Inking On Paper Again

Since my experience with GBS I've been inking almost exclusively on my iPad. I've gotten quite adept at it and the process I've developed offers some advantages even beyond aiding my recently damaged nerves. But there's still something about inking on paper that I just love, and I've missed it dearly. So I've started relearning and reshaping my process so that I might again ink on paper, at least when I want to.

The main thing that's facilitated this has been using the Kuretake brush pen recommended by Ryan Andrews. This pen is great, and it's just much easier to use for me than a brush. I still have some problems controlling the brush, and I'm still prone to dropping it, for some reason. But the brush pen's fat form has stayed firmly in my grip through much experimenting, and so I decided to try making a finished work with it.

This piece was a zombie portrait I did for some friends of mine. I originally pencilled it on 11"x17" bristol. Then scanned it into my iPad for inking. The iPad inks look like this:

DeliciousBrainsOrPoochesOfDeath

Once I was done and my friends were happy, I decided to take a stab at inking the actual pencils on paper. I think it came out pretty well:

ZombieFriends-Merged-MED

While there are things I really like about the iPad version, for the most part I really prefer the hand-inked one. I'm partial, of course; I just love original comic work, it's something I just love looking at.

It's also something I can give to people. So now I can actually give my friends this original drawing, which I expect will look much nicer than a digital print.

At any rate, I'm psyched to be inking on paper again, and pretty pleased at all the drawing options I've developed since getting sick. My illness, while a total drag, has at least pushed me in some new directions. And that's not the worst thing ever.

Pens & Inks

My hands are finally getting their coordination back. And hallelujah! It's great to be drawing on paper again, though I've been laying off the brush. It's just too much trouble and too messy to risk with my spazzy fingers. My medical travails, however, have once again sparked my interest in alternative drawing tools. Case in point: the recently discovered Kuretake brush pen, as seen on Ryan Andrews' excellent blog. After seeing what he did with it, I just figured I had to try one out. Amazingly, the thing makes lines that are surprisingly comparable to the ones I make with my favorite brush.

Kuretake-Sketches

The advantages are numerous. For one, there's no messy prep and no messy cleanup. You want to draw, you just pop the cap off and start drawing; when you're done, put the cap back on and put the pen away. No cleanup. No ink siphoning. The pen uses disposable, replaceable ink cartridges, so you'll occasionally need to replace these. But not every time you draw. Also, the grip is pen-like and a bit easier for my nerve damaged hands to grip. And because it's a pen, it's portable.

There are, of course, downsides as well. The Kuretake-plus-cartridge-replacement combo is likely a tad more expensive than brush and ink. And maybe not quite as expressive. And surely you can't use the brush pen to fill large areas of black as easily. But the primary downside is that the ink that comes with the Kuretake is not even remotely waterproof. This may be fixable, however.

I've since purchased Platinum Carbon Ink cartridges that are compatible with the Kuretake. The Carbon ink is reported to be extremely waterproof. I haven't tried it in my brush pen yet, but I did pick up a Platinum Desk Pen that uses the same cartridges and, if the pen is any indication, it does seem to be quite waterproof indeed.

PlatinumCarbonFoutainPen-Sketch

In addition to my brush pen, the Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen has been quite a revelation. I've tried nib pens, which I like, but which are finicky and suffer from all the same dipping and cleanup issues as brushes. I've tried Rapidograph technical pens, which are also a bear to clean. But this fountain pen is as good as any of them, and in true pen form, it's a snap to use.

What all this ease-of-use means is one basic, but very important thing: I draw more. And that's pretty awesome.