Overthinking the inking

Inking Chuffin' Billy episode three page five and struggling with the process. After four pages of smooth Chuffin' Billy art and six months doing my sketchbook diary I thought I had a style, but the past few weeks I have had doubt in my technique. If someone compliments me or if I compliment myself I have to make the next drawing better, or as good as the last and that is a problem. This mentality sets me up to fail as I am concentrating on 'making a better drawing' and not on 'making a drawing'. When I was in a karate tournament in my twenties the judge took us aside and said 'lots of energy, but you need to start hitting something'. I refer to it as 'snuffing' my drawing out.

I enjoy the process of ink drawing and I enjoy the process of storytelling, maybe comics is the wrong medium for me. Having to get characters looking the same from different panels and from different angles, making a building look semi realistic and repeating the process. I am worrying unnecessarily but still feel like I am hiding my mistakes more than celebrating the drawing. Head down and carry on regardless.

Everything drawn and written on the page is with the usual nib (vintage Perry & Co No. 227) and Indian ink. The nib is very flexible and can give a wide variety of thick and thin lines. I acquired a box of them years ago feel like the universe was looking after me by dropping them on my drawing desk. They are the perfect size for drawing small A4 comic strip pages. I could use a thin brush in conjunction with the nib but like the all in one aspect of the flexible nib. Don't get me wrong, I like drawing small and feels intimate. Like handwriting.

The trick to inking is to mix and match the mark making. Using firm pressure for bolder lines, alternating the direction of cross hatching with the thinner lines, not going too hard on the black, keeping the contrast. An art teacher at school said the secret to ink drawing is to keep the ink to white paper ratio at fifty percent. This was something that was reinforced when I worked as a graphic designer, the screen tone in photographs should be 50/50, white dot in black and black dots in white - very zen. Those analogue days are long gone but the sentiment in the visual process remains.

This is all just 'advice'. There is no right or wrong way to 'ink'. There are plenty of artists breaking the rules and making mighty fine looking work. When you spend a lot of time in isolation these are a few of the thoughts that rattle around, that's all.