April 19th, 2014

A rare peek into the past

by John Hambrock

My first comic strip was drawn with a Rapidograph. It was the only ink tool I had, and up to that point I hadn’t analyzed the work of other cartoonists to see what they were using. Eventually, I settled on a sable brush and Speedball ink. Drawing a comic strip with a brush turned out to be a lot more difficult than I ever imagined. I was like a toddler on roller skates. I had no control , and my lines wound up all over the place. I knew the results I wanted, so I stuck with it, and eventually got the hang of it.

This is an example of one of those early brushed strips. My lack of control is evident, but I had to start somewhere. Now I can’t imagine not using a brush. Switching tools would be like asking me to all of the sudden drive on the left side of the road.