I used to do all of my drawing the classical way – using pen and paper. Sometimes I would add some color with felt pens and then scan the image to expand its potential uses. Which is part of the reason why all my original drawings are on A4 size paper. I treat the originals as if they are negatives (or RAW files) – to be filed away in storage and not displayed in its original form.
Recently I decided to invest in a graphic tablet, hoping it would help my productivity and diversify my work. Granted, on the photos the old tools look a lot more colorful and interesting but the Wacom tablet has really changed my workflow and opened a whole new world of possibilities. I can add a lot more detail to the drawings, experiment with color, erase defects or go back to the black&white lines if necessary. I can expand the size of printed drawings to dimensions that would never be possible with the old A4 prints – no matter how high the scan resolution.
Getting a large-scale proof printed of some older and newer works really hit it home for me today: the sleek, smooth finish of digital drawing is so different from the old scans with ink bleeds, paper texture and color distortions. On the one hand I do love the look of hand drawings with all the imperfections and wobbly felt pen color-ins. But on the other hand I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to smooth lines and clean colors.
In my next post I will put together a little comparison between the old and new technique so you can see for yourselves, so stay tuned!
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