TOOLS

Sometimes people ask me what I use to draw, and I have mostly gotten this shit down to like a science.

I use a .7mm mechanical pencil (used to use .3mm, but I regrettably lost that one), and that white eraser, which works much better than the one on the pencil. I lose that eraser like every five minutes because I draw on my bed, and I never pay attention to where I set it, cuz I am a dunce.

I use microns for all my inking. I like them because the ink is pretty strong, and doesn't run through the paper I use (which is often either cheap sketchbooks, or Bristol; I have had an experience with expensive sketch paper where the microns went right through it, but I don't know why). I tried to use the far right one (the brush tip) a lot when I first got it, but it doesn't hold together well, as it frays with light use. Pain in the ass, for sure - BUT, it's super useful when filling in large areas of black, so I make sure to have one on hand at all times!!

The next one from the right, the 08, I use for 1) outlining comic panels, 2) making a thick enough border around an area before filling it in with the brush tip because it's more precise than it, and 3) any black areas small enough to NOT use the brush top marker (and particularly leather jackets). It runs out much faster than all the ones smaller because of the intensity with which I must use it in any drawing that includes black clothing of any kind.

Next we have the 05, which is typically used to outline leather jackets and sneakers. It's also used as a backup for 08 when the ink runs too low on that one. It's basically just my heavier outerwear pen to bring forth thickness, because the 08 is TOO thick (I have made that mistake before). I also tend to use it (at least recently) for word balloons, but that has changed a lot.

The 03 is used to outline basically all other clothing: t-shirts, crop-tops, jeans, shorts, skirts, collars, etc. It works pretty well for me, and it's just one up from the micron I use for skin, so it adds a thickness, but not TOO much. I also have a tendency to use it for hair, something that is super tricky for me the fully grasp. I am not always the type to just produce a thick head of hair, and so I do a lot of lines in it to make it work. Oftentimes I will combine different line weights to produce a full head of hair, but I dunno. I am getting kinda of annoyed with doing that. The little comic that's used as my banner photo on here is like that (used an 08, an 03, and an 01, I think), and it tends to look crummy. I think I do it that way because it's easier than creating highlights (is it tho?), but it's definitely more worth it to just go with highlights, and so that might be what I do from now on; I liked how the hair looked on MY LESBIAN EXPERIENCE WITH VAMPIRISM.

02 is, as just mentioned, used primarily for skin - and, in that, mostly outlining, though this definitely also includes the ear, and MIGHT also include the nose. I used to use an 01 for the skin, but the 02 gives it more useful weight (though there is a discrepancy there I'll mention in a second).

The 01 is weird - maybe it's only the one that I happen to have which is weird, because maybe I ruptured it, or something, but it actually seems to produce a noticeably thicker line than the 02 sometimes, to the point where it catches me off-guard and makes me disappointed for using it. Typically, I use it for bigger inner details: the lining of pants, the insides of wrinkles, most of the features around the eyes, and, depending on how I am feeling, maybe the inner lines on the mouth. It's often also been used for hair.

The 005 is one that basically gets everything else, because it is the thinnest. Jewelry is typically done with this, especially very small things like earrings and nose rings (sometimes I use an 01 or 03 for jewelry, but I usually regret it), thin chains, stubble and freckles, and the lines indicating the top and bottom lips. It's also used to highlight metals, and the create fine detailing around wrinkle areas. Recently, I took a cue from Rafael Grampa and started drawing these little lines of roughness on shit (which I use the 005 for): stretch marks/cellulite, and things that just add to the general wear-and-tear of everyday clothes and bodies. I think it looks cool, but I am not sure how much I'll keep doing it. 005 is also the one I have been using for fur coats of late; I don't actually know what works best on them (I could stand to draw different types of fur every now and again), but I don't want to fuck it up by trying thicker things.

Now, these are all fairly normal things I do, but this is typically for pin-ups (which I do more often than anything else), and typically those done on 9x12 (which is the size of my sketchbooks). When it comes to comics, because I do a lot of close-ups, I have a tendency of bumping all the lower ones up a notch - I might use the 03 for the skin, the 05 for light clothing, etc. this might also be the case if I am working on the other size I typically might draw, 11x14. But at least, since I know my tools very well, it's not that hard to figure out what I am going to use.

I think my worry is that utilizing the tools in this utterly simplistic manner could produce stale art, which is the last thing I want to do. I have always thought about experimenting more, but I don't typically have the resources for doing so (I would have to pencil something out, and I don't want to destroy something good by experimenting, but I also can't just go make photocopies). I have heard some use the frayed brush tip pen as a dry brush and keep them forever. That's cool, and my art would look very different if I ever tried it. But right now...this is it!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about my creative process! Now when you see the work that I do, you might know a little bit more about what I did where, and how I could have accidentally chosen wrong if I try to get a little fancy.