3
PRINT YOUR BLUE SKETCH
I use Strathmore Comic Art Boards (100lbs/270gsm)
but there are so many options with paper, and it’s fun to
explore. I mainly use this because of the guidelines, but with
a large enough printer you can make your own. The only
trouble is that the blue lines sometimes peek through and
need an additional clean-up in the digital phase.4
BLUE PENCIL TOUCH-UPS
Now I have a large physical copy of the sketch and
can touch up any details. I’ve been able to retain the energy
and looseness in my sketch by working smaller, but now it’s
about the details. Reference is highly recommended for
beginners. Col-Erase Indigo Blue pencils are great: dark
enough to see, but light enough not to stain the paper.2
SCAN AND TWEAK
Next I scan in my sketch at 600dpi and print it
out larger to save time redrawing the image. First, I take
it into Photoshop, scale it to size, and add a layer of Cyan,
set to the Lighten or Screen layer blending mode. You’ll
see a lot of options in your Layers panel that you’ll be able
to play with in later steps.1
LAYOUTS AND CONCEPTS
I play with shapes and values on paper to create an interesting composition.
I stay loose – sometimes doing literal scribbles, moving my pen around and falling in
love with the motion of the marks. Here’s a rough one, which enables me to have fun
in the inking stage. I like to play with three values: dark, medium and light. This helps
to create depth and balance.PHOTOSHOP
TIP
ADJUST LEVELSUse the black eyedropper
in the Levels panel to
quickly set the black
point in your
image.
MATERIALS
INK
Q Sumi ink (black
and Chinese red)
Q FW Acrylic Artist’s
Ink (white)
Q Homemade ink
wash (roughly 10 per
cent Sumi/90 per
cent water mixture)
BRUSHES
Q Sable fine point
brush, #2
Q Qval wash brush
PAPER
Q Strathmore Blue
Line comic boards
or Bristol Paper,
heavyweight
OTHER
Q Presto white-out
pens
Q Clean water
Q Col-Erase
blue pencil
Q PhotoshopWorkshops