Smooth Greys

The spring busted on my Aaron Cain shader, so I shipped it back to him and he tuned the heck out of it. It's running perfect again. While it was gone, using other machines helped me figure a few things out.

Here's the deal. Every machine has its own... well, it's own personality. Now that I'm accumulating experience, I'm able to feel and see the differences. From the contact vibration to how the skin takes the ink, it's starting to make a sense that's difficult to explain. I just know when to turn up and down. And I know when I'm right there.

Which happens to be different with every machine. Then, to have fun with the equation, throw in an innumerable amount of skin types. You know, great stuff like elasticity and density. Even writing about it makes it sound a bit daunting. And, I'll admit that it is incredibly much so when you approach it to learn.

But it kind of just happens eventually. With the important word being "eventually".

And so, eventually, my greys are getting smoother. I'm certain my hand motions are steadier and depth variations are more consistent, all of which help a great deal. But that understanding between myself and my machine has a lot to do with it.

I've a long way to go, but I'm starting to feel like I'm actually progressing.