Now, I know I said in the last lesson–the one about pencilling–that that was the real nitty gritty, but I’ve decided now that I was wrong; inking is the real nitty gritty! So, nitty-gritty in fact that in order to cover all the ground I want to cover, I’m going to break this inking lesson up into two columns, so let’s get rolling–there’s a lot to talk about.
First off, I confess: I love inking! I don’t know exactly why. I think it’s got something to do with the finality of it. Inking is the final step in comics-making in which you get to work directly on the paper. Everything post-inking is all digital. Also, there’s something really visceral about the flow of the ink and the arcane tools you use to apply it.
Ok… ok… enough of my waxxing poetic about the inking process…
First, an oft-ignored question: Why does one ink at all? Historically, there are probably a number of factors that have lead to comics and cartoons typically being outlined in black ink. The direct precidents to the modern printed comic book are early cartoon drawings “drawn” with a process similar to etching, in which the lines which comprise the image had to be actual indentations in a metal plate, which was then filled with ink and used to print on paper. Even with the advent of more modern printing gear, though, cartoon illustration retained the black outline I think for a number of reasons, most prominent among them, readability at a fairly small scale (also, I’d speculate that this is the origin if the “big head” in cartooning).
When someone says a particular image “looks cartoony” or “looks like a comic book” usually what he or she is responding to is in a large part the bold black ink outlines. (Exageration and simplification would be my other likely candidates in this department.) And even with modern printing methods, an image outlined in black will reproduce better utilizing less expensive printing methods than a comparable grayscale image.
Make no mistake–inking is an art. (Insert Chasing Amy joke here.) Bad inking can ruin the best pencils and great inking can make mediocre pencil work come alive. The real artistry of inking is knowing what to ink and what not to ink–and frankly that’s far too broad a subject to get into in a column like this. If you really want an in-depth understanding of this aspect of the inking process, I highly recommend The Art of Comic Book Inking, edited by Gary Martin, and of course lots and lots of practice.
What I will discuss here, though, are some basic tips and tricks that I’ve picked up in my inking over the years, and I’ll be paying particular attention to a few oddball tools that you might not find mentioned in standard “how to” inking articles. I’ll be referring to this picture of my inking setup throughout:
(Click for larger image)
So, you’re sitting down to start inking. What’s the fist step? Right off the bat, you should secure the bristol board pageof pencil artwork to a drawing board of some sort. You should secure it with drafting tape, which is basically masking tape that’s less sticky, and will therefore be less likely to tear your paper. Securing it like this prevents the page from moving around as you’re trying to ink. A drawing board is preferable, as opposed to just sticking the page to your table, since you can rotate a drawing board around–enabling you to shift areas of drying fresh ink away from you as you move on to work on other areas while that dries.
Also, it’s a good idea to go over the pencilled page with a kneading eraser to remove excess pencil graphite before you even start. If you (or whomever has pencilled the page you’re about to ink) draws with a heavy hand and really lays on the graphite, you’ll definitely want to do this since it’ll remove large loose patches of graphite that might otherwise cause the ink to pull off when you erase the original pencil lines at the end of the inking process. You can see a kneeding eraser in my picture–it’s numbered 3. To femove excess graphite with a kneeding eraser, roll the eraser into a “snake” shape (you know, like with playdough) and gently roll it over the entire page. You may have to knead the eraser and then repeat this process if there’s a ton of loose graphite on the page.
Although the order in which you ink doesn’t really matter, I usually begin by ruling my panel borders. My favorite tool for doing this is the extra-wide “pink” Rapidograph pen. It’s not contained in the standard set of Rapidograph pens… and that’s because it’s silly wide! But, it makes great panel borders. I have no idea what the official gauge of this pen is, but its trim color is pink. You can see it peeking out among my other Rapidograph pens at #11 on the photo.
A word about Rapidograph pens: they require a bit of extra care, as opposed to a disposable felt-tip pen, but if taken care of properly will last for years and years. The set pictured here is about ten years old. They’re refillable and use their own type of Rapidograph India ink (pictured at #5), although I’ve heard you can use regular old non-“official” Rapidograph inks as well. After using a Rapidograph, you should wipe off the point with cleaner–again an official Rapidograph product–that you can see pictured here at #2. That little jar that I keep the fluid in is actually a jar that artichoke hearts come in! Just dip the pen point in and then wipe off with a rag (#12, if you’re keeping track). They also need to be stored point-up. You can buy fancy pen-holders, but I find that a washed out aluminum can works just fine. (Even if I someday win the lottery, I’m going to store my art supplies in old bean cans–it’s just cool.)
Another essential panel border-ruling item you’ll need is a decent ruler. Not just any ruler, though–you’ll need a ruler that doesn’t sit flush on the paper. You can spot these good rulers by flipping one over. You’ll find a small thin strip of cork, or similar “ledge” material, on the bottom. This lifts the metal edge of the ruler slightly off the page and prevents ink from beading up between the paper’s surface and the ruler’s edge. If it does beads up like this, you’ll get a nasty smear when you move the ruler after you’ve drawn the border. In a pinch, here’s an age-old cartoonists’ trick: you can use a regular ruler and tape a couple of pennies onto the bottom of it to achieve the same thing!
I usually next do the lettering and balloons. If you’re going to do your lettering and balloons on a computer, you can skip this step, of course. I letter with Speedball nibs and they require a Speedball staff to hold them. You can see a couple of black Speedball staffs on the right side of the pen holder… I mean “the bean can”… that holds my Rapidographs (#11). Using these nibs can take a bit of getting used to. I’ve found that the key to getting a nice, varried line is the angle at which one holds the point. The nib has an upturned “nub” at the end, and lettering seems to look best when the bottom edge of this nub is at about a 22 degree angle to the horizontal of the page.
As far as the balloons go, you can use anything that gets you the line you’re looking for. I’ve used Rapidographs (usually the thinner green and orange ones) as well as brushes and Microns. I’ll discuss brushes more in the second part of the inking lesson, but microns are those tan pens pictured at #14 in the photo. You can find these pens at most arts and craft stores and they come in various widths. They require far less maintenance than Rapidographs (which is good) but are disposable and you just throw them away when the run out of ink (which is bad in my book). I use them in moderation, and I think the verdict is still out on how lightfast they are. The manufacturers claim that they’re “archival” and won’t fade in sunlight or with time, but I really don’t think they’ve been around long enough for us to know for sure…
Speaking of “being around for a long time” though, that’s probably about enough inking rambling for now. Say tuned for the next installment, in which I’ll be discussing basics of brush and crowquill, different types and brands of ink, and lots o’ other inking minutiae.
Recent Comments