As most people know I do not get out these days so travelling by three buses to get drawing pads is a thing of the past. However, here is an older post for you newbies"
Yes, I am fully aware that in my post on the type of
implements to use for drawing comics I never touched on drawing paper.
In the old days publishers used to supply Bristol Board for
artists to work on. Publishers supplied the board so it was theirs -the artist
was paid to "just" draw. And that tended to be more durable when
stored and, uh, purloined by the new generation of self professed "hot
shot editors".
Bristol Board is an uncoated and machine-finished paper
board named after the city where it was originally produced…my city –Bristol . The Board comes in two key finishes - vellum
or smooth (or sometimes “plate”). There
is an engraver’s finish which is more for printing engraved stationery and not
commonly used amongst the old artists for various reasons..
There are –I keep having to stop myself from writing
“were”!- several thicknesses of Bristol
Board ranging from One-ply (basically along the lines of the thickness of
printer paper) and Two-ply which is more like a card stock and both firm but foldable.
Three-ply is rather more like a rigid board and this tended to be what you
would see publishers use, or, rather, the artists use. There used to be
“beginners confusion” because, some times, rather than being sold as Two or
Three ply, the board would be sold by weight and “weight” refers to the weight
of 500 sheets of a paper in question. The 100 lbs Bristol Board was a fairly popular
and versatile version.
Now, typically, artists would use the firmer types of
Bristol Board for finished work whereas the thinner type would be used for
printing or publications. Let’s face it, if you had to post in your artwork
then you wanted to make sure it was well packaged but also not drawn on paper
stock that would tear and crease easily.
Even in the 1980s I met artists at Fleetway ands Marvel UK who always travelled in to deliver their art
-you draw 20 pages you do not want to hear they are irreparably damaged or lost
because even Registered mail had no guarantees.
But not everyone used Bristol board. Some used Daler-Rowney drawing pads because
the paper was generally tough and durable and nice to work on. However, if you had to count pennies then it
could be expensive. I often wonder how
the art implements I use today would work on Daler-Rowney pads (if I remember
there were different grades) because what I used to draw back then is not what
I use now. There you go –Daler-Rowney how about sponsoring a post looking at
the pads you produce today? (That will
happen the day I win the National Lottery –and I never gamble!)
At the old Westminster Comic Marts back in the 1980s, as you
entered the foyer, if you looked toward the stairs on the right, you might see
a group of very odd people who were stroking and generally fondling paper as
well as seemingly microscopically analysing anything drawn on said paper. That would generally be Tom Elmes, John
Erasmus, Paul Brown and myself. If one
of us was using a new type of paper everyone wanted to know whether it was
Rough, Medium or Smooth textured. How did a pen work on it? What sort of pen
–what was the nib like? Of course, at
one point Mr Brown started using expensive C10 paper which was very smooth and
pens/brush “just glide over it” –can’t remember who made the comment “Smooth as
your nuts after a close shave”….would I?!
However, we found that photocopier paper was a very good
material –it was designed to be printed on after all and certain makes (at that
time) were a bit rough but generally speaking copier paper was smooth as a
baby’s bum -can we still say “smooth as
a baby’s bum”? Let me check with Black Tower
Legal……yup. We’re covered….unlike that smooth baby’s bum….how do I get into
these things?
You got around 24 A4 or A3 pages on a Daler-Rowney pad and
that was about two times more in cost that a ream of copier paper-500 sheets of
paper.
When the eye sight in my left eye got worse I realised that
it was impossible to balance things out on an A3 sheet of paper so I had to go
from drawing direct onto A3 and draw panels on A4 that were then cut and pasted
onto A3. This seemed a little depressing until I realised that it meant, even
if you were not the world’s greatest artist (I am soooo modest) you could play
around with layout and design. Paste panels onto an A3 sheet and occasionally
you saw there was too much space left blank on the page. What a waste!
Then your creative side thinks of something to add –when you draw
straight to paper with no scripts or idea of how a story is supposed to run and
end just that little addition can totally change the direction you are going
in.
Anyway, during the Second World War, publishers had to print
on whatever paper stock they could get hold of –silver paper, wrapping paper
–anything. Those were the days of no
photoshop or scanners. Ben R. Dilworth,
in the 1980s, experimented with printing onto brown wrapping paper, water
colour paper and other paper stocks. When it came to the legendary Previews
Comic I published we both decided that to give the publication a
different look we would use cans of car spray paint to add colour to the
interior covers that showed through the clear acetate covers we painted a
design on. And remember none of this was scanned but had to be fed through a
photocopier and that included the acetate covers –something Dilworth pioneered
with One
Bright September Evening.
I was talking to Steve McManus in his office one day and he
showed me some pencilled pages he had been sent and there was some problem as I
recall and I asked what happened if the inked pages never turned up. He pointed at the new “computer” thingy on
his desk and told me you could do a lot to make those pencils publishable now.
And this is the point: in 2018 you can draw on a paper
handkerchief if you want. So long as you can scan it and clean it up using
Photoshop it is publishable. I only use
the computer for one thing when it comes to comic work and that is the
lettering –my eyes and especially my hands made it clear a long time ago that I
was never going to be a letterer and though I like real hand written text but
as I can’t pay someone to do that then, like everything else, I have to do that
myself.
The idea that you have to have the post
expensive drawing implements –I note a lot of newer zine folk use fibre tip
pens now- is a fallacy as I pointed out in the other post. That you have to use the most
expensive cartridge paper you can get is also false. You draw, scan and send jpegs or whatever to
the publisher or your printer. At no point is someone going to get back to you
and say “What on earth did you draw this on –a paper handkerchief??”
There are certain very cheap imported drawing pads meant for
kids that you can use but some of these are using recycled
paper and though the greyish/off-white colour is no problem because you can
adjust all of that during scanning, some sheets have brownish or darker flecks
in them and unless you want to spend hours cleaning these up after scanning I
would avoid that paper.
Then you have the question of how to correct mistakes on the
page –or stains, ink drops whatever. You
can, if it is your work and not a commissioned piece, just go with it. “Go With
It” involves incorporating that spill or ink spatter into your work. Turn it
into a cushion on a chair, the blacked out back of a chair or any other object.
Be inventive.
The other method is “cut and paste” which might be easier in
some cases. Say you have drawn a character but you accidentally brush your hand
across the face before the ink has dried –pen smear ain’t pretty. I am not
joking when I tell you that I have seen artists scrap an incredible page of
artwork because of this.
One small accident and hours of work is thrown out and the
page starts from scratch again. If you are in any way professional about your
work (even if you are not the greatest artist you still try to set yourself a
standard) then you know that starting from scratch is no good. It eats up time
and can stem a creative flow. If you are working to a schedule for say a
publisher or even to get a book ready for launch at a specific event them you
have no time to be a prima donna –you are committed. Do not be a poseur or
dilettante.
Here is a personal example.
Back in the 1980s I had promised London
editions pages by a specific date. It was about 03:00 hrs and I had almost
finished and then realised that there was a blurry ink rub over a character in
one panel. I had been working quickly and my had had rubbed over the not yet
dry ink. I threw the page aside and started anew. It wouldn’t work. I tried to copy the panels
I had drawn but they were not working. I tried everything and was failing. By
05:00 hrs I decided all was lost unless…what would happen if I re-drew the
character on a scrap of paper and glued it over the spoilt panel ? I did just that. It seemed to work. When it came to photocopying there were some
“ghost lines” –the edge of the piece of paper I had stuck on being picked up by
the copier. Quick dab of Tippex over the
ghost lines and photocopied and it looked okay.
Now, the publisher never used the pages but you expect that
from publishers because they ain’t professionals –they only want the money. But
when people saw the original page after the copy they were surprised. I, like many other artists, had panicked over
nothing.
Over the years I have used the “Go With It” and paste-on
method a,uh, “few” times.
Others have used a Sand Eraser which, to be honest, having
tried once, I would never recommend.
With Bristol Board or card artists use to use Exacto knives to remove
errors or ink spots. Time-consuming and with the ability to easily correct
during scanning I would not, again, recommend that method. Oh, if you use
copier paper and use either method….watch your paper vanish!
Then you have Process White or White Out and inking over
something is a common method used by artists and calligraphers and if you are unfamiliar
with White Out then it’s just a thick concoction of white liquid used to mask
mistakes. Some recommend Process White
Lead, or acrylic based White Out or even artists Gesso –used to smooth canvas
and other surfaces by painters.
But there is a cheaper and just as effective a solution –a tube
of White Gouache paint but by far the cheapest and most commonly used (except
by art snobs) is the good old Tippex fluid.
The Tippex pen is good for correcting smaller areas while
the little pot has a wedge shaped ‘brush’ for larger areas. I mentioned this to other artists in the
1980s after meeting a rather well known fine artist who showed me how he
corrected mistakes using Tippex.
Apparently, everyone knew about using Tippex “because it’s cheap and
does the job”.
So there you go –what to draw on and how to correct mistakes
you make. Another free Hooper Comics
Master Class!
Love it. The one thing I hate now, is having to send for brushes by post, now that my local art supplier has retired. I really miss choosing my own. Another blow against my self-determination. Oh, they are quality brushes, no doubt about that, but, there is something instinctive going on when you see the perfect one for your own work. It may really sound fussy, but an artist's personal choice of materials is as idiosyncratic as their artwork. It's important that you get your eye in.
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