Actually, using blue pencils to sketch makes it easier to see the lines when you are inking it.
Personally, I prefer .7mm mechanical pencils, though I'll use 2mm lead holders instead for when I want a varied softness of line. For sketching layouts, 4H is good, with the normal 2B being better for the darker final lines. When you want to shade in something or apply a lot of dark grit to the lines, a very soft 6B is great. I find I enjoy the .7mm thickness more than the .5mm because it tends to snap less and I wind up wasting less lead over time. It's good to have both types for changes in line thickness, if you're into line art.
As for inking, while I never do it anymore, I've found that I prefer Sakura brand Microns for my pen of choice. They're cheap and don't run or bleed easily, as well as being quite varied in thickness available. I have 1mm down to .05mm for all my different needs. The tips are nice, being fine point ends and they stay good for a nice long time.
This is of course all subjective. There are much nicer pens in the market, but I prefer ones that I can actually get easily and that don't cost 12 dollars each. Microns are generally available in most craft and office supply stores.
. . .
The blue pencil that you see people use is typically a non-photo blue pencil which does not show up in photocopies or graphic art cameras. This does not hold true for a lot of scanners, however. Scanners will typically pick up the blue color anyways, making that particular usage void.
Instead, blue pencils are used like drafting pencils, to lay down a basic structure and layout, before the final lines are locked it with a standard dark color. As the artist works, the light blue lines fade into the background when compared to the darker black lines of the final, making it handy for them to get a clear picture of what they're drawing without the muddy grays of a standard pencil layout. This technique applies to any color, really. So long as the color is a light shade, it will be easy to differentiate the layout lines and the final lines. I myself use green Colerase pencils for layouts. They show up better than blue, but are still easy on the eye. Colerase also have the benefit of being erasable to a certain extent, making it easier to correct mistakes even in the layout stage.
A skilled graphic program user will be able to take the scan and grab only the colored portions, then erase them without damaging the final lines. This removes the need for inks entirely, leaving you with clean smooth lines in the digital file, even though the physical art would have many more lines overall. Inking has it's own merits, but it's nice to not have to use inks simply to get a clean picture.
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
Inking with the 3 month old around, yeah that's not easy... I agree with Sayterra, Microns are worth every penny, been using them for 20 years. I use to use a japanese sumi ink well and black magic ink with a nice windsor & newton #7 brush, but your 3 month old would wear that as a hat!
The lead holders let you draw longer, they have special sharpeners made just for their lead barrels, or you can use a scratch pad (small block of sandpaper on a 1" x 4" piece of wood) and here's the best thing, you can order all of this online!
May I suggest using some workable fixative, to keep the stuff you've finished non smearable. Though spray it out doors, far far from the 3 month old, it stinks to high heaven!
LJ
I've done some awesome work with those packs that include like, 50 markers for 8 bucks. They don't last long, but they can be fun.
Thanks for the input, I'll keep an eye out for those Microns....
TL
Microns are nice, I use them here and there. Copic also makes a fantastic pen as well. For inking I tend to prefer the Faber-Castell brushpens if I'm using a pen, otherwise I use an actual sable Windsor and Newton brush.
Microns and Faber-Castell pens can be found at Aaron Brothers and Michael's for cheap.
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I agree with Sayterra,
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Huh? o.O
TIME WARP!
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
[ QUOTE ]
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I agree with Sayterra,
[/ QUOTE ]
Huh? o.O
TIME WARP!
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It's just a jump to the left? <_<
And then a step to the riiiigght!
http://www.virtueverse.net/wiki/Massacre_Melanie -the original Fire/Dark Corruptor -
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=115217
The Guide to BURN
Put your hands on your hips!
[ QUOTE ]
The blue pencil that you see people use is typically a non-photo blue pencil which does not show up in photocopies or graphic art cameras. This does not hold true for a lot of scanners, however. Scanners will typically pick up the blue color anyways, making that particular usage void.
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The nice thing about most computer art/graphics programs is, you can use layers or color selection to make blue-lines invisible at will. A blue-line scan can be selected, dropped into a background layer, inked over, colored... and then the 'blue lines' can be simply turned off for the final rendering (although I'd not delete the layer or the linework).
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Picked up the Microns this weekend, a.25 and a .50.
Did a quick sketch with them this morning. I like how smooth the pens are, nice clean lines. Will definitely be using them more often...get used to hand inking again. =)
I looked for the brush pens that Sayterra mentioned, but couldn't find them, which is a shame, because they sounded interesting....
TL
Sakura also makes a brush pen, as does Faber Castell... I've ordered them online, in case you're in dire need.
I could never do tight pencils like that except for portraits... nice work Doug.
Mr. Shuler, your work is amazing! When I first started playing Magic the Gathering, I was blown away by alot of the art work on all the cards, yours especially! Internet wasn't too big back then except for dial-up and my MUD'ing (aww the days of zMUD) so searching for things that interested me, like the artist from that game was painful. The Serra Angel I think is still the most beautiful card in that whole game. I still have 4 of those cards here, I kept my Magic cards long after I quit playing mostly to look at them and to reminisce.
Sorry to sound like a fanboy, but I never expected to ever be able to talk to someone I almost idolized my teenage years...
*holds back a tear*
My apologies for derailing the thread!
Hehe. Doug gets that a lot. And yes... the Serra Angel IS one of the most beautiful cards in the game, if not the most beautiful.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Hey TL,
These are the pens: http://www.dickblick.com/zz207/59/
Hopefully that'll help locate them 
That's a great set of pens and the gift set is only $34--wotta bargain!
Thanks.
Thanks Say! That will help a lot!
TL
Sure thing TL!
I love their brushpens. I used them to do the zoo sketch of the elephant in the top right corner: Animals!
So I highly recommend them. Usually Michael's carries them but I've found as of recently they stopped. Very annoying. Second place to find them is Aaron Brothers if you have one around.
Ah, that would explain why I couldn't find them, I was at a Michaels. Never heard of Aaron Brothers, so not sure if there's one around here. But there is a Jo Ann's Fabrics down in Green Bay that carries a lot of art supplies, I'll have to road trip again and see if they got any there....
TL
Living in Green bay For a couple of years myself, I would recomend giving a call to Hobby Lobby to see if they carry any. They tend to have a little bit of all sorts of stuff. I doubt JoAnnes would carry them. Otherwise the internet is a great source for this sort of stuff. I prefer the Microns at about $3 a pop.
For those of you that do the non-digital penciling and inking, what do you use?
I've been using just a regular old cheapo mechanical pencil and a thin tip rollerball style type pen. However, my pen is running out of ink and I'm looking for options for a new one. Looking for something simple and self contained, not like a quill and inkwell or anything. I have enough mess in my life with my 3 month old, thank you very much. Also, the closest art store is a good hour away, so while I'm welcoming all suggestions, stuff that I could find at the local K/Wal/Shop-Mart would be most helpful.
Also, a kind of newbish question, considering how long I've been doing this art thing, but what's the deal with the blue pencils I've seen people use? I imagine they're for photocopying purposes? Is it a special kind of pencil or does, say, a blue Crayol colored pencil work just the same?
Thanks,
TL