I am a Material Boy

One of the frustrations of living the cartoonist's life is finding drawing materials you are comfortable working with. 

Since I still have not started using computer-type programs for generating my work, I still use the ol' fashioned pen and ink products. Which ones to use, though? A stroll through any art supply store will present you with a plethora of pens, pencils, brushes and the like. Finding one you enjoy using is difficult. It's a lot like dating: It's hard to find the perfect match.

One problem is that the manufacturers of art supplies are constantly changing their products. Just when you find a drawing instrument you are comfortable with, the makers "tweak" the design. The pencil you loved using is now a piece of crap, so your search for usable tools continues. (Wow! That dating analogy is really apt!)

I used to be really "old school" when it came to drawing, using dip pens and brushes and bottles of India ink, but the quality levels of the tools I was using declined rapidly, so I switched to working with markers.

A lot of cartoonists turn their nose up at markers as if it's cheating. It's true in a way. However, marker technology has improved a lot over the last few years, and there are markers out there that give me results as good as any dip-pen ever did.

In case you are interested, my favorite marker is the Pigma Micron™ marker. They have a wide range of nib sizes, and the ink is archival, so if you proudly frame and display your work, the ink won't fade. For you fans of inking with a brush, the Sigma™ brush marker, from the same company is great, too.

If you are one of those poor unfortunate souls doing caricatures at parties and the like, the go-to marker has always been a Dixon Markette™. These are hard to find in the US of A, though, so caricaturists are always on the lookout for that perfect pen for live gigs. Something that produces a nice line weight and dries quickly. For years, I used a Sharpie Rub-A-Dub pen. It was okay, but the tip wore out too quickly for my tastes. A better choice is the Marvy Fabric Ball & Brush™ pen. My pal John turned me on to these, and they really are good to use. Not perfect though. Recently, I have returned to my Sharpie roots, only this time, I use the Sharpie Chisel Tip™ marker. These are great! You can get all kindza line weights, the ink doesn't smear, and best of all, they're cheap! If you are a "live" caricaturist, you really should check these out.

When I am just doodling for myself, though, I love the Papermate Flair™ pens. I don't recommend them for professional work, though. They fade too quickly. A shame, as they produce a really beautiful line.

Of course, sooner than later we won't even be using paper and pen to draw cartoons. Everything will be created on the computer.

Then they'll change the computer.

A Midsummer's Nightmare

Seeing that this site is called "Bill White Cartoons", I feel I may have been a bit remiss lately in not talking about cartoons and the "life-of-a-cartoonist", in general. I will correct that mistake in the next few posts.

Whenever I teach a cartooning class (Which I do from time to time.  If you're in SE Massachusetts in January of 2010, don't miss out!), I always tell my students to save every drawing they do. Even if they hate it. If you draw often enough, and think about what you are doing, you are bound to get better. Then you can sift through examples of your old work, and see how much you've improved.

Take the piece shown here, please. This was a poster done by me a long  time ago for a local theatre group's production of Bill Shakespeare's classic, "A Midsummer Night's Dream". I was in the cast, so I was asked to design the poster. At the time I did this drawing, I was pretty impressed with myself. Now, I look at it and can see nothing but the sheer awful-ness of the whole thing!

For starters: What  is up with the anatomy? Had I ever seen the actual proportions of a human being?  The clunky, stiff hands are particularly awful.

Hey, how about that weak ink line? Combined with all the superfluous detail, this makes for one big mess of an image. My mentor, Mat Brown, always mentions knowing when to "stop" drawing. I wish he had been around when I was drawing this.

I could go on and on about all the defects in this drawing (the lettering, etc.), but let's leave it alone, and chalk it up as part of the learning process. I should really re-draw this to show you how it should have been done, but I have looked at it too long now, and that would be painful.

I'd like to think that over the years, I have improved, and all you wanna-be cartoonists will too, if you just keep working at it.

BTW,  the poster  aside, the show was great, and I was awesome in it.

I hope that made up for the poster...

Merry Christmas, Already?!

I know you haven't even finished your Halloween candy yet, but thanks to the media and major merchandisers, the Christmas Holiday season is upon us!

This means that, even in these shaky economic times, we must start thinking about what gifts to purchase for our nearest and/or dearest. Giving someone you care about a gift they will enjoy is a wonderful thing. Getting a gift you want is even better!

What to get them, though? Sure, you could drive to your local mall and wander around forever looking for just the right item that will tickle the fancy of your recipient. There is, however, an easier way. 

Ask your friend/relation/boss what they want, and buy it for them at Amazon.com! Amazon has everything that the mall has, but at much more reasonable prices. True, you may have to pay for shipping, but isn't shelling out a few extra bucks worth avoiding the "atmosphere" of your local mall during the Christmas season? Unless you are a fan of screaming children, crowded food courts and relentless Holiday Muzak, Amazon is the way to go. One nice perk of shopping at Amazon, is that you can do it in the privacy of your own home, in your underwear. Shopping in your underwear is a sublime pleasure, but I can tell you from experience, it is frowned upon at most major shopping centers.

Another benefit of shopping at Amazon, is that, if you click to it from the link on this site and order something, I will get money! As a regular reader of this blog, I'm sure this matters to you.

Wherever and whenever you do your Holiday shopping though, get out there and do it! You don't want to be wandering around the mall at 3 P.M. on Christmas Eve looking for a gift for Auntie Gin at the "As Seen on TV" store.

If you're there, though, I'd love a Slap-Shot™.