#did the lines for these on paper with a brush pen and then colored them digitally

[mage3k]

Redrew a couple achievement icons :]

(Originals under the cut)

[chaotic-minds-think-alike]

Guess what time it is…….

CENTIPEDE TIME !!! she’s finally real,,,,,,,, based off Scolopendra hardwickei or the Indian tiger centipede

Before I go about the process I just want to say you guys have been soooo incredible and I love reading your reblogs and I love the idea knowing I’ve inspired a lot of people,,, the project, although it was a lot of work and I’m feeling not so great as of posting this, still motivates me to want to make another.

(Art process below)

This was entirely freehanded! I have a lot of experience working in 3D art settings that this part came easy to me but I started with a flat base shaped in the pose I’d like the creature in. I used one whole piece cut from a shipping box and filled in the gaps with tape; you don’t need a single piece for the base but for structural integrity it helps a lot. As you can see here I also cut the legs separate and glued them on using hot glue. The vertical cross sections are to give an early support for the structure of the creature, think about the frames of aircraft or boats. During this part I used a pen to mark the width and height of the previous section to get a gradual flow of shapes.

This next part I wish I got more documentation on but after the vertical cross sections I used soda boxes for the thinner and flexible cardboard to add contour lines along the length of the creature, gluing them on the cross sections. I did about 2 strips of this on either side to fill in the space and then I continued to use soda boxes to fold and shape the top of the creature, gluing onto the strips rather than the cross sections (this part was a mistake but I quickly adapted, no issues happened but it did make it slightly less secure). I also gave the legs vertical cross sections as well to shape them for the masking tape.

The worst part, taping everything. I used tape to further shape it how I wanted but that meant going over parts several times. I used 2 different widths of tape for this for efficiency but it doesn’t matter. The legs were very loosely taped and if squeezed then they’d lose their shape; I didn’t bother filling them in because I don’t have materials for that and I let the paper mache help support them instead. Tape was also used to fill any holes and gaps left by the cardboard skeleton.

The next phase is paper mache of which I haven’t done since 5th grade… I was not confident in this step. I used mod podge and a brush to smooth down the paper. Because I lacked materials I used fast food napkins instead of newspaper which worked totally fine, it just tended to tear a bit easier. Some areas required me to get hands on and I don’t really like the texture during this stage so that was fun (lie). I didn’t do too many layers, one for the body and 3 for the back and legs but some projects might demand more. I used half of a 16oz bottle of mod podge btw so please get more than you think you need.

Finally, texture hell!!! I did a base coat of white spray paint and painted everything else with acrylic. Start with your lighter colors first before doing darker ones! I originally mixed some yellow and orange for the body and realized it was too bright and so covered it with orange instead. It also wasn’t until later I realized I could’ve been smarter with my paint so I skipped over the segments that were going to be fully black, saving the orange for the rest of the body. I wanted my centipede to stand out and not look 2D color-wise so I also used the red for the head and tail to give gradients and edges to the orange segments and legs, later going back with burgundy to further darken them but not too much. For the black segments I also used a very watered down layer of sky blue to give a fake shine and show the intended structure of the segments. Do not be afraid to use your hands! I used mine to smudge my detail paints like the black fade on the legs and the back shading. To top it all off I sprayed a clear coat and punched two holes in the underside to hang it up, using thumbtacks angled upwards.

[rnbwtrout]

My Watercolor Process

Thank you for 1000 notes!!!

As promised here's a post on how I made this painting and the materials I use (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

Also commissions are still open!!! If you have ideas I will help you bring them to life <3 Please see my pinned post!!

Process info under the cut vvvvv

First some materials!

Line art: I use Sakura Pigma Micron pens for line art. The ink in these pens are waterproof after they dry, which is very nice if you want clean line art. Usually I do my line art with a 005 size tip, and then I come back through and thicken lines and add shadows with a 03 size and brush tip. I'm still learning new ways to do lineart, but this is my current go-to.

Paints: I use Windsor and Newton paints. I haven't really tried others, and I have a few mixed feelings about some of the colors and how well they mix with others... Especially cuz this was an expensive set. Thinking about trying a new brand eventually but that's what I'm using for now!

If I'm doing a bigger project I usually brainstorm it first in my normal sketchbook. Here's the brainstorm for this one. Sometimes I feel like certain aspects of the initial sketch look better than the final piece, haha. After this I normally will free hand redraw it onto watercolor paper, I don't like to trace things over. Then I'll do the line art, allow the ink to dry entirely, and erase the pencil underneath

If I'm doing a big or complex background normally I'll lay down some masking fluid. This essentially seals the paper in some rubber so no water or color gets in, and then you can rub it off when you're done with the background. My masking fluid is really old and nasty so it's hard for me to get clean edges with it, but it does the job well enough!

Something really important to watercolor if you want vibrant colors: layering or using less water! In this case I did layering. Here is a side by side of Laios and Marcille with one layer of paint vs. two layers. The important thing when it comes to layering watercolors is to allow the first layer to dry completely before the second. Otherwise the paint may create strange textures and uneven color.

Something else important to creating vibrant colors with watercolor: taking risk with shadows!! On a whim I chose blue to use for shadows on the Lion's wings. You can really see the difference in visual impact between the blue shaded and unshaded wing. Generally speaking it's recommended to do shadows using blue or purple in watercolor, but I find this isn't always a solid rule. Sometimes it depends on what your base color is and what kind of impact you want. It's taken quite a bit of trial and error to figure out what looks good for me, and even then I'm still out here guessing.

I hit my image limit so I'll cut it off here! If you have any questions feel free to ask (:

[icolo]

hi everyone!! my wrist is too sore to draw today, so instead i thought i'd share some of my favorite csp assets + how i like to use them! i also linked some procreate brushes at the end of the post!!

lineart brushes:

SU-Cream Pencil: i swear by this brush and i use it very often!! if you lower the pen density and use a gradient map over it when coloring your drawing, it has a nice effect. that's what i did in this drawing here! i also use this brush like i would draw on paper, so as a sketching tool. recently i've been enjoying blending it for shading. the pics below are drawn on one layer; left is more manga style while the one on the right is from a WIP of my singer sargent study, so it can be used for more realistic styles pretty well!

Found Pencil: another pencil brush that feels really nice to use, created by @/pigpenandpaper.

PS style brushes: a recreation of photoshop's (i believe) default brush. very versatile and also blends well!

analog wind variant pen: a nice pen that i like to use for lineart that is intended to have a bit of a sketch look.

zakutoro real g-pen: i used it for the lineart of this piece. although, it was drawn before i started using 600dpi in my works, so the lower resolution might make it look a bit unclear.

sets of rough pens: great for manga lineart with a rougher vibe; some of them have varying line weight.

coloring brushes:

zaku brushes: very nice and painterly mixing! i definitely recommend it for those who like to leave their colors a bit unblended.

softie marker: as the name implies, it's very soft! i like to use it for blush in chibi illustrations.

analog watercolor brushes: realistic-looking watercolor brushes. i recommend using it with csp's default paper textures, or those i linked below!

993 coloring pen: it's very soft and watery, though it can be made more solid by adjusting the paint density. i actually think it works very nicely for lineart too.

rock dog pen: another soft marker brush i like, that i once again also use for lineart and doodles.

thick coating brush set: recommended for paintings that show brush strokes.

cartoon cloud: don't let the name narrow your vision!! this has to be one of the BEST brushes for painting in my opinion, and of course it's great for clouds and explosions but so so much more!! and it's FREE try it try it!!

decoration/miscellaneous brushes:

neon pen

paper textures

symmetry move brush

close and fill without gaps

rope brush

sphere fisheye guide

flash balloon

speech bubble set: a lifesaving collection for comic artists!! dimensions and line weight can be adjusted by using the operation tool.

gradient map to use in color mode at 15% and another gradient map to use at 20%: the percentage refers to the opacity of the gradient map layer, but they are just the creator's recommendation and i tend to actually increase it. to use gradient map efficiently, i recommend putting all your colors (and lineart if you want) in a folder. then, right-click the folder, select "new correction layer" and then "gradient map". this allows you to modify the gradient map without worrying about affecting the original colors in case you decide not to use it in the end. to import a gradient map from your downloaded csp assets, click the wrench icon next to the name of the gradient set that's currently in use, then select "add gradient set".

you'll also notice that the creator recommends to use their gradients in "color mode". of course, this is also only a recommendation and i suggest trying as many layer modes as you like! to change a layer's mode, simply highlight the layer and click on "normal" (the default mode) and csp will display the available modes.

fruit ninja gradient map: fun to use if you want really drastic/vibrant colors! the names of the gradients are cute too, as you can see in the above screenshot!

BONUS: jeremy fenske's free photoshop brush pack: these aren't csp brushes per se, but they can be imported into the program! excellent for environments, i recommend watching fenske's video on how he uses the brushes to get a clearer picture since there are so many in this pack!!

BONUS 2: my good friend clem has a few brush packs for procreate that are ideal for painting,decorating drawings, and y2k-inspired illustrations, i definitely recommending checking out her shop!

in conclusion i hope this post can be helpful to you!! i tried to explain how to use the brushes as best as i could, but feel free to let me know if anything is unclear!! i hope you will enjoy using them! :D

[drill-teeth-art]

Do you have any advice for coloring with markers?

Sure thing!

So I use Ohuhu brush and chisel tip alcohol based markers (I mainly use the brush tip end). And my main tip really if you wanna do shading especially is to get used to how fast your markers dry on the paper. Alcohol markers especially dry really fast. And you can do different things with the colors whether they're laying wet or dry on the paper. If they're still wet, you can blend them much easier. If the ink on the page is already dry, they won't really blend much if at all when you add a new layer.

Here's my sketch.

First, I take swatches of the colors and make myself a mini palette I'm using off to the side. I like to plan out loosely what colors I want to use before I start coloring. You can always dig back in your marker bag if you wanna grab another color. But I like to have a starting point palette to use so most of the markers I am going to use are already set on the table. You wouldn't believe how many times I rifled around my marker bag to pick a color to blend with only to put it on the drawing and realize the layer I wanted to blend it with dried already XD

Then I start to lay down my lightest colors, usually starting with the face if there is one in the illustration. The thing with alcohol markers is you can always go darker with the colors (until you reach pitch black or start ripping your paper), but you can't really make them lighter again. So generally speaking: start light, work dark. Although sometimes if I know something is going to be the darkest color in the palette without much variation, I will lay that down pretty early too.

I laid down the lightest gray first, and then the slightly darker gray to make a softer gradient on the face to subtly show where the light is hitting. I'll add a harsher shadow later.

While I waited on the face to dry, I did lay down the darkest browns I was using. First I put the darkest one down and blended it with a slightly lighter dark brown to add some subtle lighting even to the darkest areas.

Then I returned to the face once the first gradient layer dried completely. As you can see the darker gray isn't blending with the lighter grays because they're already dry. It just stops abruptly to create a harsher shadow.

I rinse and repeat making gradients, letting them dry and layering either a flat shadow or another gradient on top until I'm satisfied with it. Or until I'm sick of it lol.

Then I add my lines in a darker pen, hiding any slight bleeding of the marker outside of the sketch lines and also just to make the lines darker and bolder because I like that look. Do a couple extra color touch ups when the pen dries too.

And I wanted to wrap this piece up with a couple background details. Bam!

That's sort of a peek at my process with markers. It's a lot of timing. Making gradients and layering and getting to know your markers so you get a sense of how fast they dry. Hope these tips help you!

[sabrinatvband]

Notes on Comic Art #2: To Hatch or Not to Hatch, also some coloring stuff

One of the most influential things I've ever read on the subject of comic art is a piece Jesse Hamm wrote on Alex Toth where he talks about flatpacking.

[I discovered while writing this that Jesse Hamm passed away in 2021. He was a brilliant educator, one of the best in the history of the comics medium, and will be sorely missed.]

In the piece Hamm basically discusses how over-rendering objects usually makes them function worse as comic art. Many other people have discussed how using thicker lines for objects closer to the "camera" is good practice, how colors can seperate shapes and create depth, etc.

The question is, where does cross hatching fit into all of this? Or rather, various methods of adding more detailed rendering to artwork? I'm trying to figure this stuff out as I'm doing layouts for my comic, because I want to know the answers before I start inking the final artwork.

I try/want to have an uncluttered, clean, easily readable art style. I occasionally add hatching to my drawings, because hatching is fun, but I often feel like I've slightly ruined my artwork when I'm finished.

I've decided to look at some of the art that I feel like my own work is trying the hardest to emulate, at least philosophically, to see how other artists "weigh in" on this debate. It's important to remember that inkers embellish artwork [hence the alternate title "embellisher"], and so I'm going to try and find inkers most representative of a given penciller's intentions when applicable.

As I was working on this piece, I read Hamm Tips vol 1.1, and I discovered this diagram, which seems to relate with what I'm going to discuss later:

I think it's accurate to say that my desired approach is Uninflected/Deliberate; I think most people going for a clean and cartoonish look fall into that quadrant. Some people might describe Toth's work as being "clean", and so I should clarify that I'm talking about clean in the spirit of "lines meet neatly".

Some of the artists I'll discuss have lines that fall somewhere between being Inflected and Uninflected, and I think a lot of this comes down to inker approach. I feel like, in spirit, all of these pencillers are Uninflected, but some of the inkers use brushes, which creates a sort of middle ground. Brushes add different weights to a line, whereas crow quill nibs and pens have a uniform width. [The technical term for unweighted inked lines is "dumb line"; I believe this was coined by David Mazzucchelli.]

Let's first look at Adam Warren's work in the Dirty Pair volume Fatal But Not Serious. I'm a huge fan of how this comic looks; the flat, cel animation-style colors are very clean and easy to read. It's a very pleasant look, and I'm surprised more comics don't do this.

There is some hatching here, but it's not "serious" hatching. Just a few lines on cheeks, hands, etc. 98% of the artwork is shapes delinated entirely by a clean line and color. The convention floor panel is able to have a ton of detail without really changing the visual "rules" of the comic. An artist who does things in a more highly rendered way may've, for instance, reduced the crowd to a series of heavily shadowed figures, or colored in a single expressionistic wash to paper over things, etc.

Warren's Magical Drama Queen Roxy used a very similar approach to Fatal But Not Serious:

Let's now look at Rick Mays. I'm not a huge fan of Rick Mays, I've only actual read a single issue of a comic by him, but as I was reading Gen 13 he immediately stood out as being the best artist on that series, aside from Adam Warren himself [speaking only about issues Warren wrote]. It feels very telling that Rick Mays later did the final art for a graphic novel Warren laid out called Livewires.

These are from Gen 13 vol 2 #70:

The biggest difference between this piece has nothing to do with Warren or Mays, and everything to do with the coloring approach. I don't think the coloring here is bad, but the gradient-y colors do create a vastly different visual effect than the cel look I highlighted earlier.

The inking approach feels quite similar between the two artists; while Mays's art takes one or two steps towards realism relative to the Fatal But Not Serious stuff, texture is largely used to the same degree [with the grass and tornado being understandable exceptions]. What's interesting is that this issue has three different credited inkers; Karl Story, Rick Mays, and Jason Martin. I'm assuming this happened for deadline reasons.

I feel like I'm maybe starting to sound a little repetitive, and so I feel like I should share an issue of Gen 13 that I disliked, and then we can move to things that aren't Adam Warren-adjacent. These are from #43 and #44, with pencils by Lee Bermejo and inks by John Nyberg:

I'm not a big fan of this. The borderline chiaroscuro inking makes everything look heavily referenced, labored, and weird, and the "acting" in the comic suffers because of the over-rendered faces. It's a real shame the artwork is like this, because this two-part story is actually quite solid and would be a minor classic with better artwork.

I notice that many newer comic artists [which is to say, people who began their careers during the 90s onwards] put a lot of heavy shadows on figures in a way that feels too slavishly devoted to a certain kind of realism. I say a "certain kind" because the high contrast look of black spots being put onto a figure make the shadows way darker than they'd actually look in real life, so it almost makes the figures look dirty.

Look at comic art from the olden days and figures are largely defined by outlines/color. If a figure in an old comic has a lot of shadow on them, it's for reasons that are obvious and motivated; noir-y venetian blinds stuff, a mysterious villain being obscured, someone being underlit, or having half their face obscured, etc. There's a clear reason shadows are being used in these cases, rather than it being done to add usually unnecessary detail.

Anyways, let's look at Amanda Conner's work. Image on the left is from a Vampirella story called Fantasy Feast, and the image on the right is from Power Girl #12. Texture is used, like on the walls of the bathroom, but sparingly.

Looking at Conner's work in this context makes me realize, I don't think I've ever seen Amanda Conner's stuff colored flat [at least after she fully matured as an artist]. I don't think the more three-dimensional rendering used in any of these panels is bad, but I'm not going to be doing that kind of coloring in my book, and so it's not quite as instructive to me.

That being said, I really love Conner's style. I've noticed that Marvel and DC are increasingly using artists with styles that are broadly similar to Conner's; I've included an example below. Maybe it's because the artist below is too lazy to draw a proper background, but their work feels so much more flavorless than Conner's in comparison. I think it's because the "acting" is not as impressive, and Conner brings a fun-factor that feels completely absent in the page below.

I realize "fun" isn't always the order of the day, but this page doesn't really reflect . . . anything. It's completely bland.

Here's Kirby, who couldn't be bland if he tried. The left image is from the Young Romance collection Fantagraphics put out, and the right is from OMAC. The former is from the 40s, latter is from the 70s. [By the way, the Young Romance image is photographed from my own collection; there's no warping visible because Fantagraphics knows how to design a book].

Looking at these pieces side-by-side really challenges a lot of my assumptions about Kirby's artwork, because in some ways his artwork changed less than I previously thought it did without direct comparisons. There are some things that are more abstract about the OMAC page, like the wiggly shadows. Someone unfamiliar with Kirby might assume these were drawn by two different people, but only because 30-odd years of growth seperate these two pages.

Kirby's style, in my mind, is highly geometric and defined more so by abstract shorthand squiggles than hatching or other forms of rendering, but there actually is a fair amount of hatching on the OMAC page.

However, that OMAC page I believe was inked by Mike Royer, or at least someone using a brush. I noticed that, by sheer coincidence, almost all of the Kirby art from my first post in this series was inked by D. Bruce Barry, who didn't use a brush and also followed Kirby's pencils perhaps more literally than any other inker he ever had. In those images, it's clear that most of the hatching in Kirby's work was added by his inkers.

When Kirby did ink himself [using a brush], his style was oddly clean. He did add in hatching, but it was never particularly dense.

Anyways, I want to close this by including some Jesse Hamm quotes from his instructional PDFs:

-Simplicity is great, but often you need extra texture to seel weirdness.

-Another sign of experience is texture. The pro-level artist has learned to give different textures to grass, hair, tree bark, bushes, etc. Meanwhile, the amateur uses the same one or two shading techniques on EVERYTHING, giving it all a samey feel.

-Open spaces of black or white may be "activated" with a bit of texture. A few pebbles/ripples/etc will spur the mind to fill what's missing.

-We talk often about spotting blacks, but spotting greys (i.e., details/texture) is also crucial to clear compositions.

The lesson in the bit of Hamm writing I most often revisited, the flatpacking post, was that too much texture and rendering can make a comic exhausting to read. But reading more of his work, it turns out he had a more nuanced, texture-inclusive view of things.

What's the lesson here? Discretion.

[collectors-tablet]

Did a screenshot redraw of that moment Belos knew he fucked up. With markers!

WIPs/links to higher quality under the cut 😌

So what I did to create this image was hold my paper up to my screen and trace over the screenshot's lineart, then worked out the rest of the details on paper. The straight lines on the top and bottom are where the original screenshot cuts off.

Once I decided the sketch was finished I put my blending card (special paper for the markers) over the sketch on a lightboard and traced over it with my pens.

If I made mistakes I would sometimes use my white paint pen to draw over them.

Then, on a piece of scrap paper, I would test out my markers to see what blending combinations looked good.

Tangent: I use alcohol markers, specifically COPICs, though I also have some Prismacolors too. Alcohol markers are built for blending and I recommend looking them up if you are interested. I use copics because they have a brush nib and while they're expensive, you can easily get refills and replacement parts so you'll never throw them away. You can buy 30 year old markers that are still good.

First I colored (most of) the characters (that took a lot of time, especially since I was cautious about how to color in things like the eye and would test on scrap paper first)

Then I tried making a background but I really didn't like it

So in digital art I cut out the characters from the background to see how to fix it and came up with the idea of darkening it significantly.

Digital experiment on the left, experiment onto paper on the right.

A lot of these WIPs look very different because of me taking pictures of the photo with a phone camera and doing different filters every time. I have a scanner but I've never liked how it comes out.

If you want to see a higher quality version of the final image, here's links to where I uploaded it on Deviantart and Newgrounds.

Also a Youtube upload of that video I made!

Note: There's an animation error in the original ToH clip I used where the Collector's clothes are miscolored, and the reason they're not here is because I fixed it.

[lnmei]

How I Approach Figure Drawing

Got asked about tips for figure drawing and...I have a lot to say! I thought to just catalogue what I’ve been doing to build up my figure drawing knowledge and habit, so hopefully this is a useful reference for anyone interested in figure drawing :)

make it a habit (but take it easy!)

This is probably the most important and most annoying tip ever lol I’ve been figure drawing for 7-8 years (on and off! I don’t pressure myself if I have other things to do) so it really just takes time. Given that, my biggest tip for figure drawing is to figure out how you can have fun on this forever journey, so everything below is what I do to have fun and maintain the necessary enthusiasm to persist at it.

warm-up before a figure drawing session of myself figure drawing at my desk:

be bad at it on a regular basis

kind of just the principle of drawing....but with figure especially you draw so many of them that it’s important to let your drawings be bad to free yourself of pressure, and good ones will come out just from the brute force repetition of the skill.

Whenever I feel myself hitting a wall I intentionally revert to letting go of the desire to make a good drawing and try drawing in different ways even if it looks or feels bad in the moment. Some of my favorite drawings are the result of this, it’s awesome how that works out lol

For example, if I’m frustrated by my line work, I’ll start drawing thicker lines than usual and more cartoony (by my standards at least...) to loosen up:

set small goals for figure drawing

The main thing with figure drawing is that to get good, you have to draw hundreds and thousands of figures over time...so to keep that from being repetitive I change up my goal regularly so I can exercise different ways of thinking and keep it fresh, and my drawings look different based on what I am aiming for

Goal of practicing for cleaner lines and using line variety (5 min each):

Goal of drawing the lines neatly to color after (10 min each):

A typical progression I’ve seen is to build from drawing nude models to clothed models which is what I did, but honestly just start with what you want to learn the most and you’ll figure out what you want to work on.

copy other people

When I used to go to live figure drawing, I’d peek at what people sitting all over the studio were doing and copy their method or look. I look at artists online and pull up their work while I draw. I like sessions where there’s an artist demo because I can see what they’re doing (zeet does this). Figure drawing is great because everyone draws the same thing in their own way so it’s cool to see the variety, and it goes so fast that no matter what your references are, it still retains your habits so it’s actually your drawing even when you copy lol

Figure drawing done with heavy reference to Greco-Roman pottery art (4 min for lines):

traditional vs digital media

I switch between drawing on paper and drawing digitally for variety. The material constrains how you draw so it makes each session different from the last and you’ll gain different techniques and discover effects you like over time.

Colored pencil figure drawings with the prompt to draw the model as an animal (5 min each):

Brush pen, ballpoint pen, and felt tip pen figure drawings (1-2 min each):

Also draw at different scales. Try drawing on big paper, try drawing a single pose big, or compose a big page with many small figures.

drawing time

again, variety! Switch up how long the figures each take and how long the overall sessions are. See how your approach and outcomes change based on how long you have to draw. I do long sessions of 3 or more hours less frequently with short 20-30 minute sessions more frequently (I like these short ones lately).

I think persistence and stamina are important for figure drawing, so building up your tolerance for long sessions is a good goal if you are looking to improve. Also, long poses and short poses present different problems to solve, so try them all.

I tend to treat super long poses as paintings so sometimes I’ll color them live (this is a 25 min pose):

short poses I color after the pose ends if I even color them (3 min poses)

line quality

try drawing with a soft line like pencil vs a hard line like pen, different brushes, etc. 

Also try drawing with the constraint that you cannot retrace a line

try drawing with and without an under sketch

how much anatomy do I need to know?

I hate studying anatomy lol I would say you only need as much as you feel like you need so don’t stress over it, but pick up little bits of knowledge and apply them whenever you can.

That said, I thing the biggest help to anatomy for me (other than directly studying it) is to attend nude model sessions in person. Seeing the figure in real life and having to translate the 3D form to paper clarifies what the important forms and connections are to make a clear drawing. These are studies of live models from 2020 after I’d been doing nude models for ~6 years

My figure anatomy big 3 concepts have been

1) construction/proportion – how and where different body parts connect and overlap to form the whole

2) balance/weight – where is the figure applying force, stretching vs. compressing? if the model is stationary, how is the poses stability maintained? If the model is meant to be in motion, what are the directions of force?

3) anatomy from top down – start with very basic anatomy forms like cylinders for the upper and lower arm, egg shape for head, ball and socket for shoulder joint, etc. and build your understanding of anatomy up from there. I get tied down by too much detail so it’s worked out better for me to start with a very dumb anatomical understanding and learn to add nuance over time.

Here’s an example of points 1 and 3 using Teen Titans Slade Wilson (homework for a class I took lol). Break down the proportion, how parts connect, and the basic shapes of body parts and assemble them like a doll. You can do this for any style you want to learn from, and for realistic human figures. This is the basics of “figure construction”.

Internalizing a model that you’ve deconstructed and can reconstruct from memory is the basis for building a “general model,” which is just a generic human body that you can use to figure draw so you don’t have to think about how the body is constructed and can focus on expressing the pose, character, gesture, while maintaining accuracy to a human figure. Here are poses I constructed from imagination once I broke down and understood how to draw Slade.

A lot of this stuff is specifically applicable to animation character drawing but it’s been helpful towards figure drawing for me.

how things look vs. how things feel

I like to switch my focus between drawing for accuracy/correctness (studying the pose, anatomy, etc.), and drawing to capture how the figure physically feels even if it breaks the anatomy. I like to do the pose myself to feel how the model feels, where the stretch and compression of the pose is, and how it feels to exaggerate the pose, and then drawing from that experience.

Some of these legs don’t work anatomically but they feel right and look cool. These drawings came out very twisty and fluid after I copied the model’s pose and exaggerated how the shoulders, waist, spine, etc. were tilted based on how they feel in my body.

drawing the model vs. drawing a character

Sometimes I get bored of drawing just what the model looks like, so I will use the figure drawing as a live reference and draw something based on the model but as a different character instead and make up new clothes, appearance, etc. It exercises your decision making about what’s important to grab from a pose reference and also trains you to design instead of copy.

These are Gallery Girl LA sessions where I drew the model with a new design:

invent another character to draw a character dynamic (left chara is invented):

Random tips

I tend to prioritize the pose and full body and leave the head for last or after the session is over so I can spend time making it look nice. 

Avoid drawing a perfect vertical or horizontal unless it is important as a design element (if the model is stand straight up and down for example, try to re-balance the pose in your drawing so it has some variety of line direction)

Be choosy about drawing straight lines on the body, save those for silhouette lines, and for internal lines figure out which way the body is bending, moving, or twisting and express that.

Like in this sketch, I tried to add subtle tilts and leans to the model who was posing upright with a mannequin (which I drew as a character):

If you wanted to know about my color process for figure drawing, here! I color after I finish the drawing session and picked out a few drawings to color.

That’s all I got for now! Have fun and draw lots!

a traditional colored pencil sketch where I changed the model’s clothes and expression/body language while drawing it, then photographed and digitally colored it after:

[i-dont-pay-taxes]

Blank, a guilty gear song, is an ode to the the scientific method... and it's beautiful

Lyrics:

analysis:

"Don't say bye, don't say bye It's just a short break on the way Don't say bye, don't say bye Now, pick up the map that was discarded"

The song opens by introducing one of the core messages which will be explored... this idea of never really quitting, at least not for long, is told to us through the lyrics of not saying bye. Denying the concept of giving up, and calling it a break on this longer journey, before getting back to work by picking up the map (as in, a roadmap of a project).

"The whitespace was innocent For the man didn't paint with no colors He had a brush and a thick sketchbook But he had so much more"

The whitespace in question is a piece of paper, as the song later mentions, with its innocence coming from a lack of any defining features, as it has no color. This idea of a blank piece of paper being analysed is the main way this song conveys its meaning. Where a piece of paper is usually used to write down information, which is clearly where its value comes from, here the man who is using this paper is described as not leaving anything actually on the paper. While he did have a brush and sketchbook, he found something more in the blank piece of paper itself. The song is stating the idea of refusing to accept a piece of paper as nothing more than a tool to write on, instead suggesting we ought to find meaning in even a blank paper.

"The storm comes on calmly The storm comes on suddenly Keep on walking though it hurts To find a space on a blank paper"

These are the main lines repeated throughout the song. The idea of the storm coming on both calmly and suddenly at the same time is a paradox, and just like that concept of paradoxical impossibility, finding color on a blank paper is also obviously impossible in the same way. The song sets up our theme here, the idea of finding evidence to confirm something which is instinctually false. To keep on walking is to keep trying, to keep attempting to prove something, despite knowing it obviously won't lead to anything. That is what being a scientist is at times, seeking empirical evidence confirm something that we know.

"The storm comes on calmly The storm comes on suddenly He knows how to ride it now To find the color on a blank paper"

Almost like a person trying to prove something but always failing, we are consistently brought back to this starting point of a lyric, the starting idea from which everything else leads, changing a bit every time in an attempt to finally prove the idea of finding something on a blank paper.

"Don't ask why, don't ask why It's just a caprice detour Don't ask why, don't ask why It's time to get back on to the road"

The main idea of the song, that being proving something impossible, is challenged. We are told to not ask why, and that we should get going, as trying to prove something clearly false is a waste of time. This plays as a parallel to the starting lyrics, while those were encouraging the continuation of this project, these lyrics, using very similar words, are doing the opposite.

"The wide space was innocent For the man didn't write in no letters He had a pen and plenty black ink But he had so so much to say"

The wide space is a reference to the white space (with them basically being homophones), this time taking on the meaning of other people who are discouraging of these attempts, yet ultimately innocent due to the fact that they are arguing against the existence of something impossible. The man is again shown to be trying to find something paradoxical in a piece of blank paper. The song started by calling out how the had so much more, which could be seen as potential, but now refers to him having so much to say, while his pen and ink remain unused. While he is talking about and discussing his ideas, he is still unable to find any evidence, thus failing to use his pen and ink.

"The storm comes on calmly The storm comes on suddenly Keep on walking against the wind To find a space on a blank paper

The storm comes on calmly The storm comes on suddenly He knows how to write it now (To) define the color on a blank paper"

This song uses these lyrics ad nauseam to signify the consistent trial and error used to prove something. While struggling, having to now "walk against the wind", finally a conclusion is reached, with the ability to define the color on blank paper, something which will finally answer if you even can find anything on it.

"When he has given out some day What is on his mind? Pointless I will give you that, but I did not want to believe Such words "that's the way it goes" But hey My journey is over with"

Here, the narrator refers to himself in the future as a different person, questioning what he will be thinking the day he finally gives up, a concept he is currently so opposed to he can't considering himself the same person if he does that.

Having proven that his paradoxical ideas about a blank paper are indeed provably false, he admits to the pointlessness of the whole ordeal, but still says he simply wasn't content accepting the obvious truth without proof. Either way, does it really matter? His journey is now finally over.

"The storm comes on calmly The storm comes on suddenly Cold and wet and hurt by rain (But) Keep on walking just go on and on

The storm comes on calmly The storm comes on suddenly Keep on walking though it hurts To find a space on a blank paper"

This time these lines are used as advice to others, even if the rain (all the criticisms you will receive) hurts like hell, you have to keep on moving forward, trying to prove even that which is obvious. To find a space on a blank paper is impossible, yet completely worth trying.

"The storm comes on calmly The storm..

When his time runs out some day Where will his heart be? Breathless I will give you that, but I did not want to believe Such words "that's the way it goes""

The paradoxical nature of the storm is finally solved, with it now coming only calmly, the same way that the blank paper is confirmed to be nothing more than that. Again, we repeat the idea of where will a person who proves the obvious end up one day, but having finally proved what he went out to confirm, the lines after conclude the theme.

"My friend

Yeah I'm a fool Still I know this (The) Wind may blow again"

A person who tries to proves that which is instinctually known is considered a fool for wasting their time, and yet... how can we blame someone for wanting to be truly certain of even that which is known? After all, to be a scientist, to be a human, is to go out and find meaning and proof in everything, and our world, our wind, may only continue functioning as normal when we have that knowledge.

Finding the space on a blank paper is impossible, and yet we must try until we are certain of it, for that is the scientific method, which makes us human.

[cantsayidont]

July and August 1979. The unusual transatlantic production schedule of the original Marvel STAR WARS comic, which for a time was published in the U.S. in 36-page monthly color comics and in eight-page weekly installments in the B&W UK series, led for a while to the use of two different inkers for regular penciller Carmine Infantino: Bob Wiacek, who did the cover of issue #25, and Canadian artist Gene Day. Generally, Wiacek and Day inked the stories in alternating issues of the color series, although Wiacek's inks might appear on several consecutive covers. They each gave Infantino's pencils a distinctly different look. Here's a page from issue #25, inked by Day:

If I had to choose just one word to characterize the work of Gene Day, who died suddenly in 1982 at the age of 31, it would be "intricate." Whether doing inks/finishes or both pencils and inks, his art was characterized by an abundance of textures and small details, many of them seemingly rendered with a pen. Note for example in the second panel above the shading on Baron Tagge's face and the linework of the structure behind him, and the grille structure of the ceiling in the third panel.

A side note worth mentioning here, not related to the inking, is the use of color. Original colorist Ben Sean uses the two-color treatment of the hyperspace shot to segue into three panels with a minimal color palette, which I think is supposed to represent the limitations of Tagge's cyber-vision (without which, as the final panel indicates, he is blind). The digital recoloring has mostly followed Sean's original colors, but they're brighter and more saturated than they appeared on newsprint paper, and for some reason, the recolored version of the second panel has substituted a solid orange fill for the original yellow-orange gradient, as seen below:

The following is a page from the subsequent issue, #26, this time inked by Bob Wiacek:

Note that the line weight of Wiacek's inks is different than Day's, and more of the inking appears to have been done with a brush than a pen. There's still some pen shading (note for example the bottoms of Tagge's boots in the final panel), but much less than in Day's pages, and minor details, especially in the backgrounds, feel a bit sketchier. Consequently, Wiacek's figures have a greater sense of solidity than Day's, but their environments are often less sharply defined. (This isn't necessarily bad — from a storytelling standpoint, it may be better not to get lost in the weeds with extraneous background detail — but it does look different.) Note also the Zipatone texture fill in the second panel. Day uses Zipatone as well, but more sparingly and often in smaller areas, where it's often overshadowed by the detail of his line work.

With the release of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in 1980, the UK series was relaunched as a monthly, simplifying production logistics. Infantino did not pencil the film adaptation, but he did the first four post-ESB issues, each with a different inker (Day and Chic Stone, then Tom Palmer, then Day, and finally Carlos Garzón), which led to even more dramatic differences in the look of the finished art. Infantino, who by his own account had no particular enthusiasm for the series, then departed. Gene Day, meanwhile, was doing some extraordinary work on Marvel's MASTER OF KUNG FU series, initially finishing Mike Zeck's pencils and then doing both pencils and inks, which really showed off his enthusiasm for intricate design.

Prior to his death, Day did layouts for two complete issues of STAR WARS, which appeared in #68 and #69 after his death, finished by Tom Palmer. Although they don't have the complex linework of the work Day finished himself, they have a really striking sense of design that make them arguably the most interesting-looking issues in the original Marvel series.

Incidentally, Dan Day and David Day, who did (inter alia) the Renegade Press CASES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES series, are Gene Day's brothers.

[thescarsilivewith-if]

Would love to write more Naja stuff but still working out how to keep things not too explicit.

For now, hope you have fun with my Monarch's take on Kaela. It's quite challenging since I'm not well acquainted with them and more of a Naja supporter~~

—----------------------------------------------

The Monarch twirls a wooden pen between their fingertips while a small, delicious treat rests on the other hand. Their eyes wander across the ridiculously, large table, watching Kaela sift through the documents. Warm light streams through the glass windows, underlining Kaela’s soft curvature, wrapped in colored robes and the ever-present gloves that adorn their hands.

Serious, quiet. 

While the Monarch has yet to catch a glimpse of Kaela’s eyes, they could imagine the politician’s sharp gaze scrutinizing every line, every number, every word on the sheet with the same scrutiny reserved for their interlocutors. Not letting the slightest, potentially detrimental detail slip through while carrying themselves with unwavering grace.

Still, the Monarch couldn’t help but wonder if Kaela has ever glanced their way since entering this room. Let alone notice the past stolen glances the Monarch has been casting in their direction since they first met. 

The Monarch did offer to help with work, claiming the need to relearn their responsibilities after years of enslavement. But they didn’t spent hours carefully choosing this outfit- fit enough to accentuate their physique, modest yet exuding allure- only to burn the midnight oil (or rather, afternoon light) without grabbing a sliver of Kaela’s ironclad attention.

It feels almost childish, beneath their station. They’re the Monarch. The yarls and nobles alike view for their favor. 

But with Kaela, it feels natural for the Monarch to cater to the politician, one way or another. 

With a plan brewing in their mind, the Monarch nonchalantly loosens their robe, letting it slide down their shoulder to show more skin. Slowly, they tilt forward, eyes pointedly engrossed on their own paper, scribbling on the paper as needed, as they take the time brush the sweet treat on their red lips before taking it for themselves.

Hopefully, they can finally catch something from Kaela- a body language, a sound, a response different from their usual mask of professionalism. 

First of all, that was adorable of the Monarch. So needy... cute. Kaela is very professional, but sometimes it helps that their veil can hide their expression...

I think the Monarch is truly pushing it with the skin and making use of those lips

[goron-king-darunia]

Eggtober 12 Avocado Toast (Featuring Tomato and, of course, Fried Egg.) Clip Studio Paint, Gouache Brush, Dry Gouache Brush, Airbrush (for the barely visible bread texture) and Freckle Pen (for the pepper.) 20 colors, 1 hour 30 minutes. Took a little longer on this one because I spent an inordinate amount of time lovingly rendering the tomato that I knew no one was going to get to see in the final product. (Don’t worry, I saved it to another layer since @quezify said last time that he appreciated the peek behind the curtain.) This was another request by a friend. I must say, I wake up every day excited to choose an egg from the many options I have available and just... have fun putting it down on (digital) paper. I’ve got some yammering about that, but since I’m already going to post a “behind the scenes” under the cut, I’ll shove the musings down there too. As always, big thanks to the Egg Master Supreme, @quezify​ for organizing this. It’s wonderful to see so many people getting into art again or branching out and drawing eggs for the first time, all because one zany dude said to Tumblr “You know what? Let’s paint eggs for a month.” And enough of us said “Hell yeah” that I get to see so many different styles and mediums. Loving every moment of it!

(Art first, because LOOK AT THOSE TOMATOES! I love how they came out, I want to shove them in my mouth! AAAH!) Now for the rambling musings. I’m starting to get really comfortable with the gouache brush, a tool which I previously never used, and I’m also getting more comfortable with art in general. My usual process from childhood, when I did much more art, was to slap down pencil work on real life sheets of paper, line it in pen or photograph/scan it and upload it to my computer to line with the pen tool, and then just do everything with pen for bright, solid colors. Most of my other techniques were one off flukes, like the fire I did in my icon’s background. And my newer process, as an adult who just started learning Clip Studio Paint, was fairly similar. (I just started with CSP recently because it came free with my newest tablet and my old standard, Photoshop Elements [I dunno the version, 7 maybe?], was too old and would resize on my new rig so all the buttons were SO GODDAMN SMALL it was a pain to use.) The only difference is that, as an adult who’s home more often than not, I skipped the paper. Sketch, linework with the pen tool, then color under the line art with pen. Or, for a certain other project, I color under the line art with the watercolor brush. I’ve always wanted to try gouache because I’ve seen it worked with IRL and it’s got such pretty results! Opaque like acrylics and oils but flows like watercolor. I suppose it never occurred to me to look for it in the toolset. The last time I even used brushes meant to represent real media before CSP was when Corel Painter was a thing and I had it with my very first drawing tablet. And even then I didn’t use it often. I mostly used the watercolors because that was my favored medium IRL. But I quickly started to prefer Photoshop Elements which also came with my first tablet. And slowly I stopped using anything resembling traditional mediums. But I figured, hey, Eggtober is already a time for me to learn some new tricks and get some practice in, watercolor will look too translucent and it has a paper texture to it that I’m not sure I want. Let’s see if this thing has Gouache. And it did. And now it’s my favorite brush. The way it blends naturally, the ease of pressure controls so the opacity is easy to alter stroke by stroke. It feels like laying down real paints. Once I got used to how it behaved it just... clicked. So yeah, now that I know how to work with it and now that I had the brain explosion necessary to figure out my new process of laying down the darkest colors first and working my way up, it was all too easy to go “Oh. I like laying down these colors. And instead of trying to predict where I’m going to put the avocado, I’m just going to draw the full tomatoes for fun and practice and then figure out the avocado slice placement.” And then I spent roughly 45 minutes just... adding detail to tomatoes. Because it was a genuine joy and I was smiling the whole time and I could just look at those juicy tomatoes forever. So yeah, I know I say it every time, but I for real owe quezify everything for giving me a reason to pick up a new tool and learn and just have fun with it. Kicking my depression’s ass, my ADHD’s ass, my artblock’s ass, and my (lack of) motivation’s ass, all with the power of “Egg fun, draw egg.”

[shapelytimber]

Hi there! I am obsessed with those TES tarot cards you made. The shapes, the lines, the colors . . . I think The Devil is my personal favorite.

If you don't mind, could you talk about your compositional choices for those? Like layout, structure, arrangement/placement, visual hierarchy, color decisions? Seven years of art school and no composition lessons . . . I'm taking things into my own hands.

Hello !

First of all, omfg thank you so much ?? I'm so glad you like my silly tarot cards :D

I'm really flattered you asked me this question, so I'll try my best to answer it (I'm no teacher and english is not my first language so I hope it will be comprehensible lggklflfifkf)

When you say your an art student who never had any real composition class, I feel you- I've been an applied art student for 4 years (7 if you count design), and apart from really basic and classic stuff like dividing by thirds, the different shots used in cinema, using a little window to help frame what you are trying to draw from life (witch are all very useful), I never really had many composition tips ?

So yeah idk what I'm doing, but that's art baybee

I'll share my process when it comes to designing my cards and hope it'll help lhgktlgofk

I begin by doing little thumbnails (3-4 cm long maximum) with a non erasable pen (or if I'm doing it digitaly, I dezoom a lot, use a big brush and don't erase what I'm doing)

It helps me coming up with big shapes and an interesting compisition (if your doing this on paper, never draw the borders first, it limits your creativity by "putting your drawing in jail" (wisdom from one of my best teachers))

And I personnaly don't use black lines when doing this, because the uglier the lines the less precious I am.

And because I associate dark lines with clean lineart, and this step is about being messy ! So the uglier colors the better :) (for me)

(I'll use two cards as exemples, one I did by doing thumbnails on paper, and the other on my art program)

(And sorry I could not use the devil as an exemple, it was one of the three cards I did in class and so I skipped the thumbnailing for time saving :/)

Next step is sketching, still using my ugly colors :)

But to talk a bit more about composition, for these I always have the important element of the card near the middle (sanguine's face and his lovers head, and miraak as a whole) (I know trick of the year glgjorlfifjl)

And to help with dynamism, I use a lot of diagonal elements (sanguine's shoulders and hips, his right arm and leg, his is leaning back slightly, and his lover is laid a bit to the left. For miraak he is also laying back, his shoulders are not straight, and his to dragons are going on two different diagonals)

Next comes the line ! For this project I chose to use a pretty simple-ish and stylised look (mainly for time saving since it began as a school project)

The colors are really simple, I just do a grey scale version then apply an overlay on top :)

And as a final touch before adding the title, I add a white frame, that I always put behind the foreground to try give them a bit of depth :))

So to sum up my design brief for these :

- clean and stylised lineart

- one color for the whole illustration (exept for the devil because it was the first one I did and I did not know what I was doing glg'goflf)

- a second very saturated color used to highlight important elements (in either yellow, blue, purple or red)

-always have black somewhere

-white frame behind the foreground

-the numbering alternate between the top right and top left (exept once angain for the devil gmgkfnfon I'll have to change that someday)

-the title is always in the middle on the bottom, on top of the white frame

Hope I answerd your question ^^'

thank you again for the very kind message :)

[rollsinactive]

Dip Pens For Artists: A Guide

This is the ultimate guide for artists that are curious about dip pens. I will be talking about ther advantages, disadvantages, the best options for artists and how to use dip pens. Hopefully this will answer all the questions you have so that you won't have to suffer like I did.

Why Use A Dip Pen?

Dip pens are used as art tools to this day. Much like other art supplies, they have their own unique look. You can tell if an art piece is made with a brush pen, a dip pen or a fineliner. They are also like the middle ground between brush pens and fineliners.

Advantages:

Dip pens provide line variance without being out of control like brush pens.

The inks! You can pick whatever color you want and use that. For brush pens or fineliners, you just have to hope your favourite brand produces the color you want.

Dip pens last a long time. The initial cost is more than other inking supplies but they last a long time to compensate for that.

Inking with them is similar to inking digitally with a graphic tablet. So if you are a digital artist that likes using pen pressure, dip pens might be the best pick for you.

It's fun. The noise it makes when you draw with it is pleasant.

Disadvantages:

You have to dip them in ink. It's in the name. Some nibs are especially good at holding ink so you won't have to worry about them interrupting your workflow. However, some others do require more dipping.

They don't work with textured paper. At all. The nib damages the paper and the paper damages the nib. The ink might also bleed. A bad combo all around.

Not good for travelling. I'd reccomend against it if you like drawing outside.

Dip pens can be hard to find in some places. You might have trouble finding the nib you want. I live in a megacity but even then I could only find them online in two stores... in the entire city.

If you decided to try dip pens like me and searched them online, you might have noticed there are a lot of different nibs and nib holders. A good chunk of them are not good for drawing. I have compiled a list of nibs good for specific art styles.

List of Nibs That Are Good For Art

If you don't want to bother with all these options just buy a few manga pens or a Brause Steno.

Manga Nibs

Manga nibs are specifically made for drawing.

Say hi to the infographic I stole form the internet. I could not find who did this.

The G pen is the most popular one. It is a flexible nib. Which means it can go from thick to thin by applying pressure. Its flexibility makes it hard to use for beginners as flexible nibs can be hard to control. I have one of these and they are a good option if you are planning to buy only one nib. They hold a lot of ink too.

The Saji pen creates thin, uniform lines. It is used to draw in details or backgrounds. If you tilt it to it's side you can make thick lines with it, but you can't go from thin to thick like a g pen. This is a good pick if you don't want line variance. It is good for beginners.

The School pen is slightly more flexible than a saji pen. It is good for drawing architecture and objects.

The Nipponji pen is moreso used for writing japanese. It is like a mix between the g pen and the saji pen.

The Maru pen is a small size nib, unlike the nibs I mentioned before. Which means you need a pen holder that can hold one of these. This pen is draws uniform lines. It is a bit thicker than the saji pen.

The Soft Maru pen is a flexible version of the maru pen. It is notoriously difficult to use. It is delicate and can spray if used roughly. It has a lot to offer though. Definitely an interesting nib.

Brause Nibs

Brause is known for their high quality nibs. They are most known for their popular Brause Steno 361 (also known as the Blue Pumpkin) nib.

The Steno 361 is really similar to the g pen. It has good flexibility. It's spoon shape allows it to hold more ink than the g pen. It doesn't go as thin as a g pen though.

The Cito Fein 46 has no flexibility. It is similar to using a fineliner.

The L'Ecoliere 65 also has no flexibility. It is thicker than the Cito Fein. Its spoon shape allows it the hold more ink.

Extra Fine Point 66EF is super thin and flexible (might be too flexible honestly). Can hold a lot of ink for its size. It is rather delicate and hard to work with for a beginner. You can buy it along with an easier pen.

Medium Soft 511 and Hard 513 are pretty similar. 511 is a bit more flexible and scratchier. 513 works slightly better with textured paper like a hot press. These guys are super delicate.

Important note: These nibs and fhe 66EF are 3.5mm wide. The mapping/small size is 3.0mm. So depending on your holder these guys might not fit. I reccomend an universal insert but speedball's crow quill holder can hold these as well. I don't have access to any of the speedball products so I can't speak on them.

The Tube 515 is hard to find. It has a really small point, high flexibility and a good ink capacity. Not worth the hassle but still an option. It's mapping size.

Manuscript Nibs

The Manuscript Leonardt nibs can be quite good for drawing. Manuscript also has kits they sell if you want those. The kits have a few of these nibs and a nib holder.

The Copperplate: Crown Nib (or the Leonardt 41 Hiro) is like the blue pumpkin nib but with thicker hairlines (hairline is the thinnest line the nib can produce reliably).

The Shorthand Nib (or the Leonardt 40) is blue pumpkin nib produced by Manuscript. It is the exact same as the Brause Steno but slightly less smooth. I have heard it has a shorter lifespan but I have not been able to confirm it. You can find this nib for a lot cheaper compared to the Brause Steno in some places.

Manuscript also has drawing nibs. I haven't heard much about them. I can't reccomend them with the little knowledge I have. (Mapping ones are small sized, keed that in mind.)

Some Important Notes

These are the list of nibs that are similar to a G pen or a Brause Steno. The only one I haven't mentioned above is the Hunt 101 (Hunt 101 is a bit too flexible for drawing in my opinion.).

Image from here.

There is also different brands of G pen. Which one should you buy? Well, the general consensus is that Nikko G and Tachikawa G are the best ones. Zebra is fine, leonardt one is the worst one and not worth it. Mine is Tachikawa and it is pretty good but also is hard to start. I need to keep a seperate paper with me so I don't accidentally ruin my drawing. Tachikawa is also more expensive than the Nikko G (but it also writes better.). Just buy either one, it doesn't matter.

Image from here.

Nib Holders

Insert Size

Nibs come in two standard sizes. The Regular size and the small/mapping size. A good majority of nibs fit into one of these categories.

Holders for the Regular size are the most common. If the product doesn't say which size it is, you can assume it's this one.

Mapping pen holders are for small size nibs.

There are also holder with two sizes on them. They have two holes for both sizes. Tachikawa T40 Holder is the most popular.

Universal inserts can hold almost any nib. They have a hole with four pieces in them like teeth. Speedball makes one of these I think.

If you are only looking to get one get the 2 insert one or the universal insert one. They aren't hard to find. I couldn't find any good priced holders so I got a super cheap Mont Marte set and used the holder from that. Even that holder had two inserts.

Straight vs Oblique

Oblique holders are for writing with an angle for right handed calligraphers. I can't see why an artist would use them. They are usually made for specific nibs, so they are less versatile.

Image from here.

Inks

You won't have to worry much about the type of ink. The best ink for dip pens are Indian Inks (moreso known as Chinese Ink in most languages), Sumi Inks and Walnut Inks. Fountain pen inks naturally work well with dip pens.

Sumi is the cheapest because it's not waterproof. This might not be the case if you live in a place where sumi ink is exclusively imported.

Paper

Walnut ink is a lot less acidic compared to other inks listed. It's a good practice ink and it damages your nib less.

The brand of ink matters a lot more. Some inks might be toxic of prone to feathering so watch out for that. Drying time or the odor might be a consideration for you too. Popular inks on the market generally don't have these problems, but you can check just to make sure.

This part is really important. Like I said before, dip pens don't work with textured paper.

For finished artworks, bristol paper and Deleter Comic paper work best. Bristol is thick and smooth. Deleter comic paper is specifically made for dip pens and drawing.

As for sketching and practice, printer paper works pretty well. If it's smooth enough and can handle ink, it's good with dip pens.

Fountain pen paper, again, works well with dip pens.

Paper Gsm²

One more thing I want to mention is the gsm² of the paper. It means gram per square meter and refers to how thick the paper is. This doesn't matter as much as people say on the internet, but it is something to consider. If you don't want your inking to show through the paper you'll need 120+ gsm² minimum. If you don't care about bleeding anything over 60 gsm² will do. For reference, most printer paper is between 80-100 gsm².

How to Prepare and Use Dip Pens

Prep

Dip pen nibs come with a coating of oil to avoid rusting. In order for the nib to work well, you will need to remove the coating. There are a lot of ways to do it. Dish soap, acetone, toothpaste, fire, boiling water, even patatoes and fucking spit. Just use dish soap. Clean it for a minute. You can keep the ends with oil. That part goes in the holder so it might be nice to keep it from rusting.

How to Use Dip Pens

Insert the nib into the nib holder. Don't push it too hard, you might not be able to get it out.

When dipping it in ink, make sure the ink cover its vent hole. But don't go above that. Remove the excess ink. It might spill and ruin your drawing.

Keep the vent hole facing up while drawing. Please. Try to use your pen gently.

When drawing, draw your lines towards yourself. Don't push. If you have to turn around your paper while drawing you're doing a good job. Drawing to the side is fine for thin lines but becomes and issue with thick ones.

Lines done with a dip pen take longer to dry compared to other art supplies. Be very careful about smudging your ink.

If your pen has trouble starting, get a piece of paper to start the ink flow.

Make damn sure the ink is dried up before erasing your sketch, thicker lines take a surprisingly long time to dry.

Make sure to clean your nib after use. Keep it away from water.

And this is it! Enjoy your dip pen!

Q&A

How long do nibs last?

Google might have told you 10-30 years or just a few weeks. Neither is correct. Only fountain pen nibs last years. Dip pen nibs are much more flexible and brittle. How much they last depends on how much you use it, how you clean it, what brand it is and what ink you use. They last around 3 months, if tou draw as much as the average artist does.

How many nibs do I need?

I reccomend 2 or 3. Only one will be just fine though.

What about glass dip pens?

They are not for style only, surprisingly. Their tip allows it to hold a lot more ink. They don't rust like metal nibs but they are also more brittle than them. Rusting wasn't a big issue for nibs since most don't last long enough to start rusting anyway. Lines from the glass pen also gets thinner as it runs out of ink, so the lines aren't consistent. They feel like a worse version of a fountain pen to me. The only advantage it has over fountain pens is that you can write with whatever color you want.

How do I know when to change my nib?

When it starts causing trouble for you. This is a bit vague so I'll give some examples:

Once the slit has opened up enough for you to see through it. You will not get the thin lines you want.

The two tines have split apart.

The tip is damaged.

The ink doesn't flow well anymore.

And this is all the information I have compiled about drawing with ink pens. I hope this was helpful.

[leaves-and-inks]

🥀EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN🥀

Howdy everyone! When I initially did the rough version of this in one of my classes, I knew I wanted to use craft paper. Problem is, I don’t have any at the moment, so I went with the next best thing; a paper bag! I’ve been working with some recycled/found materials in one of my design courses, it was fun to carry that over into my personal art too.

I’ve really been enjoying making traditional art in general lately, but specifically with brush pens and white ink. I just love how it looks on toned paper like this. This was a really fun visual style to explore too; I’ve been trying to strike a balance between being more expressive and being accurate and this was a great way to experiment with that! It was also interesting to see what animals I have more practice drawing; I didn’t reference the wolf at all and feel pretty okay about it, but when I tried sketching a deer from memory,, that definitely changed haha. I have plenty of paper bag left, should I do more of these? If so, what types of animals do you want to see?

[ID: A hand holding a black and white illustration on tan paper with uneven edges. behind it is a white tapestry with a pattern made up of illustrated green leaves, slightly out of focus. The illustration is a black wolf head glaring angrily at the viewer, looking up through its brow and its nose pointed down. It’s ears are pointed up and back, and it has wild long fur on its cheeks. it overlaps a white circle behind it. in a larger circle surrounding the wolf head are vines with roses, leaves, and thorns. the roses black, the petals drawn in in white. most of the thorns, vines, and leaves are colored in black, but some are just a white outline. the roses break out from a larger circle behind them and the wolf drawing, this one just bring a white outline. over top of the roses radiating out from the center of the wolf’s head are sketchy white lines. the paper is thin, and has a slight scaled pattern to it.

Image 2: cropped version of the previously described illustration. the photo goes to the edges of the page, and the illustration is centered. the radial lines on the top and bottom of the page are slightly cropped.

Image 3: zoom on the eyes of the wolf. details around the pupil are more apparent, along with fur and scrunch lines on the snout. some of the roses and vines are visible to the right side. the crop cuts off at the base of its ears, right before it’s nose, and the fur on the right side of its face.

Image 4: crop focusing on the roses and vines. details such as the thorns and leaves are more apparent. the wolf’s nose is also visible in the top left corner. the left most rose is slightly cropped, along with the ends of the sketchy, radial lines. /end ID]

[primal-con]

What brushes do you use for inking/sketching?

Hoo boy uhh skdks I will be the first to admit that my brushes are a bit eclectic! I also flip between different ones fairly frequently, so fair warning that there’s no smooth answer to this question in my case lol. However all my downloaded brushes are available for free online because I’m disabled and broke so this setup is friendly to all, though I’d recommend buying from any of these brush makers if you can to support them

For sketches I mostly use The ELDER 3.0 or 2.0 (the 3.0 is just a softer version of the 2.0) from this comic ink brush set (pay what you can) I like them cause they’ve got a chisel shape with a soft, grainy pencil texture and really good pressure sensitivity/weight variation, all of which I think compliments my style better than smooth rigid brushes. They work for loose sketches and they clean up really well for soft lines!

For legit line art though? I don’t actually do that too often, most of my recent art has either been sketches or paintings, but I use a modified version of the Mercury brush, which is a Procreate default. I just made a duplicate of the original Mercury and then switched off the burnt edges so it doesn’t layer colors like it did originally. It’s a solid inker with a crunchy, textured edge and plenty of pressure sensitivity, so it retains a sort of sketchy pen and paper look that I’m fond of.

But like I said, I don’t usually line finished pieces much anymore, or I disguise the lines when I do. Mostly I paint cause I like the texture it provides my colors. For that I use Fish’s everything brush & sketchy block (pay what you can) and I blend my soft shadows with the TrueGrit Sampler classic watercolor wash which you can download for free along with a whole host of other amazing brushes by subscribing to their newsletter.

But regardless of my comfort zones, I experiment with new brushes frequently and highly recommended that all artists new and old do the same! It’s less about the brush and more about finding the right brush for you and your style that plays to your technical strengths. I like big blocky shapes and soft round edges and rough textures, so my usual brushes reflect that, but those might not be the brushes that work for everyone. Tool around with new things whenever possible and eventually you’ll stumble across the right combination of qualities for you!