Create contrast with inkwash
Comic book artist Pepe Larraz shows how he’s able to separate different layers on an inkwash illustration by using tonal value and contrast
Pepe Larraz reveals how he separates different layers on an inkwash illustration.
Everything in my art is defined by the relationship between light and shadow. And because I work in black and white most of the time, this relationship is expressed by tonal value and contrast. Black, white and everything in between.
For this workshop I’m going to create an illustration that will feature three characters, each one with a distinct contrast between black and white. This will help to separate the different layers on the image, and will act as an unifying thread to explore the possibilities of inkwash.
There are only four ways to represent the relationship between light and shade in a painting: dark over light; light over dark (both of these approaches result in strong, powerful silhouettes); light over light; and dark over dark (these two rely on subtle tone variations).
In this particular case I’m going to use a scheme of dark to light to dark. The foreground will have the more extreme contrast (almost pure black against pure whites) while the middle layer will display middle values – different tones of grey with almost no pure black. The third figure, the source of light, will be portrayed in almost white over white flames. The flames will be silhouetted by the dark background.
An illustration has to tell a story with only one image. I need to convey the idea unequivocally, in the most expressive and aesthetic way possible. Let’s do this…
Transfer the digital sketch 1
Nowadays I do my sketches in Clip Studio Paint because it enables me to cut, copy change and move elements around more quickly. Then I print the sketch and trace it on a lightbox. This ensures that the paper for the definitive piece remains clean.
2 Fast, clean pencilling
The traced pencils should be clean and detailed, but I’m not aiming for beautiful line art – just a functional, clear image. More graphite on the paper than necessary makes it harder to carry out the water techniques.