Just Some Thoughts About Artistic Processes

I've been experimenting with different mark-making techniques recently. Whilst I've always found success with using fine liners and markers to ink my work, I've often found them a little restricting when it comes to a nice line flow. The problem, as I see it, is that it's only the very tip of the fineliner that can be used to make a mark, whereas a traditional pencil can give you varying degrees of line weight, smoothness and density in many different ways.

This lack of fluidity can mean that the inking process extinguishes some of the energy held within the pencils. This is mainly due to the fact that I have to hold the pen a certain way - less like a brush and more like a - well - pen. Of course, control and patience is important when inking. Not everything can be a sketch. Figures, poses, landscapes, expressions, whatever the subjects are - need refining, in the same way a sculptor can take a raw mass of material, and carve something into it. Body language and form can usually do a lot more for expression of movement than the use of line - I prefer to show the trajectory of movement within a panel through spacial relations between things, over speed lines or 'blurring' movement. But it's easy to lose momentum when you have to keep concentrating on how you're holding the pen in case you might  fuck up the line, straight or curved.

I think the reason I've always been so fond of fine-liners is because it's a cheap(ish), dry, easy-to-use tool, that I've seen other artists use for inking more than other tools. I know that ink dipping pans and brushes are more famously used for inking, but the messiness and expenses involved can be a little intimidating. Especially if the room you're renting stupidly has mint green walls that are very good at showing up large splashes of ink.
Well, I'm out of that room and I've cracked out the old caligraphy pen and Indian ink, and attempted to get good at that. I still find the same problems with it as I've always had, namely, blotting ink all over completed sections of the drawing and ruining my fucking day. How do other artists avoid this?!
Another thing is the fact that you have to keep dipping the pen to get more ink. I'm getting used to it, but it did mean ruining lines, because the ink ran out, and getting more ink meant throwing off the amount being used, resulting in thicker lines that should be thinner to be more uniform. That said, it's pretty great to be able to change up the line thickness via pressure. I've always liked using line weight to give a sense of gravity to an image as well as lighting, texture or depth. It's also fun trying to make it all come together in a way that's visually consistent.










Aside from inks - by using graphite sticks instead of conventional or mechanical pencils, I've been able to use the whole of the sharpened end of the pencil, as opposed to the lead point of a normal pencil. I've then been able to work into it with a mechanical pencil to bring out the deets. This looks good on smooth paper and I'm sure it looks great on textured paper too. However - graphite doesn't erase very easily, so it's not as great when trying to ink over the top of it, unless the graphite intends to be left there.

Experimenting with new materials is so important for comic artists. It's a super fluid process, this art malarkey, and your ideas of what art is to you should be changing as much as you do as a person. In comics, I think this is especially true. It can be easy for attitudes towards art to stagnate when too many people try to emulate Marvel comic styles, though I'll be the last person to say that admiration of a certain style is a bad thing.  I can look at my wall right now and see R. Crumb, Moebius, Frank Miller and Ralph Steadman-style art drawn by my own hand. Everyone starts out that way!

I think it stems from this idea that brand comes first for an artist in this online age, and people confuse that with style as an identity, which creates an echo chamber of style within online communities: copy-of-a-copy stuff. Comics are a very unique storytelling format, but it's vague enough of a concept that all methods of art can be applied to it, from fine art, to graphic design, to photography, to sculpture or performance art. Style is not as important as voice, in fact it's a consequence of voice. There are millions of artists out there with varying degrees of experience and abilities, and the ones that stick out are the ones with a clear indication of voice.
While there's a very clear style that is successful, it can be easy when looking at a wall of comics to think that only one way of drawing is the 'right' way. But just because the Jim Lees  and Rob Liefelds of the world have a similar commercial style, it doesn't mean that they don't have a ton of sketchbooks at home filled with personal visual experimentation. How else could they have created their style in the first place?
It's cool seeing how artists like Picasso or Goya changed their style based on their changing perceptons of their reality. Likewise, It's cool seeing how other comic artists have changed their style over the years to reflect their perspective of what comics are to them. Jack Kirby and Mick McMahon are two comic artists I think of that were like this.

Goya

Picasso

Jack Kirby

Mick McMahon

Even if artists return time after time to a certain technique that they're drawn to (pun not intentional), by exploring different materials, you get to visually represent things differently and develop your ability to draw and communicate too. Investing in a WACOM tablet is good, but so is investing in paper and charcoal.

Process: Ink Brush & Pen Techniques over Large Sketch

I was in a pretty chill place a couple weeks ago - I'd completed all my pages for Murder Most Mundane, and my laptop was in the shop being fixed. So I had a little window of free time and nothing online to distract me. So I used the time to finally experiment with certain mark making techniques that I've often touched upon but never really felt like I've made anything with. 

I've been thinking back to some of my inspirations who aren't based in comics. Ralph Steadman, Egon Schiele, Goya, Henry Moore - even musicians like Trent Reznor or Tchaikovsky. All these creative minds produce (or produced) very accessible art that stays with you, but are also pretty complex and multilayered, on a technical level. I probably sound super pretentious, but whatever. Their influences for their art obviously come from more than just the industry they work in - I think that's important if you don't want to work in an echo chamber, which is easy to do when everything online tailors to specific buzzwords. 

I love comic art (obviously) on Instagram, but as a lot of my searches for artists and subjects fall into certain categories like #geek or #popculture, the algorithm just wants to show me memes from comicbook movies all the time. I have to go out of my way to look for different types of comics or visual storytelling, and luckily I know other alternatives and where to search. I should probably just forget about Instagram and make a Pinterest board for inspiration. 

Actually, upon re-reading this post, these last paragraphs have nothing to do with drawing Wolverine in feral mode. But the point I think I'm trying to convey is that as someone who wants to work in comics, I don't want to dig all my inspiration out of the same, readily available pidgeon-hole resources online.

So I set myself a week long project to make something based on this. I also wanted to make something using my new giant sketchbook that I've been using to make roughs. It's my favourite thing right now. Working on big, shit paper really allows you to let loose, because you just don't care if the paper is ruined. Therefore you're less likely to hesitate and just make the lines that you want, regardless if it looks good or not. It's also really easy to erase pencils off.

Naturally, with wanting to mix sketchy ink lines and splats with crisp ruled lines, Wolverine seemed like the obvious subject. He's one of those characters that I always come back to sketching, and I think it's just that he has so much to offer. He's short and muscly, his face angry and covered in wrinkles and lines (which his healing factor would actually prevent from happening blah blah blah) and he has some of the coolest weapons ever. The ways in which he uses his claws allow for some great body language, with lots of good poses and contorting, flexing etc. Plus, there's something cool about this perfect, untouched metal, contrasted with oily hairy flesh, with bones and veins and imperfections. I always picture Wolverine having short claws, but having enough strength to throw his insanely heavy skeleton around. Imagine the momentum he would gain if he ran and jumped at you. Every swing of his fists would be like swinging a mace, regardless if his claws were popped or not.

Anyway, after  a couple of sketches and wasted pages, this was the most satisfying pose. Some good flexing in the arm and the thigh, a satisfying fist, depth, and a good feel of movement. 

Though the head sucked. I attempted something but it didn't work out. I ended up redrawing it.

Next up - another sketch. Since this paper was crappy, it wasn't going to take ink very well - something I learnt from some Murder Most Mundane prelim work. It's perfect for sketching because you feel so free and able to capture so much energy in the lines, but that's it. I simply took it to the window, and traced the pencil outline onto Bristol Board paper. 

                                

The main thing that always happens with my work is I always lose something from pencils to inks. Some sort of energy that the pencils have never gets translated properly. So this time, I took some liberties with the inking, and focused more on the mark making as a gesture, than focusing on trying to nail form with slow lines. It kind of worked. The fist for instance, has the feeling of knuckles under flesh under fabric, but I made the lines in a quick fashion, whereas the claws were done with a ruler. The faces' form was the same process, but small marks to make bristles and hair etc. 

Marks are easier to make with a dipped ink pen, like I used here. Fine liners are great for precision and details, but for overall outlines and shapes, the fact that you can create a weight difference in line with the dipped pen's nib puts a whole new dynamic into the drawing. 

I also went into it with some white acrylic, though I might use Tip Ex or Whiteout next time. I find acrylic to be a bit translucent. It worked out pretty well though - I wanted to try it out for hair and for correcting mistakes on the arms. 

                                               

And here it is. Got some nice splashes of paint in there over the inks, used a brush to bring out the wild hair, and made some creases in the cloth. I went over the right arm a little too much with paint - but i tend to overwork things like that, so that's just another learning curve. I'm going to put a huge sticky note on my desk that just says "OK, STOP NOW".

Scanning this is was a pain in the ass. There were so many shades of grey in between the black and white, and I didn't want to adjust the layers too contrasty.

I decided to colour it, as I had some lighting ideas I wanted to try out, namely on the face. You can see however, that I also fully darkened the left side of the chest. I originally wanted to ink this, but I chickened out, as I has made some cool marks with the pen, and I didn't want to risk overworking it again. I was also concerned that it would ruin the stubble on his face, but it worked out. 

There's a couple things going on here that I wanted to try out, and it they were pretty successful. For starters, the highlights on the dogtag and the claws, I think was pretty successful. 

The other is the soft gradients in general. Simple gradients, that are just one step up from flats, seem to compliment the inks best. No details get lost, and you're left to just deal with the highlights and secondary lighting, such as on the left knee and right arm and shoulder. 

The face worked out just fine, too. I didn't add any lighting marks on the inking as I wanted to focus on expression. Again, those soft gradients really give a feeling of form to the face, which is something I've been trying to nail for a while. Those eyes, too. They were originally going to be lighter, but that wouldn't work into the lighting rules the piece sets. But darker, shinier and redder seems to equal "crazy".

All in all another semi-successful project. I definitely want to mess around with inks and paint a lot more though. And that's it. I don't know how to end this post. Bye.