Hatching and cross-hatching on a Cintiq?

[bjornar]

I like to draw and ink traditionally, but I am not sure whether to continue doing that or move onto vector based line art for future comics. Now that I am thinking about buying a Cintiq, it would be nice to hear about other artists' experience with moving from traditionally inking to digitally inking.

When I scan my drawings and color them afterwards, I feel that the end result is more personal and true to my own style, if you know what I mean. While the vector drawings that I have made get a more um.. "mechanical" feel. What I am hoping for, is that if I switch to a Cintiq, that I can get the best of both. And what about hatching and cross-hatching, is that still a viable method if you ink digitally? Can you even do it on a vector layer?

Examples:
Traditional simple hatching
Digitally inked

(I was not able to upload the examples as images for some reason)

[revisionstudios]

If using vector is really important for you, the only way I can think of getting the crosshatch to work without being really tedious is by using the brush tool in illustrator (not the pen tool). You can basically just freehand lines that way, and change the type of line if you want different variances.

But to be honest, if you're not doing raster (or painting in one of those raster/vector combo programs) I don't think a cintiq would be a wise investment. I have a cintiq-like device and if I'm in Illustrator I still use my mouse for the most part.

Now, if you're fine inking in raster, with a program like photoshop, paint tool sai, clip studio paint, etc. then having a cintiq would be worth it because you're freehanding your lines. Over the years I moved completely over to digital for its versatility, and I actually find drawing traditionally to be awkward now and like I don't have the same finesse. So it really just depends on what you're used to. Spend enough time with a tool and it will become natural.

[juyunseen]

If you're using a raster art program like Photoshop or Sai, then you can totally do a more traditional ink style digitally. It just takes patience and getting used to a digital interface.

I use a ton of crosshatching and such and my final art is all digital. It ends up looking like this.

Best of luck!

[Heck]

Pretty much yeah. It depends on what is most comfortable for you --I use sai and very rarely use vector layers. I'm a traditional artist, but I got a cintiq last year. To be honest, it does take a while for your strokes to become accurate enough to feel natural, and you will notice a difference when you first start using it. But eventually, you'll become used to it and it'll be much easier to use with practice. It's kind of like getting used to drawing with a tiny banana --It'll take a while, but eventually you can use it as well as any utensil. I've been using it for about a year and within the last few months I'm able to draw, paint, and ink with the same degree of accuracy as traditional methods, and now use it more often then my own paper. Cross-hatching is absolutely do-able, however I personally have less control when using vector layers so I prefer just a regular pen tool. If you want the same "feel" of drawing traditionally as you do digitally, a cintiq or similar type of device is the right choice. Practice and setting adjustments make a huge difference.

Also apparently we can't upload images to tapastic anymore so you'll just have to copy the url from some other site.

[bjornar]

Thanks for the feedback. Knowing myself I will probably buy a Cintiq sooner or later no matter what, so I'll just have to see how well I adapt

[Heck]

np man, it's a good investment even if it is pretty pricey! If you want to knock off some bucks the small 13" is perfect --you really don't need anything bigger. The stand for it is kinda dumb tho so I just prop it up with a 2x4 on a piece of cardboard. You should definitely get a screen protector too, I skipped out on it at first and I've worn in some marks from drawing too much, but regardless it still works like it's new and from what I hear it'll last at least a decade. Wacom has some sales every once in a while too so keep an eye out for them, especially black friday. I nabbed mine for about $700 >->