Monday, November 19, 2007



Here's a step by step look at my method on this Dredd strip.

I first scan the pencil page with my trusty A3 scanner (not an A2 as I had said!) then in photoshop I magically turn the pencil into ink with the use of the image-adjustments-levels buttons. This takes a while to get right but not as long as actually inking, and you can't spill a bottle of ink over the page like I've often nearly done! I then turn this layer to a multiply (under layers) and start colouring on layers placed under the line layer. Simple!

I do feel a twinge of guilt about using this method after spending so many years learning how to ink and finding the tools to do it right, but times change and this way is so much faster, something that really suits me in my life right now since our little one was born. You can blame my daughter!

6 comments:

dylan said...

looks great Dave, just like inks. The problem I have is that it takes me as long to ink something as to pencil that tight.

D.TAYLOR said...

Doesn't sound like a problem to me Dylan! When your inks are so lush why bother with my silly method?!!
(go over to see Dylan's blog if you know what's good for you folks!)

Jim Boswell said...

Sweeeeeet! Great to see the stage-by-stage (and there's no way my pencils are that clean either!). By the way Dave, how many parts is this new Dredd story you're working on?

Colours look great as usual... I love how you use unusual colours here and there, like greens and blues mixed into the skin tones, etc. Truly scrotnig.

Anonymous said...

great behind the scenes stuff dave ,looking great as usual, you make it look so easy ,i also love the fact your drawing dredd with an european art vibe which will work for rebellion shifting anderson/dredd to the european market .
well done mate
best
jon

D.TAYLOR said...

Ok...seems I made a slight mistake here. I said I had an A2 scanner...I don't! It's an A3. Just big enough to scan a whole page of work...and A2 would simply be greedy! Sorry about that folks!

Anonymous said...

Plus if they made them that big they'd cost a million quid for all the gizmology to keep the lens from constantly shifting off centre!

W P