A good friend, Jared Norby, has been showing me some new techniques. I’m a strict ink user mostly. But every time we meet he gives me more insights and he has gotten me to experiment with pencil a wee bit.
The pencil, I must confess, does offer a bit more subtlety. I still may like the pen, but I do have a hard time getting slight shading and really capturing the mass. My inked stuff generally has a sharp, flatness to it so this is a good exercise for me.
Although still far from a pencil artist, this is definitely a direction I have mistakenly left unexplored. You can tell I am still a little uncomfortable forsaking my hard expressive lines but I must examine technique this further. I will be honest, coloring things digitally (at least, the way I do it) takes forever. Even though the pencil gradient is unfamiliar territory and it does take more time than I like to spend on my drawings, it might prove a welcome ally. Perhaps even charcoal one day.
The Big Insane Happy 
looks good.. pencil and pen.. if I understand what you are sayiing… one should use pencil if they need less sharp lines or defined lines.. something like water color vs oil.. not sure if that is good analogy…
LikeLike