# Drawing/Linework - How Not to Ruin it?



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

Have you ever made a gorgeous pencil sketch and then ruined it when you started inking it out? IDK if I'm the only one or not, but I highly doubt it.

For clarity, this is my process:

1] Pencil skeleton
2] Pencil fleshing-it-out
3] Pencil perfection
4] Ink the lines with the best black ball-point pen you can find in the house
5] Forget to let the ink dry
6] Smudge it all over the paper by accident
7] Blotches happen because your pen choice was shitty
8] Loathe the result, but promise yourself you'll fix it in post
9] Scan the thing
10] Realize you're not as talented as you hoped you were and give up
11] Repeat

I don't know nearly as much about various tricks of the trade as I wish I did, and would love any kind of suggestions, advice, or criticism you could throw my way.


----------



## Liam The Red (Jul 1, 2017)

I feel your pain. If I were any better at not screwing it up I would help, but all I can give is sympathy and shared frustration.


----------



## Taterbunny (Jul 1, 2017)

Sounds like your best choice is to invest in some art pens, m'friend. 
You may have to pay a bit more for the more professional ones, but they're made for this purpose and therefor will be your best friends.  I'm not sure about pen brands, but they're definitely worth it if you do traditional art.


----------



## MsRavage (Jul 1, 2017)

what brand are you using to ink? i have tried copics, sigma, sharpies and literally a ball point pen...the sigmas are great and so is the ball point pen surprisingly....but hey you make due with what you can ok....keep trying


----------



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

MsRavage said:


> what brand are you using to ink? i have tried copics, sigma, sharpies and literally a ball point pen...the sigmas are great and so is the ball point pen surprisingly....but hey you make due with what you can ok....keep trying


Pilot, Papermate, Bic... Whatever I find that still has black ink and runs smoothly on the page... LOL.


----------



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

Taterbunny said:


> Sounds like your best choice is to invest in some art pens, m'friend.
> You may have to pay a bit more for the more professional ones, but they're made for this purpose and therefor will be your best friends.  I'm not sure about pen brands, but they're definitely worth it if you do traditional art.


I've thought about it. Are there any brands you would recommend?


----------



## MsRavage (Jul 1, 2017)

CreatureOfHabit said:


> Pilot, Papermate, Bic... Whatever I find that still has black ink and runs smoothly on the page... LOL.


OH i use bic too but i don't have that issue...maybe give it a good couple minutes to dry...i apologize that im not helpful. I hope you keep at it and that it works out....smeared line work is a day destroyer


----------



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

MsRavage said:


> OH i use bic too but i don't have that issue...maybe give it a good couple minutes to dry...i apologize that im not helpful. I hope you keep at it and that it works out....smeared line work is a day destroyer


It really is. The reason is probably because these pens have pasts, have been used for months if not years before, and may have been already worn down by that use. Rebuilding broken pens is also something I do on occasion, just so I don't run out, LOL.


----------



## MsRavage (Jul 1, 2017)

do you live in united states?


----------



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

@MsRavage Yup. I'm in Texas.


----------



## Sima_Owl (Jul 1, 2017)

CreatureOfHabit said:


> I've thought about it. Are there any brands you would recommend?


I apologize in advance, if I misunderstood you, I have bad English.
I'm using Faber-Castell, Koh-I-Noor.


----------



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

Sima_Owl said:


> I apologize in advance, if I misunderstood you, I have bad English.
> I'm using Faber-Castell, Koh-I-Noor.


Thanks! I'll look for those.


----------



## Butt_Ghost (Jul 1, 2017)

You're not the only person to have made a mistake at the inking stage, for sure. Really it comes down to developing your accuracy with pens, but if you're using cheap ball-points then you're not really using the nicest equipment either.

I've really enjoyed using the Platinum Preppy lately. It's a writing/fountain pen but it applies ink very well and it's difficult to "blotch" (at least, in my experience). Very little maintenance(just reattach the cap when you're not using it), no felt tip to wear out  and very inexpensive for the kind of pen it is. Had an all-round better experience with this one $3 brand of fountain pen than most of the felt fineliners I've tried. On the fineliner end I can recommend Rotring's budget Tikky Graphic line as fairly reliable, non-blotchy and generally pretty consistent, pleasant to use pens.
Also worth trying: Brush pens. I've got a Copic one, it works, I've got nothing to compare it to quality-wise though. It's fun to use because of the control over line weight you get with it, but it's also really difficult and I'd imagine that's just a typical trait of brush pens.

Avoiding smudging is just something you have to get used to when it comes to real media, mainly just make a conscious effort to not do your lines in an order that'll have you moving your hand over ones that you've just finished, you can also use a sheet of printer paper as a barrier. How severe it is can depend on both the quality of pen/ink and the paper, but any decent cheap sketchbook should be enough.


----------



## MsRavage (Jul 1, 2017)

i was going to suggest you hit up micheals arts and craft store and use their 50% off coupon right now for some micron pens...they normally run 10 to 14 for a 3 pack but...that coupon will definitely help!!


----------



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

MsRavage said:


> i was going to suggest you hit up micheals arts and craft store and use their 50% off coupon right now for some micron pens...they normally run 10 to 14 for a 3 pack but...that coupon will definitely help!!


Thanks! I know Hobby Lobby has that daily-half-off-any-item coupon on their site, if you know where to look, and HobLobs is what's closest. I think the nearest Michael's would be in the next town over, and in Texas, that means about a half-hour drive or more. XD


----------



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

@Butt_Ghost Dude, I will definitely check those out. Thank you so much. I'll have to consider giving brush pens a shot in the future, but in the meantime, I will totally give those two other brands a look.


----------



## WolfNightV4X1 (Jul 1, 2017)

I JUST COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS EXCEPT IN DIGITAL

Linework is artistic hell and all who surpass it are godlike entities


----------



## Activoid (Jul 1, 2017)

I do that pretty much all the time, yeah. There's just something about a sketch that I like more than my linework. Even with the nicest inking pens, even with the most patience. As soon as I erase, I just... don't like it. I feel like it has lost something.

So as for how not to ruin it, I'd say just leave your sketch lines in and call it a stylistic choice. lmao

Also I would recommend scanning your sketch, color adjusting it to a non-repro blue color, then color printing multiple copies, then inking one and if you screw up just grab the next one. That way your original sketch remains untouched. But that's if you absolutely, positively, have some sacred work of sketching that you don't want ruined. Because it's tedious to do all that.

But if you DO manage to make an inked picture without it being ruined, then take the inked non-repro blue color, scan it again with the lines in, then print it and it should print without the sketch showing because the blue was not reproduced. <_>


----------



## CreatureOfHabit (Jul 1, 2017)

Activoid said:


> ... I would recommend scanning your sketch, color adjusting it to a non-repro blue color, then color printing multiple copies, then inking one and if you screw up just grab the next one. That way your original sketch remains untouched. But that's if you absolutely, positively, have some sacred work of sketching that you don't want ruined. Because it's tedious to do all that.
> 
> But if you DO manage to make an inked picture without it being ruined, then take the inked non-repro blue color, scan it again with the lines in, then print it and it should print without the sketch showing because the blue was not reproduced. <_>


I actually hadn't thought of doing that! I probably wouldn't mind the tedium, as long as I got to keep that original sketch intact. I may give this a try...


----------



## DzahnDragon (Jul 2, 2017)

One thing I found helped me before I moved to digital was a sort of "soft inking" my sketch. I'd go back over and darken the lines I liked in pencil and erase the ones I didn't. Really, though, I think it's important to not get super attached to what you're working on at that stage. I see it as more of an editing process, kind of like making a film. Don't be afraid to leave things on the cutting room floor! I screwed up my fair share of sketches in the lineart phase, but I learned that if you drew it once you can draw it again. Who knows, you might make it even better the second time around!


----------



## LadyFromEast (Jul 2, 2017)

I highly recommend trying the inking pens before you use them to create your art. Some may work perfectly on textured paper, but will smear horribly on non-textured one or on tracing paper. Also, when it comes to art, it's better to use a bit better paper than the cheapest printing paper with no texture whatsoever, because everything will probably look bad on it and smear horribly. 
You need to wait a bit after you do your lines with ink until it dries, or as someone mentioned above - do your linearts in such order that you'll avoid placing your hand on already done, fresh lines. Placing a piece of paper under your hand will help as well.
From the best brand I've used until now and have been very happy with them, I'll mention Faber Castell, Sakura, Graph'it, Marvy Uchida, Uni Pin.


----------



## MissNook (Jul 2, 2017)

That happens to me quite often, especially since I often do watercolor pieces (making a mistake about the type of pen to use is usually not a good idea when you deal with water...). There are two things I do to avoid that:
1/ if I really like my sketch, I scann it. Then I can print it and draw above the printed version, not the original one
2/ train, train, train ^^ I never stop learning as all of you and it's the same for line work. It's hard to find a technique that suits your style of sketch with inking, so don't hesitate to test. Some examples: I used little brush and ink in bottle to do a piece where I thought line thickness and smoothness were important. I used simple ball pen for one that needs more roughness and was good with some smudge. And I used micro pen to do one that needs details. I think it's all about what you are comfortable with and what you've got in hand too


----------



## CrazyDragon (Jul 2, 2017)

Taterbunny said:


> Sounds like your best choice is to invest in some art pens, m'friend.
> You may have to pay a bit more for the more professional ones, but they're made for this purpose and therefor will be your best friends.  I'm not sure about pen brands, but they're definitely worth it if you do traditional art.



I have to second that! It makes a huge difference.

I use the 'XS' or a .1mm tip for initial fine lines, then go back and reline to add weight. 
To do a quicker job, the .3mm is a good one.  The biggest plus to these is they don't smudge and are cheap! 
You can buy a kit, I have this one but I don't even use half of them so if money is an issue, only buy the ones you think you'll use.

Good luck!


----------



## narutogod123 (Jul 2, 2017)

deleter-mangashop.com: [DELETER MANGA SHOP]

deleter-mangashop.com: [DELETER MANGA SHOP]

Here is where I get my supplies for inking, They have a lot of stuff to choose from. I would recommend to buy the G-pen the Maru pen is easier for beginners to use . Also they have some good paper if you want to buy it.


----------



## GoatMystic (Jul 3, 2017)

I just scan in my pencil drawing, then print it out in a ghostly light cyan color and ink over that ( when you scan the inked version the cyan is easy to photoshop out, some scanners wont even pick it up)

EDIT: Nevermind me, this was already said in the tread ...derp.... 
well yall know how i do thinkgs too


----------

