Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Stan Sakai wrote:I buy my paper (Strathmore 2 ply, kid finish, 500 series) from on-line retailers. They come in large sheets (23 x 29"), and I cut them myself into 11x17" sheets. It comes in reams of 25 sheets. I have bought these from either Utrecht or D ick Blick. I don't care for those preprinted comic boards, because the paper quality is not as high as I would like it to be. I also get my ink (Badger Black Opaque) on-line. This ink is difficult to get in stores, as they go through a different distributor than what most stores deal with. I usually buy mass quantities of paper and ink--enough for a 5 year supply, at least.

I buy everything else from art or office supply stores. Swain's Graphics in Glendale, near where I live has a twice yearly 20% off storewide sale. I stock up on sketchbooks and other supplies then. The Aames lettering guides can be picked up at art stores, and they last forever if taken care of. My lettering pens are the Rotring Art Pens (fine, and bold). I toss the cartridges that they come with, and buy the Rotring Ink adaptors. They enable me to fill them with the ink of my choice--Badger Black.

For a more detailed look at my work material and habits, look at the "How I Do It" story in the Amazing Heroes Interview (#187, I think). It was reprinted in the UY Book 5 HC, The Art of UY #1 comic from Radio, and The Art of UY HC from Dark Horse.

Stan Sakai wrote: I still do my lettering by hand. If that is the route you want to take, you first should pick up an Aames Lettering Guide. It is available for a few dollars at most art supplies and drafting stores.

Stan Sakai wrote: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.

Stan Sakai wrote:Hi Trent,

The pen I use is a Koh-i-noor Art Pen. It was discontinued about 15 years ago. Do not confuse this with the Rotring Art Pen (which I use for lettering). I have about 5 Koh-i-noors left, so I'll have to go looking for a replacement in a few years. It is a nice flexible nib fountain pen. Sergio also used it, but had to switch to a Pelikan drawing pen (I don't know the model). I used to use a brush, but found the pen more convinient and you don't have to wash it out.

I use Badger Black Opaque ink. It is a nice free-flowing, waterproof ink really made for the airbrush. I used to use FW ink, but they changed their formula a dozen years ago to an acrylic base. I called to complain to the company, and was told the Badger Black is FW's old formula--the one I like. It may be hard to find among the Higgins and Koh-i-noor inks though. I usually buy it online, 30 bottles at a time. Other artists, like Ken Steacy, prefer Higgins Black Magic which is easily available.

I use Pentel Brush Pens to fill in my blacks. They are nylon tipped brushes with an ink reservoir in the handle. I dump out the dye it come with, and replace it with Badger Black. To do this, squeeze out the dye from the handle, wash it out. Then, holding it upright, squeeze the handle to let the air out, and, using a dropper, slowly drop in the ink while releasing pressure on the brush handle. Suction will draw the ink into the brush pen reservoir. When you're done with it, just cap it. No need to wash it out as you would a regular brush.

The ink I used in the DVD is Rotring Artist Color, a pigmented dye. They have two types--transparent and opaque. I use the transparent ones. It works like liquid watercolor, and, because it has pigment, it will not fade as readily as dyes or markers.

Cel Vinyl is an opaque water based, vinyl acrylic color system. It was used a lot in the animation industry to color the animation cels--hence the name. It is sold in plastic bottles. It works very nicely. You can thin it down with water to make a wash, or use it directly from the bottle if you want an opaque look. Do not fill the Pentel Brush Pen with this or it will clog immediately. Use regular brushes. Scott Morse is a master with this medium. He was also interviewed for AnimePlay, in which he did a painting. It's really worth looking for.

Stan Sakai wrote:I buy Artist Colors at the art store. In my case, Swain's Graphics in Glendale. They should be pretty easily available, if not in stores then on-line through D ick Blick or other sites. They come in bottles, and are available as opaque or transparent. I use transparent.

I use the same Pentel Art Brushes with the Artist Colors, but I do not fill the reservoirs. I just dip them. Again, the advantage is that you just cap them, and don't have to wash them out.

I use the turquoise as the base for Usagi's kimono. I may layer it with a darker blue, or even purple to act as shading to shape the figure.

Stan Sakai wrote:The paper that I use for my regular pages are 2 ply Strathmore 500 series regular (kid) finish bristol board.

When using water colors, Artist Colors, or Cel Vinyl I use a 5 ply. I used to use illustration board, but they're heavy and take up a lot of space. The 5 ply bristol is thick enough to withstand buckling, but thin enough to store easily.

The paper that I used in that AnimePlay DVD was just regular 2 ply 400 series bristol from a pad. That works pretty good for quick drawings and washes.

I use canvas board for oil paintings, such as covers for UY Book 4, 5, and 6.