As I go back through old A&J comic strips, looking for something to post, I’m more aware of whether a particular cartoon was drawn with a felt-tip pen or a traditional dip pen. This is, of course, because of my recent comments here. I have professed a preference for dip pen and India ink, and I have not changed my opinion, but I have wavered. I will admit that sometimes I have to look closely to tell, myself. And I must say, the lines drawn with a Micron 08 felt pen have more weight than lines drawn with an Esterbrook 048 pen nib. This is a plus with me, because I have always felt my line work appears somewhat anemic, partly because I don’t use a lot of blacks or shades of gray, probably. Still the pen nibs do allow a varied line, and they glide so much better. By that I mean, the feel when I draw is one of fluidity and control. To me, drawing with a dip pen feels like Sonja Henie on ice, and a felt pen feels like, well, me on ice. Of course, with a dip pen there’s always the possibility of the disastrous ink blob appearing out of nowhere which is the inking equivalent of falling through the ice. There’s a little more to say on this subject, though not much. I’ll try to say it next time. This cartoon, by the way, was drawn with a felt pen.
76 responses to “Finish Line”
All this talk about crocodiles and ‘gators made me think of three things:
I was told as a child that Florida has the ‘gators and the Nile has the crocodiles.
For some reason he never understood, my father’s first name was Crock. He went by him middle name.
I’ve heard the Barney songs too many times and will keep hearing them because my 3rd daughter is extremely autistic and also has Downs:
The Crocodile
She sailed away on a sunny summer day
On the back of a crocodile.
“You see,” said she, “he’s as tame as tame can be,
I’ll ride him down the Nile.”
The croc winked his eye as she bade them all goodbye
Wearing a happy smile.
At the end of the ride, the lady was inside,
And the smile was on the crocodile!