The Betrayal with the Reward - Part I

Being that I work with most things graphical professionally, I'm no stranger to using Photoshop or Illustrator on a daily basis these days.  When I was first hired however, I'd never before used Adobe Illustrator.  In the days that followed, I avoided that program like that creepy dude who talks too much around the water cooler at work, because the task of learning it seemed too daunting.  I can do that in Photoshop, I thought.  I don't need Illustrator.  Vector-shmector.  My PSD file in Photoshop might be 500 megabytes when I'm done, and take up more hard drive space than the entire HD capacity of my old Macintosh II, but by golly, I'd make it work!  I'd stick out my tongue and tilt my nose upwards at the thought of using Illustrator.  Don't tell me what I can't do in Photoshop, dammit.  I'll show you.       

At some point in the months that followed, my job slowly, eerily, and blindingly moved towards the more frequent of use of Illustrator.  Those irritating vectors.  Who's idea was this anyway?  I was not comfortable with this, but strangely intrigued.  I was not happy at all that I was gradually allowing this program to nestle itself in my life, like a cute stray dog I had taken in, at an emotionally weak and absent-minded moment.  Crap.  I'm turning to the dark-side.  The Emperor would be proud.  Him and his wrinkles.  And his finger-lightning-baddass-ish-stuff-I-wish-I-could-do. 

I couldn't betray Photoshop.  Or, at least I thought I couldn't.  Or, could I?  Could I learn both and not offend the other?  Could I use both in harmony?  Screw it, I thought.  I'll be the one that brings the gun to a knife-fight and see what happens.  Photoshop's got my back, right?  Right?

More time passed and I grew more comfortable with using it.  

One day, in the Summer of 2008, I had an idea.  An idea that would not only change things, but help others to see this infamous vector-shmector program as the brilliant, loving stray dog that it is.  Only then, I thought my idea was small and minute compared to the huge-ass world known as the Internet.  And it still is.  Really.  Slow your roll...my idea wasn't that big.  My idea was actually more of a question than an innovation, at first.  Why couldn't I use Illustrator as a means of digitally inking artwork?  Black ink over pencil drawings, but digitally.  In other words, I can make a mistake on my linework, erase it, redo it, all without having to apologize for it.  Change the line thickness (stroke) in one click?  Re-size without having to worry about resolution?  Someone's doing this already...has to be.  I'm just not that cool or innovative.  And so I searched.  Google told me nothing.  Yahoo said even less.  Youtube had a few faithful Photoshop inkers at the time.  But not like my traitor-ass was about unveil.  If I was going to betray my world known as Photoshop, which I've been using since version 3.0, I was going to do it with my boots on.  Illustrator style.  With a smiley face.  And boots.  

After experimenting with different stroke weights, brushes, and probably a few curse word combos, I discovered that it could in fact be done.  Holy shit.  Someone needs to know about this;  Someone needs to see how this could help things, I thought.  This result led me to one conclusion: Youtube.  Use a screen capture program, record myself doing this, upload the video to Youtube and save an inker's day.  And his boots.

On November 22, 2008, I uploaded the video to Youtube.  Little did I know where my delicate betrayal of Photoshop would land me.  And I still don't, really.  It's officially out of control.  Spinning.  Unraveling, yet soothing.  I'm buried, yet resting on the surface in the sun.  With my sunscreen on of course, or my wife might just kill me.  Her wrath is worse than cancer.  Believe me, I would know.  

Fast-forward to October of this year.  At time when many inkings, photographs, videos, and curse words had passed, I receive an email from a publisher.  In a nutshell, the email asked, I'm publishing 3 childrens books, would you be interested in inking all of them?

I'm pretty sure Coke came out my nose at one point.  


To be continued....tomorrow.