Realism Does Not Remove Choice

Even if you decide to go for photography, the ultimate "realistic" form of illustration, you still must make choices that determine what the final image will look like. There is no faithful reproduction of reality. All you can do is try to communicate to others how what you saw in your head made you feel. If you want to communicate effectively, you have to really work to make honest, intentional choices.

Reality Is Not Real

As much as you'd like to think so, reality isn't real. It's filtered through your imperfect, limited hardware and wetware. You're 80 milliseconds behind the now, processing a tiny sliver of what is all around you and telling yourself a story to fill in the gaps.

Let's Get Heavy

Where I am going with this: I'm going to discuss, over the next few posts, the fact that no matter how "realistically" (or not) you wish to draw, you must always make interpretive choices. These choices include how much you are abstracting from your own perception of reality. It is your work in making these choices that gives you a framework for developing your own style.

Other Stuff You Might Need

You are going to want to be able to make square corners and straight lines, at least sometimes. You'll want your lettering to be even and straight. You'll want to get rid of eraser dust and prevent pencil smudge lines. That's what all this stuff is for.

Here is a parallel rule (not pictured above): Blick Portable Drafting Board

I bought one for myself. It's big enough for the 11 x 17 paper (kind of) but much better suited for doing half pages on 9 x 12. Perfect for drawing comics on the go, in other words.

Paper Sizes and their Uses

When I am working at home on a normal comic for an anthology, I guess I should say that the 10" x 15" format on 11" x 17" paper is my standard. But that would be a lie. Unless I really need a full-page layout for some reason, I am more likely to draw the 10" x 7.5" half-page for a number of reasons. It's easier to scan, easier to take with me and work on the road (in a cafe, for example) and easier to store. But right now I am working on a graphic novella called Una Ricerca di Pizza about searching for the origins of New Haven pizza... and I'm doing it on 6" x 9" paper... and it's going pretty well if I say so. It looks pretty good.

Also, there are plenty of quick sketch paper sizes not listed here. I discovered I could make a sketchbook in an old checkbook, for example, and blank business cards are an interesting medium. Although the absolute king of drawing stuff on business cards is the Gaping Void guy.

Here is What I Carry

I have two drawing kits. The smaller one fits in a jacket pocket (or even in my jeans) and I am almost never without it. The 4" x 6" paper is large enough to draw a simple comic (see Vidrio Cafe) yet small enough to carry anywhere. The larger kit fits in a backpack or even a small shoulder bag, holds a lot more, and the 6" x 9" paper is large enough to kind of draw a type of full comic page (like the one you see above).

They Call Them Rubbers

I use the plastic eraser most often. It leaves little dust and is easy to find. Staedtler, Pentel, and other companies all make white plastic high-polymer erasers that are perfectly fine.

Brushes and Brush Pens

You didn't think I would tantalizingly mention brush pens in the previous post and then not do a post about brush pens... did you? I'm a fan of the Kaimei, of course, although I didn't use mine for a long long time and it became clogged. I've cleaned it, but it's still not what it was. If I had to pick one brush pen I would choose the Pentel GFKP which is remarkably like a real brush (but sometimes with an annoying, treacherous point that needs a trim). But I am usually less brave and use the Pilot Pocket brush pen because it's just plain easy to use.

Pen Kinds

I actually cut a goose feather into a quill pen recently. Used to do it when I was a kid, wanted to see if I still have the knack. It was pretty easy. But I wouldn't want to be limited to using a goose quill pen all the time. If I had to pick just one pen, I would pick the Pentel Stylo because it is between a Micron and a brush pen. It can do either job, sort of. But of course it's better to also have a Micron and a brush pen... or many...

More Kinds of Pencils

A pencil is a pencil. In the last post, I talked a little about different lead types. Here are some lead holders (for that is what pencils are). My favorite pencil to just carry around is the Tombow Zoom 505. The only slight annoyance is that the eraser is not easy to get to. My go-to for my drawing kits is the Graphgear 500 which is not expensive and is very reliable so long as you don't let it get wet.

Types of Pencil Lead

I suppose the Internet exists so that someone can write a blog post about types of pencil lead. I guess I am not the only one!

• https://pencils.com/hb-graphite-grading-scale/
• https://www.jetpens.com/blog/the-best-lead-grade-for-every-application/pt/475
• https://cwpencils.com/blogs/news/131980803-beginners-guide-to-pencil-shopping-a-guide-to-grades

Whether I am drawing a comic or an illustration, I generally start with a 0.7 mm HB or a Staedtler Norica woodcased pencil.

Comic Drawing Tools: Three Worlds

By "tablet" here, I mean an Android tablet, an iPad, or a Windows 10 tablet like the Microsoft Surface or the Lenovo Miix. Input tablets also have screens in them these days, and I am not sure why anyone would buy something like a Wacom anymore when a Miix (or a Surface Go) is cheaper. There's still the old-school input tablets that are just pressure-sensitive surfaces with no screens. And then there's the ISKN Slate 2 which is kind of an input tablet but you can take it with you and you can draw on paper while it digitizes what you draw. I'm playing with this one these days and I find it to be okay... but not quite as good as the Miix or just using paper and brush pens.

• https://try.iskn.co/us/the-slate/
• https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets/windows-tablets/miix-series/c/miix-series
• https://www.wacom.com/en-us