Mediums - Traditional Media for Comic Making

Paper, ink, and pencils have been around for centuries, and the only limitations for combining your favorites to make comics are your imagination. From the simple ballpoint pen to fancy materials from the art store, the very best mindset is to practice with whatever you can get, and see what you love!

That said, if you’re not sure where to start and need some pointers, here are some common things we and other comic creators can recommend:

Paper: Look for paper that does not easily tear with the amount of pressure you put on it when you draw. Sketchbooks labelled for “sketch” or “drawing”, as well as bristol pads are typically good for this, and Canson and Strathmore brands are professional-standard papers. Deleter also makes paper specifically with blue marks that don’t photocopy to measure out comic pages (Something something archival quality something.)

• Canson
• Strathmore
• Deleter

Pencils and Erasers: Pencils come in a variety of lead widths in a numbered scale from B (soft and bold) to H (firm and light). Standard school-grade pencils can leave heavier marks, so it can be handy to look for pencils that erase easily. 

 Mechanical pencils can be nice because they also have weighted lead (ranging from 0.3mm at the lightest to 0.9mm at the heaviest). The brand of lead and brand of pencil are generally interchangeable as long as you match the measurements, and they don’t depend on sharpening and leave a mess. The downside is the lighter lead can break and be harder to shade with.

With both normal and mechanical pencils, you can also look for colored lead for sketching that is non photocopy or that can be easily edited out.

For erasers, dust-collecting erasers can be very good for clean up work, plastic erasers that don’t smudge are also nice, and kneaded erasers have a putty-like texture that can be shaped and used for texturing in fun and interesting ways!

• Pencils recommended brands - Prismacolor, Faber-Castell, 
• Mechanical Pencil recommended brands - 
  
  

  Pigma, Pilot, Staedtler

  
  
• Eraser recommended brands - Tombow mono eraser, Pentel Ain eraser

Pens and Markers: Any pen or marker can work for you, but many office-supply-store-quality pens have ink that fades over time, which may be less than ideal for scanning in your art later. Felt-tipped pens such as Sakura Microns are good for very fine detail work, though they may dry or have the ends split if you’re not careful and need to be replaced every year or so depending on how much you use them. Pens with nibs and ink cartridges allow you to keep the same pen for years and just refill it, which can be a handy investment!

Markers, similarly, come in both disposable and refillable varieties. See what works for you!

• Microns
• Pentel Calligraphy Brush Pen
• G Nib Pen
• Copic Markers