inking by hand

[gazorenzoku]

Sorry to cause any misunderstanding. I didn't mean to say that only art done with expensive tools is good art. I meant what I said at face value: "The skill of the artist and the tools used are both equally important." The examples you gave seem to proove that point. Those people who make their own supplies are probably very aware of how important their supplies actually are. And yes, they are incredibly resourceful as well. And in the sense that they allow the tool making process to be part of the art making process, the art they make with those tools is certainly on a different level from someone like me who just buys my supplies.

However, one should not neglect the expensive supplies simply because they are expensive. Though there will always be supplies that are sold at a high price for no apparent reason, there is a reason that most expensive supplies are expensive. Use them and you will find out.

Think on this: our culture has developed certain feelings about felt pens and expensive paint brushes, probably due to the difference of cost that comes about from the difference in cost of the materials used to make those supplies. Of course, there are also differences in the perminence of the ink as well... marker drawings just don't last as long as drawings made with india ink or sumi ink.... but let's just talk about the drawing in terms of it being just finished, and not 10 years down the road.

It would be wrong to say that the felt tip pen or magic marker is a useless or a base tool, and that the expensive brush is a superior tool because of price or common opinion. However, it would be appropriate to say such a thing if using the expensive brush gives you a result that is the closest to your intent. However, if using a marker gives you the effect you are after, and using an expensive brush does not, then in that case the marker could be called superior. Either way, the choice of tool has a great impact on the work. That is why I said what I said.

Once again, sorry to cause any misunderstanding. I think that you and I both agree on one thing: the tool is important. It seems to me that you are just saying, "hey, there is a whole world of cheap tools that should not be neglected... wake up!!!" I totally agree with that. I love cheap tools. I love felt tip pens and markers.

However, I use a rather expensive brush right now because I am totally in love with the line it gives. I have shopped around, and this is the only brush for me right now. Should I be forced to use a marker if I don't want to?

[losttoy]

Vince gave a good exaple on how the choice of tools can effect your art. Although I would also like to expand on what he said by saying that it is also the media in which you are drawing on.

I was reading a book about Charles Shultz where he wrote that when he was young he used to draw on the cardboard inserts that you get when you buy a shirt. He got discouraged until he used professional paper. You it was about the ink hold.

Ink hold is the term used when describing the ability of the paper to hold the ink at the surface of the paper rather than bleeding into the fibers of the paper causing lines to look wider and fuzzier.

Just to use a handfull of examples (or else I could be typing here forever):
Cardboard inserts in shirts have very bad ink hold. Your standard 20 pound bond paper, the kind you use for typer writers and photocopiers, has a slightly bad ink hold. Resume or Laser paper, the kind you use for your printer at home or for color photocopying, usualy have a ceramic wash and has a good ink hold. Glossy paper, the kind you find in your brightly colored comic books, has great ink hold.

The thing is each of these papers do have their advantages and disadvantages. Let's just say that we should be happy that Charles Shultz found professional paper or else he would have gotten discouraged and we would never been able to enjoy 50 some odd years of Peanuts and Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.

[gazorenzoku]

no biggie.

I think that if a person spends enough time cartooning, and also happens to be an online forum fiend, after a while that person will find him/herself involved in a forum discussion about different cartooning tools... and if that person has enough cash to pay an occasional visit to the art supply store, then he/she may eventually want to experiment with various different tools....

Anyhow, that's how I interpreted the spirit of this particular thread. But I can definitely see how you might have felt that it was an elitist group of people dissing markers and expounding on the heavenly nature of expensive tools. There is a lot of that kind of attitude around.

vince

[gazorenzoku]

my above post was a reply to this post

I have to apologize too, if I didn't explain myself well. Or perhaps I misunderstood your topic.

Off course, I recognize the value of good quality tools. I just wanted to say that sometimes, even without good tools, you can still create something good, by putting some effort to it.

I'm my personal case, I couldn't live one day without my computer and other comodidites.

[InkAddict]

My penny's worth:

try to buy one of those calligraphy sets (the cheaper ones):

they offer a wide range of pens to screw onto your ink refills (black ink refills !!!!) and give you the possibility to experiment with larger or thinner lines. You can get a "lively" line without having to bother with ink pots and their negative points (blotches and having to refill every other line).

It's cheap & versatile!

I've started inking with them only recently and have thus enlarged my option quite a bit! (thinner lines for backgrounds, etc...)

[Rio]

Now....anyone want to give me a few watercolor tips?

Hey Ashley. I don't know how much you currently know but here are some basics:
1. Get a good brush. Sable is best. Don't get the cheap one where the hair falls out when you move your fingers across it.
2. It's all about water. You can "dry brush" with little to no water used. Or get a wash effect with a lot of water.
3. If you make a mistake, just absorb the extra water with a paper towel. Make sure you dab, not smear over an area.
4. Start with light colors first then work in the darker shades.
5. If you don't like something, either dab it out when its still wet. Or if it's already dry, try painting over it if you can or wet and dab off as much color as you can and then painting over it.
6. Tape down your watercolor paper onto a board or table of some kind with masking tape. It will keep the paper flat and doesn't turn it into a prune of sorts in the end. ...Unless you like it that way, of course.

As far as watercolor brand, I recommend using Prang. Their colors turn out bright unlike others which are more pastel when it dries.

Here is an example I did. Click on it for a bigger image.


For most of this picture I used a lot of water, as you can see. For the more defined lines, I used less water. I can give more samples and tips, if you want.
Later.