Tom Bonin: Inking

Inking! How do you do it, how do you choose the right brush or nib, how do you look after said tool, what paper, lead or blue pencil? The list of questions I've posed goes on and on. I've compiled here bits and pieces that I've picked up over the years helping me on my inking journey.

I must say though, I haven't found any one solution. Why? Because art is a very personal thing. You can be shown a million techniques but ultimately you have to come up with your own. Coming up with your own doesn't mean that what was shown you didn't help - it helped a lot - but you take a bit from here a bit from there and that's how you create your own.

Following you will find a list of links and clips which have helped me in my quest for how to ink. Very different approaches to the same problems but all helpful.

First up. Any one who hasn't bookmarked or gone through the archives of the comic tools blog should do right away. Matt Bernier (and others) has systematicly broken down each process to comic creating and gives great tips from different artists on how they tackle the problems they face. Inks, pencils, papers, rubbers and a whole glut of tools are all reviewed and compared. Use this wonderful resourse, it's great!

Secondly. Inkers buy this. Gary Martin's Comic Book Inking book really helped me, especially when it came to using a brush. Martin is very systematic and controlled - not a very exciting inker but he is a clear and comprehensive teacher. Though the best thing about this book is the end, where different artist ink over the same pencils. What's great about this section is that it lets you know there is no right answer and that an inkers style really defines the final image.

When inking other peoples pencils I use a brush but brushes are so hard to look after properly. At $30+ a pop you want your brush to last. I've never gone past 50 pages with one brush and I'm afraid nothing I've found out has helped me so far (appart from Matt Bernier's insanely anal approach - which I can't do). But I do have a solution: brush pens. They definitely don't come close to a good sable brush but they come close enough. I use these Pentel aquawash brush pens (here are some I found on ebay) with Pebeo ink - which was recommended me by Brendan Halyday.