Hi,

Here is a black and white sketch done w/ Illustrator and Wacom. I use black and white to emulate the style of early '60 graphic novels / mood settings etc. This is a tutorial sketch for a WW2 based story I am working on. I like working w/ colour as well, but mostly the base colours found in 1970s bandes dessinees. Progress is slow due to work, but enjoyable and good way to unwind. It took a while to figure out how I wanted to cross hatch w/ Illustrator, but it is getting there.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

Ian B.

Really beautiful rendering! I'm surprised you went with Illustrator - seems Photoshop would have given a more natural look in some places. The hatching in the sky and around the propeller shows this most, where the strokes are very clearly of a uniform width instead of being tapered, as they'd be if they were made by a crowquill or brush. Even so, simply lovely, and it really does capture the heavy ink feel of work like Burns or others of his ilk.

--M

It's a very nicely done Me-110, with great use of light and dark. I would never have suspected that you used Illustrator. I would guess that you might have been able to do the same job in a non-vector program with less time and effort... but to each his own favorite tool.

Hi,

Thanks very much for your feedback and comments. Yes, I am still learning Illustrator and prefer vector graphics, so I can get the size for the details I want and resize without losing too much. You are right, it does take a long time and Illustrator is not always intuitive, but the results are generally rewarding. Speed is mostly down to my own lack of knowledge re. the programme. I still have to work on using brushes to get the less linear look when necessary. I am practicing with a certain 'heavy ink' style adopted by a number of artists, Ian Kennedy being a particular favourite. I prefer mostly black and white as it can be so dramatic, especially w/ WW2 themes.

M - very impressed with the world that you are putting together and storyboarding - something I am ultimately aiming for, but which will take a while. I very much like the shading and colouring - is this Photoshop, or a different programme? How long does it normally take you to complete a panel?

Arioch - very nice colouring and detail and great flow - really found myself wanting to know the character ans see what happens next - same question - how long does it take you to complete a panel on average?

I have only really started getting serious about graphic novels this year - something I should have done a long time ago. Look forward to following your projects.

Cheers,

Ian B.

Thanks. A typical panel usually takes me between 2-4 hours to pencil, ink and color, depending on how complex it is.

Glad you dig my stuff man! You're doing great work yourself and I hope we'll see more of it here!

For me, I don't draw a panel at a time, I only do whole pages at once and go from panel to panel constantly, so I don't really know. I can take anywhere from nine to twenty hours on a full page though, depending on how confident I am in my design and how "on" I'm feeling.

--M

this is some sexy line art, great job show us more!

Geez, Ian - that looks fantastic!

Hi,

Thanks very much for your comments. Still learning how to work with Illustrator for my graphic novel (I just prefer working w/ vectors), but I still prefer the older style of the paper / pen / ink artists. Having said that, the power or modern digital software is very important for solo writers and artists and a great time saver.

Here is a piece I was working on practicing more shading. Not sure if I prefer, but it does add drama to base black and white images. Hmm.....



Ian B.

I'm not sure there's a point to use gradients at all. Your drawings have very high contrast, why not stick with that? Just black and white, no gray?

I agree with Aviv - gradients make for a very "computery" look that's in contrast with your hard, high-contrast inks. Stick with them and leave the gradients out and the effect will be much stronger.

--M

I agree with iaviv and Mr. Average. I think the gradients detract from the power of the linework here in comparison to the first picture that you posted.

What you might want to consider, if you're looking for a third "value" on the page, is some sort of zipatone. I am not sure how well Illustrator does it, but I know Photoshop (at least in CS2, yes I am horribly behind the times) does a screentone in a filter. I think that zipatone could preserve the aesthetic you're going for here and enhance your illustrations/panels by adding greater readability without losing the crispness of your black and whites.

Hi,

Thanks for your thoughtful responses. I agree - the grey / shading does seem to soften the image and it looks too 'computery' for the effect I am hoping to create. I am definitely looking for the "ink on paper" effect using light / dark and will stick with that, w/ better cross-hatching patches / samples.

Again, appreciate you all taking the time to respond.

BRGDS,

Ian B.

Those are gorgeous. I second the zip-tone recommendation.