Work from the constructed poses

 Here are 3 poses from a layout scene, drawn in pencil

 scanned very strangely but ignore that

Before inking, (or animating or anything else) it helps to understand the larger forms that are controlling the action.

I make a layer in Toonboom where I race the big forms over the layouts

 This way inkers, animators, inbetweeners can see what is happening without getting lost in the details

 when you turn off the layout layer you can see the construction and animating these simple shapes first is easier than trying to keep track of a million details from frame to frame

You can use the onion skin to see how the shapes relate to each other from pose to pose

Once this is done, you can start to add details and it is a lot easier process.

INKING: Ink the forms, not just the lines

 I'm working with a bunch of inkers and finding that I have to explain the same concepts multiple times to each artist individually. So I figure if I just put the tips up here where everyone can see them, maybe it will save me time explaining so much.

This pencil layout is lively and almost constructed. It's slightly disconnected so let's enhance it through the miracle of construction.

 Some of my inkers can draw cleaner smoother lines than me and that's great. However there is more to a good clean up than just smooth lines. The lines need to describe the forms underneath and all the details need to be in agreement with the forms they belong to.

The line of action is always the major form or force that guides the rest of the drawing. Analyze the pose you are tracing and make guides to help your understanding and placement of the forms upon the line of action.

 When connecting one part of the body to another you should aim the connecting parts to the centers of the foams they are attached to. A neck connects the back of the skull through the centre of your torso.

 Draw your biggest forms first and connect them to each other. Then you can do the next biggest forms that are part of the bigger ones. Eyes are part of the head so they should look like they are in the same position in space that the head is.

That doesn't mean they are perfectly symmetric though. They still should feel organic and alive.

Next I'll show you buggers how to connect limbs to bodies and hands and feet, ok?

Good.

Inking Test in Toonboom

 Some folks have been sending me some pretty good inking samples. If you want to do a test on an actual scene in Toonboom, let me know.

Here's a swell George by Julian.

I like Ethan too.
He has a nice sense of organic form.
His inks of the characters feel alive.

 Paul is good but still a bit mechanical. Some of his curves look like he is using a circle template. It could benefit from a more organic approach.

Nik is pretty good but I think he may have changed some shapes.
Like Slab's cuffs
also the thin lines in the details are a bit too thin.

I suggest if you want me to look at your samples, that you
INCLUDE THE ORIGINAL PENCIL ART IN YOUR POST.

also:
PUT AN ACTIVE LINK in the comments so I can just click it and get to your page.

 ******AND! 
YOU gotta make it easy for me to comment and find you. 
none of this crap:

I tried filling it
this damn Craptha thing 6 times
and never got through.


Oh and if you're crazy, don't bother to send me any more
messages
unless you want the cops to come haul you away again.

Inking: Hold the big forms together with consistent line weight

Here is an ink of Slab that Paul did. Paul is quite talented and his lines are real clean. Almost 2 clean

But the character's form doesn't hold together because of the inconsistencies in line weights. My eye is drawn right to his chin because of the super heavy line there. I should be looking at the whole character, not one insignificant part of him.

Also his head doesn't hold together. The line is thick on one side, thin on the other.



The undersides of the big forms should also have consistent slight heaviness.

Inking: Eyes and Eyebrows Construction

Figure out the form and position in space of the cranium first - you want the eyes to conform to the position of the skull.

-also make the pupils look like they are sitting on the form of the eyes, not going in a different direction

****DON'T POKE THE EYEBROWS AND WRINKLES TOO FAR OUTSIDE THE HEAD OUTLINE**** - you don't want to make the head silhouette too complicated

Inking: Face/Head Thick and Thin Hierarchy

See also HOW EYEBROWS WORK:

Inking: Hierarchy of Head Outline and Details | CansKickstarter

Hey if you think you are getting anything out of these instructional posts, show some love:

Ethan Inks One

Ethan did a swell job on Ernie here. I added my little nitpick notes. What Ethan did best was make all the lines come together to make a living character. It all holds together. Sometimes inkers will think of each line in terns of itself and then you end up looking at a collection of lines instead of a living breathing cartoon character. Ethan FEELS the life of Ernie and that's the ultimate goal. He also felt Jim Smith's style and did a good job bringing out Jim's natural feel for solidity and 3 dimensional caricaturing.

Drawings to Practice Inking

Let's see if you learned anything

More Tips

http://canskickstarter.blogspot.com/#!/2012/09/inking-tips-weight-wrapping-details.html

Inking Tips: Gravity/ Put a HEAVY line UNDER forms

I imported Jim's pencil drawing into Toonboom to start inking it.
I like characters to have a feeling of weight. One way to do it is to drawslightly heavier lines under each form - especially the bottom of the feet.
But also under the torso...
under the chin and jaw etc.

Next: inking forms instead of lines