Tools of the trade, or you pay for what you get

             Specializing in a certain field, you find quickly that spending the money on quality tools can be the difference between a better than expected result and one that you'd rather not put your signature on. When I was an avid snowboarder, this point was driven home to me everyday out riding in the cold, snowy mountains of the Rockies. As much as I would have liked to scrimp and save, sometimes spending that extra amount meant the difference between staying dry and warm in a windy snowstorm, and the very real possibility of frostbite on your extremities.
             The more I work with a variety of tools creating my artwork, I find this lesson to be a general truth in all things. You really do pay for what you get. Which brings me to this ink drawing of the octopus. As I develop my style and my method of image making, I'm trying to find a 'Happy Medium' between my pencils and my inks. Which has meant that lately I draw a lot in straight ink, just to remind myself of what I can do without a pencil line, and also to work out the inking 'chops'. Normally I do this using a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. However, after working with a little higher quality brush pen at one of my Illustration Club meetings, I decided to get out and pony up the dough for a little higher dollar item. This octopus was created using a Kuritake Brush Pen that I picked up a Columbia Art Supply on Burnside in Portland. So far, I'm enjoying the results and I hope to share more with you on a regular basis. This guy is just cool enough to use as a template for a poster. I'll be sure to let you see him when the colors are all done. My whole point today being that sometimes the only difference between an amateur result, and a more professional one in a persons work can be the difference between a $15 pen and a $35 one. So save up, sometimes its worth the extra cash.

Daniel DePaolo