A thread to share tips.

I have to say that I am not a fan of digital inking. It just doesn't come out as smooth and clean. For me there's little substitute for a good 'ol piece of paper, art stand, mechanical pencil and some pens of varying thickness. I'm not surprised that people don't like inking. It does sometimes feel as though you're retreading your work. Over the years though I've found there's a distinct difference between the two mediums and I actually like inking now. For anything comic related, it's just the right touch. Sometimes I will do a 'realistic' superhero drawing and leave out the pen, but I've certainly embraced it now that I've learned how to color a bit better on the computer.
I was originally with Ramon on using computer paper, and most of my stuff certainly does end up there, but when I'm doing work for this site I use a nice thick 24lb grade paper. It's just a little denser than the usual stuff and I find the work looks just a bit sharper. I also find it easier to erase on it. I always use perforated drawing paper for commissions. It's about the same as matte paper, probably a 90 lb grade, almost coverstock. I like it for the same reasons as the 24lb, AND I think the clients like it better too.....gives that nice aged look, really brings out the pencils when it's just a regular drawing.
I also like Photoshop and I have no opinions on GIMP, since I've never used it. I only wish I knew how to do more in PS.

Character Designs

I really don't have a lot to say about specific designs. More often than not I end up embracing newer designs, as is the case with Batman specifically. Wonder Woman seems to come out different each time I draw her, so I'm trying to stick to a standard for her. One of the girls at the comic store said something that stuck with me. She said that she loved seeing Diana with a little muscle, not too much, but enough to show us that she's fairly buff. I always try and draw her with a bit more muscle, just so you know she can easily kick your ass. It is always a challenge to make her sexy and athletic, and not a ropey weightlifter.
If there's one piece of advice I can give is to study multiple designs for each hero or heroine. If you love Jim Lee's Batman and only look at that, then your drawing will start to look like his. If you study Breyfoygle, Aparo, Adams, Lee, even the old Bob Kane designs, you'll find stuff you like with each one and hopefully come out with something that looks unique to your style. Study your costumes too. Try and be consistant from design to design as it can get annoying to see different pockets and larger symbols all the time. Oh and one more thing; always remember detail. We all know what Batman looks like, but little things like the bat symbol on the bottom of his boots, the length of his ears or how worn the pockets on his bat-belt are really bring out the character. Little things matter, because freaks like me notice that stuff.
Wow, this is long....

I agree with you all the way there tupper.

One thing on inking that I think is a problem for people though is that they think it HAS to be as good as pencils if they have good clean pencils and this is definitely not the case. Inking is what gives the drawing a comic book look but also is what gives an artist an easier way to accentuate style. Usually when I ink I do it because honestly what i draw is damn near unreckongizeable in pencils but also because it can be fun if you are doing it the way you like it. Too many people try to make it look like what it should look like and make everything exactly what is penciled, tones and all, but i have been inking drawings since the sixth grade (albeit badly for the better part ) and it can get to be where its just as creative as drawing if you really put an effort into making it look interesting visually. I think Will Eisner put it best when he said inking is the sexiest part of drawing because you dont have to think about making the arm the right size and shape because its already there, you just act on impulse. Also, Don't be afraid of the pen, you can always a. glue paper over it b. use white out or c. just photoshop the bad marks out.

So yeah... ink on people.

yes yes

I still cannot figure out how to change my scanned pictures, which are inked by hand into a picture where it is just black and white. You can still see the strokes I used with my marker. Does anyone know what filter to use to get it for the permanent marker I used is one consistent shade of black and the white is white. I could always color over it with black in gimp or photoshop, but that takes forever and does not come out as neat. Does this make sense?

/\ Thanks jrfan, your advice was perfect as were the diagrams. The same can also be done in Gimp, if you are running that program by going to Layer> Colors> Curves and the same little scale pops up.

i am sure they do exactly the same thing but brightness/contrast is simplified and the curves thing can come up with more... "unique inks" usually a combination of both works the best though.

i don't mean they are bad, but if you reverse the sides you can do some weird stuff with it you couldn't do in the other way.