What are some of your favorite drawing tools (pens, pencils, markers, drawing tablet, all of the above)?

Pencil is my primary medium. Most often I use a .9mm mechanical pencil with a 6H lead to sketch a few guide lines, then finish with an HB lead or, for a bigger drawing, a toddler’s fat pencil, like Lyra Ferby or My First Ticonderoga. I use a lot of pressure when I draw, so a thick lead that doesn’t break easily is important. And my favorite Rapidograph is essential for any ink drawings or comics.

If you prefer pens, is there any particular brand, color, or type of ink you like best?

A .35mm (size 0) Rapidograph, the one with the gray collar, is my constant companion, and I’ve been known to really lose my shit if I misplace that pen when I need it. (You’ll know it’s mine because it has a strip of black bookbinding tape wrapped around the barrel, and the inside of the cap is stained brown.) I also use a red .6mm Rapidograph for larger drawings, and I have a few others that I only use once in a while, if I need them. All my ink illustrations and comics are done with these pens. (For comics I rarely pencil first, which is probably obvious if you’ve read my comics.)

I like to use brown ink with a few drops of black, because drawing in brown makes me feel like a monk.

How do you like your color? Watercolor? Acrylics? Oil? Colored pencils? Markers?

Most of my drawings include areas of opaque color laid up against the pencil lines, and I’m always looking for coloring tools that provide the right amount of control as well as opacity. Prismacolor colored pencils are excellent. I also use china markers for lots of my reds and whites. (The red area on my Mercury cover is china marker.) I like pencil-style coloring tools because of the scratchy marks they make. Often the only real color hue my drawings comes from the background, which is a colored card stock, and the drawing itself is executed in black and white pencils.

If you do use paints, inks, pencils, or markers for coloring, are there any in particular that are your favorites? Do you prefer travel sets of paints to a full set?

Since I prefer a very limited palette (usually only one or two colors plus graphite), a travel or starter kit of paints or colored pencils is useless to me. I buy individual Prismacolors in White, Cream, and Sky Blue Light, and about 90% of my drawings are executed with those colors alone.

Is there any particular type of notebook or drawing pad you prefer? Or does any scrap of decent-sized paper work in a pinch?

Bookbinding is a hobby of mine and I generally make my own notebooks and sketchbooks. Most card stocks are fine as long as they take both ink and pencil well, without bleeding or too much smudging (though I like a little pencil smudging). I have seperate sketchbooks for comics, with the panels already in place, and these are a great innovation because they keep me on task, and prevent story fragments from being lost amid fifty sketches of my boyfriend’s monkey feet. For a finished pencil drawing, I prefer soft cotton rag papers—Stonehenge, or Magnani Pescia if I can afford it, which I usually can’t.

Do you ever do any kind of post-processing (like adding color in Photoshop or similar tool) to your drawings?

I use Photoshop to make my scanned drawings look more like the originals. The pale blues, for example, tend to scan pretty grayish, so I’ll increase the contrast on the image to brighten them and make sure they read as blue online. I sometimes add color for illustration projects, if I’m delivering them digitally—my Brett Dennen poster originally had a white background, but it looked too stark on the scan so I added a pale yellow tint to the entire image—but I would never do that for self-generated work. The original drawing is the finished piece.

Have you ever tried a new pen (or paper, etc) from reading about it, or seeing the results in another artist’s work?

Yes, but for the most part that hasn’t worked out for me. I love other people’s charcoal line drawings, for example, but my own never satisfy me. The one exception is the Rapidograph pen, which I always insisted I didn’t need, until my boyfriend started using one and I got envious.

Do you have anything you use out of the ordinary for making your art?

Two slim hardcover books: “The Life and Times of Saint Francis of Assisi,” a children’s biography with full-color photos of his relics, and “Les Bidochon: Ragots Intimes,” a pretty dark French comic book about lower-class married life. Both of them provide a lightweight, portable drawing surface, safe storage for unfinished work, inspiration, or distraction, as needed. I don’t have a desk, but I always keep one of these books with me.

I asked about post-processing on a computer, but do you think the computer is a helpful tool for making art? Whether it’s looking for inspiration online, or using it to build a weblog to promote yourself and your art, do you think a computer is necessary, helpful, or a distraction (or all of the above)?

I do a lot of my drawings from photos that I take myself or find online, so the computer is an important part of my work in that respect. The internet can be a distraction, but it’s so useful for research, and to keep in touch with other artists and with people who want to support your work, that any artist who doesn’t use it is handicapped.

Thanks Julia!

Julia Gfrörer can be found online on her website thorazos.net and on Flickr (thorazos).

What are some of your favorite drawing tools (pens, pencils, markers, drawing tablet, all of the above)?

My favorites are mechanical pencils and Prismacolor markers.

If you have a wide collection, how do you decide on which to use on a particular drawing, project, or day?

My decision on what media to focus on in a project is usually determined by the previous piece. If the last illustration was constructed mostly from cut paper, then I might focus more on the use of pen or embroidery for the next. I try not to fall into a formula for making pieces.

If you prefer pens, is there any particular brand, color, or type of ink you like best?

For drawing materials I prefer Prismacolor markers, usually .03-.005, and mechanical pencils. Sometimes I’ll use Prismacolor colored pencils or markers for color.

For papers and fabrics, I respond more to the texture and color. I spend a great deal of time sifting through papers, and just try to find samples that draw me in. I like the juxtaposition of different patterns and textures. I also incorporate a lot of my own handmade paper.

For all stitching I use DMC embroidery floss.

How do you like your color? Watercolor? Acrylics? Oil? Colored pencils? Markers?

For color work I feel best using cut paper, thread, fabric, or a combination of the three. If I can cut it up and sew through it, it’s usually fair game.

If you do use paints, inks, pencils, or markers for coloring, are there any in particular that are your favorites? Do you prefer travel sets of paints to a full set?

I don’t really ever use wet media, and pencils and pens are always a staple that I carry with me everywhere. I’ve found that threads and papers aren’t necessarily the easiest to travel with, so most of my art making is done from home, with access to a wide range of materials.

Is there any particular type of notebook or drawing pad you prefer? Or does any scrap of decent-sized paper work in a pinch?

I find I have a hard time drawing on a surface if the material is too flimsy or has no tooth to it. For quick sketches, any piece of paper will do, but if Im sitting down to draw I prefer to use something more substantial. Recently I have gotten into book making, and right now am working out of several sketchbooks I have made from heavy printmaking paper.

I have several Moleskines, but find I have a hard time working in them.

Do you ever do any kind of post-processing (like adding color in Photoshop or similar tool) to your drawings?

I have used Photoshop in the past to create digital collage images. I would scan in found textures and pieces I had sewn and combine them together digitally. These days I am much more interested in the results I get working with the materials traditionally.

I still use Photoshop, although it’s for my preliminary work. I do sketches by hand, then color them digitally by collaging the papers and other materials I will be using on top. I find this to be a fast way to get my point across to others and also to work out issues before I start the actual piece.

Have you ever tried a new pen (or paper, etc.) from reading about it, or seeing the results in another artist’s work?

My friend Allison Bamcat always seems to have an endless supply of pens, markers and pencils that I haven’t tried before. I pick up new markers or pens after seeing her work with them.

Right now I’m trying to find a comfortable pen/pencil that isn’t black or gray. I love the look of drawings in sepia.

Do you have anything you use out of the ordinary for making your art?

I make all of my art from cut paper, needlework and fabric, which are not things I regularly see in illustration. I enjoy paper, texture, drawn elements, and embroidery, and am trying to create a way to combine them all into “super illustrations.”

In my personal work, I’ve been working a lot with mola making. Mola is a craft indigenous to the San Blas Islands in Panama, and is basically a reverse appliqué method for quilting, where you cut through several layers of fabric and create a shape with the revealed layer.

If you create purely-digital art, what are the software programs you use? Is one used more than another?

When I work digitally, I use Photoshop.

If you work both digitally and non-digitally, which do you find yourself doing more? Is there a reason you would prefer one of the other? Is it because of the tools available in either space?

I find myself getting further and further away from the digital world. I enjoy the sensation of touching different materials, and responding to patterns and textures reacting to one another. The monotonous movements and time spent stitching hundreds of stitches by hand is something I find very therapeutic. The overall feel I get from work done traditionally is not something I can recreate in Photoshop.

I asked about post-processing on a computer, but do you think the computer is a helpful tool for making art? Whether it?s looking for inspiration online, or using it to build a weblog to promote yourself and your art, do you think a computer is necessary, helpful, or a distraction (or all of the above)?

I think the computer is a valid vehicle for making art. I have seen artists create beautiful imagery in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Painter. That being said, there’s plenty of terrible digital artwork out there, and for me, nothing beats having a physical object in front of me as a final product.

I’ve found the computer to be a useful tool, both in promoting and getting your artwork out to audiences you might not otherwise reach, and finding inspiration.

Thanks Alycia!

You can find Alycia Garcia online at her website/weblog alyciagarciaillustration.com.

What are some of your favorite drawing tools (pens, pencils, markers, drawing tablet, all of the above)?

Variation is fun, but I usually draw with an ink pen, and either leave it as an ink drawing or colour it with watercolours.

If you have a wide collection, how do you decide on which to use on a particular drawing, project, or day?

I am not sure, I guess I just choose pens from what my hand feels like holding. You know, sometimes it’s a fountain pen day, other times it may be a Micron day… I usually have a few different kinds with me.

Sometimes the paper decides too. Some inks bleed on some papers, so you have to choose pen according to that.

If you prefer pens, is there any particular brand, color, or type of ink you like best?

Lamy Safari is my preferred choice of pen right now, usually with Noodler’s Lexington gray or Polar black ink. The Safari has a little springy feeling that I like, at least with the Extra Fine nib. I use other ink pens too, like Microns, dip pens, technical pens… Usually waterproof. I recently discovered Copic Multiliners, I like those a lot.

How do you like your color? Watercolor? Acrylics? Oil? Colored pencils? Markers?

Watercolours, usually. Sometimes coloured pencils.

If you do use paints, inks, pencils, or markers for coloring, are there any in particular that are your favorites? Do you prefer travel sets of paints to a full set?

In watercolours, Schmincke and Winsor & Newton are easiest to come by in Sweden, so those are the ones I use, both pans and tubes. Great quality and loads of pigments in both brands.

I have all kinds of sizes on my palettes, from tiny travel sets to a huge tool box with tube paints. I use an English handmade travel set most, the tool box is for larger paintings and experimenting.

I sometimes use coloured pencils too, Faber-Castell Polychromos are the ones I like best. They are very soft and rich in colour.

Is there any particular type of notebook or drawing pad you prefer? Or does any scrap of decent-sized paper work in a pinch?

Any paper will work, if I happen to have forgotten my sketchbook at home, but I prefer to use my own hand-bound sketchbooks. That way I can get the paper and format I want. I have yet to find a store-bought sketchbook that is actually good for both drawing and watercolours.

Do you ever do any kind of post-processing (like adding color in Photoshop or similar tool) to your drawings?

I enjoy working on my images in Photoshop, adding colours and textures and so on, but I rarely have time to really sit down and do it thoroughly. I teach computer graphics (among other things) so I get to do it a lot at work, and that makes me prioritize working by hand in my spare time.

Have you ever tried a new pen (or paper, etc) from reading about it, or seeing the results in another artist’s work?

Many times. I am, in fact, an addict to new pens, I try them all. Then I usually go back to my Lamy Safaris…

Do you have anything you use out of the ordinary for making your art?

Not that I can think of, really. Well, I adore patterns, so I cut a lot of stencils with repeating patterns, but you don’t see a lot of those in my sketches. I use them more for paintings and larger works.

If you create purely-digital art, what are the software programs you use? Is one used more than another?

I rarely do purely digital stuff, but I use Photoshop and Illustrator pretty much, couldn’t choose one over the other since they do different things.

If you work both digitally and non-digitally, which do you find yourself doing more? Is there a reason you would prefer one of the other? Is it because of the tools available in either space?

I work with traditional art tools more in my own art, and digital tools at work. I enjoy digital work very much, but computers never get your fingers dirty or let you splash around with water or messy paint. I like that, so traditional techniques will always be part of what I do. There aren’t as many “happy accidents” in digital work…

I asked about post-processing on a computer, but do you think the computer is a helpful tool for making art? Whether it’s looking for inspiration online, or using it to build a weblog to promote yourself and your art, do you think a computer is necessary, helpful, or a distraction (or all of the above)?

I think computers are very helpful AND a huge distraction. I find a lot of inspiration on the internet, and I have made a lot of online acquaintances (of which some have become real-life friends) with people who share my interest in drawing and painting. I keep an art-related blog and get a lot of feedback, so for social and inspirational purposes, the computer beats everything. But these are also the things that easily consume a lot of time, time that I could have spent drawing, for instance. You have to find a balance in how much time you spend online - even if it’s inspirational and informative.

The computer is a great tool for making art, but I don’t use it to make art that tries to replicate traditional techniques (such as drawing or painting directly in Photoshop). I think real art supplies are better for that. Purely digital art often looks a bit dead, it takes some handmade work to make it interesting.

Thanks Nina!

Nina Johansson can be found online at her blogspot weblog ninajohansson.blogspot.com and she also regularly contributes to the wonderful Urban Sketchers weblog. Nina’s portfolio is located at ninajohansson.se.