Monday 17 January 2011

Ghosts & Gangsters


Here are more black and white samples -- character studies for a comic novella I wrote at the end of last year. I can't say anything about that until a certain acquisitions meeting at the end of the month (cue heartburn), but since there's a chance I would illustrate the book too, I've been warming up.

Who am I kidding, I've been trying to warm up for years.

I feel like I've been fighting the materials since my mid-teens, with the sorry result that I'm basically just hiding from the the whole issue of colour right now. But I'm determined to gain some sense of mastery in black and white. I mean, black pen on white paper – how hard can it be? Answer: finger-achingly, back-ossifyingly tough. But at least I'm in no doubt about the Faber-Castell PITT artist pen (hurray!), especially when 180g course grain paper resists the nib so nicely.

My aim in all this is to make pen feel like pencil. Click for a closer look. Why not just use a pencil? Um... I'll have to get back to you on that.

6 comments:

  1. They're fantastic! I love the quality of line in the close up view. It sounds like a fab project. Hope the meeting goes well!

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  2. I love those pictures - the characters just seem to spring off the page - wouldn't like to meet that bloke with the gun on a dark night!

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  3. Thanks for the comments. And now I must go back to biting my nails.

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  4. Funny, and I'm hiding from the whole issue of black and white!
    But those patterns in your great character drawings are like colour in a sense. Looks to me like you are mastering it all. Still, every project feels like back to square one for me too so I can relate - good luck with your meeting and look forward to more about that Faber-Castell PITT pen!

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  5. Thanks, Briget.

    I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in going back to the begining with every project. I've just had a look at some of your work, and it seems to be the exact opposite of mine right now! Funny:)

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