We're getting into the Sequential Art groove this time around by posting this as a comic page itself! We used Strathmore Smooth Bristol - Lined for Pages. The sheets have non-reproducible blue grid lines to aid in laying out your comic panels and to allow for bleed and trim. When they say non-reproducible, they aren't kidding, we had to do some serious work in Photoshop so they could be seen in this post! Without further ado...

Click for a larger image.

Click here for more about bristol.
Click here for an interview with comic artist James Sturm.

Tell us what you think about this month's post! Email LearningCenter@utrecht.com.

This month's Learning Center features many references to bristol, so it may help to clarify... Bristol is a heavyweight paper used for technical drawing, illustration, and other two-dimensional art forms. It's particularly popular among comic artists and illustrators.

Unlike Illustration Board, the front and back of Bristol are identical which means that both sides can be drawn on. The surface texture can vary for different applications, including a smooth (plate) finish and a medium (vellum) finish. A vellum surface has a bit more tooth and artists working with rough pencil, chalks, or charcoal would use the rougher texture. Plate finishes are generally more suited to other types of media, such as technical pencils or inks.

We're happy to carry a full line of smooth and vellum bristol from Strathmore.

James Sturm is an internationally recognized cartoonist and the cofounder and Director of The Center for Cartoon Studies (http://www.cartoonstudies.org). His writings and illustrations have appeared in scores of national and regional publications including The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Onion, The New York Times and on the cover of the The New Yorker. He is also a co-founder of The Stranger, a Seattle arts and news weekly. His book, The Golem's Mighty Swing, was named the 2001 Comic of the Year by Time Magazine. His most recent books include Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, James Sturm's America, and Adventures in Cartooning.
 
While in grad school in New York City James worked in the Utrecht store on 4th Avenue! James was good enough to answer a few questions for us and send along images that show off his process.

Tell us about your process of making comics...
My approach to making comics is probably closest to that of a novelist except I am doodling my drafts using words and pictures as opposed to just words. My early drafts are very loose and the drawings are little more than stick figures. Each subsequent drafts allows me to become more intimate with the material.
 
What are your essential tools?
To begin with paper and pencil. Early drafts are on just regular copy paper. The next draft is on drawing paper and the final pen and ink drawings are on bristol using various pen nibs including a hunts 102, speedball c-5 and c-6, a G-nib, and various Faber-Castell markers. An Ames lettering guide also comes in handy.

What stock (brand/finish/and size paper) do you use for your final inking art?
I've been using 2 ply Strathmore 500 series bristol with a vellum finish for awhile now. I buy the large sheets and cut them into six pieces. The paper takes ink extremely well, never any bleeding. The 2-ply is sturdy enough to stand up to the eraser and thin enough so I can transfer drawings onto it via a light box.