I decided I wanted to try and get back to doing some more traditional artwork rather than just digital. It’s been decades since I took drawing with pencil and ink seriously and so I am pretty rusty. I still find myself reaching for the undo button and trying to zoom in constantly. I’m having a lot of fun though and I have given myself the challenge of eventually drawing one of the monthly bonus Club PA comics traditionally. I’m not ready for that yet but I’ve been posting some of my practice/learning drawings over on my Bluesky and I wanted to share them here as well.
Back when I started drawing Penny Arcade in 1998, I was drawing the comic with a pencil and then using Micron pens to ink it. My current style of inking uses a lot more line variation though and so I decided to try using brush and ink.
Spent some time playing with brush and ink today. Boy do I miss my undo button 😂 Thanks @robotjq.bsky.social for the tool recommendations and tips!
— Gabe (@cwgabriel.bsky.social) July 1, 2026 at 9:00 PM
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Coloring with markers is super new to me. I am a learn by doing kind of guy so these are pretty rough. I'm having fun though!
More brush and ink practice today after I finished the comic. This is new to me and I am enjoying learning. Colors are alcohol markers.
— Gabe (@cwgabriel.bsky.social) July 2, 2026 at 5:11 PM
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I'm trying to get some practice in every day, even if it's just quick doodles. I'm not ready to make a full comic strip but I'm getting there.
Still playing around with brushes and markers.
— Gabe (@cwgabriel.bsky.social) July 3, 2026 at 9:33 PM
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Having a lot of fun playing with traditional media. If I could just stop trying to fucking ZOOM
— Gabe (@cwgabriel.bsky.social) July 4, 2026 at 9:03 PM
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Who knows, maybe the PAX Unplugged Make Strip panel will be pencils and markers next time!
Playing with markers this afternoon.
— Gabe (@cwgabriel.bsky.social) July 7, 2026 at 4:25 PM
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-Gabe Out
