Creating Business Cartoons - Tools Of The Trade

Every cartoonist has his own unique way of writing and drawing his/her material. I start out with a pencil sketch of the ideas as I come up with them to hash out the character placement, their gestures, the props to include within the gag, the perspective I'd like the viewer to view it from, and centering all the components so the eye will gravitate toward the elements to make the gag work. Once I've figured all that out, I do a refined pencil sketch, adding detail before I commit the drawing to ink. I pencil with a Rotring 600 0.5mm mechanical pencil.

It's heavier than other pencils and, for whatever reason, is the best one for me.

For pens, depending on what I'm working on, and what paper I'm using, I have several I prefer. My mainstay is an antique Pelikan 120 fountain pen. It is an absolute pleasure to work with - think ink flow is even and predictable, the line width can be varied and appears fluid - an excellent, well crafted pen. Other times, I love using an old-fashioned dip pen. The lines can be even more expressive depending on the amount of downward pressure you apply. The drawback is the drying time and the occasional ink blot which can ruin an otherwise well-rendered drawing. For the "Percenters", I primarily use a Pigma Micron black 05. The ink is a rich black, it dries almost immediately, and makes inking easy.

Next time, I'll cover paper, erasers, miscellanous drawing tools, and software. Thanks for stopping by!