In this tutorial I’ll take you through the penciling and inking process for a comic book illustration I created called “The Crimson Cat”. This particular lesson is broken up into two parts, and in part one we’ll be focusing on the inks of the character herself.
To begin, we’ll start out with an extremely small thumbnail sketch that’ll capture the overall composition and placement of the key elements featured in the illustration. Then we’ll use the transform tool inside Manga Studio to increase the size of the rough draft in preparation for articulating the finer details within the drawing.
Still in the drafting stage of the art work, I’ll pencil in the character’s key design attributes and costume assets, and indicate the various textures and materials found within the background. The second pass of penciling will still be kept relatively rough as we reserve the final line art until we move onto the inks.
So this portion of the illustration’s development will be done fairly fast, as we focus on the broader scope of what it’ll entail.
After the draft is complete – it’s time to ink!
Each of the key sections throughout the character is first outlined with a primary contour that’s carefully weighted to capture a visually pleasing quality to the line work. Then, within that main outline we’ll fill in the interior details.
These details will define the subtler forms, materials, textures and shading throughout the character through the use of crosshatching and detailing techniques. To implement these finer details accurately however, their purpose needs to be considered very carefully.
Are we incorporating the crosshatching to shade the form, describe it, or both? What kind of material or texture are we dealing with for that particular surface form? What is the value of its tone? All of these variables will effect where we place the shadows and crosshatching on top of each form along with their degree of density.
Oftentimes, figuring out where and how to place the shading and detailing throughout your line art comes down to taking note of the materials, textures, forms and values you’re dealing with so that you can dial them accordingly to convey them accurately.
In this lesson we’ll also discuss a number of topics related to mindset and the improvement of your craft. Your journey as a comic book artist will challenge you physically, mentally and even spiritually as you dedicate yourself to the craft wholeheartedly out of unrelenting passion. Strengthening your resolve and remaining composed in the face of the obstacles that lie before you will enable you to smash past them, get better, and reach the epitome of your artistic potential.
I sincerely hope that you enjoy this video and that you take away a ton of value from what you’re about to learn. Thanks for watching and as always – keep on practicing and keep on creating!
-Clayton
Software Used: Manga Studio
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