As a visual artist it probably should've been clear to me that watching someone else do something gives me more than just inspiration, but actual tools that I can replicate and use. I've been getting more interested in comics these days, largely inspired by Mike Mignola's beautiful work, and like most things that inspire me I wanted to have a go at it. So the drawing part was pretty natural to me, the inks however were a different story. I had shied away from ink ever since I realized it didn't erase, the unforgiving nature of it boggled my early mind and I have only just now started to recover.
So to learn how to ink I looked at alot of comics and some un-inked pages to see where the inker was coming from, that only got me so far. Youtube should have been my first destination. As I watched videos of some pros ink their work I gained incredibly valuable knowledge of how to do the same with my drawings.
Since working at home I've found many websites, videos and podcasts that really have become my new teachers and instructors. It's quite amazing how much free, and good, information is out there for illustrators, entertainment artists, and conceptual designers. If you need a place to start I highly recommend Sidebarnation and Muddy Colors, as well as You Tube of course to search any tutorials, here are a few good ones:
After seeing these videos I promptly tried my hand and look where it got me
No real story is attached to these images yet, just doodling around, obviously playing with different styles. To make these images I used a variety of Micron pens, and Winsor Newton brushes with Higgins Black Magic Ink on Canson Layout Marker Paper.
oh AND if you do nothing that I've said previously you HAVE got to check out Feng Zhu at his FZD School on Youtube. He's an amazing conceptual artist and a constant talker on his videos, giving some really great advise from the entertainment arts industry.
