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04/08/2003: some things I've learned about inking
The inking of my Batman picture goes about as well as expected, which is not very well as far as the end result is concerned, however as far as activities go I enjoy it quite a bit. I mean, it's the first time in years I'm inking something with a brush, and I'm not used to handling the tool. At least I have fun doing it, and I know there's no way I'll improve without doing it (no matter how incompetent the result looks).
Anyway, the things I've learned so far, in no particular order:
- It is not easy to get the right amount of ink on the brush for the kind of line you want, though a too wet brush results more often in disasters than a too dry one.
- To move the brush slower in order to have more control is a very bad idea. The line will look much crappier when the brush is moved slower because more ink than supposed to is sucked onto the paper. The slight gain in control and certainty is totally obliterated by the unwanted side effects of slower brush movement.
- I have the weird urge to get close to the paper when I ink, to look at it without my glasses (my focus without glasses is maybe an inch from my eyes, I'm really myopic). Maybe I need new glasses or something (I hope not), but really I don't do this when I use a pencil, so I have no idea what causes the impulse to only see a tiny, tiny fraction of the image up really close while I ink, but I do know that it is hell on my back. My desk was not designed for me to hover with my nose on the paper, and to sit for hours bend forward in this fashion comes with dire consequences. My back still hurts from yesterday.
- I should perhaps think about getting a book on inking, because I don't really manage to produce lines and areas that look anything like I want them to. As of yet I haven't managed to reproduce the effects I see in comic book inking I like, which is probably to be expected since I'm new at this, but frustrating nonetheless. And sure, a book won't fix that, but in my experience trial and error can go a lot better with some pointers.
Sigh.
