The Purpose and Art of Inking

Over the course of the last decade I have meet a lot of aspiring inkers – few of which know anything about inking. Most just consider it tracing, with no idea of its history or its artistic value.

Indeed, many I have meet just consider it an ‘easy’ way to break into comics and make money.

WRONG! First it is more than just ‘tracing,’ and is definitely not ‘easy’ or an ‘easy’ way to make money. Inking, the ART of inking is a key and valuable ingredient to creating comics. If it wasn’t people couldn’t have made a career out of it.

I have tried my hand at inking, and have inked a few pieces for artist friends of mine. I haven’t done so in a few years, but plan on returning to it as part of my art studies this year.

Before we get to in depth, I want to discuss the historical rise of inking. Why did inking come about? What was its original purpose?

Have you ever photocopied or scanned a piece of pencil art? How did it come out? Did you have to adjust the darkness?

Have you every photocopied or scanned a piece of inked art? I bet it came out much better.

That was the original purpose of inking. Adding inks to any line art, allowed it to be printed with much more clarity. The original purpose of inking was to make art printable.

It had nothing to do with artistic value at that point. Though, even then it served as more than mere tracing, as inkers were often called upon to ‘fix’ mistakes in the art. Over the decades that followed inking has evolved into an art form all its own.

Indeed inking ads depth and substance to line art, which makes it printable. In fact, that is inking’s main purpose in modern comics, to add depth, substance and enhance the original pencil line art.

The same exact rules that govern the original line art, also guide the hand of the inker. Yes, the inker ads ink by following the lines of the pencil art, but that is only the beginning. If all one did was follow the lines and add ink that would create a flat piece. The inker’s job is far more valuable.

The inker must determine the weight of each line, how thick or thin it should be. He/She must understand what needs to be made prominent and what should stay in the background. Not every line can be the same thickness.

If every single line is the same thickness, then there is no depth and the image will be flat. Varying the weight of each line create substance, depth and ads to the perception of the piece.

The tricky part is understanding which lines need what weight, and how best to enhance the image.

It is a tricky skill, but one that can be mastered with time and experience.

Of course digital inking is a different beast, but the same rules apply. It is not simple inverting the scanned line art. One must still follow the guidelines, varying thickness, added substance and depth. Enhancing the original art.

A good inker can made good art better. A great inker can made bad art look good.

Ace Masters