Fall is almost here. It is my favorite time of year, the
weather cools, leaves turn color and Halloween is right around the corner. I
suppose I wouldn’t have to admit that it is my favorite Holiday, from the
subject of my work, it is an obvious conclusion.
Still trying to master the art of marketing Tee Shirts,
seems that there is an arcane secret that I have yet to unravel, but I am
persistent. So far, the quality of the reproductions has been impressive. I was
concerned about the detail of some of the pieces being lost in the process, but
so far, they seem to be retained.
If anyone is curious about what tools and materials I use, I
thought I would share. For the most part I sketch the drawing with mechanical
pencils, anything from a .03 lead to a .07. I also use the conventional 2B
pencil. For inking I have really grown fond of Uni Pens. My main weapon of choice is the Uni Pen, the come in various sizes and the .005 is my main weapon of choice.
I use Bristol paper, it’s the only paper I use on serious
work. It comes in many surfaces, usually I will use a smooth surface for pen
and a bit of a rougher surface for pencil and ballpoint. Ballpoints are tricky
though, they are not lightfast and will fade over time. Some worse than others, I have good luck with
Zebra fine points. The ink is dark, gradations are smooth, and the ink seems to
be more resilient to fading. Bristol pads come in various sizes and even has a comic book format version that is 11" X 17" which is the industry standard.
As far as sketching, I am bias towards Moleskines. In fact,
like ballpoint has the Biro following, (the English term for ballpoints) Moleksines
have a huge sketchbook following. I use
the graph paper version because I plot out ideas and character designs, which
really isn’t artistically correct I suppose, but it does help when I am trying
to design letters.
I also added some excerpts for my own sketchbook.
I am attempting to move my hobby into a business eventually.
I have a lot to learn though and more than likely may have to consider doing
something more mainstream. I know I have a niche that I would like to cater to
and a style that I like to cultivate. More than anything I would like to
persist in that, but I also realize what I do isn’t for everyone.
There are a lot of artists out there that don’t get the attention
they deserve. I find it an unfortunate situation, but at the same time there
are a lot of artist that work extremely hard at what they do and deserve every
bit of success that comes down the highway. Emotions like envy and jealousy have no place
in this creative process. Instead they just become justifications for cynicism
and worse, it kills the creative process when instead it should inspire. You
only learn from those that are better than you are.
Art requires talent and skill, but talent alone won’t save
you. Skill is developed through many hours of sacrificing time and being
dedicated to what you want to do. Any musician will tell you that, for that
matter so would any athlete. Any artist will tell you that they cringe at their
early endeavors.
The creative process isn’t an easy road, one artist told me
it is like dropping your pants in public and hoping everyone applauds. An odd, but true analogy because artists take
a risk and that takes some guts. You must take a chance that you might face
ridicule or even scorn. Not everyone is
cut out for that.
Art is a weird world anyway. Fads change, tastes change, and
everyone is looking for the next big thing to tie their sails to or they are
trying to be unique in a world that is often dictated by critics and not
personal tastes. When an artist shares
his vision and style he hopes he taps into a vein, that others click with what
he is trying to convey. In a way, to me,
drawing is the handwriting of the soul and artists are always looking for
soulmates.
