Inking Comics

I don’t like to hear my own voice. But I knew I needed to at least share some of my inking tips with people who are gracious enough to follow and enjoy my work. I know there are a few like-minded creators out there who’ve asked me about my inking techniques and some of my favorite pens, etc. and I decided to make this video to help answer some of those questions. What ensued was an hour of me making mistakes, shaking the camera and then spending days just trying to upload the video to youtube. Yeah… And as I said before… I hate the sound of my voice.

But… if you want to at least learn a few things about how I ink. And can power through. There might be a nugget or two of helpful info that I impart.

And feel free to leave a comment, if there are any future videos you’d like to see. I may or may not employ a voice actor next time.

FYI here are a list of the pens I use and links to where you can purchase them.

Zebra Disposable Brush Pen (Fine)
This is a great pen for pages. It helps me knock out some pages really quick. It’s not as precise as a brush, nor does it give as varied a line width, but it is great in a pinch and also great for sketching on the go. Drying time is fairly quick but can smudge so be careful.

Kuretake Disposable Brush Pen (Fine)
It bothers me that they call this a brush pen. Maybe when you first buy it, it kinda is.. but it’s far to stiff for me to call it that. But it’s great, for lining borders/panels, for outlining blacks, and for some technical/non-varied line width line work. I really think of this tool as a work horse. It can do quite alot. And the ink dries pretty quick. I rarely have any issues with smudging or bleeding on paper.

Pentel Color Brush Pen
While I think mine is an older model, these pens really are amazing. The closest I’ve found to an actual brush with ink. I use these quite alot for big areas of black these days as they do tend to smudge and have horrendous drying time. But you can ink pretty well with them with practiced hand. I just prefer my ink to dry slower. I’m sure there are ways to refill them with different ink.. and I probably will one day. Just to try it.

Micron Pens Size 01
These are great pens, especially for when I do detail work. I don’t like going smaller, as the smaller sizes get fragile and the line work with smaller sizes just doesn’t show up well in print, but the 01 is a perfect size. The 03 is pretty good too, but any larger and you might as well use one of the brush pens above or just go with the best below…

Windsor Newton Series 7 #2 Brush
The greatest brush ever. I have never enjoyed a piece of arting more than this brush. There is no equal. One day perhaps. But not this day. This brush does just about everything I want it to do. I do have issues drawing small with it, but that’s just because I’m getting older. I use Higgins Black Magic ink as it dries almost instantly so no smudging at all, but you can any ink. Just know the thicker and blacker, the longer the drying time usually.

Anyway these are my tools. I hope you enjoy the video.