Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Hi, all! I'm Nate Piekos. I run Blambot Comic Fonts & Lettering.

USAGI was one of those "formative" comics that got me interested in the industry as a kid and to this day -- now that I make a living in that industry -- USAGI is the ONLY comic I MUST read each month. Honest. It also furthered my interest in Japanese art and swordsmanship and I spent several years studying Aikido and Iaido.

When I first started out I went to my first convention in Chicago, and sat in Artists' Alley like every other struggling creator. I had talked to Stan once or twice via e-mail before then. Well, during the show I came back to my table (it had been a pretty lousy weekend) and my wife was beaming. "STAN SAKAI just came by looking for you!" -- I couldn't believe it. It was the perk that I needed to keep me motivated.

I see Stan every year at San Diego and he's always a treat to talk to and the nicest guy in the biz. This year I had time to do a quick pencil sketch at my booth to say thanks in some small way... (apologies for the poor quality - this is a scan of a xerox.)



ENough gushing! On to my question.

Now that I'm lettering comics as my full time job, I've had time to begin illustrating my own comic strip, ATLAND. And I'm continually on a quest to find the right inking tool for me. I've recently decided that I get my best results with a flexible crowquill (hunt 107 filed down slightly - same tool traditionally used for hand-lettering comics) but I'd really like to save time by having a refillable fountain pen that gets the same results. Then I remembered reading in the ART OF USAGI comics that Stan used something along those lines (pun intended).

Stan, what brand and nib size fountain pen do you use? I'd rather not spend hundreds of dollars trying to find something similar until I at least try something I KNOW has the right line weight I'd like.

I apologize for the long winded post!

Abayo!

~Nate Piekos

Whoa, sweet drawing!

Welcome to the Dojo, Blambot

Yes, I see Nate every year at San Diego. He has a booth there, just as I do. I also did an interview for his website, quite a few years back.

I don't like to clean pens, so I use a flexible tip fountain pen. I use a Koh-i-noor Art Pen. Unfortunately, they discontinued it about 12 years ago. I bought out whatever I could find at the time. It was very inexpensive--about $15 back then. Sergio uses a Pelikan fountain pen. It has a nice heft to it. That is one thing I don't like about the Art Pen--it's a little too light.

There is a Rotring Art Pen currently on the market, so don't confuse the two. I do use the Rotring for lettering and for inking details in my art.

The ink I use is the Badger Black Opaque. It is old FW formulation. FW went to acrylic years ago. The Badger is a free-flowing, opaque ink. Unfortunately, Badger distributes its own products, so it is not as widely available as other brands.

Thanks, Stan! I'll hunt around the web. Maybe there's a few of those Koh-I-Nor Art Pens floating around out there somewhere. I've already scoured my local art stores and tested a few pens, but nothing has been as satisfactory as my old Hunt 107 dipper. If I find any, I'll let you know!

And thanks, Ziritrion! I originally started out as an illustrator, but after I got out of design school, my lettering and font work took off and now that it supports me, I have time to illustrate again. Having a blast with my new comic.

~Nate

Blambot, do you have a website for your own art?

Certainly!

My comic fonts and lettering site is here:

http://www.blambot.com - I've done work for Marvel, DC, Oni and Dark Horse.

My comic strip, ATLAND is here:
http://www.pvcomics.com/atland/ - there is going to be a collected print version of all the strips from 2004 in your local comic shop in the 1st quarter of 2005.

I also write an interactive online horror novel called DEAD ENDS:
http://www.visitdeadends.com

Thanks!

~Nate

Hi Nate,
I visited your Atland site, and your strip looks terrific. I'm especially impressed with that horse you drew. I really dislike drawing horses. That's why Usagi walks all over the place. I'm looking forward to the printed version of Atland.

Thanks, Stan! That means a lot. The book is at the printers now.

Of course, you're in my "thank you" section.

~N

Stan Sakai wrote:Hi Nate,
I visited your Atland site, and your strip looks terrific. I'm especially impressed with that horse you drew. I really dislike drawing horses. That's why Usagi walks all over the place. I'm looking forward to the printed version of Atland.

Really? The most prominent horse that Usagi did ride [Aside from at Mifune's side], I thought was drawn very well. Very wispy and realistic, I agree that the personality of Mr. Peikos' horses was not there, but I always believed that it was because of the animal characters having all the personality, so if you were to draw a horse similar to Mr. Peikos' I would expect it to talk.

The Atland site is very impressive. Very classy and professional. You have quite a variety of neat looking fonts.

I also like the "How I make a strip" section. The minotaur or bull character is fantastic! I'd like to see more of him. I can identify with the part of making a sketch that doesn't look like anything to anyone else.

In the Blambot Studio I have the large sized "Usagi on horseback" full color print framed. The one where he's riding towards the viewer with the reins in his mouth, and an army of samurai riding behind him. That horse looks great to me!

Thanks for the kind words, guys! I view each new page as an opportunity to improve my art. Stan's work has always been a big influence on me. There's a strong simplicity there that is one of my personal goals as an illustrator.

Here's a sneak peek at one of the pinups I did for my print book. Probably the most obviously Stan-influenced. Features my pixie character relaxing on the bay.



~N

Great print! The water is awesome! I think it's a trick to pull that off: an element in the artwork that is very realistic, combined with simplified cartoon elements. In this case it works well. I'm jealous of your computer skills.

Thanks, Andy!

~N

I really dislike drawing horses

I remember seeing you on YTV and you were talking about drawing
horses.

Welcome to the UY Dojo, Nate! We have probably met at the SDCC. If not, then I'll make it a point to stop by your booth next year. Hopefully you can make it out to the UYD gathering then. I checked out your website. Awesome! Do you do all the design yourself? Anyway it looks really great. Cool fonts too.