2: What should I draw with/on/etc?
Hey: that's why I created
Tool Talk!
Check it out, take your time... it could answer a few of your questions.
But c'mon back when you're done and we'll tackle some other ones here.
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2.1: How big should my art be?
Depends on a lot of things. All that really matters is that a)
your original art should be bigger than printed size, because the reduction
makes your printed work look sharper, cleaner, and more like you know what
you're doing; b) your original art must be proportional
to the printed size [i.e., if your original is twice as wide as the printed
page, then it also has to be twice as high, not 1.5 times as high, etc.];
and c) it shouldn't be too big, or you'll have to reduce it
so much that your linework will shrink into spiderwebs or possibly vanish.
For your own small press work, you can often let factors of convenience
help you make the decision:
- Almost all small pressers resort to photocopying at some stage of
production. Most photocopiers can't reduce smaller than 64% in one pass-through,
so don't plan to reduce your art smaller than that.
- If you use bristol that comes in, say, 22 by 28 sheets, then 11 by 14
will be a useful size for you to cut to with no wastage. So if you can fit your
art (including outer margins) into an 11 by 14 space, excellent.
- You can also approach the problem from the opposite end: try reducing
some of your original and see what percentage looks best. Let's say it works out
to 60% (.60 original size, in other words). Find someone else's work that's
printed the size you want yours to be, and measure that printed size. Divide
each measurement by .60 and that'll tell you the dimensions to use for
your original art.
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2.2: How big should my lettering be?
Same idea applies: Measure someone else's and divide it by your reduction.
If you didn't already check out Tool Talk,
I'll mention here that you cannot live without an Ames lettering
guide, available at any art/stationery store. I use the Ames set to 4 for
my lettering, but some people prefer larger or smaller. Trial and error with
the Ames guide [checking your try-outs by making reduced photocopies of
them, of course] is the best way to figure out what you want.
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2.3: What's the story with computer comics lettering?
Well, uh... I realize that the
pros are using it more and more, and admittedly computer fonts have come a
long way since Shatter [Can any of you
remember back that far?]. They do look good, and if you
have the computer and budget to use them, they're certainly allowed. Me, I find computer comic fonts
a bit impersonal for the kind of very-personal, idiosyncratic work that
small press comics tend to be... but despite this, I recently broke down and
bought a computer comics-lettering font
[Don't ask, it's a long story...].
On the Web I've found
Studio Daedalus's WhizBang font [looks good, very
affordable, this is the one I bought],
and Active Images,
which offers a more extensive and versatile [and pricier] collection of
computerized comic lettering fonts as well as a cool
computer-lettering FAQ.
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2.31: But gee, these comic lettering fonts cost hundreds of
dollars! Isn't there anything a small presser can afford?!
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2.4: What's the best tool to ink with?
Purely a matter of taste. I personally wouldn't give up my steel-nib
dip pens for anything. Many many inkers swear by the brush [most often the
Winsor & Newton Series 7 Number 2, for some reason], but brushes are
probably the hardest inking tools to master. (But if you do, you can
run rings 'round the other guys...) Some pros like Terry Austin use
a selection of technical pens and get away with it. Others, as diverse as
the immortal
Alex Toth and
Randy Glasbergen, use felt tip pens and markers. Someone out there
is doing great work with an inking tool someone else told you never to use!
There are no rules in small press! So the best advice is: if you really like it and the final printed work turns
out okay, then use it. Brushes and dip pens are far and away the most common,
and probably for good reason, but following the herd is not a
requirement for membership. Feel free to experiment: no one else has to
see it!
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2.5: Do I hafta use bristol board to draw on?
Nope. Just like inking, it's a matter of taste: if it works and you like
it, go ahead. Bristol is durable, cheap, and a good surface for brush or pen,
so its overwhelming popularity makes sense. But there are artists who do their
final art on tracing paper, typing paper [especially popular with
financially-strapped small press artists], illustration boards, etc.
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2.6: Will blue pencil or marker show up on a really good copier?
Non-repro blue pencils and markers were originally designed to take
advantage of offset printing and crummy photocopiers, but a "good" one would still
pick them up. Now it seems the opposite is true: I find that the better the machine
I use, the more likely the blue pencil won't show up. There are always
exceptions, of course, but bear in mind:
- You can usually adjust the copier a bit lighter and the blue lines will
disappear without weakening your blacks;
- If your large black areas do go weak in the middle, you can always touch
them up with ink, marker, etc.;
- Any blue pencil will show up if you use it too heavily.
Remember that blue pencils work best when used delicately.
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2.7: Can you recommend any books on drawing comics?
Funny you should ask....
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2.8: I want my comic colored. What should I do?
Ask someone who's done it before! Coloring is one section I have
no experience with whatsoever. Sorry, dudes. (However, I was
recently hipped to a computer-coloring studio with an online portfolio --
here -- if you wanna fork out for professional coloring...)
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March 20, 1998