Page 53 Leo to the rescue!
skyangel on Feb. 15, 2025
I don't know if anyone has noticed a difference in my art in recent pages but around Christmas I changed my production routine to be more reliant on my tablet. All the Simply Sarah pages exist as physical ink on paper and it's quite a pile but after starting this Nikki comic I finally indulged in a tablet.
At first I continued to draw and ink the pages as I was used to and just used the tablet as an easy way to clean up the artwork but after about 40 pages I realised I was sometimes almost redrawing over most of the art again anyway so I stopped inking physically and went straight form sketch to tablet… and then of course I thought I might as well sketch on the tablet as well like most normal digital artists! But.. I'm used to flipping my pad round to draw vertical lines in ink which isn't so easy on my tablet as it has a pretty thick lead coming out the side.
so this week I went back to my old method thinking it would be easier and I was pretty shocked to discover how messed up the page became because I'm now used to zooming in and working on smaller areas that I just had to be very careful about before. So in short, using the tablet too much has rather stopped me from going back to my old ways which is something I never expected to happen!
Stever_Blotto at 5:32AM, Feb. 18, 2025
I love all your great details. Nice that Nicky and Leo can go out and have some fun together. Plus, maybe get some ideas... I've tried to go back to normal drawing sometimes too, but I've just gotten so used to the tools that I can actually draw better digitally.
skyangel at 8:45AM, Feb. 18, 2025
Your comic art works so well as digital, especially the line work which is normally much thicker than mine so you must save a lot of ink! As I'm still new to digital drawing it will take some time to adapt fully I think and my laptop has a limited working capacity too which stops me from making nice washy brush strokes but it already feels so comfortable - and that's coming from someone who only bought the tablet to make the colouring in easier!
tommym at 12:53AM, Feb. 18, 2025
Dear Sky, As I like Mathematical Projectional Analysis, I find using colored pencils works well, yet it is time consuming. Roger Penrose Reinhard Genzel and Andrea M.Ghez I digress love tommym
skyangel at 8:40AM, Feb. 18, 2025
haha Yes you lose me sometimes Tommym! XD I love the feel and texture of coloured pencils so I think I will always enjoying using them for colour pictures and it's something I can't seem to replicate on my tablet either.
A Reader at 8:47AM, Feb. 16, 2025
I can't really comment on using a tablet or paper to create art seeing as I'm unable to draw anything worth a damn. But I will say that some of the items we've noted in the images, the little things obviously spoke to the ability to get small and close in for labeling and certain images. I couldn't say that it was only the 'tablet' but I will say that I've enjoyed the results. I also enjoyed Simply Sarah so I suppose I'm not so great at all this huh? Shorter version. I like your art and your storytelling. Thank you for them.
skyangel at 8:38AM, Feb. 18, 2025
No worries! XD The labelling is something I especially love with a tablet as my pin nib is nearly always too large for small writing whereas digitally I can type real text larger, trace over by hand to give a more natural look and then discard the layer of printed text leaving just my 'own work' I can then reduced that down and it still looks clearer than if I'd done it straight to paper. And I always treasure your comments, you know that! ;)
fallopiancrusader at 9:38PM, Feb. 15, 2025
Using a tablet certainly has its pluses and minuses. I have been fully tablet- based for about 10 years now. Given infinite time, I would prefer to do everything in watercolor, because that is my favorite medium, but it’s so time consuming that I would never get any of my comics done that way. So, in terms of productivity, the tablet is a godsend. One amusing thing that happens when I return to doing a physical painting is that whenever I make a mistake, my left hand starts groping for the ctrl-z key. I have ruined many a painting by falling into that trap!
skyangel at 8:33AM, Feb. 18, 2025
That's exactly the kind of trap I tend to fall into now as well! Digitally, I feel very relaxed in playing around with colours and effects knowing I can backtrack if it starts looking bad but with physical painting and especially watercolours like you are a master at I'm almost too scared to even get the paintbox out! I did the first version of the cover for this comic physically and when the background colour wash came out looking drab I immediately abandoned it and did a digital 'oil painting' instead!
Othosmops at 3:22PM, Feb. 15, 2025
So, Nikki doesn't confide the really secret secrets to Leo. - Heck yeah! These graphics tablets quickly become indispensable. It would also be possible to draw the concept sketches, which you don't think you can do so well on the tablet, on paper and then use them as a layer base, which can then be traced on the tablet.
skyangel at 8:27AM, Feb. 18, 2025
On the next page I have a lot of building and perspective lines to ink over which seemed much easier to sketch on paper first and then ink over on the tablet, so it's nice to have the two options for sure.