Yes, practice makes perfect, and a steady hand is a golden one. Yet, nothing beats zooming in to 500%, being able to choose your "nib" size and shape as you see fit, with a pressure-simulating Wacom pen, and erase or undo, at will. I'm not even getting into the power of layering and selecting. I just don't feel as nervous when I know I can always "fix" it or just start over in a second. No drying ink. And well, in a lot of ways, finer work.
Actually, I didn't erase much, change nib sizes or need to undo at all. But, I had been so worried to lay down lines of real, unalterable black ink on white paper, while working with such a delicate subject as Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa, in marble and, therefore, tones of white.
The thing of utmost importance, which working in Photoshop allowed me to see and have the confidence to do, was to just put those lines down where I believe they should lay. The more, the better (as long as they truly reflect the curves of the subject), and the denser the line and darker the black, the more delicate the opposing surface seems. The example in the first image needs even more line, not less, to look more delicate. Beard, shmeard.
And plus, so many other cool things to do with Photoshop, like making St. Theresa's habit out of Lily of the Valley.
