Inking

Ty Templeton and Sean Murphy both recently posted blogs about inking, which got me thinking about it. Also, “Project BOOM!” is about to roll into the last few bits before I move into inking the whole thing, though I’ve already started inking the cover. Anyway…

I love inking. It’s arguably the most frustrating and time-consuming part of the process (actually, I take that back because I hand-letter and hand-lettering is really goddamn time-consuming), but at the same time it’s so incredibly rewarding to see a page transform to life when I start inking over my own pencils. A lot of the time, the pencils can be so sparse, that inks make the comic page almost entirely different.

Inking also is a great place for me to experiment when it comes to making my own comics, doing brush-only inks or pen-only, trying out Sharpies for huge swaths of black compared to India ink instead. It’s an art that can dramatically shift the way a page looks from inker to inker, and an artform unto itself that is just as legitimate as something like pencils.

I’m not begrudging, mind you, people who work digitally and basically end up doing the “inks” as they do the “pencils” at the same time, drawing through a tablet like a Wacom, or even someone who uses software like Photoshop to enhance and digitally alter the analog-drawn pencils to look like they’ve literally become the inked version. Everyone does everything differently, and every single approach is just as valid.

Except the way that Twilight comic got lettered. That shit is just fucked.

I’d like to think that inking will remain a skill that people in comics will continue to hone and use and not totally let die. I know hand-lettering’s not totally dying, and I take some small comfort in the fact that my lack of knowledge in tech-savvy versions of certain cartooning skills (digital inking and lettering and post-production) has made me appreciate old-fashioned skills associated with comics.

Sorry, I’m rambling, time to get back to writing and drawing things.