Drawing Manga :: Part 2: The Job of an Inker

I just wanted to post this really quick. =) I found this site today which shows comic pages before and after they were inked, by some of the greatest American comic artists. A truly eye opening find, and I hope a great example of how an inker's job is not just to trace all the hard work done by the penciler.

I gave in and a few weeks ago bought the DC inking book from that series I like; this too explores the often misunderstood relationship between inker and penciler. In the book the author is emphatic about the symbiotic relationship between the penciler and inker, and how these two great artists have an equally important role to play in telling the story. Very very true.

While Japanese manga uses slightly different tools to tell their stories—tone patterns and "simpler" pen lines in comparison to the American use of color and dramatic inking techniques—the inking skills of the Japanese are no less superior. A great Japanese example of this is Kishimoto. Some of the greatest pages from Naruto are almost entirely devoid of tone; instead he uses the pen to skillfully represent weight, light, and texture and it is absolutely stunning. A true master at work. (An online example of this can be found here at Shonen Jump's site.)

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And yes, the olympics were exciting last night. The Americans did so good in the two-women bobsled! I loved the story behind Shauna Rohbock and am so glad she finally got to compete in the olympics. And I didn't begrudge the German team winning at all, as apparently the team's driver is one of the greats and it is her last olympics.

Speed skating was exiting, and just as dramatic as ever; will Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick ever stop fighting? Congrats to the Italian underdog though; he will forever now be an Italian superstar. =) I hope he's up for it.

And women's figure skating was as interesting as I hoped it would be. I'm glad they got rid of the rules that women can't wear pants and that a lot of the women didn't just wear white skates, because I think it makes for a more artistic presentation. And did anyone else love it when the Japanese skater bowed to her coach? That was one of my fave non-competitive moments of the night. The finals are shaping up to be very exciting.