Note to self

When you take the last brush pen out of the packet, order a new packet. You don't want to discover you have none left as you scramble to meet a deadline...

Fortunately I discovered I have a dark green, which my scanner thinks is dark enough to scan as black.

Can a CHEAP TABLET make PROFESSIONAL ART?

I use a 9 year old Wacom Bamboo for all pencilling & colouring (I ink on paper). Does the job!

It cost me £45 in 2008 - that's £5 a year, and still going strong. (I did have to replace the pen twice - about £11 I think?)

A low-tech art photography studio

Having drawn a blank at finding high quality, low cost scanning for the Pilgrim's Progress illustrations (£40 a picture being a bit much for a low-budget project!), I decided to photograph them instead. Watercolour paper is a pain in the neck to photograph, as a single source of light, such as the sun, will show up all the texture of it. So I adapted an idea I read on the internet:

You will need:

• One camera (obviously)
• A tripod (or something to sit it on), and some books/magazines if the legs aren't quite the right length (Broons books are ideal)
• Two 500W work lights. You will need to take the metal grilles off the front, or you'll get a grid pattern projected on your pictures. 500W lights get very hot. Be careful!
• Two 500W daylight bulbs for the lights, if possible*. As far as I know you can only get them in Australia. 
• An old broken clothes airer that was literally on its way to the bin
• Four clothes pegs
• A photographer's grey card

Please imagine the camera on top of the tripod - obviously I couldn't take a photo of the camera with the camera.

• Set the lights up at 45 degrees to the picture, and at the same height as the middle of the picture.
• Set the camera up in the centre, again at the same height as the picture.
• Switch the lights on, and set the white balance on the camera.
• Take the photos. You'll have to zoom in to fill the picture - that is better than getting closer, as there's less distortion. Strangely, I found the 'automatic' setting better than manual. 

Is the quality as good as professional photography or top-quality scanning? No

Is the quality good enough? Yes - if you do some tweaking on the computer afterwards. 

*If you can't get daylight bulbs, you'll have to block out all daylight to the room, and just use the lights, because it is a very different colour of light.

The best drawing pen ever

Is not marketed as a drawing pen at all!
 

Pros:

• A felt-tip style point. Very controllable.
• Doesn't bleed. At all.
• It's not like most CD markers, which are just like narrow permanent markers. I think this must be a pigment marker.
• Really black and opaque.
• Doesn't fade
• Waterproof
• Is not expensive.
• Most important - writes over tippex without smudging - doesn't even get paler if you use a rubber to get rid of pencil lines.

Cons:

• If you allow it to get warm (say, by lying in the sun, or on a switched on light box) it will dry up permanently.
• Ditto if you leave the lid off, even for a tiny length of time.
• There are only two thicknesses: 0.75mm and 1mm - and it's the narrowest millimetre I've ever measured.