astridv | WIP progress report

Roughly two dozen more comic panels inked. Alas, they're not all entirely consecutive. Working chronologically is not something I generally like to do; normally I just pick the page or panel that jumps at me, and leave the ones that don't inspire me (or are just difficult to draw, for whatever reason) for later. I remember posting the Smile Time comic in completely random order while it was WIP.

But, the largest part of the inks of the next three scenes is finished now.
(the (almost-)finished inks as they are pasted to my book shelf)

The white gap in the middle is the reason I haven't posted the next part yet. It's just four missing panels but they're kind of smack in the middle of the next scene... I'm confident I can get those done tomorrow though.

I watched 4x16 "Trio". My mini-review (non-spoilery): ♥!
(Won't get into detail, as that would require spoiler space, and besides, I got them missing panels to work on. But yeah, my love for that episode knows no bounds.)

fic rec (how can I work through my fic-rec back log, with all these freshly posted stories...)
Godzilla vs. Tokyo by

sundancekid
PG-13; Character/Pairing(s): Rodney, John/Rodney, Atlantis; 2,356 words
Summary: In fact, the most serious challenge seems to be the city itself. Herself? Himself? The city does appear to be gay for Sheppard.

snippet: Right in the middle of writing a very important program to reduce the city's power use, his computer gets the blue screen of death. Nothing. For some reason, his last two saves hadn't automatically been sent to his spare laptop, either, or to the external hard drive in his lab. All that work, gone. And this is his personal computer, so his Batman episodes, his unfinished autobiography, his ~~porn~~ music, all gone.

"OK," Rodney yells, shaking his fist at the ceiling. "This is it. This is war."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yay. Comic work.

Question:
What size are you drawing your pages at and what material do you draw and paint them on? What do you ink with?

What do you ink with?

Voilà:

Sometimes I'll ink with brush or nib, but mostly I stick with these.

re Size... I'm experimenting a little right now. The previous comic I'd inked in 140%, on that drawing board that you can buy specifically for comic work. But I'm not entirely convinced that the downsizing does that much for the artwork... I mean, it definitely never hurts to shrink the inks and thusly get more detail, but it takes so much longer for me to draw in the larger format that I'm starting to think it might be worth going back to working 1:1.

Actually, this one I'm drawing in 1:1 A4 format - European Album format, which is slightly larger than the American comic book format. It's the one I feel most comfortable with. I'm quite eager to see the end result.

and what material do you draw and paint them on?

Lemme see... I sketch, pencil, and ink on an unexpensive drawing board, mostly. Also, recently I've come to do some of the pencilling or inking on acetate matte film (called Dura-lar, and they should really give me a cut of their profits considering the amount of PR I'm doing for their product... but it really is that awesome).

Once the inks are done, I scan them and print them onto watercolor paper (Farbriano 200g hot pressed)

Thanks Astrid. I appreciate your notes since I want to work similar to you with my GN. I have been painting on cover stalk that I buy at the paper supply store. It's not super archival, but I can xerox on it and it's only $.20 a sheet. Right now I am painting over someone else's work this way, and it's coming out really nice.

I also use the Zebra pens. I love them. Do you buy them over the internet?

I also use the Zebra pens. I love them. Do you buy them over the internet?

Yeah, I bought ten pens off eBay Hongkong. It was the only source (both off- and online) I could find, but delivery was no problem at all. Very convenient. I love these pens, too.

What's cover stalk?

I added your blog to google reader; I hope that means I'll get an email notification whenever you update. Seems like the next best thing, short of an actual Livejournal feed.

I use Google reader too and yes my blog will show as updates, that's how I know you have posted here on LJ. Most sites now have news feeds which makes it easier to know when there is new content. I love google reader, but it does encourage me to visit hundreds of blogs...which can suck up a lot of time. Bad, bad google reader.

I have friends who have bought the pens through the same ebay vender, but I have not tried yet.

Cover stock is just thicker paper used to make covers, usually at xerox copy stores like Kinkos. It's not made for watercolors, but it works OK and is cheap. I buy it from a paper store called Kelly Paper which I buy a 11"x17" ream of it. While not archival, it works great for pen and ink drawing. Plus, again, it's inexpensive. Right now I am using it for adding watercolor of the work of a friend of mine.

I am using: Wausau paper - Exact Ice - White - 80lb Cover 58203 http://atomicbearpress.com/2007/07/24/wausau-paper-test-with-watercolors/

I have friends who have bought the pens through the same ebay vender, but I have not tried yet.

I can't believe those pens are still not available for sale in the US or Europe. Everybody and their brother are using them by now, you'd think there'd be enough of a market. Fortunately mine should last me a while longer.

I just bough some more acetate film on the internet, don't ask how much the delivery charge was *coughoversixtybuckscough*. But the one sheet I had left won't last until the summer, and they do not sell the stuff in Germany. They haven't even heard of it. Yay internets, is all I'm saying.

When it comes to watercolor paper, I only buy the good stuff. I found it's worth spending the extra Euro or two... it's just really hard to get an optimal result on cheaper paper.

Your right about the watercolor paper, most of the stuff I am doing is more simple graphic shading anyways. For an elaborate painting I use the better stuff (like this piece http://atomicbearpress.com/2008/01/28/flying-pig/).

I know about the pens, everyone at SDCC seemed to know about them. I want to shout "MY PENS, YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY!" but that would not go over well.

Could you have your friend here in the states send you the acetate film cheaper then ordering it from a website? Can't believe they don't sell it in Germany some where.

I want to shout "MY PENS, YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY!" but that would not go over well.

When I gave one of mine to my friend, I was feeling quite altruistic. :)

Could you have your friend here in the states send you the acetate film cheaper then ordering it from a website?

It's such a hassle, I didn't want to bother anyone with it. Particularly since not all the shops in the US carry them, either. I found them in the last graphic supplies store in SF that we tried. And the postage and customs fee would be outrageous either way.

Well, anyway, I bought so much that it should last ages. (I'm always freaking that, once I find a product I can work with, they stop making it. I've learned to stock up.)

Ya, I know what it's like to find something you like and then you can buy it again.

I wonder if anyone will be selling the Zebra pens at SDCC? On the other hand they would probably be really expensive.

Looking forward to seeing more comics from you.

WIP progress report

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