Joker and Harley Quinn Raw Scan

Pencils by Aethibert.

This is the raw scan, only edited using curves since I don't do any contrast manipulation during the scan.

Paper: It's actually Blue Line Pro Full Trim art board, but I printed the blueline pencils on the back of the board. This is something I typically do when inking pencils sent to me digitally, or that I have scanned and reprinted to preserve the original pencils. The reason being, is most people expect to see the page/artist/book information at the top for original art. However, trying to print the original scan on the face of the board causes a misalignment of the bleed/trim/safe borders and looks absolutely horrible. I don't really notice the difference when inking on the face or back of 2+ ply bristol, so this gives the best result for me for an end product.

Ink: Custom ink I blended* (see footnote) & Eon Vortex. The Eon Vortex was the original ink I was using to fill the blacks on Harley's abdomen & leg. I ended up switching to my custom blend ink for the bats and her hat, and the blacks on Joker. Why you ask? Well the Eon Vortex wasn't playing too well with the Blue Line Pro board, which seems to have almost a waxy like feel. It wasn't laying as smooth as it does on Eon Board or Strathmore and was causing awful brush strokes (which you can still see). Nor was it as dark as I wanted it in contrast to my line work. 

Pens: Hunt 102, Tachikawa T-77 Maru**, and Micron sizes 005, 01, & 03 (used mainly on the gun and some of the hatching. Harley's Eyes were also done with the 005 micron because I started to have some flow issues on my nibs)

Brushes: Raphael 8404 Size 2, Winsor & Newton Series 7 Miniature Size 2 (used to cut into the blacks with the Pro White), and a Winsor & Newton Series 7 size 2 was used at one point... But I don't remember when (I think it's the brush I used to spot the blacks on Harley with the Vortex). 

White ink: Pro White


* I blended my own ink out of necessity for working with certain boards. I typically use Ultradraw ink for my nib work, and began to really enjoy it for brush work when I ran out of Eon Vortex. It's a darker ink than the Vortex, and tends to lay down with decent opacity on Strathmore & Canson bristol. It flows great (probably one of the best flowing inks I have), and I get great results with it on ALL of my nibs. I have issues from time to time with most of my inks when used with hunt 102 nibs and Zebra G pens, which are my top 2 nibs I use typically... so I've been finding myself use the Ultradraw ink more and more. The issue is, it bleed pretty damn bad on Eon boards and Blue Line boards due to how thin it is and its high alcohol content (Isopropyl alcohol was used as the solvent in this ink by Kooh-I-Noor). So I combined the ink with Eon Vortex, with about 75% Ultradraw, 25% Eon Vortex. I found this combination to still not flow perfectly reliably, so I diluted it with Ammonia until it flowed but not to the point it started bleeding. The result was an ink that was darker & Semi Glossy, like Ultradraw. However, the increased viscosity from the Vortex ink prevents it from bleeding. It's not perfect, however. There's some odd chemistry going on which has reduced the open time on the brush a little bit. I find I have to clean my brush more frequently with this blend than standard ultra draw ink. 

** The Tachikawa T-77 Maru nib is a "soft" maru nib. It is substantially softer than a Nikko/Deleter or standard Tachikawa maru, and is slightly softer than the Zebra Soft Maru, and offers a bolder line. The touch/flexibility of the nib is VERY similar to the Hunt 102... yet allows for a thinner line (like a regular maru) and lasts much longer than a 102. The quality control is much better. The only reason I have not switched over to the T-77 nib completely instead of the 102 is because of availability.  I can get my hands on 102 nibs easily, yet the T-77 is only available in 2 packs and costs more. If I can find them in boxes of 10 like my normal maru Nibs I will probably replace the Hunt 102 completely with this nib. I highly recommend it for anyone who is fed up with the shaky quality of the Hunt 102 nibs, but still wants something with very similar characteristics.