Late last year, my buddy Ramon Perez invited me to fill in for him at a class he teaches on inking comics. Specifically, he asked me to come in and give a talk to the students about how I approach lighting and "spotting blacks" (a comic term for figuring out where to put the large areas of black ink on a panel or page). Ramon's an excellent artist and inker himself, with a lot more experience in comics than me, so I really didn't know what else I could add to what he was teaching, but I agreed to give a short demonstration. Anyway, since it was a first-year/beginner's class, I thought it would be best if I covered some fundamentals. So I prepared a 3 page hand-out for the students, with some notes regarding basic concepts in inking.
Now, I don't presume to try and teach anyone reading this blog, and there are far better inkers out there than me, but I thought it might be fun to share and post those notes here. Hopefully, some of you might enjoy reading it.
22 comments:
Presumptions or no, Mr. Cho,
you can teach me anytime!
I think you did a great job laying out these principles clearly. I am sure many of the students walked away from class with some valuable new knowledge. Heck, I certainly did just taking the time to read through your lesson!
This is a FABULOUS little tutorial. My brain primarily works in the modes of line and color. I am horrible at thinking in blacks. And this breaks it down in a very understandable way. Thanks!
John: thanks, buddy. Maybe we could swap tips -- I'd love to know how you do what YOU do.
Tom: thanks, Tom. I'm not sure how many students benefited from my visit, but I'm glad you found the notes useful.
Bob Flynn: thanks, Bob. When I was starting out, I was TERRIBLE at spotting blacks -- I was a lineart kinda guy, and placing lighting and shadows was a real weakness of mine. But studying the comic artists I mentioned in my notes really helped me out.
Many, many thanks for this - it is VERY much appreciated!
very cool!!! very handy tips!! how long is the class being held??
Thanks so much for posting this!
I am in the middle of teaching my afterschool highschool Cartoon Studio the principles of inking, and this will really help! You covered a lot of things I forgot to mention to them (or just need to learn myself).
You've created a font with your handwriting!
Nice, Mike!
Very informative and pleasing to the eye.
Top notch, as always, Mr. Cho! I've moved into doing sequential stuff for publishers and as a long time fan of comics, I could never get the black right. This study in shadow theory is brilliant.
thanks a bunch! these are very interesting, i'm sure i'll be looking back on this in a day or so when i have to ink some stuff. haha
Excellent stuff, thanks a lot. I don't often use blocks of black but I should and this will get me going.
Awesome notes Mr. Cho. Very helpful, and well thought out. I think you have a lot to offer in the art/inking arena. Nicely done.
Great tips.
Much thanks for the nice comments, everyone. I'm glad you found the handouts useful.
Matt: No, this isn't a font of my handwriting. Its just a handwritten font I found a while ago and use often. I still haven't gotten around to making my own font -- I'm happier when I just hand-letter it.
thanks for posting. I've been afraid of deep shading recently and this may be the kick in the pants I need.
pax
The format you used here is very effective. Thank you
michael nicoll yahgulanaas
"Now, I don't presume to try and teach anyone reading this blog, and there are far better inkers out there than me..."
There's a vast difference between being good at something and being able to teach it, Michael. Your tutorial is excellent, especially for a beginner like me who is just getting into inking. I've seen several more advanced tutorials that I may be able to fully interpret when I am better at inks, but what those miss (and your tutorial achieves) is bringing inks down to a simple method from which to start. I'll find myself returning to it, and recommending it to others, quite a bit, I'm sure.
Thanks again, everyone. I'm glad my notes were clear enough to be useful.
Great job Michael, beautifully simple and direct, just like your style.
Thanks for the tips!!!
Thanks. Helped. :D 99
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