Winner of the Sherm Cohen "Character Design" Book

And the winner of the Sherm Cohen "Character Design" book is...Paul McCall. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Pentel Art Supplies Review

Last week Nicole from Pentel sent me some pens to try out and review. Included in the package was a 4-pen set of Pentel Hybrid Technicas in sizes 03, 04, 05, 06; a Pentel Brush Pen and a Pentel Stylo Sketch Pen.

(As always, click on any of the pictures for a larger view.)

The Pentel Hybrid Technicas and the Pentel Brush Pen that comes with two refill cartridges.

The Pentel Stylo Sketch Pen.

Here are the pens out of their packages.

The nibs in relation to each other.

This compares the line widths.

At first I wasn't sure about the Stylo Sketch Pen, but after playing around with its flexible nib for a while, I really got to like it and found it quite comfortable to use. The Hybrid Technicas have very smooth ink that doesn't skip. The Brush Pen has a great feel to it, but since I don't usually use a brush to ink, it will require me to work at it. I'm sure that if you ink with a brush all the time it will quickly become a convenient go-to item when you don't feel like carrying around both a brush and a bottle of ink. All and all I highly recommend all of the Pentel products that were sent to me with the Stylo Sketch Pen being my favorite of the lot. One thing I will have to check out is how the Stylo will hold up when using it with watercolors or an ink wash because it is a water-based, dye ink.

This is a quick sketch I inked with each pen for comparison.

The book below is by Sherm Cohen (Cartoonist Survey #120) and is what I used for backgrounds when taking the pictures of the pens. Due to the fact that I am getting old and forgetful, over the years I somehow managed to purchase multiple copies of this great book. One lucky reader of David Wasting Paper will benefit from my absent-mindedness and will win their very own copy.

For your chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post with your contact email address anytime between now and next Friday, July 22, 2011, prior to midnight Eastern Time. Only one entry per person and this giveaway is limited to US residents. I will choose a winner randomly from all of the comments using Random.org. I'll post the contest winner on Saturday, July 23, 2011.

Thanks again Nicole for sending me these wonderful Pentel products to try out!

Stephen Silver - Cartoonist Survey #192

Cartoonist and character designer Stephen Silver was born in August of 1972 in London, England. He got his professional start drawing caricatures at amusement parks in 1992. A year later he started his own illustration business and caricature concession company called Silvertoons. He spent a year doing graphic design for the clothing company “No Fear” before being hired as a character designer by Warner Brothers in 1997 and has worked in the animation industry ever since. Stephen has worked as a character designer for Nickelodeon Animation, Sony Feature Animation and Disney Television Animation. He has designed characters for animated series such as “The Fairly OddParents”, "Kim Possible", "Danny Phantom" and Kevin Smith's "Clerks: The Animated Series”. In 2000 he won the Golden Nosey award as caricaturist of the year from the National Caricaturist Network, and in 2007 he received the National Cartoonists Society's Television Animation award for his designs on Disney's “Kim Possible”. Stephen is also the artist and author of five self-published books on sketching, life drawing and caricaturing. You can purchase them here at his Silvertoons store.

If you would like to learn more about the art of character design you can take Stephen’s class over at Schoolism.com. If you are in California he teaches a character design course at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) in Valencia and a quick gesture figure class at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Arts. Learn more about Stephen by checking out his website and following him on his blog.

What is your favorite pen to use?
Mars Staedtler graphic 3000 duo.

Do you draw in pencil first and if so do you use a standard pencil or a mechanical one?
Col-erase blue or red.

Do you do your coloring by hand or on the computer?
Both.

If you do your coloring by hand, what do you use?
Marker, watercolor and colored pencil, sometimes acrylic paint.

What type of paper do you use?
Anything that feels right or is thick enough, sometimes a Via felt 80lb.

What thing(s) do you hate to draw?
Buildings, cars and robots.

Do you buy your supplies from big chain art store catalogues/websites or a local one that you physically go to?
Both.

Are there any rituals that you do before starting to draw?
Take a deep breath and hope for the best.

Do you listen to music while you draw and if so what genre?
Sometimes, mainly Beatles radio on iTunes.

Did you read comics as a kid and if so what was your favorite?
I did not.

What is or was your favorite comic strip?
The Lockhorns.

What was your favorite book as a child and do you still own a copy of it?
Didn't like to read as a child, so I don't have one. Cartooning books are what I collected.

Did you have any formal art training and if so where did you receive it?
The only serious art class I really took was one in San Diego with a guy by the name of Jeff Watts.

Do you feel that the Internet is a blessing or a curse?
A blessing.

Did either of your parents draw?
No.

Who in your life is/was the most supportive of your art?
Both my parents.

Do you keep a sketchbook?
Yes.

Have you ever taught cartooning/drawing and if so did you enjoy the experience?Yes I have and still do. I teach currently a character design course at Schoolism.com.

Do you feel that talent or passion is more important in drawing?
Passion.

Do you collect anything and if so what?
Original art from the MAD magazine artists.

If you were an animated cartoon character who do you think you would be?
Snow White, I don't know, the first thing that popped up.

Are you a righty or lefty?
Righty.

If you weren't an artist what would you want to do for work?
SWAT team.

In one or two sentences describe your drawing area.
1970' 80's.

Do you play any musical instruments?
No.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to pursue drawing as a career what would it be?
Draw, draw draw…have passion and have fun.

Who is your favorite artist?
Mort Drucker.


Thank you Stephen.

CARtoons cartoonist George Trosley will be next.

Peter de Sève - Cartoonist/Artist Survey #185

Peter de Sève is an award winning illustrator and character designer. Born in New York in 1958, he graduated from the Parsons School of Design, NYC. His illustrations have appeared in many publications including Newsweek, Time, the New York Times Magazine, Entertainment Weekly and Premiere. He has been creating cover art for The New Yorker since 1993. Peter recently collaborated on the children’s books The Duchess of Whimsy with his wife Randall de Sève who is an author. He is one of the foremost character designers in the animated-film industry having worked on “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “The Prince of Egypt,” “Mulan,” “Tarzan,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Finding Nemo,” “Robots” and as the sole character designer on the “Ice Age” series.

His many awards include: a National Cartoonist Society Magazine Illustration Award, a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement on an Animated Television Series, a Clio Award, the Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators, Spectrum Annual of Fantastic Art gold medal and a Soleil d'Or award from the Festival de la BD Sollies Ville in France. A Sketchy Past, a collection of his sketches was recently published by Akileos and is available for purchase through Peter’s store. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife and their two daughters. Check out his website and his blog. You can also see more of his work including sketches and a show reel over on his page at Hornet Inc.

What is your favorite pen to use?
I used to use a crowquill but now ink with a brush. When I sketch, I like the micron pens.

Do you draw in pencil first and if so do you use a standard pencil or a mechanical one?
I use a wax crayon.

Do you do your coloring by hand or on the computer?
Hand.

If you do your coloring by hand, what do you use?
Winsor and Newton inks.

What type of paper do you use?
Fabriano watercolor paper.

What thing(s) do you hate to draw?
Cars, computers and cars. Oh, I said cars twice.

Do you buy your supplies from big chain art store catalogues/websites or a local one that you physically go to?
Big chain and have it delivered. But I find myself in little shops often.

Are there any rituals that you do before starting to draw?
Too many. One is making sure I have a clean folded paper towel under my brushes. Kooky.

Do you listen to music while you draw and if so what genre?
Bad singer songwriter stuff and alternative instrumental.

Did you read comics as a kid and if so what was your favorite?
Warren comics from the seventies and the Gwen Stacey Spider-Man arc drawn by Gil Kane.

What is or was your favorite comic strip?
Calvin and Hobbes bar none.

What was your favorite book as a child and do you still own a copy of it?
Comic books all of which I still own.

Did you have any formal art training and if so where did you receive it?
Art Students League in High School. Life Drawing.

Do you feel that the Internet is a blessing or a curse?
BOTH. That's why it's impossible to live without.

Did either of your parents draw?
No.

Who in your life is/was the most supportive of your art?
My mother.

Do you keep a sketchbook?
Yes.

Have you ever taught cartooning/drawing and if so did you enjoy the experience?
Not really.

Do you feel that talent or passion is more important in drawing?
Talent without passion is useless.

Do you collect anything and if so what?
Old toys, original artwork.

If you were an animated cartoon character who do you think you would be?
Bugs Bunny.

Are you a righty or lefty?
Righty.

If you weren't an artist what would you want to do for work?
Study animals.

In one or two sentences describe your drawing area.
A neat bomb site.

Do you play any musical instruments?
No.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to pursue drawing as a career what would it be?
Never ask an artist for "tips" in how to get work in the business and draw what you love to draw and find someone to pay you for it.

Who is your favorite artist?
The other piece of advice would be to never ask an artist who his favorite artist is. An impossible question at best.


Thanks for taking time away from your busy schedule Peter.

Next time on David Wasting Paper is British cartoonist, author and television screenwriter Andy Riley.