Workshop: 15 tips for dynamic inking

Award-winning fantasy artist JEFF MIRACOLA shows how to take your ink drawings to an impressive and exciting new level!

Fantasy illustrator Jeff Miracola shows how to take your ink drawings to an exciting and impressive new level.

Like many young art students, the first tools I created art with were pencils and pens. However, as a teenager, I was so enamoured with the work of legendary artists Bernie Wrightson and Jeffrey Catherine Jones that I decided to create ink drawings using a brush, like they did.

The results were disastrous. It wasn’t long before I went running back to the comfort of my pencils and pens. As I moved beyond my college years and into professional illustration, my focus was primarily on creating paintings for my clients.

After more than a decade of painting, I gave inking with a brush another try. To my amazement I could now control my brushstrokes and create the ink drawings that I was seeing in my mind’s eye. A healthy dose of time and brush control developed from my years of painting had resulted in a new ability for, and enjoyment of, inking. To share my love of inking with you and walk you through my process, I created this piece featuring three sword-wielding warriors ready to strike some unseen foe.

Jeff is a world-renowned artist for Magic: the Gathering, D&D, World of Warcraft and more. He also co-owns Fantasy Art Workshop that produces tutorial videos and workshops. Learn more at www.jeffmiracola.com.

1 Use good reference

Being a fantasy artist, I draw a lot from my imagination. But that doesn’t mean I have to, or want to, make everything up. Using reference imagery can save a lot of time and help you work out problems with composition, proportions, lighting and posing – things that are sometimes very difficult to create without a visual aid. Whenever possible, I prefer to take my own reference photos because I can obtain exactly what I want. Thankfully, my wife is always a willing participant and surprisingly eager to be turned into some sword-wielding monster if need be!

Take out the 2 guesswork

One the scariest things about inking is its permanence. Once you put down a mark, it’s not easy to correct, if at all. For that reason it’s best to create as detailed of a blueprint, or in this case pencil drawing, as you feel you need. I don’t always create a detailed pencil drawing because sometimes I want to leave room for spontaneity and happy accidents. I also often find it to be mentally challenging to ink without creating a pencil drawing. But that’s not the case here.

3 Choose the right paper

It’s very easy to try saving a little money by purchasing cheap paper, especially if you’re an art student and funds are tight. But of all the tools you’ll need to create ink drawings, paper is the most important item where quality really matters. Look for heavyweight Bristol paper, which is used by comic artists. But also buy other kinds of paper. Using your brushes or pens, create test marks to see if the ink bleeds through your paper or if the ink line feathers. This is when the line becomes fuzzy instead of staying crisp.

4 Spot your blacks

This simply means filling in large areas of black in your composition. I like to fill in those larger black areas first because it helps me to start visualising how my final art may look, but it also enables me to make sure I’ll have enough variation in my drawing.

I believe the viewer’s eye should have some areas to rest in an ink drawing. That means having some large sections of black and white. Creating those solid, black areas gives my art weight. Leaving large areas of white gives my drawings some “breathing room.”

5 My most versatile tool

I inked with brushes for years before a friend introduced me to the brush pen. Now, although I do still use brushes, I rarely do an ink drawing without using a brush pen. It’s the most versatile inking tool I have in my arsenal. With just one tool I’m able to create fine lines for detail and thick lines for larger coverage. I can also flood my surface with ink or limit the flow of ink for dry-brush effects.

6 Use a variety of marks

I strive to make ink drawings that are fun to look at. Not just for the subject matter, but for the variety of mark making. I create thin lines, thick lines, lines with varied line weight, hatching, crosshatching, dry-brushing, patterns and splatters, all in a single piece of art because it’s what gets me excited to work on the art.

Knowing when to use and when not to overuse this kind of variety is tricky, and takes time and experimentation. But your ink drawings will be much more exciting if you vary your mark making.

Don’t feel like you need to use the same tool for your entire piece of art

7 Create implied lines

You don’t need to outline your entire drawing like you might see in a cartoon or colouring book. Implying a line is another device for adding variation and intrigue to your work. For instance, the tops of the birch trees in this ink drawing aren’t outlined, but your brain finds the edges of the trees because the black bark forms an implied line. Likewise, the edges of the base of the trees are formed by the shape behind it, in this case a creature.

8 Try hatching and cross-hatching

One of the most common ways to give your ink drawings a sense of tonal value is to achieve it through illusion, using hatched techniques. Hatching is when all of your strokes are travelling in the same direction. Cross-hatching is when you first lay down a series of strokes going one direction and then lay down more strokes over those going in either the opposite or another direction. You can create varying levels of “shading” by how thick your strokes are or how close or far apart they are.

9 Use the right tool to create the right mark

Don’t feel like you need to use the same tool for your entire piece of art. A brush, a pen and a toothbrush all make different marks. Remember, variety adds interest. Use a brush or brush pen when you want to create marks with varied line weight. Use a pen or pen nib and holder when you want even, detailed lines. And use a toothbrush when you want more texture and unpredictable marks. Experiment!

When artistic block sets in, you’ll be able to look up and get inspired to push through the doubt

10 Get help from rulers

When you need help inking straight lines, reach for a ruler to use as a guide. Inking straight lines with a brush while using a ruler takes practice. But if you want to create a straight line that also goes from thick to thin, then using a brush is the way to go. Flexible rulers can be useful, too. You’ll need to train yourself to find the correct finger placement and apply the proper amount of pressure while you’re dragging your hand along a curved ruler.

11 Practice makes perfect

Practise drawing lines and making marks, but not on a piece of art. It’s a great way for you to learn better brush and wrist control, as well as try out new brushes, pens, inks or paper. Attempting to practise making marks while working on art can be distracting. So get out that blank paper and start doing your reps like a bodybuilder lifting weights, and you’ll be stronger for it.

12 Surround yourself with inspiration

In addition to keeping your reference images nearby for guidance and direction, you should have inspirational work within your line of sight. This could be the work on your artistic heroes or even your own work in which you were successful inking. That way, when the inevitable artistic block sets in, which we all get, you’ll be able to look up and get inspired to push through the doubt and finish your drawing.

13 Create a helpful style guide A DRAW A SIMPLIFIED OBJECT

Make a drawing that has simple outlining and is free of any details, shading, shadows, and so on. Imagine you’re creating a colouring book drawing. This drawing could even be a primitive shape like a circle or square, but I chose to draw a skull.

B PRINT OUT DUPLICATES OF YOUR DRAWING

Scan the drawing and duplicate it across a sheet of paper. Next, either reduce the opacity of your duplicated drawings to about 15 per cent or change the colour to light blue. Then print this onto the paper of your choice. I prefer heavyweight paper.

C PRACTISE YOUR INKING TECHNIQUES

Work your way across your “template” by drawing onto each object, using a different inking technique and even a variety of tools. Try hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, washes and more. When done, label each drawing with the tools you used. Now you have reference for when you need to create a particular style.

14 Don’t fear mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable, especially when working with inks – I always seem to brush my finger across wet ink! Often it’s best to let the affected area dry before trying to remove it or paint over it. When you need to go back and correct a mistake, decide if you can scratch off the ink with a utility knife, cover with more ink, or cover it with either white ink or paint.

15 Use white ink to stand out

White ink, in addition to covering mistakes, can also be used to create interesting effects or to draw in fine details such as fur, grass or highlights. In this piece I used white ink sparingly, choosing it only for splatter effects as final touches. The result is a piece of art that has interesting multi-toned textures and personality.