serveral of these stages I usually insert a good amount of procrastination, cursing, whiting out, pasting in revisions, more cursing, and a nap or two.

Those are the most important steps!

If / when your schedule permits, would you mind posting up some of your thumbnail /layout work? I love seeing other peoples process! everyone has different methods.

[Kody]

Blame Wizard. I had registered as a pro months before the show.





Thumbnails > shoot photo ref > layout pages in photoshop, putting in dialogue and background ref for placement purposes > print out full size panel borders/crop marks on watercolor paper > VERY light, loose pencils for placement purposes > ink > scan and touch-up in Photoshop.

At serveral of these stages I usually insert a good amount of procrastination, cursing, whiting out, pasting in revisions, more cursing, and a nap or two.

:D