Skip to Content

talkin shop

Hey fellas! I figured I'd chime in about the stylistic fiddling going on with today's comic in case anyone was worried or curious.

If you have a good eye, you've probably noticed that the inks don't always stay consistent from comic to comic (fountain pen, crow quill, there's some brush pen here). I don't care too much about the visual consistency of Johnny Wander -- as the name implies, this place was made to be a sandbox for Ananth and myself.

I'm trying to teach myself how to ink with a brush right now and it is haaard! So I'm working with it as much as possible so it looks like I know what I'm doing maybe. Also it might give me some indie comic street cred. The change isn't permanent, if you were worried. I might work like this for a few comics though.

REALLY SERIOUSLY, if you have any suggestions on how to do this better, I'm all ears. Also if you have any questions about art stuff, I will try to explain as much as I can which-I-cannot-promise-will-be-much.

IN THE MEANTIME: HEY ANANTH DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS

IT IS TIME FOR LEFT 4 DEAD

Add a comment | 52 Comments

Comments

He reminds me of my mom, no one passes her on the highway!

I wish you luck on the inking with brush, I was always terrible at that. Give me a crowquill anyday.

(reply to this comment)

I agree - I'm pretty okay at the crow quill, and we get along pretty well! But the more I look at other peoples' art, I'm starting to think that a brush might be a more versatile tool? Either way, it's probably good to be fluent with different mediums. x_x

(reply to this comment)

Certainly doesn't hurt anyway. I don't ink much of anything so I really can't say. But when I do I enjoy the possibility of splatter when you catch the nib on the papper . . .

(reply to this comment)

OH BOY! You guys are probably playing on 360 though so I can't play with you. :C

L4D is so much fun :V

(reply to this comment)

Yeaaaah 360 ;_;

(reply to this comment)

lol, you dad is awesome. personally though i drive all over the place on the highway, speed wise that is. though its a good thing i haven't been speeding recently. i just found out my plates are a couple months overdue.

btw, l4d=awesome. i need to find more people to play with.

(reply to this comment)

i like it, i dont know what to say to help but i like the change but im up for any thing that helps expand a persons abilities. also try inking in photoshop it hard as well lol or i think it is

(reply to this comment)

OMG LEFT 4 DEAD RULES. I totally slaughter zombies on a daily basis!

(reply to this comment)

Argh I didn't mean for this to be a reply to a completely unrelated comment.

/fail

(reply to this comment)

I really enjoy the variety in style from comic to comic, keep up the good work :D, I'm looking for some L4D buddies (I.e people who decide to not skip out in the middle of a zombie rampage.) so if anyone in the comments want to add me it would be veerry verrry appreciated! :D

Steam ID: Piratized .

taa <3

(reply to this comment)

Ach, I have the same sentiment - but i'm on 360 unfortunately. :(
Yeah, wish I could find some good regular people to play with - have a sweet team of four, but we tend to win a bit *too* much, and everyone leaves.
I think our record was allowing a team to get 3 points on the first level of Blood Harvest. Suddenly, disconnects.

(reply to this comment)

If anyone does want to add me though, my gamertag's my name. Cheers!

(reply to this comment)

We're on the 360, sorry man!

(reply to this comment)

~SHINING CAR, OF MY DREAMS, SHOW ME THE WAY FOR LOOOOVVVVVINGG!

(reply to this comment)

YESSSSSSS

(reply to this comment)

I think the new styles look pretty good, I especially like the eyebrows in the last box. I am sorry to say I do not know much about drawing techniques to toss anything out there though. Very fun comic though I always enjoy the randomness of it thank you guys.

(reply to this comment)

omg, i just got left 4 dead this weekend with the sale. we need to play together.

my steam id is t3hmarken, friend me so we can slaughter zombies together!

(reply to this comment)

NUUUU MARRRKKKK ;_;

We are playing on the 360, none of us have gaming PCs! Or PCs at all!

(reply to this comment)

DANG!

That's it, I'm buying an Xbawkz.

(reply to this comment)

That's heresy!

(reply to this comment)

I play l4d too! :D
And unlike my three l4d friends, I have way too much free time.
Please feel free to add me and send me a message if you need another person :]
SteamID: "ACarbonElegy"

...And I am always the black guy. Cos he is the coolest.

(reply to this comment)

Ik4ksT ikhkrsrtpmhv, [url=http://ueudvaamoekj.com/]ueudvaamoekj[/url], [link=http://mkcxcgabtgxw.com/]mkcxcgabtgxw[/link], http://tnegpxryvxks.com/

(reply to this comment)

x--x Brushes are hard. I can only bring myself to use them for blacking areas in these days.

The best advice I can give is just to take your time and go easy on the brush. Try and have a few different ones to be able to make different variations of lines.

(I apologize for the lame advice.)

(reply to this comment)

LOL My fiance's roomie drives like Yuko's dad. I'm really quite surprised he still has his license. Of course I think he has the local traffic court on speed dial, and the highway patrol know him by name...

(reply to this comment)

Hahaha, that's either very good or very bad. XD

(reply to this comment)

I saw this the other day and thought it would come in handy when I start messing with brush stuff. So not sure if you've seen this before, but I figured I would link you just in case http://comictool.blogspot.com/2009/01/helicopter-hand-draws-for-you-last...

Plus, there's a good article about how different artists approach using the brush (Erica Moen, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, Craig Thompson). http://comictool.blogspot.com/2009/02/this-week-cartoonists-on-their-bru...

Good luck with the brush experiments!

(reply to this comment)

Oh wow, this is fantastic! Thank you so much!

I'm 100% self taught with a brush, so I've been working from the ground up. I had no idea how to hold a brush. XD

*APPLYING NEW KNOWLEDGE RIGHT NOW*

(reply to this comment)

I'm so glad that's helpful! Let us know if your experiments turn out better XD

(reply to this comment)

What is a good pen to use for inking with regards to ink bleeding? I tried using a very fine tipped black Sharpie but the bleed made the drawing I was inked look like it was done by a five year old. Or is that only something that can be fixed with better fine motor control/practice? I was thinking of using ballpoint pens but they don't make the mechanical pencil drawing look any better when they get inked this way in my opinion.

(reply to this comment)

Well, I can say upfront that sharpies are not great for inking. The ink is really permeating, if you are using a paper with a grain to it, the paper will act like a sponge and the line will bleed and the ink will soak through the paper. The only thing I really use sharpies for is filling in areas of solid black.

If you are looking for a felt-tip non-variable line pen (similar to a sharpie), go to an art store and see what kinds of art pens they have. I have a large collection of Micron, ZIG, Farber-Castell, Copic, and Staedtler pens. These are what I ink this comic with. Try a variety of papers, ink will bleed on papers with a lower quality or a bigger grain to them. Most art stores will have a roll of paper out so you can try out pens before you buy them.

If feel like dabbling with a pen with variable line thicknesses, give a shot at felt brush pens. All of the above companies should make them.

I hope that helps some!

(reply to this comment)

Yes it has. Thank you!

(reply to this comment)

I never feel safe when I'm in a car with someone driving really fast. Especially anyone that's going near 90. o.o

D: I wanna play L4D with Y'all.

(reply to this comment)

we must have a johnny wander l4d party night. but i don't have an x-box either >_<

Steam Id is onifiredemon. i don't go by that anymore though >.> i hate it. <.<

(reply to this comment)

i can't think of something more awesome than a Johnny Wander L4D night. (the name i posted this under is my xbox live account).

(reply to this comment)

Hey guys! We are on 360.

An L4D night sounds interesting - I'll talk to Conrad about it when he gets back, which is around the end of February. It's his account and he's a busy dude, and I don't really want to much around with it on my own.

(reply to this comment)

Yeah. I don't have a 360 either. >.>
My friend down the street lets me play all the time though. he likes me getting the achievements for him. :3

Just be sure to fill us in if you do have a L4D night.

(reply to this comment)

Long time lurker. (~4 years of Applegeeks)

Your comics are just fine. Play and experiment as much as you like. Just keep up the witty comics. :)

In no way is this a brown nose or suck up or whatever its called these days.

L4D for the win. I popped some 66 hrs of L4D the first week it came out.

Enjoy campaign or versus. Whichever you guys play.

If you need a campaign player, not likely, steam me at knutsong48.

(reply to this comment)

Welcome!

We actually haven't tried versus yet, but I think that's going to happen very soon.

(reply to this comment)

The best inking brush I've come across and a lot of people I know agree is a good winsor (of winsor and newton brand) round at either a 4 to 5. They usually don't fray easily and last a good while since I'm a big 'ol cheapo and these brushes aren't cheap. I also like using an angled flat #3 or 4 but I'm also a painter so a lot of cross overs come about.

Personal best paper is a good heavy weight print making paper like BFK or Reeves at 110 lbs or higher. I never paint anything on paper under 110 lbs or it will curl up and die on me.

(reply to this comment)

LEFT 4 DEAD all the way!

I like the inkin' here.
How long is a mile in metric? I live in canada :P

(reply to this comment)

A mile is the equivalent of approximately 1.61km. So, her father assumed she was driving just under 145km/h.

If that helps~

(reply to this comment)

I think it looks pretty darn good. I'm not much of an artist, by any means but I do know comics pretty well. To be quite honest, I think this brush pen thing goes well with the comic's style thus far.

(reply to this comment)

Nothing warms the cockles of my heart like the screams of my boss as he's trapped alone an inundated by thousands of infected... ahhhhhh.

(reply to this comment)

Haaaahaha, you had me and Yuko snickering. I bet that's pretty therapeutic.

(reply to this comment)

I just remembered that JW has Alt-text....time to go re-read the last 20 or so t.t

(reply to this comment)

Yessss they all have alt text!

(reply to this comment)

I love this comic, it's really funny; I'm the person that always read but never says anything but the l4d thing makes me do it.

If you people want to play add me on, Steam Name: Sortem.

(reply to this comment)

Thank you! And sadly we're on the 360, sorry. ;_;

(reply to this comment)

It's time to be like everyone one else and comment on how much I love left 4 dead too!!

(reply to this comment)

First off, your comic rocks. I press refresh on update days. 2, L4d ftw!! If you guys are comp players my name here is my name on steam. Lets play some time.

(reply to this comment)

Post new comment