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Blue Pencil, then traditional pencil....does it effect the collectability/value?
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35 posts in this topic

Not talking about a blue line scan. Some artist will use a blue pencil to set the scene on a page and then go over it with traditional graphite. The look is not very appealing as for a collector you can see the blue sketches on the page. My questions are does this effect value? Is it still considered original pencils if listing it? And does it turn you off as a collector?

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I don't think this has any effect at all. It's still all done by the artist's hand on the paper - just with a different colored pencil essentially. Now when a machine is involved, and lines are copied mechanically on a page without the artist touching the art, that's an entirely different matter. Those pages aren't something I personally want.

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30 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

My questions are does this effect value? Is it still considered original pencils if listing it? And does it turn you off as a collector?

1. No

2. Yes

3. No - doesn't turn me on or off.  Perfectly fine if that's part of the artist's creative process.

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McFarlane, Van Sciver are examples of artists that hand drew their art using blue pencil.  Using blue pencils does not seem to impact the valuation of their art.

While harder to erase, blue pencil can be removed if you want.

Edited by NelsonAI
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On some of the older pieces I don't seem to noticed as much, perhaps because inks were done over them. An example I was thinking would be like the piece I purchased below. Love reading the Scooby Apocalypse series so I picked up a Scrappy splash. Done by veteran Pat Olliffe the blue just seems to overwhelm the page, I still love it, but it is a bit jarring. Again, still a sophomore in collecting, maybe I will grow to appreciate. 

 

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Most times traditional pencils are erased so you don't end up seeing them anyways. I do like it when the inker doesn't erase the pencils especially if its blue pencils. I am big on seeing the process behind the page. 

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If the blue pencils were distracting from the final art it MIGHT have an effect on value, but more so just in comparative value vs a page with less distracting blueline work. 

Like if there were two equally nice (in subject and composition) McFarlane Spidey pages and one had a lot more distracting blue line work than the other, maybe the less bluelined one would do slightly better. 

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5 hours ago, vodou said:

Here's two examples, Romita who famously used it extensively, and now Chris Burnham who seems to as well.

You would have to clarify with Felix @Nexus, but I think Chris prints out loose digital bluelines, not hand drawn in blue pencil, and then uses his inks to detail them.  

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1 hour ago, Doc McCoy said:

You would have to clarify with Felix @Nexus, but I think Chris prints out loose digital bluelines, not hand drawn in blue pencil, and then uses his inks to detail them.  

Chris does both. It's Sean Phillips whose blue is only digital ;)

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1 hour ago, Blastaar said:

Here is a good example of what I was really getting at. I am interested in this cover but a little turned off by the heavy use of the blue pencils. If it was graphite I would most likely purchase without hesitation. 

 

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If I was already interested in that, the blue wouldn't change that.

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7 hours ago, Blastaar said:

Not talking about a blue line scan. Some artist will use a blue pencil to set the scene on a page and then go over it with traditional graphite. The look is not very appealing as for a collector you can see the blue sketches on the page. My questions are does this effect value? Is it still considered original pencils if listing it? And does it turn you off as a collector?

I think you are indirectly confusing OA with fine art. OA is quite literally production art, and you are seeing the artist doing his production. When you are invested in this kind of art, that's a benefit (Although, I don't care for paste-ups used to modify the original drawing, which are an analagous subject, and don't seem to affect the value either). Fine art is "finished art", so you shouldn't see it. 

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Blue lines can be distracting. Take in point this Rick Mays piece I used to own. Rick used blue line pencils to lay out a grid and then drew the art. It was much more noticeable in person than this scan. While I did really enjoy the Zatanna, all the blue boxes became too distracting when I looked at it and I eventually sold it.

 

Zatanna Everyday Magic by Mays Comic Art

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