What do your draw your comic on?

[Lcachola]

Strathmore 400 Series Bristol Board. Can't find the right size locally, so I order it on the web through Reuhl's.

[Chascraw4d]

I use standard printer paper, one page per page of my comic. For pencil work I use .5mm mechanical pencils with 4H and HB leads. Inking I do with felt tip pens. Originally I was doing most of the inking with a .2mm pen, but I've found that using the .4mm pen looks better in the final image.

I use my Wacom tablet for cleaning and coloring. It's a very nice tool, I'm just not very comfortable drawing with it.

[Ratbert]

I just draw in the characters and do everything else on computer. Sometimes I won't even draw it at all, because that way is much easier to do. Sometimes I'll do a background too but that complicates things further.

And to do this all I use...MSPaint! It's easy once you learn all the tricks.

[ZOMBIE USER 8124]

I use regular printer paper like the majority, one comic to a page.
For artbook pics, I do different things. For the PSC artbook pics, I draw them on printer paper, ink them with a Uni-Ball Vision micro and scan them to color them. For any other artbook pics, I now use Deleter Type-B Manga paper (and very rarely, computer paper) with Copic inking pens, and my copic markers! (Wai wai, Copics!!! *Huggles her Copics*)
I used to go through a lot of inking pens, but i'm happy with the ones I'm using now. As for the colored issues of PSC, I scan it in in pencil and ink it digitally, because I'm lazy ^_-
I used to use bristol board for color pics a long time ago, but then I used to use watercolor for the backgrounds, and the paper would wrinkle and warp, so I no like bristol anymore. >_<

[CorruptDictatorNumber2]

AhahahaHA! I, too, use printer paper, but I do NOT do one comic to one page! I found that that was one major problem making my comic look not-so-good before (that's just a personal drawing problem I have), and so now I turn my pages on their sides, ruler in some margins, and do about two sheets of paper to a comic. That way, my drawing space is nice and roomy and then I can just smallerize it on the computer. (And actually, this week's comic looks rather... well, long because it's a whopping three pages. Whee.)

The reason I don't use Bristol board--yes, I got a pad and drew a whole two pages in it--is that my scanner is a weenie and I can't scan the whole page at once. You'd think that I could just scan pieces and put them together, right? Nooooo way! Because the book has to tilt VERY slightly to fit into the scanner, I get shadows that become glaringly obvious when the pieces are put together. And that's why I use computer paper! It fits in the scanner window, so no shadows. I also like the fact that it's very white.

And for inking... heh heh heh. After all this searching, I have FINALLY found the pen I adore... one with which I can make both thick and thin lines, AND it doesn't bleed into the paper like my rapidograph...

It's a gel pen.

I'm actually surprised I've never heard of anyone using gel pens before, because I ADORE the way the ink glides oh-so-smoothly onto the paper, and I never have to worry about bleeding or anything.

I don't always ink--I randomly switch mediums between pages because I...well, I think that adds to the mood of my comic. Sometimes I do all pencil, and then I do pencil shading and just a touch of CG. Sometimes I ink, make a copy, and then hand-color with my delicious Prismacolors--the most expensive and possibly most time-consuming, but also probably my favorite. Sometimes I ink, scan, and then CG in the color. And sometimes (like this week) I go for all ink. I never knew pen touches could be so much fun until I discovered the magic of gel.

Ever notice how easy it is to talk for a REALLY long time when it's about yourself?

Katherine

[Ghastly]

Oh man, Gel Pens... don't mention Gel Pens to me. All this past school year I'll I head from my son was "Gel Pen this" and "Gel Pen that". Seems the Gel Pens have some sort of status symbol with the kids at his school. I must have spent $50 bucks on Gel Pens for him last year.

[Sidwood]

Printer paper, all the way. *gets in line*

[Bliss]

Hey, since we're getting in line...Trevor, um...can I make out with your tablet next? Please?

Ontopic: I've had alot of trouble with printerpaper, I find it's way too glossy and smooth to keep my pencil on and my lines going where I intend them to go.
It's also really bright on the scanner.

[Ghastly]

Printer paper is certainly forgivable. What makes me cringe is comics done on lined notebook paper. SHEEEESH! What are you thinking people?

[Somesuch]

Computer printer paper folded in half. Ballpoints for inking. Gel's okay but I think ballpoints rock for inking. Tried a fountain pen. Didn't like it.

Doesn't have to be an expensive ballpoint, mind. Just a black ballpoint... either smooth or soaking ink (well, that's the best terms I can think of for the two different basic types). Beware, for the soaking ink (and that in felt-tipped pens) degrades over time on most paper. I've not noticed the same effect with the smoother ink, but I'm sure it can happen.

I'm a bad little artist; I don't shade in for lighting and stuff, basically just outline. No shading, no color.

No time.

~*~somesuch~*~

8)

[Fil3r]

I used bristol board for a lot of stuff for a brief period, but had problems with it (I suspect I may've been using either the wrong kind of bristol or the wrong kind of pens on the bristol).

Right now I ink with pigma microns on a type of paper called "Paper for Pens" by pentallic. It seems to live up pretty well to its name, although I REALLY need to get a pencil with slightly softer lead for doing the pencilling.

[Ghastly]

I used bristol board for a lot of stuff for a brief period, but had problems with it

I'm not surprised you had problems with it brief or otherwise. It's not very absorbant.

[Krazy Krow]

I'm actually on the same Pilot pens I drew my first comic with! And that was 2 years and about 70 strips ago. I'm going to frame these things when they go dry.

The Sakura Microns are another story, I've gone through 4 or 5 of them, including the one that blew up on an airplane. I think they decided that since the tip is smaller, the ink reservoir needs to be smaller too.

[John D Moore]

I use the cheapest printer paper from Office Max (I use the more expensive stuff for my actual printer). The paper is then folded in half and I use a metal ruler to outline a 12cm x 20cm area with a #2 Pentel mechanical pencil, which I buy by the dozens and lose them at approximately the same rate.
Then, I use tracing paper to ink. Very, very thin tracing paper. I used to use a BiC ballpoint, but recently bought an 03 pigment liner that is so much better for me and my style.
The only thing I do on the computer is clean up the image a tad and color/shade.

[RArcher]

With a large amount of our readership (esp on smaller comics) being people intrested in drawing you think that Keen would approach people like Wacom and Art companies to sell ads. Then someone MIGHT CLICK ON ONE.... oh horrors of horrors

[MixedMyth]

I've gone on many a pen-hunt, believe me. For a while I used gel pens, but I have seen the error of my ways. Now I use a combination of an artists pen and a Micron pen. Love 'em so much! I also have a Rapidiograph, and wow. This is the sort of pen architects use. Twenty dollars a pen, but there's a REASON for it.

One thing I have noticed with computer paper is that it tends to bleed. But that's possibly just because of the kind of printer paper I use.

[Sidwood]

Yeah, I've started experimenting with old-fashioned fountain pens... I'm going to make the switch as soon as I get the hang of them...and figure out how to keep my hands clean while using them. They seem to give the artwork a more "comic-y" look, y'know?

[Lui Angus]

Generic printer/xerrox paper ,different mm Pilot pens ,a Plastic ereaser, and a mechanical pencil. I dont know much about these other inking tool your talking about. Maybe I sould look into this "bristol board".

[Ghastly]

I only have a regular sized flatbed scanner. Do they sell bristol board in 8.5" x 11" sizes?

[MixedMyth]

I hope so. The smallest I have is 9x12, but I usually measure it out to be 8.5x11.