My Artistic Breakthrough

[Larime]

So I had an artistic epiphany a few days back.

The problem has been that my pencils are too rough and my lines are overworked, making them hard for Danielle to paint because it all goes muddy. For example:

http://www.hollowcomic.com/StanHead.jpg

I like it, but try painting over it. It's hard and messy.

Using a pen to do my lines and erasing all my pencils, then shading, I get a much cleaner, more Duncan-like style that Danielle is a lot happier with. Like this:

http://www.hollowcomic.com/StanFinger.jpg

http://www.hollowcomic.com/IstraMug.jpg

My lines are far more loose and confident, adding character and flair. I'm so fucking pleased.

Thoughts? Comments?

[Cam63]

Loos like the bugger is givin' us the finger.

[Larime]

Loos like the bugger is givin' us the finger.

He is. :biggrin:

[Kyuubi]

The sign of any good artist is the gradual improvement of their art over time.

[Cam63]

I like a bastard with a sense of humour.

[Cam63]

The sign of any good artist is the gradual improvement of their art over time.

That's why I'm so frustrated with Liefeld and Roger Fletcher.

[Kyuubi]

That's why I'm so frustrated with Liefeld and Roger Fletcher.


Liefeld never took formal art lessons and I don't know who Roger Fletcher is, but I'm going to say a pink unicorn kicked him in the head.

[Larime]

The sign of any good artist is the gradual improvement of their art over time.

You see an improvement, then?

[Larime]

I like a bastard with a sense of humour.

Well, he is Satan. :evilsmile:

[Cam63]

Fletcher looks like he never tooks any lessons in art or writing either.

My neice draws better.

[Cam63]

Well, he is Satan. :evilsmile:

Rupert Murdoch ?

[Linkara]

Frankly, I like both styles, though I certainly understand about the paint being muddy after trying to draw over that first one. Looks great, Larime! Always good to see artistic development!

[Larime]

Frankly, I like both styles, though I certainly understand about the paint being muddy after trying to draw over that first one. Looks great, Larime! Always good to see artistic development!

Thanks!

Yeah, as she goes for a watercolor look, it takes all those rough lines and heavy shading and turns it to sludge. Hence, my new, clean, more Duncan-cartoon style.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

I have to say I prefer the first one over the others.
Mostly because there´s a beauty in the line of your pencils that is gone from the following experiments, killed by the pen work (sorry for the bluntness).
Screw pens, they´re cold industrial abominations. Experiment with brushes, they have a much more natural, expressive and even sensual feel that will do your pencils justice.
When inking, you should play with the line weight, use it to convey volume, light and shadow...
Leave pens for geometrc shapes like windows, rail tracks and buildings and use brushes in everything else.

Just my 2 cents, don´t hit me....

[Larime]

I have to say I prefer the first one over the others.
Mostly because there´s a beauty in the line of your pencils that is gone from the following experiments, killed by the pen work (sorry for the bluntness).
Screw pens, they´re cold industrial abominations. Experiment with brushes, they have a much more natural, expressive and even sensual feel that will do your pencils justice.
When inking, you should play with the line weight, use it to convey volume, light and shadow...
Leave pens for geometrc shapes like windows, rail tracks and buildings and use brushes in everything else.

Just my 2 cents, don´t hit me....

No, I understand, but the first example turns to mush under the colors Rev does.

As for brushes, etc, I can't, really. A.) no money, and B.) too messy for me to use on my own.

This newer style really looks more like the work Duncan was doing when he was drawing Hollow.

[Larime]

Page in progress:

http://www.hollowcomic.com/Hollow_02_p04.jpg

[Reverend Smooth]

I have to say I prefer the first one over the others.
Mostly because there´s a beauty in the line of your pencils that is gone from the following experiments, killed by the pen work (sorry for the bluntness).
Screw pens, they´re cold industrial abominations. Experiment with brushes, they have a much more natural, expressive and even sensual feel that will do your pencils justice.
When inking, you should play with the line weight, use it to convey volume, light and shadow...
Leave pens for geometrc shapes like windows, rail tracks and buildings and use brushes in everything else.

Just my 2 cents, don´t hit me....I told him quite expressly to not use line weight when he inks, it doesn't blend as well with the watercolor when he does. I selectively lighten where highlights hit and darken where shadows do. It flies in the face of what folks are taught to do, but for this book in particular and the final look we're going for -- seamless -- it actually just muddies the work.

The above picture's detail would reproduce well for a full-panel shot or a print. When reduced, it's far too muddy with any kind of color, and using that style for an entire book is too time-consuming.

Using a brush would also be pointless; the delicacy of the line would be lost under the watercolor. He is deliberately stripping his pencils down into a sharper form.

[escapegoat]

Damn....color me impressed!

I like both styles, but I can see how the second style lends itself better to the watercolor stage.

[Larime]

Damn....color me impressed!

I like both styles, but I can see how the second style lends itself better to the watercolor stage.

Thanks!

I just can't get the smooth, clean lines with pencil. I draw with my mouth, and pens glide nicer, so I'm going to go with it.

[Reverend Smooth]

Well, the first one is portraiture. I colored that piece too (somewhere), and it did look all right in large size, but reduced, you lose a lot of fine detail.

[Larime]

Well, the first one is portraiture. I colored that piece too (somewhere), and it did look all right in large size, but reduced, you lose a lot of fine detail.

At decent size, it works:

http://www.hollowcomic.com/StanHeadsketch.jpg

But reduced for a comic book page, not as much:

http://www.hollowcomic.com/Hollow_02_p03.jpg

[Crowforge]

question: are you a girl?

[Larime]

question: are you a girl?

Er... no? Why?

[Crowforge]

no offense, it just feels like girl art.

[Reverend Smooth]

Fail troll is fail.

I also had to recolor the face for the smaller version. Probably print the bigger one as a character sketch somewhere. And Stan doesn't have chest hair anymore, yay!

[Larime]

no offense, it just feels like girl art.

...'Kay. The line art, or the painting?

[Crowforge]

both, and the setting

[Larime]

both, and the setting

The setting is real, but okay.

First time I've been told that.

[Reverend Smooth]

The setting is real, but okay.

First time I've been told that.

Wait until he gets to the gay sex part.

[escapegoat]

Don't worry...I think Crowforge was just trying to hit on you...that's all! :tongue:

[Reverend Smooth]

Maybe he really will like the gay sex, then. It's full of ponies and dreams.

[Crowforge]

Don't worry...I think Crowforge was just trying to hit on you...that's all! :tongue:
Why would I have cared if he was a girl then?

[Reverend Smooth]

Why would I have cared if he was a girl then?
Making sure he wasn't one so you could get your unf on?

It's okay. They all look the same from the back.

[Crowforge]

all I'd care about is his metallic composition and if we have a compatible OS or will we need a bridge and make it a threesome. /robotfetish

[Linkara]

The setting is real, but okay.

First time I've been told that.

Jeez, Larime, you're such a girl.

[Reverend Smooth]

all I'd care about is his metallic composition and if we have a compatible OS or will we need a bridge and make it a threesome. /robotfetishThose aluminum buttocks! Those shiny cheeks!

[Crowforge]

Aluminum? What am I, slumming?

[Reverend Smooth]

There's a lot of junk in your trunk? Don't make me stamp a 5¢ recycling fee on your ass.

[Stressfactor]

Gee, he must REALLY be a fan of the Metal Men then...

[heystacy]

I like them both. If the second version makes it easier to color, I'd like to see both versions colored to make a judgment. :cool:

[OzBat!]

This change in style actually reminds me of Scott Kolins, when he came on Flash with Geoff Johns. It LOOKED like a complete change from his earlier work, but he explained it as something along the lines of what you've done, dropping out the heavy inks entirely - the colorists worked closer with the penciler and we ended up with some pretty funky art.

[Reverend Smooth]

Yeah. It's not like we're going to lose the portrait-style stuff entirely, but it's just not working for panel after panel.

[Crowley]

I think this stuff is looking really great. You both should be very proud of yourselves.

I like the watercolor feel, but a touch of atmospheric perspective (via a 40% desaturation to the color) to the background could make the characters pop a little more.

I'm really glad things are starting to run for you both.

[Reverend Smooth]

I think this stuff is looking really great. You both should be very proud of yourselves.

I like the watercolor feel, but a touch of atmospheric perspective (via a 40% desaturation to the color) to the background could make the characters pop a little more.

I'm really glad things are starting to run for you both.I thought about it, but I hesitated. Phoenix afternoons are awfully day-glo. I squinted a lot after first moving there, it's so bright and simultaneously saturated and bleached. (Mesa and Tempe are really colorful, as there are flowers and flowering trees everywhere, from city planters to residents' houses.)

And thank you!

[Paul McEnery]

I thought about it, but I hesitated. Phoenix afternoons are awfully day-glo. I squinted a lot after first moving there, it's so bright and simultaneously saturated and bleached. (Mesa and Tempe are really colorful, as there are flowers and flowering trees everywhere, from city planters to residents' houses.)

And thank you!

That's fair, but I think Crowley's got a point from the storytelling perspective. And I think maybe the panels and how you present them may have to do some more heavy lifting if the backgrounds are going to be so saturated.

I think it may come down to a similar tradeoff as Larime's -- less notes, Herr Mozart!

It might also be worth picking apart some of the painty Virgin books on the grounds of what does and doesn't work, because I tend to think that the painting and colouring on, say, Seven Brothers, doesn't blend as well as it thinks it does; and that might be a guideline.

[Reverend Smooth]

Thank you for your suggestions. :3 It should also be noted that saturation does vary from scene to scene, depending on time of day, etc.

[Village Idiot]

Alone, I like both styles, but I can see where the lighter style would work better with color.

[Crowforge]

Gee, he must REALLY be a fan of the Metal Men then...
loved them in 52!