I want to be better. I NEED to be better. If I expect to make a real run at professional cartooning I must work on my craft and empower myself to be able to produce high quality artwork.

I've always been pretty comfortable with my writing. I've always felt it has been my strong suit. The art has typically taken a backseat and been delegated to the "way to a means" in getting across a gag. Over time, I think a nascent style has been developing in my characters. At least in the male characters that is. Certain head shapes, the bulbous nose, dot eyes, my dual inking style (I ink my drawings twice over).

However, I have never been comfortable drawing the female form. I think that is most noticeable in the very, very slow evolution of Kit in the Angst Technology strips. And not only Kit but the girl at the coffee shop, Marc's date and almost every female who appeared in the strip (except for the nun and old ladies of course).

The Evolution Of Kit Over Five Years

Now I find myself in the same situation in my need to draw a female character (my wife) in a regular role, not just one of a secondary character. Now, Kit was originally modeled after my wife (and my female ideal by the way) - a full lipped brunette with a very feminine figure. As is evidenced in just the first handful of these InkTank strips, Sophia has evolved already from the very first strip. I am pleased in the direction she is heading (as is my wife, what with her constant input) and hopefully I can nail her soon.

Seriously, I hope to have her style worked out soon and hope to develop a variety of styles for any future women as well, at least in the same vein as the men in my strips who are generally easily recognizable.

And speaking of evolution, I mentioned that I have been searching out other methods to create my digital work. In looking over youTube and other artists sites, I see a lot of tablets. A LOT of them. I've tried tablets before, but getting over the hurdle of drawing down on the desk while looking up at the monitor is just too incongruous to me.

BUT ... I have an old, second hand Toshiba tablet PC that has a flip screen (the screen rotates 180 degrees and folds flat to draw on). I installed a trial of Alias Sketchbook Pro and did some quick inking tests. It's still a bit rough, but I got to play with some brush settings and get used to using the zoom and panning tools. You can see the results compared to the original pencils and the double inking style I used for the actual first strip.

Original Pencils

Sharpie Marker Double Inks Used In First Strip

Tablet PC Inks

The tablet PC inks aren't quite up to snuff, in my opinion, but they certainly show some promise. I think I need to adjust the brush a little thicker and do things like follow though with some lines and erase in between where things cross over (like the line for the desk and where Sophia's arms cross over). One thing that is a little tough with a tablet PC is that all the hot keys on the keyboard are sandwiched in underneath the folded down tablet screen, so I am unable to utilize quick key strokes for things like zooming, switching brushes, etc.

However, I REALLY do like the varying weight of the brush strokes. I can easily get that inked brush stroke that I am so fond of and I can make changes on the fly (as opposed to inking directly on paper where mistakes must be fixed after scanning). This method of working seems to lead me towards (hopefully) better, more flowing character designs. I am eager to keep trying and perhaps refine my character designs and style though the use of this new medium.

I will be sure to keep you all informed as things progress and I’ll try to post my progress as I refine my style and methods. Hopefully I can post a video of some future inking tests.