+DS+:: Alert

In the last couple of months, I've suffered enormously from art block. Mostly because I've gotten tired of digital. This is the first thing I've really done to get back on the horse, so to speak. I like black and white and I feel like I'm good at it, and this is a tentative piece to establish style. In my previous Demon Soul pass, I kind of went too far in eliminating line. But I realized I like it too much as an element to let go if it completely. A lot of my initial inspiration for the style was done by classic comic and old World of Darkness illustrations, especially Steve Prescott.
Having said all that, I had to rescue this digitally anyway. I ran afoul of the combination of masking fluid and bristol board trying to get spatter texture. I wish I'd run across this tutorial a lot sooner, so I'll definitely spread the word of warning: masking fluid hates bristol, and if you don't believe me, go here: [link]
I'm definitely open to hearing alternatives to bristol board, but I'm very attached to it as a medium. I visited an art store yesterday and considered art board , but I need transfer paper to use it, and it seems difficult to find board that isn't bent or stained. Still, I'd like to know if I should stick with masking fluid, find a different way to mask, or just resign myself to doing spatters in Photoshop.