Step #9: Inking Pages for Your Comic Book – 8-Page Challenge #2

We are pretty far along with our 8-page comic story. You are one step closer to being a published comic book creator. Give yourself a nice socially distant thumbs up!

In Step 1, you planned your story concept for an 8-Page Story. In Step 2, you broke down your story into a plot. In Step 3, you revised the plot. In Step 4, our artists started creating character sheets. In Step #5, you wrote your script in “full script” format. In Step 7, you roughted out your comic book pages. In Step 8, you pencilled your art.

In Step 9, you’ll be adding depth, dimension, and delineation to your penciled pages by adding inks.

To participate in the 8-Page Challenge #2 and be published in our upcoming anthology, you must register for the message boards and place your inked pages in the Step 9 folder in the Forums .

About Inking

Inking can be a difficult concept for some people to really understand. If the penciler is the artist of the comic, then what’s the inker? Well, the inker is an artist too, just an artist that contributes to the art in a different way. Some pencilers ink their own work and some inkers are also pencilers.

If it sounds like you need art skills to be an inker, you would be correct. Inking can enhance or destroy penciled art, so it’s important for inkers to have art ability. Most traditional inkers will use a brush to get the effect they want on the pencil art.

Inking was traditionally something done with actual black ink on art boards. Inking brings depth and delineation to pencils, which typically do not reproduce all that well on comic pages. Over the years, techniques have changed and many inkers favor digital inks.

Ron Lim’s Inks for Avengers Assemble (updated section)

Here are the inks from Ron Lim’s Avengers Assemble. You may also want to check out Ron’s pencilled pages and Buddy Scalera’s script for Avengers Assembled.

Inking Resources

At this time, we’re following the creative workflow of an Avengers Assemble story that I wrote for Marvel Comics. My editor Darren Sanchez provided insight into the creative planning and editing process. Legendary artist Ron Lim shared his pencil roughs and final pencils.

Todd McFarlane Digital Inking (and some coloring)

Terry Moore on Inking with a Brush

Walden Wong on Inking Faces for Marvel Comics

And then there’s this classic scene from Kevin Smith’s “Chasing Amy” movie. You’ll recognize some significant Hollywood stars talking about inking comic books.

Chasing Amy “You’re a Tracer”

Ready, Set, Ink!

Okay, so now it’s your turn. If you are participating in the 8 Page Challenge, you should post your rough comic book pages in the Step #9 Inking Showcase forum in the Create@ComicBookSchool forums. Also, you should feel free to leave comments for the participants to help them improve their work.