6 replies to this topic

[Kahahuna]

Heyo, newbie here!
Problem I'm running into lately is INKING. I. take. forever. I can't tell if it's because I'm being too tedious, or I'm using the wrong brush, or what.. (brush is the Photoshop CS6 default: Hard Round Pressure Opacity set at a 70% flow)

I'm posting up a close up, and then what ends up being the final. The first figure on the left took somewhere around 1.5-2 hours to ink with most of the trouble being in those long legs. Should I scrap some of the detail in the lines in an effort to speed it up or is this just something that will come with practice? I was an animation major, and we learned next to nothing about photoshop illustration. I'm mostly self-taught as far as PS goes, so any input would be fantastic.

Thanks for the welcomes so far, too. You guys are ace

[BLEAGH]

Don't worry about how long it takes you. Everything gets faster and easier with practice.

Use thinner lines on the side that is illuminated and the thicker lines on the shadow side. Right now your line widths are all over the place and contradict the light source as defined in your coloring.

[Kahahuna]

I suppose I hadn't even thought about line weight and light source...that seems so amateur of a mistake now that I think about it.

[Sweattshop]

I think the line weight is a bit heavy on the face.
As far as speed, practice will help.

But you have to decide like the pros what works for you and what short cuts you want to use.
They all have their fallback line types and lighting effects they use to meet their schedules.

[DrunkenMaster]

^{Speed is a by product of practice and repetition.
No matter how fast or slow you proceed, the end product is what we see.
I wouldnt worry about speed just yet unless you are getting paid or have a job where outout is a major concern.
Maybe you are inking in a closer view that makes the longer areas harder to ink?
In a close up screen view you may tend to slow down a bit as a farther screen view long distance
like the pants can be inked in one smooth stroke?
Looks good though, keep practicing.
DM}

[aeryk]

I'm an inking noob myself. Never had the patience for it until I went digital (mostly because I'd end up screwing up a great pencil drawing). This book has some great info it that was recommended to me. It actually describes a style using a thick "dead weight" line around a figure, though I think the author mentions its hard to pull off.

http://www.amazon.co...n/dp/1569712581

[Ragnaroker]

That is a really good book--recommended.