How I Do It: Inking

Once we have the pencils finished, it is time to ink those drawings.  This for me is the most nerve-wracking part of the process.  Whereas I can handle general imperfections in the final look, I cannot handle mistakes.  And if you make a mistake during the inking phase, it means starting over with the pencils.

Other concerns during this phase include smudging (I use an Ultra Fine Sharpie to ink, so I have to watch where I rest my hands on the paper) and the fact that my hand has never been the steadiest.  All of these factors added together can result in a lot of nerves.  But you have to persevere!

This process is required mainly for the next step, which uses Adobe Illustrator to detect the inked lines and convert the image into a digital and much more easy-to-edit format.  It will also smooth out some of the rougher lines.  So, here's the inking of Strip #1!