Have you seen any of the horrible slew of digitally inked comics on the market these days? Blehhh. I think they are unreadable for the most part.
The Mysterious Mike N. (Login ArgentFox) Byrne Victim
Re: Inkers, are they still needed / required?
March 17 2004, 8:21 PM
The inker is very much needed. An experienced inker with their brush does a better job and is faster than someone who wants to scan and use photoshop to do the same work.
I think of how Disney tried to get rid of the cell inker in animation by using Xerography. If you look at Robin Hood you can see how that made for a weak line and a messy picture, the animator's sketch marks were copied onto the finished film and couldn't be erased.
Disney didn't go back to the inker, because they don't have traditional cells anymore, but instead made a full division for Art Clean Up to basically do the same job.
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Mike Nebeker - Super Genuis Good Judgement comes from Experience
And Experience comes from... Bad Judgement
I think I was actually talking more about the scanned pictures than the digital inking. But I think some of the "human" element is lost without people, a table and frustrated hands.
I also don't like the new digital covers. the type that greg horn does. It looks like he scanned a picture of a model and then painted over top?
<<Have you seen any of the horrible slew of digitally inked comics on the market these days? Blehhh. I think they are unreadable for the most part.>>
Digital inking is part of what killed my last project. I was happy with the end product as it was more fluid than my usual technique but it was three times more laborious and control was very difficult. -Rick
"I also don't like the new digital covers. the type that greg horn does. It looks like he scanned a picture of a model and then painted over top?"
Agreed.
In the past, I'd occasionally talk to folks who were surprised to learn comics were actually hand-drawn by REAL people. More often than not they'd tell me they thought comics were done by computers (I believe I've encountered this thinking at least as far back as the early 80's!).
Really, for me, comics are losing much of their charm as they become more computerized.
On the other hand, JB has offered a great service lately showing (through this board) how one can use the computer as a tool and still keep one's own identity.
IMO inkers are very important.
Take a look at Farel Dalrymple's Pop Gun War.
Look at Paul Pope's work.
Pull out a John Byrne inked book.
You can feel the ink. I love sequential art
that has an inky feel to it. Brush, pen or any
instrument that can lay the ink on a page can be
used. I like the idea of hands ink stained putting
the lines on the paper. There is something powerful
in that. I LOVE seeing John Byrne's penciled pages.
I love to see before and after. It is interesting
to see different inkers interpret JB's penciled
images. I happen to fall into the crowd that believes
JB should be inked by a "tracer" type inker.
I want a John Byrne comic to be a John Byrne comic.
That doesn't mean I didn't love JLA #94.
Ordway inks are strong but John Byrne's art was
still visible.
I love ink.
I compare comic book production to the film industry. The penciler is like a film director and the inker is the cinematographer. One can't live without the other.
I think of how Disney tried to get rid of the cell inker in animation by using Xerography. If you look at Robin Hood you can see how that made for a weak line and a messy picture, the animator's sketch marks were copied onto the finished film and couldn't be erased.
<<<<<<<<
I disagree. I actually LOVE that sketchy look. The Disney films that used it (such as 101 Dalmations, Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Aristocats) have always been my favorites as far as the animation is concerned. The characters have much more life and energy. Inks always seem to leech just a little of that life out of the animation.
Considering that I make my living as an inker, I would say yes they are needed. Also, it's the way comics have been done for a great many years, and is how the comic style is defined by the public. We should stay true to our medium.
I don't think there will ever be a point where Every penciler will be able to, or want to, produce pencils that are tight enough to be shot direct - as well as the whole theory that inkers help keep the concept of monthly scheduals by breaking up the job -- however, some artists can and do a good job -- and there is always room for differant artistic looks on books. I think the key is more getting uber-computer tricked out colourists to learn how to handle pencils.
(besides, i'm thrilled by the lastest "just pencils" convert, Tom Raney on outsiders, if for no other reason it means Scott Hanna isn't destroying his work anymore)
For those of you have an interest in the art of inking, the Inking Survey website has a great question and answer forum with various comic book inkers. I found this site to be a wonderful wealth of information.
I don't think that digital inking, expecially using a Wacom tablet is necessarily a bad thing. But like Photoshop coloring, some people believe that a computer will lend them a talent they don't otherwise have. Give Joe Sinnott a Wacom tablet and let him get used to using it and he'll make a masterpiece. Give it to Bob Fanboy and he'll make a mess.
I think that the best inkers are those that use a light touch and don't tend to rework or overwork the pencils provided to them. (That's presuming the pencils provided to them are of the same caliber as those of John Byrne.)
Ultimately, though, having a single hand do both the pencils and inks is the only way to have a true consistency of vision. I remember that David Mazzuchelli was so unhappy with the inking over his pencils for Daredevil that he endeavored to do the inks himself, which I think was a good decision.(His "Born Again" saga and the later Batman: Year One, both produced with Frank Miller, truly stood out as some of the best examples of the super-hero genre.)
Chuck Hoffmann
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"Osama bin Laden has about as much to do with Islam as Charlie Manson has to do with the Beatles" - Me
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