Comic book inking tips

When trying to break into the comic book industry, just remember that youll be up against some pretty stiff competit. Legendary comic book inker klaus janson uses dcs worldfamous charactersincluding batman, superman, and wonder womanto demonstrate an array of inking techniques, covering such topics as using textures, varying line weights, creating the illusion. Pen strokes inking how to draw comics cartooning book george carlson. The most common inking utensils are the crowquill pen and brushes.

I found one book i still heartily recommend, called the art of comic book. Keep inking brush textures consistent with the transparent swatch. This is the common standard for cartoonists and comic book artists. Now the other tool, which is my favorite of the two and one which i think every artist should own is a brush. There are more than brushes but i will leave that up to you to figure everything out. Although many comic book and comic strip artists do most of their inking work with a pen, artists such as bill waterston calvin and hobbes, walt kelly pogo, will eisner the spirit, and jack kirby cocreator of captain america have turned to brushes to create effects not readily made with a metal point or nib. If youre interested in starting comics, then make it about something you love drawing. How to create a comic strip with your kids in 7 easy steps.

The most popular brush for comic inking that i always saw mentioned by pretty much every inker ever interviewed is the windsor newton series 7 no. Tips for inking comic panels learn clip studio paint. Place your ink in a small container, like a soda or milk bottle cap. Inking was necessary in the traditional printing process as presses could not reproduce pencilled drawings. The illustration of a comic book or a graphic novel is a subject of enormous breadth and depth, but an overview of the process can be presented in a few short paragraphs. If you love architecture, then your main character could be a building, roaming through. Design some memorable characters and create initial sketches. In this tutorial i will go over how i digitally ink a comic and go over some tips, techniques, and tools to aid you in your comic art.

The dc comics guide to inking comics by klaus janson. Gary martins two volumes of the art of comicbook inking have been combined into a single valuepriced volume and expanded with new material, including three additional bluelined artboards featuring pencil art by master comics illustrators jack kirby, john buscema, and gil kane. Generally, a brush or pen is used to ink comic book pages, but some inkers use both. They use ink to incorporate dynamic lighting, and add shading and textures which may be lacking in the penciled work. The art of comicbook inking 2nd edition gary martin. Tips on transitioning from penciling to inking how to draw comics. It is sturdy enough to support reworking and the use of screentones yet thin enough to use easily with a lightbox. If you take extra care planning the story and the structure of the comic, you will avoid drawing yourself into a. The trick here is that almost anything that can put ink on paper can be used from mechanical pens, to sharpies, to qtips or sponges. The inking of comic book pencils is often a misunderstood artform. See more ideas about sketches, comic books art and comic art.

Comic book digital ink brushes v2 photoshop ink brush. Klaus janson clears up any misunderstandings, and delivers an excellent treatise on the subject. The dc comics guide to inking comics free pdf books. The art of comic book inking is divided into three sections. This is used primarily in the inking of comic books. Here is a video that shows a few techniques on digital inking and how i look at the artwork while going through the process. By and large, the comic industry has relied on bristol board as its paper of choice, with strathmore and canson being two of the most common brands youll find in an art store. The tips provided below should give you a leg up on the competition, provided, of course, that you also have a decent amount of artistic talent. Acrylic markers amazon affiliate link click here for the next lesson. Deleter comic paper is designed for professional japanese comic artists. The bristol paper holds ink very well and will not bleed as easily as regular bond type papers. What janson leaves out can be found in other books, but he carved the meat off the bone where others before were clawing off unappetizing chunks. Comic inking is the art of preparing a penciled drawing for printing.

Kevin makes comics 8 inking tips and techniques youtube. Gutters are an almost subliminal part of the comic book reading process, since they represent the events between panels and pages. Get the new limited special edition commemorative crablor. A number of graphic editing software can aid in comic book inking, adobe photoshop, illustrator and many others.

Michael cho, ink and shadow drawing techniques, drawing tips, drawing. Since your jar of ink may have a lot of ink, it is best to conserve by placing just. Bring out lighting and texture in a comic when inking with a brush with tips from a comics marketer, writer and creator in this free video on comics. If theres any company that knows a thing or two about inking its dc comics. No matter how you combine these elements, always keep in mind that each comics panel and page should read in the same order as a. Finally at the back of the book are 8 inking boards where they can be photocopied to be used for practice.

Learn these different styles and comic book art techniques. Digitally inking comics tends to take a lot longer to wrap up then traditional. How to make a comic book, design, characters, and cover. Its smooth surface works especially well with pen and ink but is also suitable for pencil and marker. Before you start inking anything, you need a surface on which to place said inks. It is a natural sable hair brush, meaning the hairs are from a small mammal called a sable, or can also be from a weasel. They are bold and dark, funny and poignant, and have the same narrative power that other mediums do to move you to tears, make you laugh, or break your heart. When you have a character and an idea of what you want to tell, it might be tempting to just dive in and start drawing.

The inker sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production the penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil, pen or a brush. Some comic inkers and comic artists now seek for the convenience of using computers in creating comics, opting for a faster and easier approach. While covering all the essential topics, including equipment and techniques, janson also delves into a philosophical approach, as to what the inker should be thinking about as he. Either start by sketching out an interesting character with a distinct visual style and decide what theyre like after youve drawn them, or pick 23 distinct personality traits and sketch a character that fits what you imagine based on their personality. Mar 23, 20 i have been adding brushes to the list for doing digital sketching and inking in photoshop. Inking superhero comics in clip studio paint art rocket. Each panel, strip, page and spread is a graphic unit. Portraying the mass, depth, and form of your objects. Top ten tips for comics creators ebook comics for beginners resource page. Inking tips jesse hamm once upon a time, inking comics was necessary because comics were printed on newsprint, and media like pencils, pastels, or paint didnt show up very well in. The illustrations would be used to help the rest of the creative team cast the roles for the film, aid in costume design and provide a bit of. A storyline or story arc is like a comic book, with each comic strip in the series carrying over to the next and. The dc comics guide to inking comics isnt really a complete howto guide. Read more to find out how you can write your own comic book, with tips on everything from writing a comic book script, storyboard, inking, and more.

What you need to know about comic book illustrations. With the sakura 50201 6piece pigma manga comic pro drawing kit, youre able to get 6 different types of drawing utensils for the comics youre putting together. Last night i finished, and have to recommend this as the best book i ever read on the subject of comic book inking, and there is little need to improve over it as a feast of information. The traditional comic book will move through the stages of penciling, inking, coloring, and then the lettering.

The reason for this is its so hard to find actual producing artists at the amateur level, so finding. Make a simple penciled drawing, one that has clean lines so its easier for you to start. Gary martins two volumes of the art of comicbook inking have become the industrystandard. This massive comic book publisher employs thousands of artists with inking experience and many of them share industry insights in this book. Earlier this year i was commissioned to come up with a series of character illustrations for cohort pictures new film project. Which is a major issue for a comic book artist, because in. Books similar to the dc comics guide to inking comics. Inking is a refining process that builds on the sketch that you made. Inking comics with brushes provides the possibility of more flow than can be achieved with a technical pen. Comic book artists do not just settle in shading their works using pencil. Sakura 50201 6piece pigma manga comic pro drawing kit. There are notes on equipment, inking with pen and with brush, shading, feathering and crosshatching, contouring that is, edging an element of the picture to help define it in some way facial shadows, backgrounds.

Comic book inking techniques narrated blackstone eternal. Tips for inking comic panels now that we have some foundational knowledge of inking and of inking tools in clip studio paint, lets talk about inking a comic page. Digital inking insights how to create comics 2x faster youtube. A stepbystep guide to all aspects of comic book creationfrom conceptualization to early drafts to marketing and promotionwritten by two of the industrys most seasoned and successful pros. Americas leading comic book publisher brings its superstar creators and classic characters to the third in an authoritative series of books on how to create comics. Find more incredible comic book resources on envato market and envato elements. Nguyens awesome comic book inking tutorial part 2 paintingtube. If you intend to print the comic, scan at 300 dpi dots per inch. If you really love what youre doing and care about what youre trying to say, its going to be a lot easier to dedicate the time and effort youre going to need.

You need to really believe in your comic book concept and want to share it with others. How to start inking comics about inking comic books. With enough practice, you can graduate from tracing with vellum to actually inking overtop of your pencils that youve laid down on professional grade bristol paper. These are some general tips, of course, because we could write an entire book about just inking comics and entire books have, in fact, been written about this. Kamandi pp in erik larsens jack kirby comic art gallery room comic book pages. Check hillgroveimpsandmonsters for product links and more. I also like to refer back to the comic book inking workshop joe. Comicbook inking tutorial justin hillgrove imps and monsters. This is the one where i share my inking tools, tips, process, and techniques. For the aspiring artist who wants to become an expert comic book inker, the dc comics guide to inking comics is the definitive, onestop resource.

Comicbook inking tutorial justin hillgrove imps and. If you are a wizard at drawing foliage, then set your drawing in a jungle. If you want to know how to become a comic book artist, then this is the place to start. This ink is a black carbonbased ink that is used because it retains its color when put to the page. The first 70 or so pages are concerned with the basics of inking. The northern mist, a suspense horror set during the roman occupation of briton. Instead its an intro to the topic with some ideas and principles discussed, along with advice from professional inkers. Kevin makes comics 8 inking tips and techniques duration. In this article, american comic artist scott drummond explains how the. Another cool tip is dont worry about going outside the lines we have our perfect.