Inking for Watercolor: Watercolor Basics

Kidlit comic submission for SCBWI Midsouth's September 2018 Conference

In our Watercolor Basics series, we recently went over penciling your bluelines to prepare them for watercolor.  But maybe you want an illustration that's a little more graphic, or perhaps you want to use a simple watercolor style, and know that inking your lineart will help tie it together.  Or maybe you don't yet have access to a printer for your bluelines, and know inking will give you the leeway you need to develop your sketch.  Regardless of the reason, inked watercolor pieces can be beautiful, easy to read from a distance, and distinctive, and work well for comics.

This post is part of my ongoing Watercolor Basics series, a free watercolor course designed to help you feel confident learning to paint.

If you enjoyed this post, please check out my other videos and posts in the series, and make sure you tell your friends!  Content like this is only made possible thanks to the generosity of my Artnerds on Patreon.  Their generosity and support allows me to continue writing tutorials for the public to enjoy.

Inking your comic can be done after the pencils stage, used as an accent on a completed watercolor illustration.  In this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to ink your watercolor illustration or watercolor comic page before painting, as this allows you to scan your lineart and play around with that using other rendering methods.

To begin this tutorial, you're going to need a scanned sketch or illustration ready to print, or pre-printed bluelines.

Digital corrections on traditional roughs.  Once these have been converted to bluelines and resized, this will be ready for print.

Print Your Bluelines on Watercolor Paper
For a tutorail on how to do this, please check out this wonderful post!

Pencil as Needed
These pencils do not need to be as tight or as detailed as you would pencil for watercolor comic pages that wouldn't be inked, but now is a great opportunity to correct any mistakes still in your bluelines

Swinging From the Branches: Inking My 2018 Christmas Card


Ink with a Waterproof Ink

Brush inking tutorial
Inking a comic, start to finish

Scanned inks from illustration

Allow Inks to Cure for 24 Hours

Erase Pencils

Tips for Erasing Pencils After Inking:


Begin Painting!

Kidlit comic submission for SCBWI Midsouth's September 2018 Conference

Waterproof Inks:

Pens for Watercolor and Markers at HobbyLobby:


Brushpens:
Sailor Mitsuo Aida
Sailor Ryofuuka
Sakura Pigma FB, MB, BB
Pitt Pens

Technical Pens:
Copic Multiliners
Sakura of America Microns
Sakura of America Pigma Graphic

Calligraphy Pens:
(Great for lettering borders)
Sakura Pigma Graphic 1mm, 2mm, 3mm
Sakura Calligrapher Pens
ek Tools Calligraphy Pens

Liquid Inks:
Shellac Based India Ink such as Dr PH Martin's Bombay Inks
Acrylic Inks such as FW or Liquitex Ink!

Example Illustrations

Inked with FW Pearlescent Acrylic Ink

Inked with FW Pearlescent Acrylic Ink

Inked with the Sailor Mitsuo Aida and Sakura Pigma FB

Illustration inked with a Sailor Mitsuo Aida and Sakura Pigma FB

Watercolor illustration inked with a Sailor Mitsuo Aida

Watercolor illustration inked with a Sailor Mitsuo Aida

Watercolor Illustration inked with a Sailor Mitsuo Aida

Inspiration: 

Watercolor Commission for Kabocha


7" Kara Webcomic Announcement Timelapse


In the Tall Grass Timelapse: 


Kara Colorburst