Behind the scenes
by Jonnie Allan
(pg 3)
Although I tape the paper down when I draw, inking is an whole other
animal that needs to be tamed. Since I do a lot of work with
a brush, the paper needs to be able to be turned to flow with the “organic” nature
of the line created.
When inking I will use Windsor-Newton “Series 7” no.2 & no.
3 brushes. Although these brushes can be a bit pricey ($20-$30
a piece.), when it comes to creating fine detail and retaining their
shape I have found no better.
For the technical lines I use a variety of different size pens;
Rotring, Ceramicron, and the occasional crowquill (rarely.). The
ink that I use can vary from brand to brand. For this particular
page I used Pelikan brand Permanent India ink.
The ruler I use for straight lines has a cork-like substance on
the back of it. This not only helps prevent the ruler from
sliding, it also elevates the ruler edge to prevent ink from seeping
underneath creating a small disaster out of your line work.
Depending on how nuts I went with the line work and detail, inking
a page will take me about half as long as the pencils (Approx 4-6
hrs.). Now I’m sure this is slow by most accounts. I
tend to be very meticulous and hate making mistakes. So I take
my time.
If I were having someone else do the coloring, I would make the
corrections on the actual boards using white guache paint to cover
the mistakes. But, because I am doing the color on this piece as
well, any mistakes in the inking can be corrected in the computer
through the same process some use for digital inking.
Speaking of coloring…
