Travels with Ink and Nib and Brush

Next week it's NYCC time (New York Comicon). The convention is a great time, of course. The journey there maybe not as much. Here's some advice I posted from January 2010 about traveling with your precious old school drawing tools:




Traveling? I don't envy you. But if you have to travel, and you are a dedicated old school cartoonist who loves the old school drawing tools, then you already have a method for safely transporting your beloved art supplies through the rigors of the TSA, the baggage handlers, airplane pressure, etc.

Here's what I do:


Nibs! Those nibs (that you have delicately broken in) can be easily placed ...


... in a protective matchbox. When the TSA employee asks, Do you have anything that could be considered a weapon? -- Well, I have do not believe that nibs could be used as a weapon. At least, not a very effective one. Regardless, nibs get checked thru baggage. Along with the holder.
I like the ink in those squatty glass containers that are tough and ready for some travel tumbling and turbulence. (No Higgins Ink plastic containers if you please!) Wrapped in a couple layers of plastic wrap and then this baby is wrapped again in swaddling clothes (i.e., a black t-shirt),

A good brush is like your pal. Like a pen nib, it needs to be broken in and then it can last (with the proper care) for a long time. The problem is how do you protect your brush shape?

I just get a card (an index card, or piece of cardboard) and tape the brush down. And then I take another card and tape it on top, creating, for all intents and purposes, a snug brush sandwich.

Confession: I usually use those Pigma permanent ink pens. Below is a drawing from last year depicting "the pens on my desk:"

Related: Some sketchbook drawings and a few more of my sketches.

Also related: Do you have too many sketchbooks?

Our Prince Edward Island Vacation

 

My wife and I spent a few days in Prince Edward Island. I told you about the international editorial cartoon exhibition, Freedom in Broad Strokes. Now, below, are some scenes from our trip.

These are color sketches, blown up from my sketchbook. I was doodling and scribbling with no pencil foundation so, you know, it's doodly and messy and all that

TOOL NERD INFO:

• Pen: Micron Pigma 5mm
• Color: a kids' watercolor set from a dimestore

First up: Canadian Maritime Swimwear. It's a bit chilly, but the locals are used to it!

Below: Camping in PEI! Active fun for some, passive smoking for others!

Night time was dark and you could only hear voices and see everyone's campfire. One young girl was thrashing on an old guitar, singing what sounded like folk songs, but, when listening closely, they all turned out to be old Alanis Morissette hits. The middle aged fellow in a Winnebago was visibly smitten, He really did stand at the edge of his site and go "Wooo!"

Some good things and bad things about the trip:

EDIT: "NO BARS" should be on the right and "IRISH BARS" should be on the left. Thanks to Caryn Alma for pointing out my transpositional boo-boo.

"No bars" was probably for the best. My wife played great Irish music with the session players at The Old Triangle. She was in top form!

And here are the actual uncut pages:

Yes, that's the bookmark hanging there on the page. I am a lazy scanner, huh?

Oh, the toe's all better now!

Sketches from CARTOONING FOR EVERYBODY by Lawrence Lariar

Here are some sketches from CARTOONING FOR EVERYBODY by Lawrence Lariar, copyright 1941 by Crown Publishing.

Above: Lawrence Lariar self portrait.

Lawrence Lariar was a cartoonist, a cartoon editor for PARADE and LIBERTY, a novelist and one of the most prolific authors of "How to Cartoon" books. He edited the long-running BEST CARTOONS OF series of books from 1942 to 1971. He died in 1981.

If you are building a shelf of books about cartooning, it's inevitable you'll run into a Lariar book. Thanks to him, we have many gag cartoonists' work between hardcovers that may have otherwise turned into dust after being published in the throwaway magazine medium..

Here are some sketches by Lariar and a couple of colleagues. Unlike his other, later books, Lariar emphasizes the value of sketching and doodling for a number of pages. The nice thing about these sketches is that they look as vibrant and full of life as ever. He's right: sketching from life helps you cartoon.

 

Above: a page from illustrator and cartoonist Greg D'Allessio's sketchbook. (He was married to cartoonist Hilda Terry for 55 years.)

Above: spots by John Groth (1902-88). I love how loose he works. Loose and confident.

 John Groth made a career as a painter and illustrator by focusing on sports and war. He captured the action-packed scenes by witnessing the events first-hand and sketching his experiences. Groth used a style technique called “speed line,” in which he sketched his subjects using rough, unperfected lines and filled the lines in with watercolors. Upon describing his technique, Ernest Hemingway, whom Groth spent time with during World War II, wrote, “None of us understood the sort of shorthand he sketched in. the men would look at the sketches and see just a lot of lines. It was a great pleasure to find what fine drawings they were when we got to see them.”

He also was a artist-correspondent during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Groth was also the art Director for Esquire magazine.

From his rogallery.com biography.

 

 Above two pages again by John Groth "with no preliminary pencil understructure."

Above: cartoonist Jack Kabat with some freehand fanciful doodles.

Above: a sketch from Lariar's sketchbook that he sold to the New Yorker as a spot drawing.

Above and below: some more finished sketches of middle-aged women and kids. "Study these doodles and originate a few."

My thanks to my friend, the one and only Don Orehek, for passing along this great book. Thanks, Don!

Stacking Wood

Hey there! That's a self-portrait of me under many wooly layers. And below, the reason why:



It's been a cold winter and we've gone through more wood than I thought. So, we had to order a cord of stovewood to keep the home fires burning. The only problem stacking wood in the winter is, of course, the cold and snow.



It was 30 degrees, but the 20-30mph wind gusts knocked the temperature down to bonechilling temperatures. I was only able to stack about a quarter of the woodpile before that Popsicle feeling overwhelmed me and I had to come in to warm up. Which is when I drew this cartoon of me in many layers (t-shirt, flannel shirt, wool sweater and jacket).

Here's hoping spring is around the corner!

The Value of Sketching

Above: a study in contrasts. A kid enjoying a ride on sullen Dad's shoulders at the mall. This was draw in in about six seconds.

I was at the mall, bored outta my mind. And then I recalled that I could draw the shoppers passing by for a while. Ahh! Now, that's entertainment.



When sketching in public, my one rule is DON'T. I mean, really, the last thing you want to do is get caught drawing people you don't know. Especially when they're bigger than you.

Despite wanting to be anonymous, the rewards of sketching is seeing how people dress and behave. These can become the basis of future cartoons and drawings.




I liked the prideful saunter that the above big dude had, when walking in the mall, with his proud peacock walk, smoky eyeglasses and hint-of-whiteboy-jerrycurl hairdo.

The female multi-tasker balanced herself like a prima ballerina between her many shopping bags and managing her cell phone.


The big Ugg boots look.

What every other guy looks like: shaved head, goatee, earrings.


Pimply face Archie-looking kid munching on greasy fries.

Fat guy contemplates shoving entire cheeseburger into piehole.

Sketchbook: Traditional Irish Music Session

Sketched in between pints of Smithwicks' at The Shaskeen in Manchester, NH. This was a traditional Irish music session on Saturday afternoon, December 11, 2010. I accompanied my wife (not pictured), who was one of the half-dozen musicians who there that day. She plays the fiddle and flute. I am not a musician myself.







I try to be unobtrusive. But, as I was sketching, the woman next to me noticed. She leaned way over to look. She made a noise -- something like "Oh" or "Oooh." When the musicians get going, it can be hard to hear. Anyway, she looked at me and smiled and said, "I thought you were doing your school work." (!?!?!?!!?!) I suppose I should be flattered since the last time I was in school was in the 1980s.

Travels with Ink and Nib and Brush

Traveling? I don't envy you. But if you have to travel, and you are dedicated old school cartoonist who loves the old school drawing tools, then you already have a method for safely transporting your beloved art supplies through the rigors of the TSA, the baggage handlers, airplane pressure, etc.

Here's what I do:


Nibs! Those nibs that you have delicately broken in can be easily placed ...


... in a protective matchbox. When the TSA employee asks, Do you have anything that could be considered a weapon? -- Well, I have do not believe that nibs could be used as a weapon. At least, not a very effective one. Regardless, nibs get checked thru baggage. Along with the holder.
I like the ink in those squatty glass containers that are tough and ready for some travel tumbling and turbulence. (No Higgins Ink plastic containers if you please!) Wrapped in a couple layers of plastic wrap and then this baby is wrapped again in swaddling clothes (i.e., a black t-shirt),

A good brush is like your pal. Like a pen nib, it needs to be broken in and then it can last (with the proper care) for a long time. The problem is how do you protect your brush shape?

I just get a card (an index card, or piece of cardboard) and tape the brush down. And then I take another card and tape it on top, creating, for all intents and purposes, a snug brush sandwich.

Confession: I usually use those Pigma permanent ink pens. Below is a drawing from last year depicting "the pens on my desk:"



Related: Some sketchbook drawings and a few more of my sketches.

Also related: Do you have too many sketchbooks?