Taking Sketchbook Inks to the Next Level

Although Inktober is over, that's no reason to stop inking!  I know many of you are tired out from the daily grind of drawing and inking a piece every day for October, but hopefully these easy inking hacks will inspire you to pick up the brush/pen/nib once more.  Now that you've put in some practice inking, these playful additions should not only be easy, but loads of fun.  And all of them look like so much more than the sum of their parts.

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Blue Lead+Alcohol Marker+Black Inks

Materials Needed:
C6 Copic Marker or other cool gray alcohol marker
Signo White Gel Pen
Non photo blue lead (I use Color Eno Soft Blue)
Fude pen (I use Kuretake's Fudegokochi)

Step 1: Sketch

Step 2: Outline with Alcohol Marker

Step 3: Fill in with Alcohol Marker

Step 4: Ink with Pen

Step 4: Fill in Spot Black

Step 5: Add Highlights with Signo

Further Examples:

Blue Lead+Multiple Alcohol Inks+Black Ink

Materials Needed:
Complimentary marker colors (at least 2)
Signo White Gel Pen
Non photo blue lead (I use Color Eno Soft Blue)
Fude pen (I use Kuretake's Fudegokochi)

Step 1: Sketch

 Step 2: Outline areas you want to fill with color

Step 3: Begin Coloring

Step 4: Ink with Black Pen

Step 5: Add Highlights

Using a colored lead+colored ink+black ink

Materials Needed:
Colored Lead (I used Pentel's red lead)
Matching Colored Brushpen (I used Pentel's Brushpen in Red)
Signo White Gel Pen
Fude pen (I use Kuretake's Fudegokochi)
Black brushpen (I used a Pentel Pocketbrush and a Pentel Brushpen)

Step 1: Sketch in Colored Lead

Step 2:  Outline and Fill with colored ink

Step 3: Ink

Step 4: Fill in Spot Blacks

Further Examples:

Colored Lead+Colored Ink+Inkwash Techniques+Black Ink

Materials Needed:
Colored Lead (I used Pentel's red lead)
Matching Colored Brushpen (I used Pentel's Brushpen in Red)
Signo White Gel Pen
Fude pen (I use Kuretake's Fudegokochi)
Black brushpen (I used a Pentel Pocketbrush and a Pentel Brushpen)
Waterbrush with Clean Water
Surface to use as palette (I'm using an Inkssentials Craft Mat by Ranger)

Step 1:  Sketch image in colored lead

Step 2:  Apply colored ink to palette.  Add a drop of water.  Begin painting delicate washes.  Allow to dry.

Step 3: Apply red ink.  Allow to dry thoroughly (takes awhile on watercolor paper).

Step 4:  Ink with black ink.

Further Examples

Colored Leads+Colored Ink+Metallic Ink+Black Ink

Materials Needed:
Colored Lead (I used Pentel's red lead)
Matching Colored Brushpen (I used Pentel's Brushpen in Red)
Metallic pen (I used Uchida's DecoColor Premium)
Fude pen (I use Kuretake's Fudegokochi)

Toned Tan Paper+Graphite+Black Ink+Copic Opaque White (or Gouache)+ Gold Ink

Materials Needed:
Colored Paper (I used Strathmore's Toned Tan paper)
Black Ink (I used a Sailor Mitsuo Aida brushpen, as it's waterproof)
Graphite lead
White Gouache, White Signo, or Copic Opaque White
Gold Ink (I used Winsor and Newton's Gold Ink)
Optional: Tracing Paper (for mask)

Step 1:  Pencil Image

Step 2:  Ink Image

Step 3: Erase Inks

Step 4:  Fill in major areas of white, allow to dry

Step 2:  After white gouache/Copic Opaque white is dry, you may begin applying gold ink

Step 3:  Some areas may need repeat coverage for opacity

Step 4: Begin filling in areas of spot black

Step 5:  Add white details and refine areas of black ink, reinking when necessary

Step 6:  For Splatter Effect:  With tracing paper, cut a mask for the area you'd like to protect

Step 7:  Tape it down

Step 8: Splatter with ink of choice (in this instance, gold and white)

Step 9: Remove mask

Ink+Watercolor Faux Inkwash

Materials needed:

Sturdy Paper (I recommend watercolor, inexpensive is fine)
Ink (I used a waterproof India Ink or a waterproof brushpen like the Sailor Mitsuo Aida)
Matching Watercolor color (I used Holbein's Carbon Black)

Step 1: Pencils

Step 2:  Ink with waterproof ink

 Step 3: Erase Pencils

Step 4: Select your paint

 Step 5: Apply pea sized portion to palette

 Step 6: Fill well with water, begin mixing paint, starting from lightest to darkest.

 Step 7: For much darker objects, you may work directly from watercolor paint knob.

 Step 8:  Keep layering, allowing paint to dry between layers.

 Step 9: Add highlights with White Signo, Copic Opaque White, or White Gouache

Further Examples:

These sample are from Pretty Paladin Critical Missy, my Chainmail Bikini story.

So those are some of my favorite easy ways to bring my sketchbook inks to the next level!  Only require a few additional supplies (that most of you already have lying around), and can really make a big impact on your work, and help break up inking monotony.

Questions?  Comments?  Let me know via email (left sidebar) or Twitter!  Let's talk about YOUR favorite easy inking hacks!  Liked this blogpost?  Found it helpful?  Share it with your friends and fans using the handy social media links below this post!  Your share and signal boost really helps me out, and is much appreciated.