Inside the cartoonist’s studio
Recently I produced a strip with a variation of line quality. I say “recently” because it is in my past but the actual post date is about three weeks away. In any case, the results were fair to good.
In producing the strip, I began to wonder if I have the appropriate tools to do what I ultimately want to do. I took a step back and looked at my work station. It’s not as fancy as some may like (perhaps “some” meaning me). Take a look:
The drawing desk.
I have a huge drafting table which I use as a surface for a portable drawing board. So far this has been enough. Everything gets pencil-drawn here. One day I may get one of those snazzy drawing desks so I could like like those pictures of professionals and what not.
The "inking" station.
Inking is done digitally through the Wacom Bamboo. The granddaddy Cintiq would change my life but it’s not an option at this point. I figure the first thing to do would be to update the CPU. I love that machine though. It’s been great! Some graphics people may laugh at my set up but I’ve been producing all sorts of material with that PC. But again, I wonder if I’m limiting myself with these humble tools.
Perhaps it’s a matter of material, not tools. I guess if I can pump out [what I consider to be] a quality product using these tools, why not stick with them until I absolutely, positively need to upgrade?
Still, those new Macs are so shiny…
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