I had a vision in my mind of a style that would match my signature. It was very classic with simplified rounded bold lines. Realistic yet idealistic with some texture. Something that screamed COMIC BOOK. John Romita, John Buscema, Jaime Hernandez, Andre Juillard, Herge, C.C. Beck, Wallace Wood, Jack Kirby, Steve Rude, Mike Allred were the main influences I was imagining. Mostly Jaime Hernandez and Andre Juillard with some Marvel boldness and texture added in. I had been drawn to this sort of art for a long time. I recall meeting the inker of the cover of Fantastic Four #1 at Dragon Con while in college and asking him how he got those rounded lines. He said he used brushes. When I asked what brands of brushes, he didn't know, but he had some with him. They were a variety of no name watercolor brushes. By and large the industry standard is the Windsor and Newton Series 7. But when I use this brush it leaves a sharp end to the lines. What I wanted was a rounded look. There were certain Kirby inkers who I loved who had this look. I also suspected that some of the roundness was due to poor reproduction processes of the past. I tried several brushes, markers, even trimmed my brush hairs to a rounded shape without the results I was looking for. While working for an artist/editor Scott Bieser I tried computer inking. I got some decent results but it took more time than I could commit and had some limitations. Years later I met one my all-time favorite artists, Jaime Hernandez and asked him with he used. It was a nib! I bought the same nib and tried that. But I struggled to get the look and feel that Jaime gives it. A nib has a natural tendency to make certain lines which are more angular and stiff. I had the feeling that Jaime had spent many years perfecting his technique and it would require a big investment in time to get it. I put it on the shelf for the time being. Then this project came up and it was perfect to try this style again. I got out the nib and taking my time it was going alright. But it felt like I was forcing the nib to do things it didn't want to do. Then for some reason I ditched the nib and pulled out my Wacom tablet. Something clicked and I got the results I had been envisioning all this time. Best of all was the feel. It just feels right and getting the lines I want comes naturally. It's not my only style and I've barely gotten into it. These are literally the first two pages I've drawn. But it feels like the glove my hand has been looking for. I still have all the other styles and techniques I've acquired throughout the years. I'll always have them in my toolbelt, but maybe this will be the new look of LEE OAKS!
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