Nattosoup Art and Process

Top 20 of 2020

2021-01-04T15:00:00.011-06:00

2020 has been such a crazy and busy year for everyone. I decided to celebrate it (finally) ending by compiling a list of my favorite videos and reviews from 2020.

While going through 2020's videos though, I realized I created a lot of great tutorials and reviews last year! It was really hard to narrow it down to just 20, so if you enjoy what I shared here, please check out my channel and scope out the playlists these videos hail from! From etegami all through March and April, to How to Draw Flowers from April to June, to Comic Prep and Process in July and August, to Mechanical Pencil Reviews from August to October, to alcohol marker reviews and tutorials in October and November, to one CRAZY December with loads of papercrafts- I really brought my A-Game to the channel.

Compiling this list of my favorite 20 videos, in several different categories, reminds me that I should be proud of the work I did in 2020, even if it didn't have the reach I'd hoped. 2020 was a rough year for so many people, but I hope my videos brought yall a little comfort and company.

Drawing and Comics:

Thumbnails! Comic Prep and Process: https://youtu.be/xBvamwSIJl4

Character and Environment Design: Comic Prep and Process: https://youtu.be/pLwUME0_aZU

How to Draw Morning Glories: https://youtu.be/EWGxkTUJ1Go

From Stick to Figure- Crafting Pose Mannequins: https://youtu.be/prmjRYo3GR0

Markers:

Marker Mermaid: Spectrum Noir Triblend Fieldtest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUTQVR8-XoM&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy95RYqDnwNzEUtLqNXJvEHL&index=41

Glow Witch: Halloween Marker Tutorial: https://youtu.be/1NTPgVz9UmU

Ohuhu and Crayola Mixed Media Marker Tutorial: https://youtu.be/0sXHbkQFAUw

Spectrum Noir Triblend and Monochrome Challenge: https://youtu.be/QDUu8wkejjc

Strawberry Fields- Watercolor and Copic Marker: https://youtu.be/qNpfU1meNtQ

Bee and Coneflowers on Toned Blue Paper Copic Class: https://youtu.be/WgnlvPM-JiA

Watercolor:

Painting a Panel Page- Comic Prep and Process: https://youtu.be/KeJAXatPpLo

Tools for Painting Watercolor Comics: https://youtu.be/u6mW8MPBPuI

Mixing Skintones in Watercolor Tutorial: https://youtu.be/vqYf3ddvdN0

Coming Up Roses- Dorer Art Watercolor Block: https://youtu.be/dVjhNMwdk2o

Stonehenge Aqua Hotpress Vs Coldpress: https://youtu.be/ffCG3o05NFs

Easy to Make Homemade Watercolors with Kabocha: https://youtu.be/LD0lWOAMHos

Arts and Crafts:

Treetop Angel- Part 2 Assembly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8UChykFHJk&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy95RYqDnwNzEUtLqNXJvEHL&index=3

Art Supplies:

ShinHan PWC Watercolor Unbox and Swatch: https://youtu.be/DtgYQ2nEYZ8

What's in my Pencilcase 2020 Edition: https://youtu.be/Uojz6TztZ7c

Best Art Supplies of 2020:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT5MCrs-GY4&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy95RYqDnwNzEUtLqNXJvEHL&index=34

My Favorite Playlists:

Comic Prep and Process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBvamwSIJl4&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy9fduSYuNplq_6OwkUwwp1_

How to Draw Flowers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luW52Uzqk7g&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy_NoOFHiLC10GDMYmDDywJf

How to Color Flowers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OscSsxoWhqk&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy8DSBzCGPPpt82GHwZxxJyD

Paperchild Papercraft Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6uuMC725oE&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy-nUqR-26uGJQAtM51Rm5aE

Favorite Alcohol Marker Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCBIcm6YBuA&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy8KN4xSzIsyE15I2X6sugG7

Favorite Watercolor Supplies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffCG3o05NFs&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy8UobV4sUwsUR7-qhjsf6TL

Favorite Watercolor Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63exElAgClQ&list=PL_pXBtCqjKy94uu_IuwFvdxTIrkwp2AXx

Preparing Spot Illustrations for InDesign and Placement in InDesign

2020-09-17T16:00:00.002-05:00

Back in June, I showed you guys how to remove the background from watercolor illustrations in this tutorial. I also walked you through my layouts for Volume 2 of 7" Kara. Today I'm going to show you how I use the watercolor illustrations to make cute layouts!

In the past, I've talked about using Affinity Publisher to layout zines- I still really like it! But in this tutorial, I'm using InDesign.

This is an archive of a thread I made on Twitter. I highly recommend you just go ahead and click through to the thread itself- it's easier to read, and MUCH easier to see the images. Archiving Twitter tutorials on the blog makes it easier for other artists to find these tutorials- Twitter isn't exactly great for archiving tutorials.

Read the Whole Thread Here

Thread 2! Let's talk a little about using those cute lil illustrations in our InDesign File!

Image 1: The images we want to use
Image 2: A finished example
Image 3: The section we need to decorate. pic.twitter.com/rY3Enl4YlY
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

So the first thing I need to do is merge all my alterations onto one layer (since the original art is all on one layer) Same method as used before-DUPLICATION! pic.twitter.com/wJh5mzOfO1
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

I'm going to use the crop tool to make separate files. InDesign can read Photoshop files, and will maintain the transparency, so we're going to be saving these as Photoshop files. pic.twitter.com/FMEikk3Bji
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

Once all my files have been separated out and saved as PSD's, its time to plonk them into my InDesign file. I want to talk about Indesign a bit. pic.twitter.com/bsrmmz3Ago
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

In case you aren't familiar with it, InDesign is a layout program. Usually, I use Affinity Publisher, as it's WAY CHEAPER ($50 lifetime license)& lighter weight, although v prone to crashing.The thing is, a printer may want an .indd file,or a PostScript file & AP doesn't do that. pic.twitter.com/IzsEZrDD84
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

So on the left hand side,we have a toolbar that's similar to Photoshop. Everything is JUST DIFFERENT enough to be wildly frustrating (like the text tool),so it'll take some getting used to. On the right,we have our preview & Master- if you need to duplicate a spread, do it there. pic.twitter.com/bYjuLfQkVQ
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

I am not an InDesign expert- just a self published comic artist who lays out her own books- so take this tutorial with a grain of salt, I recommend you look up other InDesign tutorials if you're doing your own layout work! pic.twitter.com/pe0dD02IMt
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

So at this point, most of the book has been laid out- all I really have left is a few more commissions in the Guest Art Gallery, the 4komas to recap Volume 1, and these Naomi illustrations for the Making 7" Kara Section.
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

So Control D allows you to place an item, and will open up a selection menu. I've already navigated to the correct folder (I'll talk about that in a bit), so I just need to select my art. pic.twitter.com/upoOgqiubU
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

Like in Photoshop, you use the bounding box to resize, but unlike PS, it won't automatically resize it, so you need to hit Shift, Control, Alt and E to get it to scale to the bounding box. pic.twitter.com/l77mfkmrRg
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

Remember earlier, when we went to a lot of effort to delete the background, then when we went to effort to isolate each art asset, THEN went to the effort to save it as an individual .psd ? It pays off now. pic.twitter.com/t7Iih8pvgp
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

We can easily layer art assets on top of each other- and the nice thing about InDesign is that it's REFERENCING the original file, so if you update the original, you can have it update the InDesign file with just a single mouse click. THIS leads us to the next part. pic.twitter.com/leqWTxDhwn
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

Ok, so when you're using InDesign, you want all of the assets that are going to go into that book, INCLUDING font files, to go into a folder. It can be a series of nested folders inside that folder, but you need a main folder. InDesign is going to reference these files so...
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

...if you move stuff around, it's going to have to be relinked in InDesign. This has its pros and cons, but it allows a printer to easily update your file for you if there's a color error.
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

So this is a great example- I have this really cute illo of Naomi showing off her painted page, and I'd like to use it here- but oh hey, it's getting in the way of this spread. I have a lot of unused space, but I'd need to alter that file.... pic.twitter.com/FtWkGJmc6j
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

So I can open that original file in Photoshop, edge the spread over, hit save, go into InDesign, and if you squint, you can see a lil warning- that's telling me the file has changed. I hit that and it updates my file! How? It pulled from the source! pic.twitter.com/cNFCX75nIY
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

I'm on the fence about this page- Naomi is helping to illustrate what the process actually looks like (I paint on the floor), but I can take advantage of some of that unused space so it's less cramped. pic.twitter.com/AKqLE7UmhK
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

So after adding these illos, I realized I need EVEN MORE Pancake spot illos, so back to painting I guess!
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 16, 2020

Last Chance!

2020-08-10T15:52:00.004-05:00

Today is your last chance to get 7" Kara on Kickstarter! There's just a few hours left to get your own copy of 7" Kara Volume 2- the campaign ends at 8PM CST and I'm hosting a stream to celebrate!

Get Your Copy of 7" Kara Volume 1 and 2!

Help me count down the final hours in the 7" Kara Campaign and celebrate the funding of Volume 2! Stream is at 7PM CST tonight on my Youtube Channel. Since we're in the final stretch and 7" Kara Volume 2 has hit its initial funding goal, everyone who's supported me this month is going to get what they've ordered, so please be aware that you may see a Kickstarter charge on your credit card soon!

There's still time to get your order in if you haven't placed it yet! Check out a few of the amazing rewards available! Original art, custom portraits, wooden charms, and more! Everything is available in set tiers, or ala cart if you'd like to add something to your existing tier! Check out this post for prices and availability- there's a little something for everyone, including digital-only rewards for my out-of-country friends.

A sample You as a Lilliputian custom portrait, based off my husband, Joseph Coco.

He requested to be drawn as a strawberry farmer.

Once I get back to Nashville, I plan on launching the Kickstarter/Patreon Exclusive Blog! If you've enjoyed this blog, access to the Kickstarter Blog is well worth the cost of $3! From planning and executing your own comic Kickstarter to finding the right printer for your project to Diamond Distribution and taking out ads, the 7" Kara Kickstarter Blog has a lot of great content that will only be made available to Kickstarter and Patreon supporters!

It's been a wild month and things veered wildly off course- I'd initially planned on being in Louisiana for two weeks, but due to a car accident, an additional week was tacked on. This meant I couldn't do some of the end-of-campaign celebrating I'd wanted- I wanted to do an all-day start to finish watercolor stream and more art workshops. Unfortunately, internet and cell phone connection in Luling made that impossible, but I hope to reschedule those streams later.

I did create a Draw this in Your Style Challenge to share on social media and help spread the world about 7" Kara! And I also created a printable color sheet for those of you who'd like to just relax and color! If you share either online, please tag me- I'd love to see your work!

Draw This In Your Style Challenge Rules:

🍀I want to see YOUR interpretation of this character, so go wild!

🍀Please tag #nattosoup so I can see your art!

🍀Make sure you include the original image as the second or third image!

🍀Please check out the 7" Kara Kickstarter if you enjoy my art!

100 Backers! Celebratory Coloring Sheet!

2020-08-05T15:00:00.001-05:00

To celebrate 7" Kara on Kickstarter hitting 100 backers (yay!) I'm sharing a free printable coloring sheet with you! This lineart was the base for a Draw This In Your Style challenge, which is now live on Instagram! I'd love to see your take on Kara. If you share this coloring sheet on social media, tag me @nattosoup- I wanna see your beautiful coloring!

7" Kara is in it's last week on Kickstarter, and this printable is just a lil taste of all the goodies available in the $125 7" Kara Activity Pack! Not only does this awesome pack include print copies of Volume 1 and 2, but it also includes Lilliputian Living Volumes 1-3, an adorable printable paper figurine pack, coloring sheets like this one, and fun activities that encourage young readers to think creatively.

See a reward you'd like, but it's not in the tier you're interested in? Send me a message and we'll create something custom together!

I Need Your Help!

2020-07-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

Just 11 days left to back 7" Kara Volume 2 on

I need your help to print 7" Kara Volume !

Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform- so if I can't raise the entire $7500 needed to print Volume 2, I see none of the money raised. If you enjoy this blog, the Youtube channel, or any of the resources or aid I provide online, please consider supporting the Kickstarter!

Lemme tell you all about it!

7" Kara is almost entirely finished- there are a few printing errors to correct, I still need to draw the 4koma recap section, and of course, I need to thank all of the generous backers on Kickstarter- but once those issues are handled, it's off to the printers!

I hope to have 7" Kara Volume 2 in your hands by December, which makes it a perfect gift for a young reader or a fan of gentle comics!

I have some awesome rewards planned and some really exciting stretch goals too!

DRM free, PDF copies of 7" Kara Volume 1 and 2
Full color, print copies of 7" Kara Volume 1 and 2
Original inked sketches of your favorite 7" Kara characters
One of a kind, custom portraits- you or a loved one reimagined as a Lilliputian!
Original, ready to frame watercolor art

Here's a sneak peek into Volume 2, and a bit of a chat about indie publishing and some of the challenges indie comic artists face!

So if you enjoy the work I do online please consider supporting 7" Kara Volume 2 on Kickstarter!

Comics and Childhood Literacy

2020-07-28T17:00:00.001-05:00

When I was a wee kiddo, my parents read to me often.  Tucked into my Beauty and the Beast sleeping bag, we'd read children's books, Bible stories, fairytales.  Back then, I didn't even know comics existed beyond the funny pages, but I loved reading with my parents.

This love of reading stayed with me throughout childhood and well into adulthood.  As a teenager, I loved both manga and classic literature, in college, I fell in love with the works of Terry Pratchett, in graduate school, I read a lot of horror both in comics and prose.  Comics did not detract from my love of prose, but served as an alternative way to consume literature, and over time, I came to feel that comics were really the perfect artform- where art and prose complement one another.

This love of comics inspired me to create my own, which in turn inspired me to improve my art.  As a child, I loved writing short stories, and comics have kept that love alive for decades.  My love for comics has opened the doors to so many different interests- sewing, fashion, watercolor, pen and ink illustration.  And this love inspired me to pursue a Masters of Fine Art when I finished my undergrad degree in Digital art.

While in graduate school at SCAD in 2012, I wrote my Sequential Art Masters's thesis on how comics sometimes fail young readers, what artists and comic creators can do to accommodate pre-literate children.  I posited that there should be two levels of distinction in children's comics- early reader comics and children's chapter comics.  I also stated comic creators need to make accommodations for their readers while challenging them to improve their comic literacy.  I read dozens of children's comics and noticed that while many creators were making comics with kid-friendly themes, the panels and composition were too challenging for readers unfamiliar with comics.  This thesis was written the same year Raina Telgemier's graphic novel Smile hit the market, and comics for younger readers have grown a lot in the past ten years.  Now we have a wide variety of comics specifically designed for kids and teens, and the art form has made wide strides.

While working on my thesis, I did a lot of research on children's literacy, skills, and strategies for teaching young readers, and found a lot of evidence to support the fact that comics can be an instrumental tool in teaching people to read.  The combination of sequential art, language art, and sequential storytelling in graphic novels support literacy and help children master reading.  Comics can be a wonderful way to encourage struggling readers to develop reading comprehension and language art skills and can make the challenge of learning how to read fun and engaging. 

Graphic novels and comics allow younger readers to read along with the story using visual context clues even if they're pre-literate.  The illustrations can help children understand different emotions and expressions, and can be a wonderful tool for learning how to decode emotions.  Comics can be useful in teaching cause and effect.  The nature of comics (sequential storytelling) is ideal for cementing an understanding of the sequence of events and can be used for sequential picture reading (child guesses what the story is about based on the pictures) with pre-literate readers.  Parents can use the pictures to ask children questions about the content and context of the story which helps with reading comprehension.

During my thesis, I really fell in love comics as a tool for literacy and I have spent the past 10 years making comics to support that.  At the time I wrote my thesis, my mother was teaching early literacy support, and I was student teaching at two schools, so I was able to workshop a lot of comic literacy theory in real-time.

Comics are useful for childhood development beyond literacy- they can be used to teach and foster so many important skills

Comics can be used to teach:

Sequence of events
Cause and effect
Expression decoding
Sequential picture reading
Predictive Reading
Empathy
A sense of perspective
A love of nature and animals
Creativity

My ongoing comic, 7" Kara was part of this thesis. The first chapter was submitted as the visual portion of my thesis, and much of what I'd learned has gone into every chapter since. At the time, comics specifically for children were a bit of an anomaly, and few publishers wanted to publish children's comics. When initially working on the concept for 7" Kara, I thought a combination of lush picture book style illustration, immersive double-page spreads, and strong character acting would better convince parents to give comics a try. Although my predictions for the future of children's comics were quite different from how reality panned out, I think our goal is the same- to create enjoyable comics for even the youngest readers.

Currently, I'm Kickstarting the second volume of 7" Kara. It's a charming story, set in South Louisiana, about friendship and family that invites readers to see the world through a whole new perspective. So many children's books portray families as either perfect or shattered beyond repair- I make it a point to demonstrate that family relationships can be both messy and wonderful. I wanted to depict realistic relationships that children could learn from and parents could relate to while also creating a world that both would enjoy escaping to. I also wanted to create a story that relied on non-violent problem solving while maintaining an adventurous spirit- an adventure story for those with kind hearts. Friendship, particularly friendships that bridge massive differences, is an important theme in 7" Kara, and Volume 2 is an opportunity to explore these themes.

7" Kara is a story that younger children can grow into and enjoy for years. From being read to to reading to a parent or loved one, comic formats are great for young readers and non-readers and can be used to teach several important pre-reading skills. 7" Kara can also be read together, with both readers taking turns play-acting the dialogue. The 7" Kara Volume 2 Kickstarter includes a package with wooden charms of Kara, Naomi, and Pancake (the kitten) that are perfect for play-acting along with the story, as well as an activity package that includes coloring sheets and fun activities that invite young readers to spend more time in the Lilliputian world.

Volume 1 has been in print for a while, and I'm delighted to finally be able to offer Volume 2 for pre-order through Kickstarter. Inspire empathy and imagination in your favorite reader and support a self-published indie comic. 7" Kara Volume 2 is only possible with your support- funds raised from pre-orders on Kickstarter will be used to print and ship Volume 2! I plan on having 7" Kara Volume 2 out by December, which makes it a perfect gift for comic fans young and old.

Win Wonderful Watercolor Prizes

2020-07-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

To celebrate the launch of 7" Kara Volume 2 on Kickstarter and World Watercolor Month, I'm hosting a Fanart Contest with a wonderful watercolor prize pack! Help me spread the word about 7" Kara by drawing your interpretation of your favorite character and you could win!

Draw fanart for 7" Kara and you could win

A Qor Mini Palette
3 Silver Black Velvet watercolor brushes
A 9"x12" pack of Arches 140lb Coldpress paper
3 Paint Pucks for your water cup

These are a few of my favorite watercolor supplies, chosen after years of use and careful review, and I hope yall will love them as much as I do!

My own personal examples have seen a whole lot of love and a whole lot of use over the years!

This prize pack has a total value of $124, and I hope it can inspire other artists to try watercolor! Painting 7" Kara has been such a delight and has broadened my horizons so much, I hope sending a few of my favorite watercolor supplies can make this medium accessible to another artist!

I'm shipping the prize pack straight from DickBlick- so if Blick delivers to you, you are eligible to win!

The fanart contest is now in full swing, and the rules are easy!

1. Draw your favorite character (or characters!) from 7" Kara

2. Share it on your favorite social media- Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, DeviantArt- whatever you use!

3. Tag @nattosoup and #karakickstarter to make sure your entry is entered

You can also send me a screenshot via Discord- Nattosoup#3604

Need reference? Check out 7" Kara as a webcomic!

Contest ends Aug 1st!

The 7" Kara Volume 2 Kickstarter ends August 10th, so if you enjoy my art, tutorials, or resources, please consider backing the project and sharing it with your friends!

Artist Interview With Nattosoup- Led by Kabocha

2020-07-20T15:00:00.002-05:00

Usually I'm the one handling the artist interviews on the blog, but Kabocha kindly offered to interview me for the 7" Kara Volume 2 Kickstarter! 7" Kara Volume 2 launched on Kickstarter this week, and we're almost halfway to the goal!

Hi Becca! It's a pleasure to finally change things up -- but I figured now was a great chance to get to the questions that are really on everyone's mind...

So without further ado, let's get started!

First and foremost: Tell me a little bit about what we can expect to see in 7" Kara Volume 2, and what it's about! I *know* there's some cat riding, after all...

Volume 2 is where the story of 7" Kara really starts to unfold! In Volume 1, I tried to set everything up, I introduce readers to Kara and her family, the dollhouse they live in, and her Lilliputian way of life. When Kara finds out that humans are real, she takes off like a shot to meet one and ends up with more than she bargained for.

In Volume 2, Kara and Naomi's friendship really begins to blossom, with both girls sharing aspects from their respective cultures. Kara's eager to explore what human life has to offer, and Naomi is delighted to introduce doll-like Kara to treats like snack cakes, strawberry soda, and ham sandwiches.

And speaking of cat-riding, Kara's friendship with Naomi's kitten, Pancake, is also flourishing. Pancake enjoys sneaking human food,which is ground level and accessible when Kara is around, and Kara is more than happy to wrestle with a friendly kitten.

It's not all kitten riding and strawberry soda though, as tensions escalate between Kara's parents. Although her father has been laid up with a bad sprain, he's eager and raring to move the family out. Her mother feels differently, and while she struggles to pack up the house alone, she's also trying to convince her husband to change his mind.

Kara and Naomi are also learning how to navigate the boundaries between Lilliputians and Humans, and things aren't always easy. Kara feels responsible for making sure the family home stays safe, and that means keeping it a secret from Naomi. And when Naomi tries to give Kara a bunch of old doll clothes, Kara blows her top at the insinuation that she might be a borrower. Maybe there are bigger differences between Kara and Naomi besides scale.

Okay, that's pretty awesome! So, uh. What made you decide to choose watercolor as the medium for this comic? Do you think Kara would have the same feel to it if you did it in marker or on a computer?

I've loved watercolor for a long time, and when I first started working on 7" Kara as a concept, there weren't a lot of middle grade and young reader comics out there. At the time, comics were still kinda this weird no-man's land in children's literature- libraries carried Calvin and Hobbes and Peanuts if you were lucky and nothing else. I figured the best way to get my comic into the hands of kids was to make it look like something parents and librarians were already familiar with. I wanted to create something that combined all the best aspects of comics with the beauty of children's books, and I felt like watercolor was a great way to accomplish that.

I was still in graduate school when I started Volume 1, and I actually did marker and black and white covers in addition to the watercolor cover in order to allow me to decide which method would work best for the story. While I think all three versions are great, I think the marker version might currently be my favorite!

The one thing I HAVEN'T tried is a digital version of the cover- at the time, I really hated doing digital comic coloring, and really loved traditional media art. Although I enjoy doing digital art more now, I still really love traditional media!

A comparison of Chapter covers

I basically had to learn how to watercolor from scratch when working on 7" Kara. This led to a lot of research, trial and error, and buying a LOT of watercolor supplies. I really loved the process though, and wanted to share what I learned along the way with other comic artists and non-traditional watercolor artists, so 7" Kara ended up inspiring a LOT of this blog. And I think doing Kara in watercolor has helped me stay interested- there's still so much I have to learn, and so many things I want to paint!

I'd never considerd that... Good points, good points. Well, with that in mind -- if you could choose a type of artistic medium for your members of cast to use, what do you think they'd select? I can't help but feel like Kara herself would enjoy non-toxic watercolor paint...!

Thinking about this question, I realized most of my characters practice some form of art!

Rowan enjoys sketching with charcoal on paper bark- mostly making maps.
Kara loves any art supply she can get her hands on- the more colorful, the better! She uses pencil stubs, charcoal, and crayon bits, but she'd probably love non-toxic watercolors!
Meldina sews and embroiders- she's well known in the local area as a seamstress.
Naomi likes anime, so she enjoys using alcohol markers because of their bright colors.

Well, that all aside -- a more serious question now: Is there a particular age group you aimed Kara at? I know it's an all-ages comic, but I've always been curious if you had anything more specific in mind.

7" Kara was originally part of my Master's Thesis, which focused on how comics support children's literacy and can teach important reading skills. The comic itself was designed to showcase ways to create challenge and reward within the comic page- challenging younger readers with slightly more advanced language, or with deeper concepts, then rewarding them with a mental break in the form of a beautiful and relaxing double page spread.

Originally I envisioned 7" Kara as a read together comic; something kids 7-10 might read to their parents, or take turns reading together. But as I matured as an artist and as a writer, there were themes I wanted to explore that while appropriate for younger readers, might appeal more to teenagers and adults, which led to the shift from emerging readers to a more general audience.

One last one, if you don't mind! Do you have any thoughts on the whole process of getting ready to self publish volume 2 that you'd like to share with everyone?

Volume 1 was my first self published longer comic, and before that, I'd self published plenty of minicomics and zines. Every time, it's completely different. Self publishing a zine at home, using your printer and a stapler is different from using a company like CreateSpace to print your volumes on demand, and both are leagues different from using Kickstarter to pay for offset printing.

The biggest difference between these projects is the amount of organization and preparation necessary. When self publishing either at home or through CreateSpace, the preparation is mainly about laying out the book. When preparing for Kickstarter, Volume 2 was laid out before the launch, but there was still a lot of preparation before the campaign could go live. We had to write a compelling Story to interest people in backing the project while explaining how the money would be spent, determine rewards that would incentivize people to support the project, and record the Kickstarter video.

For zines and Volume 1, I handled almost everything alone, I did pay a friend to layout Volume 1 in InDesign, but I came up with all page designs and page elements. For zines, I lay them out myself using Affinity Publisher- a program similar to InDesign but much simpler. For Volume 2, my fiance laid out the book for the most part, and I focused on generating new assets as necessary for sections like Making 7" Kara.

This is a topic I want to talk about more, and have some posts planned to explore it in greater depth, for those interested! I've also talked a bit about using Kickstarter as a person with ADHD, since there's so much preparation.

Thank you so much, Becca!

For everyone else -- Go back this wonderful book immediately. Like, right now. If you know a kid who loves to read and enjoys comics and cartoons, 7" Kara is bound to be a fast favorite!

7" Kara- The Inspiration Behind this Blog

2020-07-17T16:00:00.001-05:00

7" Kara is now live on Kickstarter!

Pre-order a copy of Volume 2 today!

Over the years, I've given several comic artists the opportunity to promote and discuss their comic projects and Kickstarter campaigns on the blog. It's my sincere hope that by sharing my platform, I've helped them find new readers and achieve their project goals. It's finally my turn to share my own Kickstarter news, and I'm excited and crazy nervous.

Usually, when I invite another artist to share their Kickstarter news here, I try to interview them, or I request that they create a tutorial of some sort. Both help generate further interest, serve to educate those who enjoy this blog, and may increase the chances of their post being shared by readers and new fans. I've shared a LOT of 7" Kara focused tutorials here over the years, so I thought rather than rehash, I'd link a few of my favorites to inspire!

Planning:

Brainstorming and Character Design

Storytelling within the Comic Page

Turning Your Script into Layouts and Thumbnails

Watercolor:

Materials You'll Need to Get Started

It's Important to Stretch

Top Techniques for Watercolor

Pushing Through the Ugly

Painting Your Comics

Layout:

An Alternative to InDesign: Affinity Publisher

Laying Out Your Minicomics and Zines

I have a few more layout tutorials coming to the blog during the Kickstarter campaign, and hope to share my experiences with advertising, Kickstarter, and promoting a Kickstarter campaign in the near future. Pending successful funding, I also hope to have posts on finding a printer and getting your comic projects printed in bulk (rather than using CreateSpace, which I've discussed before).

Make Magic- Help Me Promote 7" Kara

2020-07-13T16:00:00.001-05:00

Got bored kids to entertain today?  Or maybe you're a bit bored yourself, and looking for something fun and creative!

If you help me spread the word about the 7" Kara Volume 2 Kickstarter (7inchkara.com/kickstarter) , I'll send you a download link to these adorable paperchild printables!  9 different poses, available in both watercolor and lineart for you to print and pose!  The tutorial is included, so you can make your own!

If you're new to the world of 7" Kara, Kara is a 7 inch tall Lilliputian girl with big dreams.  She sets out on an adventure to meet humans before moving to the deep swamp, and ends up with a larger than life friendship with a human girl and her pet kitten.  Volume 2 is 200 pages of beautiful watercolor comic, and I'm raising the funds to get it printed using an offset printer! 

I have all sorts of great rewards- from copies of Volume 1 and 2 to original art to adorable wooden charms to at-home family fun activities based around the book including scavenger hunts and coloring pages!  The paperchild pack is a lil taste of one of my favorite rewards, so I hope you'll enjoy it too!

Feel free to message me after sharing a post about Kara so I can send you the link to your Paperchild pack! 

The Big Launch

2020-07-09T16:00:00.059-05:00

This Saturday, July 11th, 7" Kara Volume 2 is going live on Kickstarter!

And I am super excited!

I've been talking about 7" Kara Volume 2 A LOT, and have been steadily working towards launching the Kickstarter for awhile. In fact, my work on 7" Kara has been the inspiration behind both the Intro to Comic Craft series and the Watercolor Basics series, and I hope they have inspired you to try watercolor and pursue your own comic goals.

A 3D mockup of what 7" Kara Volume 2 will look like.

I have lots of awesome tiers (pledge packages) for people interested in supporting 7" Kara! You can pledge and receive pdf copies of Volume 1 and 2 (readable anywhere- phones, tablets, computers!), print copies of Volume 1 and 2, original watercolor art and custom inked sketches, adorable wooden charms! I'm also putting together packs for homeschool and classroom use- activity packs, coloring pages, and even virtual classroom visits!

I realize some of y'all might be new to Kickstarter, but may have heard of it. Kickstarter is an online platform that allows individuals to help fund projects and ideas they're excited about. A Kickstarter can be held to fund a new tabletop game, to help an indie studio finish an indie video game, to help musicians fund the recording and editing of a new music video, to help raise funds and attract further investors to tech projects, and of course, to help fund comic projects!

Comic Kickstarters are a bit different than other Kickstarter campaigns, let's use tech Kickstarter campaigns as an example. For most Kickstarters, most pledges are just donations towards an idea that backers would like to see come to fruition. While there may be tiers that result in fulfillment, those tend to be the very expensive tiers. Comic Kickstarters are really more of a preorder system with the funds raised used to cover the printing and shipping of the book and additional materials. So with comic Kickstarters, you can purchase physical rewards at a much cheaper level.

Once the Kickstarter campaign is over, the funds raised go towards the manufacturing and shipping of the rewards offered. In some Kickstarter comic campaigns, the artist sees some income or profit, but most run pretty lean.

I'm Kickstarting Volume 2 of 7" Kara to offset the costs of printing Volume 2 in bulk. I've talked about using Print on Demand CreateSpace (owned by Amazon) to print Volume 1 in the past, but the cost of printing Volume 1 this way is too high to allow me to earn income from the sales. I have also personally sold almost every copy of 7" Kara sold- and while that sounds charming, it really means that I'm paying a lot of money and time to table at conventions in the hopes that I can sell a few copies of 7" Kara.

Kickstarter will allow me to crowdfund the necessary upfront funds to print Volume 2 in bulk, which affords me a much lower individual book price. This also allows me to offer Volume 2 at a more reasonable price to fans and customers. If the Kickstarter goes well, I'd also like to reprint Volume 1 through an offset printer, and print Lilliputian Living (my Lilliputian worldbuilding zine) as a small perfect-bound book.

My goals for the 7" Kara Volume 2 Kickstarter are threefold:

Raise the funds to print Volume 2 (and hopefully reprint Volume 1) through a local offset printer. This would bring the cost per volume down significantly and would allow me to offer a wholesale price to libraries, bookstores, and comic shops.
Offer pre-orders for Volume 2 and orders for Volume 1 via Kickstarter. Most conventions have canceled this year, and most of my teaching engagements have done the same, so this would offer a much-needed source of income.
Attract attention to my work via a successful Kickstarter. Within the comics community, a successful Kickstarter campaign is an important hallmark of a comic artist's career.

You can help make those posts a reality by backing the Volume 2 Kickstarter on Saturday!

On Launch Saturday, I'm hosting a virtual Pajama Party on Youtube to celebrate the launch. First day backers at the $25 Volume 2 Physical Book tier (or higher!) get free sketch requests all stream long. So if you want to see your character or portrait drawn live, back on Day 1!

Laying Out My Graphic Novel

2020-07-06T16:00:00.001-05:00

Laying out a book is kinda a rare event. Laying out zines? Happens at least once a year, more if I'm teaching a zine class and need to layout my students zines. But a BOOK? That's cause for celebration- a book is the culmination of years of painting.

Although planning, writing, drawing, and painting 7" Kara is almost all me, I'm really fortunate to have a partner and fiance who's been very involved with the layout and publishing aspect of Volume 1 and Volume 2. In this post, I'm going to say 'we' a lot-referencing work Joseph and I have both done to prepare Volume 2 for Kickstarter.

I've talked about Affinity Publisher before, and I still believe it's a viable option for smaller publications. But since we want to find an offset printer to print Volume 2 (and reprint Volume 1) we need to be able to submit an INDD, a Postscript, or a PDF file, depending on what the printer requests. I haven't figured out how to get a Postscript or PDF out of Affinity Publisher yet, but it's pretty easy with InDesign. So although I was initially uncomfortable and struggled to use InDesign, I'm glad I spent the time to acclimate myself with the program.

If you'd like to follow my progress on 7" Kara, I have a mailing list that delivers updates right to your inbox! And if you enjoy 7" Kara, I would love it if you'd join me on Kickstarter for Volume 2!

Volume 1 was originally laid out in Adobe InDesign (we paid another artist to lay it out, and received the full file in return) so we used Volume 1 as a base. Since all assets save for fonts were created by me, and we'd purchased licenses for the fonts, we could reuse assets as needed. Of course, that didn't stop me from wanting to freshen things up with a few new touches here and there.

Brand New to Volume 2:

I decided the section headers needed a new, handlettered font, so I went with watercolor brushlettering.

Whole new Cast of Characters page with thematically relevant character borders.

New page borders.

And of course, a whole new bonus chapter!

It was really important to me that Volume 2 continue the work of Volume 1 beyond just continuing the story. In Volume 1, I had an in depth concept section that was well received by parents- many raved about how it inspired their kids. I wanted Volume 2 to continue to inspire, so I dedicated space to Making 7" Kara. Since I've spent years writing and recording tutorials that are free to access, I didn't want this to be a full tutorial section, but a walk-through that might inspire someone to learn more.

I also wanted this how to section to be visually engaging, so I'm hard at work creating even more custom illustrations for Volume 2.

Compared to Volume 1, Volume 2 is going to be a big book! Every chapter is almost double that in Volume 1, and I'm working on a lot of great bonus content to make it fun and interactive.

To make Volume 2 a reality, I need your help! The pages are drawn, the book's almost entirely laid out- but we still need to print it! I want to raise funds AND offer pre-orders at the same time, and I think Kickstarter's the way to go! A lot of comic artists use Kickstarter to fund their comic projects, and while I've participated in many anthologies, this will be my first solo Kickstarter adventure.

Volume 2 hasn't launched YET, but we're launching in early July! If you follow the project on Kickstarter, Kickstarter will let you know when 7" Kara Volume 2 has gone live. And of course, if you follow this blog, I'll be sure to announce it here as well. Not only will you be the first to receive a physical copy of 7" Kara Volume 2, with three never before shared chapters, but we have other great incentives including original art and even classroom materials!

The Wait is Over! 7" Kara Returns from Hiatus!

2020-07-02T16:00:00.010-05:00

Tomorrow! 7" Kara returns as a webcomic from a year long hiatus! We'll be starting Chapter 7, and I can't wait to share it with you guys!

I am so excited to be able to share 7" Kara again, and even more excited that the webcomic's return coincides with the Kickstarter launch for Volume 2. We haven't launched quite yet, but keep an eye out for the launch announcement next week! I have big things planned!

Last year, I put 7" Kara on webcomic hiatus while I worked on completing chapters 8, the Bonus Naomi chapter, all additional book illustrations, and laid out Volume 2. It was a difficult decision to make, as I had three chapters worth of pages I could upload, but I wanted there to be special incentive for people to back the Volume 2 Kickstarter when it launched. Now that the launch is just around the corner, I can start sharing pages with you guys again!

I hope you'll check out 7" Kara if you haven't yet, and if you enjoy it, please consider giving me your support and backing the Volume 2 Kickstarter!

Removing the Background from Watercolor Illustrations-Digitally Correcting Watercolor Pages Part 4

2020-06-29T16:00:00.001-05:00

The three part series now has a Part Four! Today I want to show you guys how I do very basic color correction and adjustment on my watercolor pages using Photoshop, and I'm also going to demonstrate a simple method for removing the backgrounds from illustrations you may wish to use.

Part 1 focused on Color Correction as well, but this segment provides more information on basic color correction. Part 2 talks about resizing elements and correcting tone digitally. Part 3 covers lettering and ballooning in Photoshop.

As of now, there isn't an elegant way to thread Tweets on Blogger, so I hope you guys will bear with me. I want to archive these tutorials in a way that's easier for casual readers to find. I recommend you click through to the thread- images are larger and easier to understand. However, this post makes it easier for artists interested in this information to find these tutorials and collates the information in a way that can be searched by Google.

Color Correcting:

Read Thread Here

Awhile back, I talked about color correcting watercolor scans using Photoshop, and applying digital corrections. Today, I'm going to cover that a little, and also talk about cutting w/c illustrations from a bg page to use as spot illos.

I'll be using these illos for Volume 2. pic.twitter.com/D4cYe1kqwR
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Let's start with basic color corrections. My scanner always tends to scan a little cool and desaturated.

I open my 600DPI scan in Photoshop, and make a copy of the base (locked) layer. Then I make a copy of that- this 3rd copy is the layer we'll alter. pic.twitter.com/QcneNz0JRm
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

I hide the other two layers- this is in case I make changes I can't undo, and need to revert.

Then I go to Image-Adjustments-Hue/Saturation pic.twitter.com/CDfZZLwfa6
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Image 1 is the default setting. Image 2 is the adjusted settings. Depending on your scanner and illo, this will vary, so I try to color match using a color adjusted monitor against the original scan. pic.twitter.com/uJCMNyCZWy
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Hit Ok, and you're halfway done (Image 1). Next I duplicate this layer (Image 2), and set it to Multiply (Image 3). Reduce opacity (Image 4) until you're satisfied with the result. pic.twitter.com/pbgeJFVTfT
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

This is always a YMMV situation for me, and some images take more adjusting than others, which is why I like to compare it to the original on a color corrected monitor (we've reviewed both the Spyder and the Color Hug in the past on the blog)
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Comparisons of the other two pages:
Image 1 and 3: Before adjustment
Image 2 and 4: After adjustment pic.twitter.com/iBLnU37V2g
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Removing Backgrounds

Read Thread Here

Ok removing backgrounds. It's easier if you have a harsh border (like inks) against a white background (unpainted paper) because that's going to create a lot of contrast, and it'll make it easier for the Magic Wand tool to select what you want. pic.twitter.com/v7zfbQqBg2
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

So select the magic wand tool, and look up at the menus for Tolerance. This is what you're going to adjust for the main body of erasing. If you're working on a one layer illo, duplicate that layer now and work on the second layer, otherwise it won't delete to transparency. pic.twitter.com/hd6ErdN1N4
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Tolerance set at 30: Does a pretty good job, a couple areas not selected, but not a big deal. You want to make sure that areas you DONT want selected (like highlights) aren't selected. To deselect those areas specifically, I use the polygonal lasso while holding alt to deselect pic.twitter.com/SwBZ8ah3lz
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Before I can select, I need to merge my color adjusted layers. I select both, drag them both down to the folder, copy that folder and turn off visibility on the first copy, right click, and select Merge Group. pic.twitter.com/H1eoeGKSsD
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Ok, back to erasing. Literally just hit delete while it's selected and it will erase most of the background. This can also be a good test to see if areas you DONT want selected were accidentally selected, as you can always hit undo. pic.twitter.com/5IZdPfytDk
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

It's MUCH EASIER to do this type of cleanup when you have an inked lineart- it's much more challenging and finicky for something like this, with a softer penciled edge. The more you do it, the easier it gets. pic.twitter.com/DL0HEGnG6b
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

So sometimes when you use the magic lasso, it may not select some areas due to slight color differences. You can adjust the tolerance higher (which may grab areas you don't want), select those areas by holding Shift+ Magic Lasso, or use the polygonal lasso to grab it. pic.twitter.com/q8phyG7A5p
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Look out for 'islands' of white paper that may have been missed by the first pass and erase those too! pic.twitter.com/C8CaaYFGV3
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

It did a pretty good selecting the majority of the watercolor paper, but you may still need to go in and do a little cleanup here and there using the Magic Lasso or an eraser brush. pic.twitter.com/ptPZufeaxs
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Watercolor paper can leave a lot of unselected speckles- if you want to clean those up as well, a contrasting color fill will help you find areas you missed in the first pass. pic.twitter.com/65xLXgs9ba
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Sometimes it's helpful to increase the tolerance, or to hand erase problem areas. You don't have to be this precise if you're pasting onto a white or light background, but it's very noticeable on darker backgrounds. pic.twitter.com/pegwqds0bm
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

Alright! I think that's about it! When I want to paste them into the doc, I'll need to separate them, but that's a different thread.

For easier access, I've started creating blog posts using these Twitter threads! If you find this sort of stuff helpful, please do let me know. pic.twitter.com/Ha2fzy3BDU
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) June 15, 2020

This is part one of a now five part series on digitizing, correcting, and lettering watercolor comic pages! If you're interested in more about the digital side of my watercolor art, please let me know- I'm happy to create more tutorials that showcase that side of the process. If you enjoy my art, we're preparing to launch the Kickstarter for Volume 2 of 7" Kara! Almost all of the art in this watercolor correction series is from Volume 2. If you Follow us on Kickstarter, Kickstarter will let you know when the project has launched! And if you're interested in learning more about 7" Kara, I have a mailing list that talks about 7" Kara in depth.

Increasing the Contrast on Inked Pages- Digitally Correcting Watercolor Pages- Part 4

2020-06-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

Our little digital corrections miniseries is almost at an end. In the first installment, we talked about color correcting traditional watercolor pages digitally, in the second installment, we talked about resizing elements, adding shadows, and adjusting tone. In the third installment, we talked about lettering and creating balloons that fit a watercolor page. And today, we're going to discuss ways to adjust lineart contrast on watercolor comic pages that have been inked before painting.

Sometimes when painting, your watercolors can leave an opaque layer on top of your inks. This can make the whole page feel dull. If you scanned your inks before you started painting, you can layer them on top, using the Multiple mode, to recapture that clarity.

Top: Scanned inks, scanned at 600DP.

Bottom: Left: Original Scan, not color corrected or adjusted. Right: Color corrected scan.

This is a pretty simple procedure, but it does take patience and a keen eye, as watercolor illustrations can shrink or warp while painting, and it may be challenging to match the two scans.

Right now, there isn't an elegant way to share my tweets, so I hope you guys will bear with me and endure the ugliness. Tweet threads are also linked, for a more organic way to pursue the topic. You don't need a Twitter account to see the threads. To view the images, I HIGHLY recommend clicking the provided links- Twitter is able to serve up large versions of the images so you can see what's going on.

Increasing Lineart Contrast Digitally

Thread Readable Here

Correcting pages! Already finished with color correction, now I'm layering lineart scans to increase my lineart's contrast. pic.twitter.com/wIyc8Gzzyg
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) November 28, 2019

Pages shrink a bit and warp when painting, so it's not a 1 to 1 layering. Some areas need to be erased for clarity, and sometimes it helps to copy and shift individual panels pic.twitter.com/uPfAUA6RhE
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) November 28, 2019

When I painted over my inks, the watercolor sorta muddied the contrast of the lineart, so I'm glad I scanned the b&w lineart first! It helps give it a little more clarity, and I can erase areas I don't want reinforced. pic.twitter.com/rJ94eEXQS1
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) November 28, 2019

Corrections, color balancing, making minor edits are really satisfying on smaller chapters like this one- it's so fulfilling to see everything come together to become A COMIC
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) November 28, 2019

So many people assume traditional art means no digital process ever, but traditionally painted watercolor comics are only feasible for me with digital intervention! pic.twitter.com/zI9CgUYVrU
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) November 28, 2019

Before and after! A slight difference, but I think it helps! pic.twitter.com/2qrQK3J1a3
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) November 28, 2019

This is part one of a four part series on digitizing, correcting, and lettering watercolor comic pages! If you're interested in more about the digital side of my watercolor art, please let me know- I'm happy to create more tutorials that showcase that side of the process. If you enjoy my art, we're preparing to launch the Kickstarter for Volume 2 of 7" Kara! Almost all of the art in this watercolor correction series is from Volume 2. If you Follow us on Kickstarter, Kickstarter will let you know when the project has launched! And if you're interested in learning more about 7" Kara, I have a mailing list that talks about 7" Kara in depth.

That about wraps up this mini series on editing and altering traditional media watercolor pages digitally. If you would like to see any of these techniques demonstrated live, please feel free to reach out to me and let me know.

Lettering and Balloons- Digitally Correcting Watercolor Pages Part 3

2020-06-22T16:00:00.002-05:00

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed basic color correcting and color editing for watercolor comics. In Part 2, we talked about resizing elements on a traditional media watercolor page, and how to add shadows or correct tone. In today's post, we're going to talk about lettering and ballooning on traditional art digitally in a way that preserves the gestalt of the page.

This is a topic I've talked about a few times on this blog, so at the bottom of the post I'll include more links and information on lettering!

It's important to me that the text look like it was handlettered and part of the page, so I use several resources to help make that happen. I have a custom Kara font based off an alphabet I created in color pencil, I use a scan of Montval watercolor paper for the correct texture, and I rely on the Clone and Stamp to create the body of the word balloon. Last, I create a border around spoken word balloons using a custom color pencil brush.

In the end, I have a finished page that looks like it was painted traditionally from start to finish.

Left: Original scan. Right: Color corrected, lettered scan.

Creating Word Balloons

Thread readable here

I'm doing balloons today, and thought I'd walk yall through my process! Many people assume my pages are traditionally ballooned and lettered, but nope! All digital! So I'm starting with a lettered page- I may adjust placement, but most of the text is on the page. pic.twitter.com/2xS7OqfPjs
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 1, 2019

Using the clone stamp tool, I select a sample from a scan of Canson Montval watercolor paper. This is the same paper I use to paint my pages, so the texture and size match. I create a new layer under the text, and begin applying the clone tool with a plain round brush. pic.twitter.com/etdkPZNtrf
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 1, 2019

For RIGHT NOW, I'm focusing on placement of text, placement of balloons, text corrections, ect, so I'm just doing the balloons right now, not tails or borders- that'll be another Twitter thread. RN I'm aiming for round, but not perfect, with a nice boarder of balloon around text pic.twitter.com/eMqLhvSX4w
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 1, 2019

Every piece of text gets a balloon on a unique layer, so everything is easily adjustable at this point. I adjust for flow, and often edit or add dialogue at this stage. For the balloons, I aim for mostly round (no submarines), with at least a half letter of space around the text. pic.twitter.com/KoX2Pt2kgI
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 1, 2019

Borders on Word Balloons

Thread readable here

I begin my next stage of ballooning by getting my balloons into organized folders. Later, I'm going to add layer affects to them, and it's easier to do it by the folder rather than to individual layers. pic.twitter.com/4OHWIpDTvV
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

For this part of our balloons, we're going to want to use the clone tool a round with pressure sensitivity on, in order to make the tails. Our source for the clone is the Canson Montval scan. pic.twitter.com/p2d74edL5U
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

This part is really easy- there are loads of ways to do balloon tails, so HOW you do it is up to you and the needs of your comic, but I try to always aim the tail toward's the speaker's mouth. pic.twitter.com/BD5BceGpre
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

In panels like the second example, if you have a balloon coming from an off camera speaker, you can either point the tail towards a representation of them (so we could have had Naomi's hand speaking in this example) or towards the general off camera direction of the speaker. pic.twitter.com/Nt3kae8TuR
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

So now that the whole page has tails, I'm going to add borders to my balloons. I use a custom 'color pencil' brush, the same as the brush I use for some corrections, and to do page and panel borders. I set the eraser to the same brush. pic.twitter.com/PN8ufIOxZp
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

So now that all the balloons are bordered, we're almost done with this page. Next, I adjust the opacity on my balloon layers to 80%, and change the balloon borders to Multiply. My goal is to get the text, balloons, and borders to be part of the gestalt of the page. pic.twitter.com/Px82mB2gAh
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

So when you're placing balloons/tails, I recommend you avoid crossing or covering important storytelling elements or faces with the balloons and tails. pic.twitter.com/YjyWZ340ou
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

Also, I try to do it infrequently, but I do utilize colored balloon borders when then opportunity calls for it. pic.twitter.com/tqBbvMujIY
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

So for the rest of this chapter, it's pretty much just proceeding the same way. I hope you guys enjoyed my lettering/balloons/borders demonstration! Artnerds on my Patreon (https://t.co/xm86dXBIb2) have access to my watercolor paper scans as well as to the brushes I use! pic.twitter.com/0PgxCPFOnY
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) May 2, 2019

More on Lettering and Creating Word Balloons

Intro to Comic Craft: Selecting a Font

Intro to Comic Craft: Placing Text Digitally

Intro to Comic Craft: Text Balloons

Resizing Elements and Tone Correction- Digitally Correcting Watercolor Pages Part 2

2020-06-18T16:00:00.001-05:00

In Part 1 of this miniseries on digital corrections, we talked a little bit about digitizing comic pages and color correction. In this section, I'm going to talk about a correction I make often- head resizing. As I mention in the linked threads, I have a tendency to draw male heads too large (even after resizing them every step of the way!) and resizing heads at this stage is far more than simply selecting and adjusting! Since we're correcting a watercolor page, we also need to be able to fill in the visual gaps such a correction will cause. This type of correction gets a lot easier with practice, so if there's enough demand for a video tutorial or livestream on these types of corrections, I'm happy to accommodate and walk you guys through my process!

The main tools I rely on for these types of corrections are the Stamp and Clone tool. I fill gaps by creating another layer, Cloning from our source layer, and then Stamping onto our new layer. To help mesh the corrections, I'll use a rough edged brush (usually my custom color pencil brush) to erase the edges a bit so it doesn't stand out too much as a patch.

Left: Original, unaltered scan. Right:Finished and adjusted watercolor page.

The other type of correction we're covering today is adjusting the tone of the paper. This is a simple correction digitally- but a handy one to know, and can be useful for intensifying shadows for dramatic effect.

For this type of correction, we're mainly relying on creating a new layer, setting that layer to Multiply, and using a dark blue or purple for our shadow color. This is a great time to use a watercolor brush as well- although I frequently rely on my custom color pencil brush for this, as it replicates watercolor pencil nicely.

As mentioned in Part 1, there isn't an elegant way to share my tweets here on the blog, so while I'm sharing these threads here, consider this a preview- I really recommend you click through.

Resizing and Correcting Heads:

Thread Readable Here

I'm doing some surgery on a page from chapter 8, and wanted to share the proceedings because why not. So Rowan's head in this frame is too large, and I want to resize it. First, I'm going to select the head and manually resize it, leaving an ugly gap. pic.twitter.com/sKkknbSU9w
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

This is not done on the original of the page- if I have to make destructive changes like this, I make a copy and work on the copy.
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

I create a new layer beneath this, and using the clone tool, I begin cloning the orange background to fill in that gap. pic.twitter.com/dGEl3K0YCX
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

This is the resulting clone. Next, I'm going to use the eraser with a custom color pencil brush to rough up the edges around the edit, to make it harder to detect the clone. pic.twitter.com/lEdsiX3ziK
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

The result. It's still somewhat detectable, but not noticable if you're not looking for it. Now to clean up the hair. I'm going to use the clone tool again to fill this area. pic.twitter.com/IHgVelqj9Q
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

Not too bad. You can add a bit of shadow using a brush (a color pencil brush is my preference, to emulate real media) set to multiply, and that will help disguise the transition. pic.twitter.com/dSLZ00JWvk
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

My favorite brush for these sort of corrections. pic.twitter.com/91x7OjHIRz
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

Apply shadow color, erase a bit to lighten it up and make it seem more natural, reduce opacity. pic.twitter.com/mPl14IQET4
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

Finally, we need to fix the blue halo to hide the patch. For larger fixes, you can copy, paste, and erase. Cant see where to erase? Lower the opacity while you erase, then return it to normal to make sure it works. pic.twitter.com/hwXBxVLCGA
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 8, 2019

I'm not super concerned with a perfect patch here, as I want to go over this with a more intense blue. pic.twitter.com/zlMZU7RPNQ
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 8, 2019

This is what I get for always drawing men's heads at 6 heads, rather than at 7 heads. All three panels had to be resized and patched. pic.twitter.com/a74qa1SnSl
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 8, 2019

Adding Spot Shadows:

Thread readable here

Ok, so at the top panel, I want to create more of a shadow on Kara's back, to imply she's coming into a lit room from a dark hallway. So I'm going to put a layer of indigo there, to create a shadow. pic.twitter.com/jQIyv71xA8
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 8, 2019

I convert it to multiply, and reduce the opacity til it looks right. pic.twitter.com/cfQsHTyIt6
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 8, 2019

Resizing Heads and Adjusting Color for Panels:

Thread readable here

Back to doing chapter corrections! I want to finish correcting Chapter 8 tonight, starting w this page: pic.twitter.com/ucvcDs7hpC
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 10, 2019

Meldina's head is kinda big in this panel, making her look a lot younger than she is, so I'm going to fix that. I've copied my pages, merged the copy into one editable file, selected and resized her head, but not her hair (it's easier to patch this way) pic.twitter.com/QKlCTlRLLz
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 10, 2019

Now to patch it up! Clone tool to the rescue! pic.twitter.com/K7orj6GED2
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 10, 2019

I also want to make these three bottom panels darker. Select the panels I want, fill, change layer to Multiply, then erase. pic.twitter.com/J0MQofna8Y
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 10, 2019

Making the Page Darker:

Thread readable here

So this page has already had a fair amount of surgery, but I'd like to make it darker all over, so I'm going to do a fill, then erase, then add in darker shadows pic.twitter.com/Gg442frOfU
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 11, 2019

Color Correction-Digitally Correcting Watercolor Pages Part 1

2020-06-15T16:00:00.015-05:00

I often talk about day to day comic and art process on my Twitter, sharing what I'm working on while I'm working on it. Over the past few years, I've also started sharing tutorials via Twitter- using screencaps and explaining as I go. Twitter is frustrating to search as an archive, so I thought I'd share some of the better threads here on the blog, for people who don't follow me on Twitter, or maybe can't find the threads.

Raw Scan Vs Finished Page

Correcting traditional media digitally takes practice and some finesse, but once you have a routine down, it becomes much easier. I haven't talked about digital corrections a whole lot on the blog, mostly because it's just a pain for me to document. I'd like to remedy that by sharing some of those Twitter tutorials over the next few weeks.

These examples are from various chapters in 7" Kara Volume 2 and cover a range of corrections I make when digitizing pages.

When making corrections, I prefer to use Photoshop. While other graphics programs may be capable of some of these adjustments, I am not familiar enough with them to be able to provide more affordable alternatives. If you have any experience- please feel free to contact me about a guest post!

Scanning Pages

When I started 7" Kara, I used a smaller Canon scanner designed for scanning film strips. It does an excellent job scanning, but sometimes has trouble with larger images. At the time, I would scan in two halves, and use Photoshop's Automated Photo Merge option to try to stitch them together. Often, this process would fail, and I'd have to try to stitch them together digitally- a time consuming and frustrating process.

Joseph purchased me a large format Epson scanner as an engagement present. While I love my scanner, and the large format makes life a LOT easier, it's a $2000 minimum investment, so it's not something I would recommend straight off the bat.

I scan my watercolor comic pages at 600DPI (dots per inch) which makes for huge files, but allows for higher fidelity images that are easier to correct than their 300DPI counterparts.

Overview of my Color Correction Process:

Copy original layer, hide first layer. Copy that copy, and hide the first copy. All color adjustments will be made on this third copy.

Adjustments- Hue/Saturation

Move it over to the left a couple pegs, as my scanner tends to scan warmer

I may also increase the Saturation a bit, as sometimes my scanner desaturates

Duplicate this adjusted copy, set the duplicate to Multiply under Color Modes. Decrease the opacity down to usually around 15%- I usually compare this to the Original watercolor.

Color Correcting Scans

Thread 1 readable here

While not all pages need significant changes, it's nice to be able to use the eternal edit feature of Photoshop to be able to tweak glaring mistakes that were unfixable in watercolor. Left is the scan, right is the corrected version (inclu color correction) pic.twitter.com/TfDvypmg2E
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

To an extent, there's only so much you can fix without completely repainting, bc you don't want it to cease being a watercolor comic page, and start to become a digital comic page (nothing wrong with digital, this is just a w/c comic)
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) April 7, 2019

Adjusting and Accomodations for Intense Colors

Thread 2 readable here

I've talked about this before in a long thread about color correcting watercolor comic pages, but this is a good example (though not as good as the Hydrus) of what scanning will do to a color spread that's drastic.The original has a chartreuse background, w almost hot pink skin pic.twitter.com/rW85nC764r
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) July 11, 2019

As you can see in the example, the colors have definitely muted. It's..ok, if you didn't know better, you'd think it was fine, but it's lost a lot of it's impact. So we want to preserve the super green background, as well as the oranges and skintone. pic.twitter.com/UNQByChFVI
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) July 11, 2019

So we go to Hue/ Saturation, and drag it towards the warmer side (negatives). Well, ok, the skintone looks alright, but that background looks awful. pic.twitter.com/IopZVlfdT9
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) July 11, 2019

And maybe we wanna bump that saturation a bit, since my scanner tends to mute everything. So I copied the layer, and set it to multiply. I then reduce the opacity til it looks good (not necessarily accurate, but good, we're aiming for as good or better here) pic.twitter.com/N1mG6T5KCL
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) July 11, 2019

Ok, so our skintone is good, but what about that background? So if you check my layers, I have a copy turned off- this is a copy of my original scan. I'm going to drag that to the top, and make background adjustments there. pic.twitter.com/Ikejdur3bu
— 🍀Becca Hillburn🍀 (@Nattosoup) July 11, 2019

Stonehenge Aqua- Hotpress, Coldpress, and Black Review

2020-06-01T16:00:00.014-05:00

If you're on the market for a very affordable cottonrag paper that's available at a wide array of places, Stonehenge's Aqua might be the perfect paper for you. Legion Paper makes a variety of interesting papers, from printmaking papers to drawing papers to Yupo, a polypropylene 'paper' that plays well with loose alcohol ink techniques. A few years ago, Legion also started manufacturing watercolor papers- specifically Stonehenge Aqua, available in Coldpress and Hotpress.

You have a few more options beyond Hot and Cold though. You can get Stonehenge Aqua in 300lb and 140lb, in 'blocks' (bound only on two sides with inexpensive adhesive), pads, or sheets, and you can even get it in Black (keep reading for my Kitchen Sink review of Stonehenge Aqua Black!)

And shoot, Legion makes it easy to try out their papers- they offer cute lil mini pads in singles or packs.

Although I'd known about Stonehenge Aqua Hotpress and Coldpress for awhile due to Artsnacks samples, I'd blown them off until Kabocha convinced me to give them an earnest, full size try.

Stonehenge Aqua- 9"x12" Block, 140lb

Coldpress- Size not available on Amazon, $18.15 on Blick

Hotpress-$20.79 on Amazon, Size not available on Blick

Black- $23.13 on Amazon, $17.99 on Blick

Stonehenge Aqua Hotpress Vs Coldpress:

Stonehenge Hotpress Demonstration

Pros:

Affordable
Great if you're impatient and don't want to use too many washes or layers
Dries fairly fast
Smooth texture may be easier to control
For a hotpress, can take a lot of water well, but really shines with drier applications
A good paper for watercolor illustration

*Kabocha's Favorite

Pros:

Great for Inking

Cons:

While it can handle a lot of water well, a coldpress it is not. Sedimenting pigments may look 'dirty' on hotpress, as there's no valleys to fall into
May dry too fast for wet into wet techniques to work the way they would on coldpress

Verdict:

It's biggest flaw, to me, is that it's not a coldpress, but as a hotpress, it's amazing. When I recommend a hotpress paper- this is the one!

Stonehenge Coldpress Demonstration:

Pros:

Affordable
A good paper for watercolor illustration
Likes water and wet into wet applications
Study
Takes ink well

*Becca's Favorite

Cons:

Sometimes has a mind of it's own.
A more textured coldpress than some (I like this)

Verdict:

I actually paint on Stonehenge Coldpress pretty frequently now, as it's an economical alternative. It is definitely NOT Arches, and has a mind of it's own, so I wouldn't recommend this as an Arches dupe. That's not to say it's a finicky paper- but it seems to have less sizing than Arches, and may get kinda pulpy or reminiscent of painting on fabric. I don't find these issues to be too prevalent, just something I keep in mind when I'm painting.

A note about the 'blocks':

These blocks are bound using adhesive on two sides-if you like to work really wet, I recommend you remove the paper from the block and restretch before painting.

Stonehenge Aqua Black- Kitchen Sink Review:

Pros:

Opaque and metallic watercolor and gouache are gorgeous on this paper
Dye is fast- will not bleed or reactivate
Cottonrag- fairly uncommon with colored watercolor papers

Cons:

This paper seems a bit softer than the white Stonehenge Aqua, and is less welcoming to mixed media applications
POSCA markers eat this paper up

Verdict:

A decent paper with limited use, but economical enough to have around just for fun.

Saunders Watercolor Paper Review

2020-05-28T16:00:00.003-05:00

Before we dive into today's post, I want to point out that I did a little sprucing up around here- mainly with a new theme that really cleans up the layout. You may have some difficulty finding some of your favorite features, some functionality may be missing, or commonly available information like classes and convention appearances may be more difficult to find for the time being. If there's a function that you used and loved that's now missing, please shoot me an email- my goal in this update isn't to break the blog for readers, but to modernize it. If you're looking for the Intro to Comic Craft or Watercolor Basics series, they are both now at the top Pages section.

If you enjoy this blog, I recommend you go to the top and hit Subscribe- this is a free service that delivers my blog posts to your email, so you get them automatically every time the blog updates! I would also really appreciate it if you hit Share on posts you enjoyed and share them with others on your favorite social network!

Saunders Watercolor Paper

I'm always interested in finding good papers for illustration. A great watercolor paper really makes painting a delight, and I like having options beyond Arches. My search for great watercolor papers has introduced me to a lot of favorites- Canson's Moulin du Roy, Blick's Premier Watercolor paper, Stonehenge Aqua, and Saunder's.

In the past, I've taken a look at Saunder's Bockingford watercolor paper, a higher end cellulose paper. While I enjoyed painting on it, I didn't enjoy it more than painting on cheaper cottonrag papers like Fluid 100, and it was a bit too pricey to replace my favorite cellulose papers for watercolor sketches.

The parent company, St Cuthbert's Mill, is an English paper mill that produces watercolor paper, printmaking paper, and papers for digital art printing. My friends in the UK may be able to find St Cuthbert's Mill products at a more reasonable price- imported art supplies always tend to be pricy in the US. Availability is a bit iffy- you wont find St Cuthbert's Mill products at say Michaels, and you probably won't find them at many dedicated art supply stores either- checking the website, their international stockist are 'under' and 'maintenance'

St Cuthbert's Mill claims that Saunder's is a superior quality watercolor paper, and boasts the Royal Watercolour Society's endorsement. This cottonrag paper is available in Hot Press, Cold Press, and Rough press, and has been buffered with calcium carbonate to help prevent discoloration. Saunders is available in White and High White, and is suitable for use with watercolor, gouache, acrylic, pastel, pen and ink, pencil, charcoal, and printmaking. (Source)

Sizes included sheets (22"x30", 40"x60"), rolls (60"x33), and blocks (10"x7, 12"x9", 14"x10", 16"x12", 20"x14"), but you're most likely to find it in sheets and smaller blocks here in the US (Source)

This paper is mould made, and has been buffered to a pH of 7-9, with internal and external sizing (external is gelatine). The blocks are similar to Arches and Blick Premier- glued on four sides, and you may need a knife to remove sheets (Source)

Watercolor illustration created on Saunder's 140lb Coldpress watercolor paper

Readers know my art is more illustration and comics, and my needs are different from many other watercolor artists. I feel the video below does an excellent job getting into the nitty gritty of painting on this paper, so I highly recommend you watch it if you're looking for a deeper review!

Saunders Watercolor Paper- 9"x12" block bound pad

Originally purchased at David's Art Center in Metairie, Louisiana

9"x12 (Prices reflect time of writing)

$40.77 on Blick

Sheets on Blick

Compared to Arches

$35.22 on Blick

Saunders Vs Arches Coldpress- both papers stretched

Saunders	$40.77	Thicker	More like cardboard
Arches	$35.22	Thinner	A bit more like painting on fabric

Pros:

A sturdy, heavier 140lb watercolor paper

Can really stand up to a lot of washes, a lot of water

Handles multiple layers of watercolor well

Colors are vibrant and clean

Excellent for wet into wet techniques

Cons:
Kinda pricey compared to Arches or Stonehenge

Limited availability- may be difficult to find

Thoughts:

In order to print bluelines onto this paper, paper had to be removed from block

Ran through printer with no issues or misprinting

Ink dissolved cleanly from paper- not really visible during painting

I really enjoyed painting on this paper- it's a bit like painting on cardboard, but in a really positive way. Once this paper has been stretched, it's not liable to buckle or cockle, and it dries taut and flat. It can take A LOT of layers, as well as fairly fine detail.

Verdict:

While I really enjoyed painting on Saunder's, due to the price and some difficulty finding it in local stores (neither Jerry's nor Plaza carry it), I probably will not purchase it again. I find it similar to Cheap Joe's Kilimanjaro, which I also enjoy using, and will probably purchase more Kilimanjaro before I buy another block of Saunders. Saunders is available in sheets (which I never get around to cutting down), but not available in pads, which makes it inconvenient for running through a printer to print bluelines.

Some watercolorist have very different experiences from my own, so I recommend you check out some of the second opinions below!

Second Opinions:

Painting Watercolors

Parka Blogs

Wet Canvas

Life Imitates Doodles

Handprint

Scratchmade Journal

Watercolor Illustrator Starter Kit

2020-05-25T16:17:00.000-05:00

Let's say you've been watching watercolor tutorials for years now, and you're ready to take the plunge! You want to skip a lot of the student-grade stuff and invest your money in art supplies you're going to enjoy now- and for years to come.

Or maybe you're a professional artist- just new to watercolor. You already have a trained eye, skilled hands, and know that good art supplies are worth the investment- you just aren't sure where to start!

The labeling on most art supplies promise all sorts of things

artist quality
professional quality
high quality pigments

but since those promises aren't regulated, there's no guarantee that they're the truth. Over the years, I've reviewed a lot of art supplies that promised a lot and delivered frustration, so hopefully my recommendations today will help you buy with confidence!

All Amazon links are affiliate links- I see a small bounty when you shop using those links! This is a great way to help support the work I do here, at no extra cost to you.

My Reccs:

Paints:

Daniel Smith Essential 6 Mixing Set- $49.99 on Amazon

Qor Mini Palette- $69.78 on Amazon

Watercolor Pencils:
Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils- price varies by set on Amazon

Brushes:
Cotman Mop- $16.00 on Amazon
Princeton Aqua Elite- prices vary by set on Amazon

Creative Mark Mimic- Size 10 or larger- $19.79 on Jerry's Artarama

Silver Black Velvet Brushes- Price varies by size on DickBlick

Winsor and Newton Series 7 Brush- Size 5- $34.00 on DickBlick

Large Hake Brush- prices vary on size on DickBlick

Papers- Cellulose:

Canson Montval- prices vary by size on Amazon

Canson XL- prices vary by size on Amazon

Papers- Cottonrag:

Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress- prices vary by size on Amazon

Fluid 100- prices vary by size on Amazon

Blick Studio Premier- prices vary by size on DickBlick

Padbound Arches Coldpress- prices vary on Amazon

Wanna get all your shopping done in one place? Here's a link to the Amazon list!

My most commonly used brush type: round
My most commonly used brush material: squirrel synthetic mix
My most commonly used brush size- 6 or 8 round
My most commonly used paper sizes- 9"x12", 10"x14"
My most commonly used paper type for illustration- cottonrag
My most commonly used paper type for comic pages- cellulose
My most commonly used paper surface- coldpress texture
My most commonly used paper weight- 140lb

What about accessories?! I've written about them here! But here's a few relevant links and blurbs from that post!

Winsor and Newton Masking Fluid
This is the brand I use and have had best results with.

Pebeo Masking Fluid
This is the brand Kabocha uses and has had the best results with.

Masking Fluid Accessories:
Synthetic watercolor brushes
Brush Soap
Masking Fluid Pick Up

Sakura Pigma FB, MB, BB
These three brushpens provide a variety of lineweights and are alcohol marker and waterproof. I use these in many of my videos!

Cups
You can really use any, but I particularly like these collapsable cups by Faber Castell. I recommend two dedicated watercolor cups- one for clean, one for dirty.

Spray Bottle

Eye Droppers

Paper Towels
Any paper towels will work, but I really love Viva paper towels, especially the ones with no texture.

Gator Board or Corrogated Plastic
I use this to serve as a support for my stretched watercolor pages.
Tutorial:

Masking Tape
I prefer the 3M blue crepe masking tape linked above- it adheres to the page without tearing the paper on removal.

Bulldog Clips
Binder Clips
I use binder and bulldog clips to help secure my paper to the board when stretching watercolor paper.

Paint Keys

Top three: Canson Montval Watercolor Paper

Middle Three: Montval, Stonehenge Aqua Hotpress, Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress

Bottom Three: Canson Montval Artboard, Cheap Joe's Kilimanjaro, Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media Paper

What's to love about:

Daniel Smith Essential 6 Mixing Set

A lot of professional artists talk about mixing every color you need from a good set of limited colors. This is absolutely possible, and my pick for that is the Daniel Smith Essential 6. Daniel Smith is a professional line of watercolor made and manufactured in the US using high quality pigments. Their staff are friendly and willing to answer questions, and provide a lot of outreach. Starting with a limited palette of six colors helps you learn the intricacies of color mixing while saving A LOT of money- just add to your palette as you go.

I recommend also buying some inexpensive empty half pans and creating your own mini palette using a mint tin. Personally, I find working from half pans to be easier than working directly from tubes, and generates less waste.

Check out the fieldtest for these- they demonstrate just how mixable they are!

Qor Mini Palette

Maybe six colors just isn't enough. The Qor Mini Palette of 12 brilliant colors is one of my favorite go to palettes for travel or limited space. Although the halfpans are smaller than normal, a little goes a LONG way, and these colors are super saturated and fun to mix! This is a palette I grab all the time- it plays particularly well with cellulose watercolor papers.

Check out the unbox and swatch for my first impressions, and the fieldtest to see how well they handle! If you go through my Watercolor Basics playlist, you'll see this palette pop up often- it really is a favorite!

Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils

Watercolor pencils can be great for travel, or for adding finer details to watercolor illustration. I use them all the time for 7" Kara comic pages. I've used and reviewed a lot of different watercolor pencil brands over the years, and Derwent's Inktense line is one of my favorite, and a fairly economical option. These India Ink pencils are not true watercolor pencils, and will be fairly lightfast and indelible once dry, so save them for your final details!

These pop up in a number of my 7" Kara process posts, frequently in my Watercolor Basics series, and in several Youtube videos! A standalone review has been recorded, and is in the hopper, so keep an eye on my channel!

Cotman Mops

Mops are ideal for covering large areas of your paper with color or water! Cotman watercolor mops are available in two sizes and use synthetic fibers, so they're a very economical option for your studio that will last a LONG time. I use the same mop I purchased ten years ago, when I first started painting 7" Kara! This is great for toning larger panels and pages, and useful for stretching smaller watercolor pieces.

Since this is so frequently used, it's appeared in several Watercolor Basics posts, in a number of Holiday gift guides, and has made many an appearance on my channel!

Large Hake Brush

One of my favorites for stretching watercolor paper- I can apply water faster and more evenly than using a mop! These are really inexpensive, and great to have around.

Since this is a newer improvement in my life, it hasn't yet started to filter into blog posts and on Youtube, but keep an eye out, now that I've tried it, I'm convinced others should too!

Princeton Aqua Elite

A stiffer synthetic brush that's useful for applying gouache, thick applications of watercolor, or pulling really precise lines.

Creative Mark Mimic- Size 10 or Larger

Natural hair brushes, particularly squirrel and sable, are expensive at larger sizes. I recommend buying synthetic brushes for these larger sizes- they're economical and will last a long time. I use synthetics for anything size 8 or larger, with my largest brush being a Creative Mark Mimic in size 26. These are really handy for blocking in color or applying light glazes, and the Mimic is far less stiff than many other inexpensive synthetic brushes.

Since this is so frequently used, it's appeared in several Watercolor Basics posts, in a number of Holiday gift guides, and has made many an appearance on my channel!

Silver Black Velvet Brushes

A mix of synthetic and natural hair brushes, Silver Black Velvet handle ALMOST like Kolinsky Sable, but cost far less. These are great studio workhorses, and the mix of synthetic add durability, while the natural squirrel hair holds onto water and paint to reduce dribbling.

These appear in several newer watercolor videos, as well as in my 2018 gift guide!

Winsor and Newton Series 7

Brush work is important- it adds a lot of vitality to a piece. Having a brush that work WITH you, not just pushing paint around or puddling everywhere, makes painting a delight and will improve your work.

The Series 7 is one of the best commonly available Kolinsky Sable brushes available in the US, and while quite expensive, it's an investment that will make painting a joy. After years of using synthetic and squirrel brushes, the Series 7 seems to dance on the paper, and a well maintained round is capable of very thin lines as well as bold brushwork. The flagged hairs of Kolinsky Sable hold on to paint and water, so drip drip dribbles are far less common, and the brush itself is easier to control.

Since this is so frequently used, it's appeared in several Watercolor Basics posts, in a number of Holiday gift guides, and has made many an appearance on my channel!

Canson Montval

While this isn't everyone's favorite (I've gotten a little flack for recommending it from folks who've been burnt), it's still my paper of choice for 7" Kara pages. I find it handles ALMOST like a cottonrag, but is capable of much finer detail- a must for painting comic pages.

Since this is a personal favorite, it's appeared in several blog posts discussing papers for watercolor, and of course it appears in every 7" Kara process post- so you see it used frequently! It's also in quite a few watercolor comic videos on the channel.

Obviously, since I've used it for hundreds of comic pages, I've talked about it a fair amount just about everywhere, from Twitter to Youtube to this blog. And of course, you can check out my handiwork by reading 7" Kara!

Canson XL

Sometimes it's nice just to have cheap paper handy- after all, sometimes you just want to sketch in watercolor! I use Canson XL for watercolor sketches (I really like how commonly available their little watercolor sketchbooks are, I can get them just about anywhere with a small art supply section, even rural Luling's Walmart) and creating paperchildren. Thicker than Moleskin and Handbook watercolor books, Canson XL may be a great choice for your watercolor doodles.

I use Canson XL pretty frequently so if you follow my Instagram, you've probably seen pieces painted on XL. Here's an example!

Padbound Arches Coldpress

For standalone watercolor illustrations and paintings, I love using cottonrag watercolor paper. Finding the right paper for your needs is important- there is no panacea paper designed to suit every artist. I really like Arche's padbound Coldpress sheets- already cut to workable sizes, fairly affordable, and will run through my printer like a dream. I buy the 140lb weight and always stretch my cottonrag paper.

Since this is so frequently used, it's appeared in several Watercolor Basics posts, in a number of Holiday gift guides, and has made many an appearance on my channel!

Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress

Blockbound on two sides, you may find this paper a bit prone to buckling or removing itself from the pad, especially at larger sizes. I remove it from the block to run through my printer, so I end up stretching this paper regardless. Their coldpress is even available in black!

If you're more of a fan of the smooth texture of hotpress, their Hotpress cottonrag watercolor blocks are excellent, and less prone to self-removal, as working on hotpress dictates fewer super wet washes.

Check out this comparative review between Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress and Hotpress!

Fluid 100

A coldpress cottonrag paper that has ALMOST the texture of hotpress (although it's available in hotpress too!). This is a very mild blockbound paper available in a wide range of sizes. It's very economical for a blockbound cottonrag paper, and has a very easy to work with temperament- so it's a great cottonrag for beginners!

Check out the fieldtest here for more information! And here's a standalone review.

Blick Studio Premier

I use this as a more economical alternative to blockbound Arches. A favorite during my Unbox and Swatch videos- this paper has a lot of tooth, and an excellent block binding that's not going to self remove. This is produced for sale exclusively at Dick Blick, so availability is limited, but you can order it online if you're willing to wait a week for it to arrive at your door!

This paper pops up in most unbox and swatch watercolor reviews, but I also have a timelapse painting on Blick Premier.

Learn more about the paints you're buying:

Pick a Palette- Selecting the Paints You Need

Pigments and Paints

Learn more about the papers I'm recommending:

All About that Paper

Learn more about the brushes I'm recommending:

The Great Brush Off

Watercolor Brush Overview

Waterbrushes Vs Traditional Watercolor Brushes

I've talked about watercolor recommendations for younger artists and for beginners in some of my Holiday Gift Guides, so if you're looking for something a little less expensive, I recommend checking those out! And I'm always happy to provide curated recommendations- via Twitter, Patreon, or in my art-centric Discord server, The Paintbox!

Watercolor Gift Guide for Young Artists Ages 9-13

Watercolor Artist Gift Guide: Beginner

2018 Holiday Gift Guide

Top 10 Products of 2018

The Journey to Kickstarter- 7" Kara Volume 2

2020-05-21T16:00:00.005-05:00

Intrepid blog readers may have noticed that my updates have decreased significantly. I haven't stopped writing- I'm just putting all that brainpower towards creating great content for the 7" Kara Volume 2 mailing list!

It's been a long road finishing up Volume 2, and I still have a little ways left to walk, but I want to share the journey with you guys. My goal for the mailing list is to not only get you excited about Volume 2, but to share some behind the scenes process and comic knowledge. I have some early access tutorials queued up detailing the planning, drawing, inking, and watercolor process for the bonus Naomi chapter, and I'm excited to share my adventures in advertising and newly gained print knowledge. I plan on keeping some of that exclusive to the mailing list, so if you're curious about making your own comics, sign up!

The 7" Kara Volume 2 mailing list has already launched, so if you want comic process and news delivered to your inbox, you can sign up now! It's sorta like those halcyon days of feedreaders- you don't have to check your favorites or remember my URL!

If you want to support Volume 2, but you're not interested in process, you can join us on the Kickstarter prelaunch page and tell Kickstarter you want to be notified when we launch.

If you haven't had a chance to read 7" Kara, the first six chapters are available as a webcomic! You can read it at

7inchkara.com

7inchkara.tumblr.com

7" Kara may be on a webcomic hiatus, but I've been busily working on new chapters! Volume 2 includes three never before shared chapters, a guest art gallery, and LOADS of new content! And I have big plans for Kickstarter tiers and stretch goals, including home and classroom activities for parents, teachers, and librarians! I can't wait to tell you all about it via email!

I'm excited to share all the good things I've been working on!

Teaching Online Vs Teaching in Person

2020-05-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

Teaching online and teaching in person are two very different experiences, but don't let the fact that there's a learning curve in both directions deter you from trying! Teaching, both online and off, can be improved with practice, feedback, and research.

This isn't intended to be an in-depth post- teaching art, particularly as a freelance worker- can be complicated and nuanced, and would merit it's own series. Even then, I wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable sharing such a series as a How To, as I definitely still have much to learn.

I have a fair amount of experience teaching online and in person, and am always open to learning new techniques to improve my work and the viewer's experience.

** denotes personal experience teaching this kind of class

Teaching Online:

Screenshot from a recent Livestream workshop hosted on Youtube

Options:
Written- blog post**
Written- zine
Youtube- standalone**
Youtube- livestreams**
Twitch Streams
Youtube Live
Instagram Live
Zoom class**
Zoom webinar
Recorded workshop**
Podcasts**
Google Hangouts On Air
Skillshare
Bluprint
Discord

Pros:

Can do it from the comfort of your own home
Don't need someone else's approval to start
Online classes can really expand your reach and audience- you're not just tied to local students
Easier to share digital resources
Easier to record online events and share them than it is to record an inperson event and record it later

Cons:

Need equipment that can handle recording, streaming, editing, photography
Technical issues can destroy the entire workshop, rather than just acting as an obstacle
Internet connectivity can make or break you, so people in rural areas (like South East Louisiana) may find themselves at a disadvantage (speaking from experience here)
May not see consistent payment- or any payment at all
Monetizing free resources is challenging
Responsible for your own promotion
Tied to the whims of the audience in terms of promotion and support- you REALLY need that positive word of mouth to grow
Can be depression to never see the work your students make, or not have real time interactions with your students
Students may not have access to the materials
Difficult to keep people engaged
Difficult to gauge how effective the material is
Sometimes difficult to address and correct problems
Online content is often taken for granted, and people don't value online content as much as they do physical, in person events

Teaching in Person:

Photo from one of my comic classes taught with St Charles Parish Library

Options:
9-5 regular teaching position
Convention panels**
Convention Workshops**
Library workshops**
Classes through an art supply store**
Subcontracting under another art school**
Private tutoring
Meetup

Pros:

PAYMENT! - Generally when you teach physical classes, payment is an expected part of the transaction. If payment isn't mentioned by your employer, make sure you mention what your rate is
Working with students in person, in real time, allows you to get to know them as people, provides an opportunity for socialization, and allows you to give them real time feedback
If you provide the materials, you can guarantee students have access to what you want them to use

Cons:

Often responsible for providing all or most of the materials
When working as a contract employee, responsible for the above, as well as creating lesson plans, activities- this takes up a lot of time that you may not see compensation for
Often need someone willing to give you that first chance
Transportation! Students often need to leave home to attend in person classes so a lack of public transportation, traffic issues, and lack of parking can severely hurt attendance
Often need assistance

Notes on Teaching:

Promotion:

For in person events, it's often easier to promote that event in person or using physical materials

Fliers
Mentioning events at other events
Requesting students talk about it with friends

For online events, it's easier to promote that event online

Utilize your social media accounts to talk about your classes
Use hashtags to reach interested students outside your network
Ask friends to share your posts

I've talked about promoting your in-person classes on a budget in my Promoting a Class or Workshop post.

Teaching online can be a great way to get some practice in teaching, and learning HOW to teach. Just because you're a skilled artist doesn't mean you're cut out for teaching- social skills, a genuine love for other people, and the ability to think critically and dissect process are all important both online and off.

If you're new to teaching in person, I would recommend NOT volunteering to teach classes free. This was a method I took when I was first starting out, and to my dismay, I was informed by several sources that they would only consider PAID classes as work experience. This was a frustrating misstep, as I'd offered my services free so I could build up a work history.

You may find it challenging to find someone willing to give you that first paid opportunity. Even with dozens of workshops under my belt (taught through conventions), two teaching internships, AND an MFA, I struggled to find an employer willing to work with me here in Nashville.

For example, I'd lived in Nashville FIVE YEARS, and consistently pitched classes and workshops, before finally convincing NCE to give me a shot. This first class- Making Comics and Zines, opened the door to other teaching venues such as Plaza and The Little Arthouse. However, it took five years of consistent pitching, and constantly mentioning that I teach comic classes to convince someone to give me that first chance here in Nashville. The takeaway here is PERSISTENCE.

Teaching online isn't a good fit for everyone. Personality is a huge part of online popularity, promotion, and even extends to classes and tutorials. You may have to work hard to find your niche online, and may find that it's not necessarily worth the time and distraction away from other projects. You have a LOT options when it comes to streaming, each with their own unique ecosystem, so it pays to do your research and watch a few examples to get a feel for what's right for you.

Online retention is a challenge, as users are spoiled for choice and entertainment. Music can help keep students engaged during online workshops and classes. I recommend doing your research and using Royalty Free and Creative Commons music during livestreams and as background music during tutorials. Actively engaging the chat, utilizing a facecam during streams, and using a mic are all great ways to stay connected during streamed events.

Programs like Zoom have their unique pros and cons. Zoom allows you to host a large audience AND interact with them. With a little savvy, you can control when students can interrupt the conversation, and students with webcams are able to show you their work. Unfortunately, Zoom streams have been hijacked a few times with illegal content, so you may want to be careful with how you promote Zoom streams.

More on Teaching Comics and Art:
Tips for Teaching Comics
Teaching Comics Professionally
Teaching a Comic Craft Module in Your Classroom
Materials for Teaching Comics Classes
In Defense of the Mini Comic
Promoting a Class or Workshop

May 2020 Covid19 Update

2020-05-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! It's been awhile since I've updated the blog, hasn't it? I thought a catch up post was in order! As always, if you're interested in what I have to say, Twitter is a great place to keep up with daily goings on and to chat! And if you enjoy my art, I share it regularly on Instagram.

COVID19 has most of my readers in some form of lockdown, and that includes me. That means no just for fun trips to Jerry's Artarama and no in-person classes at PlaZa, so as you can imagine, that also means I'm buying far fewer new art supplies. While I miss going to art supply stores (they're so relaxing for me!), it's nice to focus a bit more on my backlog of reviews. And it's not just PlaZa that's had to cancel classes- my classes with The Little Arthouse, Nashville Public Library, and Watkins Art College were all cancelled as well, leaving my March financially bereft. Fortunately, as of today, my family and I are all mostly in good health, and I hope this can continue.

So what's been going on?

In March, right before the stay home orders went out, I flew down to help my mother for surgery. Unfortunately, her surgery was cancelled, and I ended up staying in Louisiana an extra week, hunkering down in self quarantine. Joseph drove down to come get me, and we drove the eight hour drive back up to Nashville (and more self quarantine). While there, I painted a BUNCH of etegami postcards and reviewed a bunch of mechanical pencils. Artnerds have already received all the videos as early access, and the etegami tutorials drop on Mondays on my Youtube.

To help others (and myself) deal with all this self isolation, I started streaming again, switching our night from Friday to Saturday. Every week, I try to present a self contained art workshop- the goal is to create a piece of art from start to finish, live on stream. We've done watercolor marker waterlilies, metallic fish on black watercolor paper, alcohol marker tree frogs, and three color roses, and this week, we're going to do poison dart tree frogs in POSCA on black paper! The stream starts at 8PM CST on Saturday nights, so I hope I'll see you there!

Even before the stay home orders, I've been painting SO MUCH. I've mentioned it on just about every social platform, but I'm just about finished with 7" Kara Volume 2, so I've been working on painting bonus illustrations to finish out and promote the book once we're ready to launch. I definitely want to talk about my journey to Kickstarter more in another post, since we've been trying a few different things. Some of these paintings have been recorded as tutorials, but many were not. You can check out almost everything I've been working on recently on Instagram!

Joseph's been working like a mad scientist to get an advertising campaign going for Volume 2. His first priority has been starting and populating a Volume 2 mailing list. This one's a little different from the Artnerd mailing list- the Artnerd mailing list focuses more generally on art and art supplies, but the Volume 2 mailing list is all about creating 7" Kara Volume 2! My writing time and brainspace has gone from updating the blog to creating posts for the mailing list, so if you're interested in how I make comics, or would like information on Volume 2, please sign up!

As a thank you, you have your choice of a free PDF of Volume 1, or a free PDF of Lilliputian Living Volume 1!

Right at the end of April, my mom's surgery was rescheduled, so Joseph and I drove the 8 hours down and 8 hours back up to help out after that. Unfortunately, it seems like her surgeon didn't get all of it, so while she's scheduled to go in AGAIN on the 22nd, I cannot afford to make the drive twice in the same month, so sadly, I'll be staying here.

Although in-person classes have been cancelled, and I've lost a significant stream of income, a few of my favorite employers are moving towards online class options, and haven't forgotten me! Hopefully I'll be able to regularly host Zoom classes in the near future! If you're a parent, teacher, librarian, or someone interested in private art lessons, and you'd like to arrange for Zoom classes for yourself or a small group of people (either in person or remotely), please contact me via email! I'm happy to help you design a curricula suited to your needs.

Growing in in Louisiana, I'm no stranger to hurricanes, cancelled school, life put on hold, and even sleeping on the floor of extended family. In some ways, this isn't so different from self isolating due to Covid- hurricanes have a way of shutting everything down and massively changing the trajectory of your life. Unfortunately for those of us who have suffered hurricanes, only the areas affected by that hurricane really appreciate the damage done, and even within those areas, accommodations may not be made to help those affected catch up. At least with Covid, we're all in this together and can empathize.

While my life has changed in some ways (I sorely miss teaching live classes, and I miss hitting up my favorite art supply stores), in others it's no different from the Nashville status quo. I've always been highly reliant on the internet for communication, sharing my work, and finding new work, and have used Youtube and this blog as teaching tools for a long time. I definitely miss social opportunities, and I know that the loss of those takes an emotional and mental toll, but it's important to stay home and try to create work that will entertain and uplift others.

It's almost like every family, every house, is it's own little raft floating on the ocean. Amazon deliveries are delivered via albatross, messages are shouted from raft to raft, or floated via bottles. Now that the Volume 2 mailing list has launched, I have a bit of brainspace open for updating the blog, and I'd love to talk to yall a bit more about my recent teaching experiences, how quarantine has affected the life of this work from home artist, and share my future adventures.

Have some free time? Need to entertain your kids?
Why not read 7" Kara together? You can download the PDF using the link above, or you can read the first six chapters at 7inchkara.com

Want to start a new hobby? I have lots of great art classes on Youtube! Now is a great time to
Learn to draw:
Favorite Drawing Tutorials
Start Making Comics:
Intro to Comic Craft
Making Comics and Zines
Learn watercolor:
Quick and Easy Watercolor
Watercolor Basics

Everything You Need to Know About Watercolor Markers

2020-04-13T15:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night, I hosted a live watercolor marker workshop over on Youtube. We talk about different types of waterbased markers, some techniques to use them, and together we use watercolor markers to paint a vibrant waterlily.

If you couldn't make it Saturday, you can check out the livestream here:

Watercolor markers come in two main ink types- pigment based inks (Winsor and Newton watercolor markers, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor markers) and dye based inks, with dye based inks being the majority. I talk about watercolor markers a bit more in this blog post!: https://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2018/02/watercolor-markers-watercolor-basics.html

Dye based watercolor markers don't really differ from regular waterbased markers like Crayola Supertips- what differs most is the tip and the way the markers are marketed, so if you have Supertips around, you can use these as watercolor markers!

In fact, here's a couple tutorials that show how to use Crayola Supertips as watercolor markers!

Crayola Supertips Watercolor Hack:

Love Beam: Crayola Supertip Tutorial

Undersea Mermaid

There are a few stand out great dye based watercolor markers though- Ecoline's (love the brush tip, and they're refillable!), and brushpen style watercolor markers like Mermaid Markers and Pentel's dye based brushpens. Keep reading for embedded videos of those reviews!

Here's a video to help you understand the differences between pigment and dye based watercolor markers. This should help you figure out which markers might be best for you!

The Best Watercolor Marker ?!- A Watercolor Marker Demonstration:

The difference between dye and pigment is important- it's going to drastically change how you handle these markers, and change what techniques you use.

In general, dye based watercolor marker art is going to have no granulation, it may have color separation as the dyes separate out into water, and how you actually handle the markers will differ, as dye based inks are often prone to reactivation AND staining.

In the end, your dye based watercolor marker art will also have a color gamut similar to alcohol markers, although they handle quite differently.

Pigment markers (including those that utilize India Ink) tend to be more permanent when dry, so you may not be able to blend or lift color. With direct application, they may stain the paper, and may be more difficult to blend using direct techniques.

So something you're going to want to consider when working with watercolor markers, regardless of ink type, is the fact that your tips will probably abrade the paper. Unlike alcohol marker ink, which dries almost immediately, waterbased and watercolor markers take longer to dry, leaving the paper vulnerable.

Watercolor markers, when applied to the paper, don't blend out as nicely as tube and pan watercolors, and you may not be able to blend out at all. This is why you may also want to work with a ceramic plate or non porous work surface and watercolor brushes or a waterbrush. This is also helpful for color mixing, and creating diluted version of your colors.

So now that we've talked about the basics, I'm going to share a few reviews for watercolor markers I like, in case you're in the market for markers!

Ecoline Watercolor Markers- Foam rubber brush tip, dye based, refillable

Blog Post: https://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2017/07/ecoline-markers-and-liquid-watercolors.html

Mermaid Markers- Brush tipped, dye based

Blog Post Review: https://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2018/02/mermaid-markers-watercolor-basics.html

Pentel Brushpens- Brush tipped, dye based

Kuretake Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Blog Post: https://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2015/11/watercolor-marker-review-zig-clean.html

Winsor and Newton Watercolor Markers (these are going to be discontinued soon):

Blog Post: https://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2014/10/mini-review-winsor-newton-watercolor.html

Albrecht Durer Watercolor Markers:

Karin Brushmarker Pro- Reviewing Polish Markers

And now some tutorials to help inspire your art!

Watercolor Marker Workshop (Winsor and Newton)

Winsor and Newton Watercolor Marker Tutorial

In the Name of the Moon! A Great Alternative to Alcohol Markers:

Painting Vibrant Succulents with Arrtx Watercolor Markers:

Mermaid Markers Field Test:

Paint a Pumpkin- Albrecht Durer Watercolor Markers on Strathmore Toned Blue:

Succulent with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers:

Pentel Brushpen Watercolor Field Test:

Succulents Step by Step with Ecoline:

Colored Leads and Clean Color Markers Tutorial:

Axolotl Illustration Tutorial with Zig Clean Color Real Brush:

In the Spirit of Friendship:

A Field of Flowers- Loose Watercolor Tutorial:

Here's a whole playlist of waterbased marker reviews and tutorials, if you want more!