by Matthew Russell - Posted 5 years ago
Vigilant Vigilantes, today we need to save your bacon. It has come to my attention that so many of you are just about dying trying to get a comic out under budget. So many of you are working a steady job trying to afford the most basic of supplies just to get a page out.
Fear not! M. Scott Russell is here to save you. We will give you all the supplies and links to order everything. We will also keep it under $100. Can you believe that, everything you need for under $100. Can he do it? I dare say yes!
Let’s break everything down for you 1 by 1. Just as a reminder, I am not working for any of the companies that you see mentioned in this post. Granted, I used to work for Michael’s while I was going to school at the Art Institute but I was stocking shelves.
This is one of the most important steps. Paper, paper, paper. Remember our dimensions should be 11x17. I personally like 2 ply Smooth Bristol.
Many of you will still want the design lines. For creators I recommend Canson Fanboy Comic Boards. Canson tends to run a little higher. Getting that, we might run over the $100 mark a little.
Bristol = $11.99
Canson = $23.70
Every artist needs a good ruler. A long time ago, I worked at Michael’s. They had an exclusive deal with the company Artist Loft. They had the best ruler around. God, this thing made life easier. The Graph Ruler made life so damn simple. You can have it shipped to your local store for free.
Any ruler over 18 inches will do but this is one of the times you should just spend the money.
Cheapest I could find = $2.76
I good pencil is everything. There are so many to choose from. School did you wrong on this count. Don’t let yourself fall into the old #2 pencil adage.
Let’s ask ourselves exactly what type of art that we are working on; comic art or fine art. Yep, there is a difference.
For fine art, I love a good complete set of pencils. I have several sets actually, my favorite is the Pro Art set although I have a set of Artist Loft that I was able to pick up on sale. They have everything from 8B (softest and darkest) to 6H (hardest and lightest). Love them.
For comic artist, we can generally skip all the pencil sets and grab a single refillable pencil. I have 3 Staedtler. One has a non-photo blue led for quick outlines. Another post later about the importance of the blue outlines and what we can do with it. My main pencil has h3 lead for high detail.
Grab one of these and get some replacement lead for it. You will not regret it. It will make your life so much easier. Trust me on this, I haven’t steered you wrong yet (nor do I plan to).
Full Reeve's Pencil Set = $8.99
Staedtler pencil = $12
Staedtler pencil refillable led = $8.38
Staedtler pencil blue led = $12.99
This is just about as important as a good pencil, if not more important. We don’t want to use just any random pen. There are so many factors that we need to consider.
Don’t just grab any one of those packs that you see at your local store. I’ve done that for you. Believe me, I’ve done the research and practice for you.
One of the more popular sets is pigma microns. I have a pack of these. Love ‘em. I used them all the time. I hopped on Google a while ago and found a new set that I had to try. I tried them and haven’t gone back since.
Copic Multiliners are by far a better brand. They don’t dry out as often. These are so good. I was replacing the pigma microns on almost every other issue. These seem to last forever. Granted, they run a few dollars more than pigma, but it is worth every penny.
Pigma Micron = $21
Copic = $21
Here is where I have really changed my way of thinking a great deal. When I started in college, one of my professors used to have me using a large bottle of Indian Ink and a small paint brush.
This worked well if you are very careful not to drip anywhere. I’ve ruined many a good page practicing my technique.
Since college, a friend of mine suggested we get better with marker brushes. Faber Caster Big Brush Pitt pen is fantastic. Don’t use anything else!
Brush Pen = $7.76
Now, we will need some good templates for drawing perfect circles. I have a few that I’ve collected over the years so it has been a while since I had to buy any. I remember them being cheap so I have no worries about keeping our list under $100.
We can get away with 2 template packs. The larger has, of course, larger circles. The smaller back…you guessed it, smaller circles. I use these a lot.
Full Set = $8.99
So our grand total is $97.58 (That is cutting it close) and that’s for all the good stuff. Remember that 1 full drawing pad will equal about 1 full comic if you keep it standard length. This should include the cover.
Now you are well on your way to creating a great comic. Draw it up and don’t forget to place it on our marketplace. Can’t wait to see read your comics soon!
