Back to digital (using Frenden’s “Big Tex” brush for Manga studio). I’d be lying if I said the scribbly lack of detail outside Norma Shearer’s face was an aesthetic choice–it was just my typical laziness–but I kinda like it anyway.

Back to real ink today, using a disposable fountain pen and brush pen. Playing around with how to apply Gibsonesque qualities to my usual cartoony style. One potential labor-saving grace for this comic: fashion back then was really really boring and simple (especially among people like the characters in this story).

Still obsessed with Gibson; unlike my previous drawing, this one is digital, and it’s a *gasp* tracing of a photo. Right now my focus is getting a handle on that wonderful turn-of-the-century inking style. I’ve always been enamored of the way draughtsmen of those days could churn out drawings that looked precise and loose at the same time, with all gray tones rendered using well-placed chicken scratches. I think the trick is in getting the balance right.

Since I’m gearing up to draw a comic book about turn-of-the-century gals, I thought I’d try my hand at drawing a “Gibson Girl.” My poor man’s attempt was exacerbated by my latest attempt at drawing with a dip pen. It’s uniquely frustrating, but seeing as it’s a skill many comic artists swear by to this day, I feel like I should make every effort to get the hang of it.

I’m showing you this pointlessly photoshopped pair of pages (composed of 2 screenshots from my iPad, naturally) to illustrate the beginning of my next project, which is sort of the writer’s block version of the fiscal cliff. I didn’t give myself any particular deadline, but a while back I decided that if I couldn’t think of anything original to do, I’d bust out another adaptation of one of my favorite O.