Ciao! Meet Mickey Prowler… BW’s go to guy in Simnenca for getting things done. Why does he have his headquarters in a strip club? Because he can! Of course, it’s making Bunny squirm a bit, since the Countess installed a little camera in his head, she sees and hears what he does. Normally, such a place would be heaven for BW.
For those of you interested in process, I inked this with a Winsor Newton Series 7 #2 brush, and a dip pen with an Esterbrook 355 nib. Below is the lineart. The borders are drawn in Illustrator.
Whoa! Beware of the Prowler!
Prowler is a dangerous character… BW is lucky to be on the same side!
You ink with a brush? I tried that a long time ago and it was not good. I liked inking with a very flexible nib, but could never do much with a brush.
Brushes are really difficult to get the hang of, and can be frustrating. For years, I’ve switched back and forth between different nibs, microns, and brushes. The Series 7 brushes keep a good point for a long time – if they’re taken care of. The Esterbrook nib I mention is what they call a “brush pen”… and they can be REALLY flexible. Sadly, the manufacturer went out of business in 1983. I also love the Gillotts 170… That was used by lots if cartoonists… Including Harvey Kurtzman from MAD.
Love the beads of sweat in panel 4, Jerry. Hilarious. And PROCESS! Yes! Love it. More please. -v
Thanks, Vince! I have to say that showing the process was an idea I got from you. I’ll definitely include more process stuff!
It was fun watching BW sweat bullets. And I'm envious of your deft touch with brush-inking. I can barely ink the way I do now. Kudos!
Thanks, George… It's taken me a long time to even get to this point! I think I first picked up a dip pen in 1987, and doing webcomics gave me an excuse to stay in practice.
Must be hard for BW to not react to the ladies…
Your line art is great, Jerry! I love seeing the creative process. I gotta try out the Windsor brush you use. I use a Rafael Series 8404 #1 – 3.
Thanks, Joseph! I think the 8440 series is comparable price wise to the series 7… And like the series 7, it's also a sable brush. Sable holds the point the longest. I heard about the Series 7's after reading about what working comic artists use. Many who prefer a brush swear by it. I've read that some artists have been able to use an individual brush for about 20 years before having to replace it. I have to say…. I've been pretty happy with them!
I love the look of your comics lately. Great Artwork. BW is going to have to somehow keep it together.
Thanks Chris! Every now and then, I have periods where I get to draw every day, and I feel like I make some advances artwise.
Nice! Great to see an unprocessed page laid bare as well. I really should do the same some time. I use a Zig Memory System – Writer ms-6600 pen to ink everything except (usually) the characters' hair (which I use a Faber Castell brush pen for). I recently acquired a dip pen (G-pen) which I plan on trying out in some of the throwaway pin-ups I do.
Thanks, James! It would be neat to see your process on GIS! It would also be neat to see what you can do with the dip pen… just be forewarned… they do take a significant time investment… but once you get the hang of it, it's well worth it.
I believe my line art shows how important the coloring is in my comics. I think it's where I spend most of my time. It was probably one of the stand out aspects of my previous comic, Muddlecreek.
Fun to see you throwing a little red light on the subject, Jerry! Man, I'm diggin' your character design on Prowler, too!
Thanks, Mark! I think that Prowler is one if my favorite designs so far. He was in my sketch book for months before I had a chance to use him in this story.
Hmmm… I thought I'd previously left a comment on this one. I guess not.
Or maybe Mr Prowler didn't like what I had to say & arranged for my comment to just disappear if you get my drift. It's probably at the bottom of the river with a lump of concrete tied to it.
Whatever you do, don't leave a negative comment about Mr. Prowler… just sayin'!