I've been looking at some other artists on youtube who put up videos of their process. I've seen a great deal of artists use the pen tool in photoshop for their line art. Now I'm not trying to dodge it here- I really want my linework to look less messy, but the pen tool seems freakishly overcomplicated. It's like learning geometry to be really good at playing pool. I'm curious to know if other artists use the pen tool to make their linework smooth, or is there another trick I'm just missing?

In the mean time, I guess I'm just going to have to start practicing a lot more with it.