Elijah and Azuu

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#1059 Piety: Other Senses

Inkmonkey

on Aug. 17, 2006

The style of shading I use in the comic is known popularly in the "industry" as "Van Art." Of course, this is a derogatory term, and comes from the fact that, if taken too far, the whole effect looks like something some hipster would have airbrushed on the side of their van. The linework helps to alleviate this, but it's still not a popular method of shading. Aside from which, it doesn't print so well.

I believe I've stated before that I prefer the look of "cel" shading on my work, but because it's a more precise process, doing it to the equivalent extent of my "van" shading is a much longer, laborious process (for me, anyway). And as someone who is doing this on a daily basis, it's just not a smart option.

But, I don't want to discourage anyone from experimenting with "van" shading, or whatever you'd like to experiment with, really. All styles of art have their strengths and weaknesses.