B. Blueline Pencil

     If there aren't any problems, I go straight to the pencils, blueline pencils.  Some folk blueline sketch, lead pencil, then ink.  Others pencil in a light sketch, then a heavier final one, then ink.

I write in the dialogue as well as the balloons in.  I like to draw in the balloons by hand now.. it's probably a reaction to the years spent using Flash... I didn't even use a ruler for a while..

The text is typed up separately and saved in html. 
(Dialogue page for "Manga Club" and "Kung Fool Too!")

     "Non-photo Blue" as it's known, was developed for use in photography and graphic design.  A particular pigment, a shade of blue (much lighter then the PC enhanced one shown here), that blends in with the white of the paper, and thus "invisible" in black and white photography.

What I use technically is not a non-photo blue pencil, but a generic erasable color pencil mainly used by animators.  They also use red, as I have, but blue seems the best, easiest on the eye.

Blue line saves time spent erasing the lead pencils after the inking, as you can knock out the blue in the scanner/Photoshop.  It's waxy, so it's much more cleaner.  You do erase here and there as you draw, but nothing compare to the smudges of lead pencils.  Gives you a cleaner contrast compare to the dark gray of lead when you ink as well.

Larger version of GHMC sketches page 1A (272 KB) and page 1B (288 KB)

C. Inking

     The sketch is inked in the following order, sound effects and balloons using a felt tipped pen, panel borders using a Sharpie marker, then the innards using ball point pens, brushes, or in this case, a felt tipped pen again.

As many of you know from the previous version of Kung Fool, I didn't bother with inks for a while... but art the end... it just seemed... unprofessional.  Not that I'm big on such things... I use a ball point pen to ink, which is by any standard of draftsmanship, unacceptable.

Most cartoonists and comic book "artists" learn to ink in their late teens and early twenties, when they get serious about drawing.  I doodled a bit in school, but spent those pivotal years poo-pooing comics and learning about serious "fine art."  Never got used to the dip pens, the Crow Quills, the G-pens and such inking staples in the great tradition of Commercial Arts and Graphic Design, or as we called them: "whores."

So here I am, years later, smearing my nights away with gunky purple tinged 30 cent Bics and Paper Mates...  maybe... poetic justice?

A. Pencils, Pens & Erasers

1. Col-Erase brand erasable color pencil, blue. 
        Prismacolor, maker of the famous high-quality color pencils, recently bought Col-Erase.  I know this because there's a big PRISMACOLOR on each pencil, and the lead's much more softer, harder to keep a sharp point now.  I initially thought, "They've fucked me over, I hate them!" But then, they might be using higher quality ingredients, more pigment, and less binder, producing a softer lead.  The Col-Erase were pretty cheap-o pencils, good for little else... hmm.  I still like the old one better.
2. Pentel "Clic" eraser.  It clicky-clicks.  Very nice for detail work. 
   I bought a little box of re-fills a while a ago, must get more, they're just gonna get more expensive..
3. Pencil extender.  Have a commercial one as well, made of wood with neat little metal clips, home made one is shown.  It's an old pen cylinder with the top sawed off and tape wrapped around the pencil nub.  Yeah, yeah, I know...
4.  Large eraser, for covering.. large areas. 
   A Mars Steadler, I think.  Buy one of those huge bricks, they'll last forever.
5. Cheap, common, ball point pen.  Bic, in this case. 
       I actually like Bics the best, much more smooth flowing and less smudge then Paper Mate, although it could be because because of age....
6. Pilot Fineliner felt tipped pen.  Thin steady line, good for balloons and such.
7. Sharpie pen, not the chunky marker.  Smells a bit, but this particular one's gone dry.  Thick, straight line.  I've actually been using an older Fineliner for the thinker line work (the felt tip broadens out with use.)
8. Niji or Kurotake brush pen. Made as a calligraphy/ watercolor brush, very nice for lush brush work without the messy water/brush/ink set up. I use Rapidiograph inks, flows a bit much/too little sometimes, and not really meant for detail work, but is very expressive.
         A Google search turns up another comic tutorial describing its use, an artist's sketchbook and two product listings.  I highly recommend it, even if you don't draw. It's the only thing here that can be described as an legitimate artist tool...

B. Rulers

    An all purpose mid sized triangle (~12 inches, hypotenuse) is your friend.  It should have a inking lip or edge, to prevent smearing.

I also use a straight ruled one (both inches and centimeter) with a protrusion in the middle, a grip for easy handling, but as I don't have a picture of it at the moment, it is clearly not that much of a friend.

C. Paper

I use the non-glossy side of magazine backing boards to draw on.

(In the US, comic book nerds buy little plastic baggies to "keep" those thin booklets of Superman, X-men, etc... safe and such.  The insane ones go the extra mile and insert a cardboard with each comic book for extra protection, on the theory that somewhere in the distant future, an even stupider, fatter, richer nerd will buy them at an inflated cost~  They also come in large sizes, including the "close enough to the standard 8.5x11 inches bond paper" size for magazines.)

    Bristols are too expensive, bond paper too thin, animation paper, too large... it's the best compromise yet.
They are thick, durable, cheap,and fit nicely whole on the scanner.  Heck, they're even acid free and come with plastic bags for easy "archiving," or in my case, mailing off for donations.  (I lost the bags in a box somewhere and I had to send out some drawings out "naked," but I found them since.)

I got mine at "Collector's Safe," a Google search reveals two equivalent products.