Of course, back when artists had to use India Ink on paper, this process could be tedious and stressful - imagine being almost done with your work and spilling your ink or making a mistake! Skilled inkers could correct errors in the pencil work, add light and shadow to the art, giving the illusion of depth, and make the art “pop” off the page. This was an important part of the publishing process, because these bold inked lines were easier to reproduce in print than lighter pencil lines. Back in the days before computers, comic inking was done with actual ink and pen or brush over pencil work. Inking, sometimes called “line art”, is simply the process of going over a rough drawing to provide a final line.

If you’re ready to start giving finalized lines to your drawings, let’s get to work! How to get smooth inking results without giving yourself a headache Never ink on the wrong layer again by using layer colors

Inking doesn’t have to be drudgery, and it doesn’t have to take forever! In this article, we will cover these topics: I want to share some of my best practices and tips and tricks for inking with you, in the hopes that this will help those that have trouble with making digitally inked works. With tools that work for you and a process that fits into your workflow, you can make inking less painful. I know a lot of artists who find “inking” to be the most frustrating part of their creating process, but inking is my absolute favorite thing to do when I’m making a drawing! There is something so satisfying about taking my sketch and giving it life and motion with the inking process, for me. In this article, I am going to be teaching you the basics of inking your drawings.

Many of you probably know my name from those books, in fact! I was a beta-tester on the Manga Studio 5 program and for Clip Studio Paint, and I have written three books and several video courses about the program. Hello! My name is Liz Staley and I’m a long-time user of Clip Studio Paint (I started using the program back when it was known as Manga Studio 4!).

Clip studio paint line art