Forum for Geeks

So, original art comes in all different sizes, shapes and colors. I have pencil only pages, I have ink pages and I even have some with the lettering taped on. I love all the pages I own, each is different but I think just the straight up pencil pages are my favorite. I get to see how the penciler orginally drew the page before ink, colors, lettering made it onto the page. Though when you compare it to a ink page, its night and day.

The example that pops into my head first is a page I have from Michael Turner that is just pencil and it is fantastic. When compared to pages he had inked, his style is almost lost. In no way am I trying to start a penciler/inker battle.

So what is your preference?

I think it definitely depends on the artists or combination of the artists for me...

When I buy OA, I gravitate toward pages that have the lettering on them. Obviously that means that the pages are older, pre-computer lettering. I like looking at them in their finished state, especially when a page can stand on it's own and tell a good chunk of story, even if you never see the preceding or following pages. I find that modern pages with no words, unless it is an action page that wouldn't have many words anyway, seem... flat. They give me the same feeling of watching a movie with the mute button on. Sure you might figure out what's going on, but there is a key element missing.

Obviously, that stance would not apply to sketches and pin-ups and such, but on OA interior pages I buy, I really do like inks and words.