This is a simple recycling tip, to help keep your brushes happy. Stay watching for the Extra Bonus Tip about cleaning watercolour brushes at the end.
Still experimenting with new techniques and tools to create these videos. I just updated my very old version of VideoStudio, to the last every (2023) version. Despite the "end of the road" vibes. It does what I need. Faster rendering and higher resolution. Not to mention several new features to learn. This video for YouTube was filmed on my phone and edited with Corel VideoStudio.
So I still have a lot to learn about filming, presenting and more professional editing, BUT I am learning and enjoying myself. Maybe these tips might help or interest you.
I've been away from making Quick Tips videos for YouTube for
a bit. I'm guessing you know how it goes, equipment issues, new gear to figure out, just
not as much to share. But I'm ready to jump back in with a few small tweaks. I'm
splitting things up into "Quick Art Tips" (keeping that with the original
music!) and "Quick Photo Tips" which might be less frequent, and I'm
still hunting for the right music for those. I'm also playing around with different camera setups and
experimenting with new ways to capture nic shots for these upcoming videos.
Today's tip is super simple but really useful: how to
make sure your camera is perfectly square to your artwork. This works
whether you're using a traditional camera, a DSLR, or just your smartphone.
All you need is a small compact mirror. Ladies, you
probably already have one! Guys, seriously, these little things are incredibly
handy. Beyond makeup touch-ups, they're great for bouncing light into dark
corners, checking behind things, and even signaling for help if you're ever in
a pinch.
Since most artworks are flat, you want your
camera lined up in a parallel plane to whatever you're photographing, whether
it's on a desk, wall, or floor.
The technique is dead simple: place the mirror in the
center of your artwork, then position your camera so you can see it reflected
directly in the middle of that mirror through your camera's viewfinder or screen. You
don't even need a tripod unless you want one.
If you're shooting something on an easel or wall, have
someone hold the mirror for you. If the artwork is way above or below or o bthe side of your position,
you won't see your camera's reflection showing on the mirror, as view from that camera. Just adjust
your camera position accordingly.
Sure, modern software can fix these alignment issues later,
but why rely on fixing distorted images in post-production? I think it's way
better to spend a few extra seconds getting it right in-camera when you're
capturing your precious artwork.
The Cyanometer, an instrument invented in 1789 by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure and used by the famous explorer Alexander von Humboldt to measure the
blueness of the sky. Originally a scientific tool used to study the atmospheric moisture and particle content, a darker blue reading indicated
less water vapour, while a lighter, whiter blue suggested more moisture or
pollution. The original design consisted of 52
or 53 shades of Prussian Blue on a circular card. Contemporary interpretations of the cyanometer have appealed to artists, particularly as a guide for accurately mixing sky colours in paintings. They range from DIY YouTube tutorial videos using watercolours to studies of the optimal combination of modern pigments needed to
simulate the sky's full chromatic range.
This video was prepared by an AI, Google’s Notebook LM, to
summarise some key sources that collectively establish the cyanometer's
historical significance, its scientific function, and its continued relevance
as an artistic and educational tool for studying colour and the environment.
Unlike in previous years, I submit my artwork to every day’s
prompt during Inktober. A few might have been late at night, but all were
submitted on the day in question. I had decided to have fun doing inkwork rather
than stress myself about the ideas or the quality of the inkwork. I’m still
getting over some unusual problems related to my corneal graft, particularly with close
things that are on my right-hand side. Don't worry; my vision is improving, and this demonstrates I can do stuff like drawing and inking.
The final Inktober prompt was “award”. So an award, such as a certificate or something
for my favourite pen, was the obvious item to draw. I sketched this out, and it
was pretty boring. I suppose I could spend a lot of time doing fancy cross-hatched
edges and Lettering. Then it struck me I should have an awards ceremony, like a
gold Oscar or Logie. A Greek goddess holding my favourite pen, which is still
the Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen range. They impressed me with their reliability, and
they run smoothly for Indian Ink, giving a solid black line. They’re not the
cheapest pens, but they seem to last, and I do find their line work suits my
style. I have a few fixed-width fineliners, I dominantly use the thicker ones eg.
0.7 (M). My real favourites are the brush pen (B) and soft brush (SB) both of
which give great flexibility in linework, the line width and expressive curves.
So it wasn’t hard to make a decision that the award should
be part of the awards ceremony with a Statuette of a Greek Goddess holding the
winning pen.
BTW I did have fun participating in Inktober this year and
feel quite proud that I submitted something every day and finished the whole month.
You know how Inktober rolls around and suddenly you're reassessing every pen you own? That's me right now, staring at my ever-expanding collection of ink tools.
I've got the whole spectrum here. There are handmade bamboo dip pens gathering dust. My Micron-style fine liners seem to multiply on their own, along with the usual Sharpie felt pens. And yes, I have Copic markers, but I'm not their biggest fan, except for the soft brush ones.
I like Gel pens, especially the water-soluble ones. Here's the trick: I'll sketch my lines, then quickly grab a brush pen and tease out a wash from those fresh gel lines for instant shading. It's brilliant for quick sketching. I've hoarded quite a few coloured gel pens as well, though I really should use them more.
For the last few years, my absolute favourites have been Faber Castell Pitt pens. Proper Indian ink pigment, they last ages if you're disciplined about capping them (which I am). I've also got traditional Indian ink for dip pens, Chinese ink with a grinding stone, Chinese brushes. Ok, I can't help myself, I splurged on a set of Schmincke AquaDrop watercolour pigment inks with a pair of refillable pens. So yes, I'm well stocked.
I've been illustrating my pens and brushes on the back pages of my sketchbooks for years. I even made a video about this "obsession" once. This Inktober, as I use each tool, I'm drawing it in the back of my colour compendium. It adds a playful meta-layer to the whole challenge.
Where I'm slack is with surfaces to draw onto. I'll just grab whatever scrap is nearby, often printed on the other side and start sketching in a 2B pencil before inking over it with a Sharpie. It scans fine for dry work, but add any water? Instant crinkled mess. This year I'm trying to be better, grabbing actual sketchbooks with a page or two left when I need to use a colour wash.
When I have time to be properly organised, I reach for mixed media pads (120gsm cartridge paper, designed for ink and light watercolour). Hot-pressed watercolour paper works too, but it feels too expensive for casual Inktober fun. Bristol Board was the gold standard for ink work from my cartooning days, but I haven't found a good source lately. Honestly, I do most cartoons digitally now anyway.
So that's my setup. Now, where did I put that scrap paper?
The term "inking" has been part of cartooning vocabulary for decades, it's simply the process of going over your rough sketch with a final layer of ink. These days, most artists do this digitally, but the name has stuck around.
I wanted to compare traditional and digital inking methods using my Inktober 2025 submission for Day 19: Arctic. My cartoon shows penguins who've clearly lost their way (fun fact: penguins live in the Antarctic, not the Arctic!).
My Traditional Approach
I started with a rough sketch using a Copic brush pen. I'll be honest—I'm not a fan of Copic fine liners. They clog constantly, so I stopped buying them years ago. But their brush pens? Those are superior. They keep their flexible tips and create line work similar to traditional dip pens, which suits my cartooning style perfectly.
Here's where I made a rookie mistake: I started on paper that was too thin to handle water without buckling. So instead of traditional watercolour washes, I switched to Inktense pencils and blocks. These are great because you can apply them dry, then activate them with just a light touch of a water brush. Hopefully, this would prevent the paper from wrinkling too much.
My Digital Method
After scanning my preliminary sketch, I moved to my computer-based process. One I developed years ago after attending a cartoon workshop. This technique became the foundation for my blog "Meet the People" and its character Alvin and his wife.
My workflow goes like this: I scan the line work into Paint.NET for editing, then paste it into CorelDraw (I've been using it since version 3, originally for technical diagrams). The magic happens when I convert the bitmap into vector line work using CorelDraw's autotrace tools. These automatically smooth out the kinks in my original ink work.
The key trick I learned was to enclose any shapes I wanted to colour. Then colouring becomes simple—just click and select. I use Pantone colour patches for consistency across all my illustrations. When shapes are simple, colouring is quick and easy. Complex shapes with lots of fixing? That can get tedious.
The Verdict?
So which approach is better? That's for you to decide! Each has its charm—traditional inking has that organic, hands-on feel, while digital offers flexibility and polish. What's your preference?
I managed to get halfway through Inktober submit something everyday on the day it was due. A couple of submissions were late at night. Still I impress myself with staying power. I’m now looking at the prompts and trying not to do the really obvious. Not that there is an obvious illustration for a more conceptual ideas like today’s blunder.
I guess there’s a lot of scope, blundering into something, you don’t want to make a blunder. But then I remember about the old fashion blunderbuss, the 17th century equivalent of a rifle. It could be loaded it with all sorts of things and instead of having a finely machine barrel to keep the bullets on track it had a wide open end. I guess it would have worked a lot more like a shotgun scattering bits and pieces all over the place. I’ve seen a couple of these gun and quite liked the way they were shaped and might be interesting to illustrate.
So I got onto DuckDuckGo and asked for illustrations of blunderbuss’es and I got a lot of cartoon-ish pilgrims carrying the definitive shaped rifle. hunting and bringing back home turkeys. Ahh, It’s about to be Thanksgivingin the USA! Nice Coincidence. We don’t have Thanksgiving in Australia, it’s not a family get together here. I guess we do have the Melbourne Cup about a week later which is a big deal an opportunity for a holiday and party, still I felt bad bets blunders might be a slightly different take on this theme, just a bit harder to draw.
Hope you enjoy my inktober submissions, I post them daily on my Instagram @normhansonart.
