Black and white is my medium of choice. I don’t think well in color (as several of my artist friends have told me) and I enjoy the striking contrast of black and white comics. It speaks to me and I enjoy expressing myself within it. However, there is more to black and white comics than only black and white, and it’s an option I need to utilize more.
The many, many shades of gray are available for me to use but I never think to use them as often as I should because of old habits.
When I started making webcomics I drew them all by hand, using pen and paper. Back then I didn’t have a reliable way to add grays to my comics, so I worked exclusively in black ink. Sometimes I would use thinner lines to simulate gray tones, but things like pencil or charcoal or even gray markers never sat right with me so I avoided using them. I did that for over a decade, and it formed a habit of never thinking in grays.
Thanks to that old habit I always forget that I can use grays with extreme ease now that I’ve switched to digital drawing, with Procreate being my program of choice. I never have a problem experimenting with brushes of different types because I would do that on occasion back in my pen and paper days. Grays are harder for me to remember as an option, because I am a stubborn creature of stubborn habits.
I’m getting better, albeit slowly. I’m making more use of grays in these later Dwarves of Kadaz chapters, and hopefully I’ll remember to continue this trend in whatever comes next.
I think that’s why I’m so drawn to dwarves lately. They are typically characterized as being slow to accept change, no matter how easily and quickly everyone around them adapts. They’ll get there eventually, but it takes them a long time to shake off old traditions, no matter how outdated they may be.
There’s a lesson for me to learn from the obvious parallels there.