Where's the undo key?
Hey everyone,
Welcome back to my (not-so) monthly newsletter. I've been neck-deep in the production of The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn: The Hollow Shores and wanted to share how things have been going.
If you've been following along, you know I locked in the rough draft a while back and have since committed to doing the entire story traditionally. Let me tell you: it hasn't always been easy.
The Workflow
My current hybrid setup works like this: I pencil digitally in Clip Studio Paint, then print those pages out in light blue line on 11×14 paper before inking them traditionally.
Digital Layouts to Digital Pencils to Traditional Inks to Final line art.
I experimented with different variations of this. I tried pencilling traditionally and inking digitally, as well as trying to do both pencils and ink traditionally—but for now, I think this is the workflow I'm most comfortable with. When I was trying to do everything traditionally, I would often smudge the art when trying to erase the pencil lines underneath the ink. I'm not sure if I wasn't waiting long enough for the ink to dry or if I should be using a different type of eraser.
Maybe one day I will move to a purely traditional setup, but for now, this way works well enough.
No Undos.
Working on physical paper forces a level of concentration that digital doesn't require because no brushstroke is permanent. I've noticed that once I get comfortable on a page, my decision-making is quicker and more confident. Also, mistakes happen so frequently that I usually just go with it now. Ink doesn't feel as permanent as it once did, white out can correct most things, and when I finally do scan in the page I can still noodle to my heart's desire if I wish.
Traditional Pencils to Traditional Inks. This one came out pretty well but it also took twice as long to pencil vs doing them digitally.
It's also been nice to work on a page at a fixed size. I’m no longer zooming in to 400% to lovingly crosshatch a character's brow for half an hour. But I sometimes do miss the ability to make every single stroke absolutely perfect, but I'm hoping that precision is something that will just develop naturally over time with years of practice.
Tools of the Trade
I've been bouncing between fountain pens, brush pens, markers, and Microns. I'm still not sure what my preference is, and I do worry a bit that the line work will look inconsistent because of this constant swapping. But all of this is a process, and I'm trying to make peace with those imperfections.
I suppose that's the appeal of traditional art after all.
Scanning the Pages
My physical pages are 11×14, but my Epson scanner is much smaller, so I've been scanning the art in pieces. I wasn't sure how well this was going to work, but thankfully Photoshop has an automated PhotoMerge feature that speeds up the process and produces pretty seamless results.
From there a few minutes is spent cleaning up the scan and adjusting the levels to be more contrasty. I'm still experimenting with this. At first I thought it would be best to reduce the line work to be pure black and white but lately I've been keeping some of the grayscale values. I probably won't know what I want for sure until I start colouring the pages.
All that being said, it still takes at least ten minutes to scan and merge each page. For a 100-page book, that's a thousand minutes spent scanning! Yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a large-format scanner to hopefully speed up the process. I'll report back after I've had a chance to use it.
Looming Deadlines
The elephant in the room is that I am definitely slower right now. Between my inexperience with traditional art, scanning, and cleanup, I'd say I'm about 30%(at least!) slower than my usual digital workflow. I need to deliver the new Oscar Zahn book by the end of this year, and I'm definitely feeling the pressure already. I'm hoping that my pace will pick up as I get more comfortable with the process.
However, I'm significantly less mentally tired at the end of the day. Working on physical paper gets me away from the computer for large chunks of the day and allows my brain to focus purely on the art. That's probably been my favorite thing about drawing traditionally.
Countdown to Japan
In October, I'll be traveling to Japan for three weeks. In a perfect world, I'd have The Hollow Shores in excellent shape so I could set aside work completely while I'm there.
Realistically speaking, I'm not sure if that will be possible.
This is the creative life, I'm afraid. Finding that balance between living life and keeping a project on track is a constant struggle. Most likely, I'll need to chip away at the book on plane rides, train rides, and during quiet downtime.
Okay, that's it for this week.
Until next time, keep creating!
Tri