Ask Loston (Dr. Stupid Jr)...

[Bruce Lee]

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!

This thread is for people to post some questions about my work, me, licensing art, comic collecting, or anything that comes to mind. Don't get too silly though. I would like this thread to be more than just a goofing-off thread.

Please feel free to comment on my answers, but please don't try to start a debate with me in the event that you don't like how I answered something, or if you find that you have a differing opinion. Online forums are filled to capacity with pointless debates, and I personally don't feel like adding to that. I'll do my best to keep my answers to the point, and hopefully helpful. I appreciate your cooperation in helping to keep the atmosphere friendly, folks.

That said...

Ask away!

Loston

[SpawnSC]

Loston can you go over the many tools you use to create your work?

[Repo Man]

Speaking of tools, I wanted to thank you for the tip concerning Raphael 8404 brushes mentioned in another thread on this board. I purchased a few of them recently and I must say, they are notably better than the Winsor Newton series 7 brushes.

I've been practicing inking like crazy and I've run into a problem. I'm kinda' desperate so I'd thought I'd take a chance on asking you.

My question, good Doctor is this:

From this John Byrne panel, what's the best technique to ink those "explosion lines"? By free hand with a brush? Propped up ruler and brush? Or should I not be using a brush? I've had limited success.



Thanks in advance.

[benrosa]

For me, I'd like to know what areas you struggled to excel in. What did you do (apart from practicing) to overcome the areas you struggled in. Career wise? artistically?

[jeremy dale]

Al's father is 45. He is 15 years older than twice Al's age. How old is Al? Karen is twice as old as Lori. Three years from now, the sum of their ages will be 42. How old is Karen?

[benrosa]

Al's father is 45. He is 15 years older than twice Al's age. How old is Al? Karen is twice as old as Lori. Three years from now, the sum of their ages will be 42. How old is Karen?

um 24???


feels stupid.

[Bruce Lee]

Loston can you go over the many tools you use to create your work?

I use many traditional tools of the trade. My weapons of choice include depend on what stage of drawing I'm engaged in.

For Layouts:

-2H Design pencil. I'm not much for lead holders and mechanical pencils. I break them. Give me a real, wooden pencil any day. When it comes to pencils, I'm definitely "old school".

-Copy paper. For layouts and prelims, regular copy paper works fine for me.

-Sharpie marker. I like sketching with sharpies. They're good for most anything, but require a certain level of skill to use, maybe, but they're great for spotting black shapes.

-Faber-Castell Pitt Pens and Pitt Brushpen. Good for tightening up rough art over pencils.

For Finished work:

-2H Design pencil. Sometimes an ebony pencil if I'm doing finished penciled commissions or something like that.

-400 Series Strathmore Bristol Board. I sometimes use the GOOD stuff, the 500 Series Strathmore.

-Speedball Super Black India Ink. I used this ink for brush inking.

-Raphael Kolinsky Red Sable Series 8408 and 8404 Brushes. I like both series of brushes, preferring the #3 and #2 brushes from each series. Brush inking is my preferred method of inking.

- 24" C-Thru brand skid-proof metal ruler. It's not actually "see-thru" as the brand name implies. It does have a raised surface, thanks to a strip of cork on the bottom of the ruler, which helps with inking.

-Faber-Castell Pitt Pens. I've been known to do finished inks with these if I'm looking for a specific look, or in a deadline jam. These pens use Black India Ink, perfect for finished work, unlike many rival disposable brands.

-3M Scotch brand Matte Finish Removable Tape. This is the take that comes in the blue box--not the green box. It lifts up without tearing the board. I highly recommend it.

-Porta-Trace 12X 18" lightbox. I use the lightbox to transfer enlargements of my rough prelim artwork onto bristol.

Staedtler Electic Eraser. It's an invaluable, battery powered erasing tool. You can't beat it for a $12 price. It comes with 10 graphite erasers, but I thought it wise to invest in the box of 70 graphite erasers. Love this tool. A favorite in my arsenal.

Staedtler circle and ellipse templates. These come in various sizes, and many have raised bumbs on the back side of the template, allowing for ink flow, etc.

Rapidograph 7-Pens Tech Pens. I don't use tech pens much anymore, but I have this set handy when I do. It's the best affordable set on the market, I think. Most of the time though, I opt for Pitt Pens for tech pen work.

Dr. Martin's dyes. These are an old standard used by comic book colorists for producing color guides before the age of Photoshop. Some people still use them for that, but I used them for coloring commission artworks.

These are the main tools that I use in my work. There are other items that often come and handy, but these are the usual suspects.

Loston

[Bruce Lee]

Speaking of tools, I wanted to thank you for the tip concerning Raphael 8404 brushes mentioned in another thread on this board. I purchased a few of them recently and I must say, they are notably better than the Winsor Newton series 7 brushes.

I've been practicing inking like crazy and I've run into a problem. I'm kinda' desperate so I'd thought I'd take a chance on asking you.

My question, good Doctor is this:

From this John Byrne panel, what's the best technique to ink those "explosion lines"? By free hand with a brush? Propped up ruler and brush? Or should I not be using a brush? I've had limited success.



Thanks in advance.

Well, if you're accomplished enough with the brush, that would be the best way to go. Since you have had limited success freehanding such lines with a brush so far, you might try practicing those lines using a ruler to guide your brush. You'll need to lift up one side of the ruler about 45 degrees off the paper when you practise this technique so that the metal part of your brush can slide alongside the ruler as you put down the line.

If that still isn't working for you, then you can try using a disposable pen and a ruler. Use a thicker point pen (I recommend a Medium size Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen) and a ruler, quickly practice dragging your the line, pulling the line away from your body. You should get a decent thick to thin ratio that way. You may need to go back and add a little to your line at the back, just to get the triangular tapering look right, but it can work pretty well. This is probably the easiest way to tackle those "zap" lines on Byrne's page.

Hope that helps.

Loston

[Bruce Lee]

Al's father is 45. He is 15 years older than twice Al's age. How old is Al? Karen is twice as old as Lori. Three years from now, the sum of their ages will be 42. How old is Karen?

Al is 30.

Karen is 24.

Math is boring.

Loston

[Nerdface]

Can you explain to me exactly how one goes about bringing sexy back?