shading

[Terin]

This is a pic I did at AWA04 (doot helped me with the legs)
Anyway, I practiced my shading technique. Here's what I got, minus the line art. btw, does anyone know how to make lineart crisp? I use a sharpie to ink, but when I scan it in, it's all crappy.



-T

[Tobias]

dood...thats a good job there. Hes all like: "yo...mutaf*cka...im gonna bust a cap up yo @$$

*explodes*

[Satine]

Try using the really fine-point sharpies or markers. Dependign on your paper, though, markers can bleed quite a bit. Personally, I like Pilot pens for inking.
Or if you want to go the really professional route, go get yourself a variety of pen nibs and some India ink and have fun! I don't recommend that method, though, because it takes a LOT of practice to get right. It's very easy to mess up.

[Sketch]

Ok heres what I do for crisp line art on the computer
· In your scanner program (program that comes with your scanner) there is usually a option in tools that says contrast you can change the white and dark contrast .you can get the black looking really sharp and black; and white to looking really clean and white. Many scanner programs have this and some don’t … I know mine doesn’t.
· I normally use Paint shop pro 7 . there is a tool in the photo tool bar that says “edge preserving smooth” it helps me get my line art really smooth but still keeps its crispness.

Ok for inking here are the pros and cons that I have found
Sharpies & regular old ball point pens
( I recommend these for just scanning your pic and not wanting to keep the actual original (paper) picture)
Pros
· Real cheap and you can find them anywhere
· Comes in any color you can think of
Cons
· Fade over time
· Sometimes bleed through the paper ><

Nibs& India ink (or water proof ink)
(I recommend these if your going to be inking a lot of pics)
Pros
· You can get very very fine lines.
· Ink comes in different colors
· Lasts for a good long while if taken care of properly
· Is fairly cheap. 4 or 5 bucks for 2 nib ends and the pen itself (depending on the type and brand you’d want shop around) and about 3 or 4 bucks for a bottle of ink. (The nibs last as long as you take care of them and the ink dose a lot of pics)
Cons
· They have a tendency to blot.. (To fix this use white out.. or what I do is start over ..This is a pain in the a #* if you are doing very detailed fine work and are almost done -_-* this is my main complaint about these things)
· If not cleaned properly the nib tips rust.
· If the tip of the nib tip is broken.. The tip is ruined (but you can use them still. I use my broke tips.. For thicker lines and solid black areas if your too lazy to use a brush and ink ^-^ waste not want not! )
· The ink will not come out of your cloths… Or a table-cloth.. (Accidentally got some on one of moms white table-cloth before >-<) What it gets on and dries on. It stays on.. Forever! Well you may be able to bleach it out. (My fingers have been stained :p but it wares off your skin in a few days ^_^ +2)

Inking Pens (these look like regular pens but have the non fading ink in them)
(I recommend these if you don’t have a steady enough hand for the nibs or brushes and your not doing a lot of pics…well if you are and have a bit of extra cash.)
Pros
· You can get very very fine lines to very very thick lines. You can buy the pens as fine as .002
· Wont fade
· You can get them water proof
· Easy quick clean up.. Just like a regular pen
· Easy to use
· Don’t bleed through paper (I don’t think it matters how thin.. I tried them on computer copy paper and put it on really thick and it still didn’t bleed through)
· Comes in may colors (just about any you can think of)
Cons
(I only have 2 problems with them.)
· They are fairly expensive bout 2 to 3 bucks per pen.( and if you ink as much as I do it adds up… *looks at empty wallet X_x …T-T)
· The pens ink runs out fairly quickly. (Not really… just for me cause I ink so much. They would be fine for small projects. Like lettering and stuff. You can get them where you can buy the ink cartages to go in them as well.)
Brush and ink is also the oldest method.. It takes a steady hand and lots of practice! But you can very your line with just one brush.

Any way ^_^ that’s my bit! Hope it helped ^_^+2

[Katana]

Oooh...Fun! I've always wondered about the lines, too...

[Terin]

Thanks sketch! I'll try various methods til I find what works for me
-T