Melissa Ashton wrote: I like it. There are a couple of dodgy spots (but I can only see a couple) and it's still Jim Lee, but it's you as well. Nice work.

Thanks Melissa.  I'd be the first to agree that there are SEVERAL dodgy spots for sure, but I'm glad that you can see me in there as well.

Now if I could only find me in there and keep him consistent!

Matthew, Darren and I had fun doing a Thing artwork together, and if you ever want to give it a shot, just tell me a character and I'll draw it for you.

Justin Wasson

Anthony J Lombardi wrote: Mathew I'd like to add something as well .Try finding someone whose pencils aren't so tight . The looser they are the better it is to learn to be a good inker and not just a good tracer.

Anthony - To me and my skill level (low) I'd say that these pencils are pretty loose.  Heck, ALL pencils are loose for me right now!  Most of his stuff confuses the heck out of me (compared to JB's pencils) and I had a very hard time determining what most of that stuff was and how/where his shadows were falling.  Also, if you click around (and you might already know this), it was part of a contest Jim did.  He said (paraphrase) that the pencils were loose enough to make you make choices.

For you, on the other hand... From what I've seen, you'd have very little problem making much better choices.  I'm guessing that you'd see this stuff much clearer than I do.

I'd submit (and I know you're not accusing me of this) that this is not even a bad inking job, but more like a mediocre TRACING job.  I don't know enough about what to bring where to make it even a good tracing job!  So right now I'm just getting a feel for the materials.  I tried/used every technique, including computer with some good and some bad results all around.

Anyway, your stuff ROCKS and is inspirational.  I totally thank you for taking time to even comment.  I've got a few other things to do, and when I'm done (3 kids + wife + job + inks = months) I'll put them up here.

Anthony castrillo wrote: Mathew- Good attempt. Just remember Scott Williams is on the same page as Jim Lee.Any trying to ink him will always fall short of thr mark.(Having been his exclusive inker for the past 15 years.) Try inking someone whos style is open to interpretation. Don't give up though.. MAC

Anthony - I knew as soon as I started this I was way over my head.  I didn't even know where to start or if I should use pens, markers, or computer.  I stated above that a lot of this stuff didn't even make sense to me.  I've had some formal training, so I have some concepts and practice, but I can see where Jim and Scott have "become one" due to some of the challenges that the pencils provided with the shadowing and layout.

I have a few other pages I'm going to try (some JB's stuff as well) that are more open, although when I'm done with then they'll be probably glorified tracing jobs (heh).  Then look at maybe getting some stuff from folks here to ruin.

Thanks a bunch for the encouragement, and I love your stuff.  Keep it coming!

Justin - I would love to.  I have a few other things I want to do first, then I'd love to ruin some of your stuff!  If I don't respond right away, I'll get with you later.  As I stated above I've got a full plate (as we all do!)

Thanks for asking!  And keep your stuff coming as well!

Anthony J Lombardi wrote: Oh Matthew, I apologise i had negelected to say in my previous post i wanted to say i thought you did a good job of inking. I won't say given your skill level i'll say you did a good job period. You've got the right idea thou ink as many different artist as possible. I tend to use markers Mircons when ink but i'll be honest that is because i've neglectfull in training with brush and quill pen. Markers offer so much more control i believe but a skilled brusher can do some amazing work. Might i suggest inking over Gene Colan's pencils. His work is so loose and fluid there is alot of movement . I believe you'll enjoy yourself on those.

Thanks for the 'Attaboy - much appreciated!  And I know I've got a LONG way to go, but at the least I find it fun to do and relaxing (?).  The good thing is that I'm at a place where I usually know what I need to fix or work on.  It's now the practice, study, and refining.

I think the most mess that occurred in the page was when I got too nutty with the brush, then tried to fix it.  I will need to practice a LOT more with a brush before I try that again.  In the meantime, I'm in your park with the Microns/Markers/Technical pens.  I was originally trained as a draftsman, so tech pens are comfortable for me ...when they work...

I will look up Gene Colan's stuff.  Thanks for the tip.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3D stripbooks%26field-keywords%3Dthe%20art%20of%20comic%20book% 20inking%26results-process%3Ddefault%26dispatch%3Dsearch/ref %3Dpd%5Fsl%5Fov%5Ftops-1%5Fstripbooks%5F5365540%5F1/103-5431 726-2773432

Matthew,

Here's a (very long) link to some books that I think may help you out.

Justin Wasson

That's totally cool!  I've got 2 of the 3 at the top.  My next piece I'm going to work on is the Nexus page from book 1.

Thanks for the info and the link!