For countless years animators and artists that have used ink like a medium to define their penciled sketches have meticulously done this work with pens and different sized nibs, now software exists which allows digital inking to produce work which is detailed and can also be refined many times to achieve the final picture. The tools which have been used now to produce these fine works are available inthe top graphics bundles like Illustrator or Photoshop. Animators and cartoonists now take over an abundant number of tools to utilize and an almost limitless number of colors at their disposal.
However let's get down to the basics of digital inking and delve just a little deeper the process of the best way it is done. Step one for anybody who desires to make use of this procedure is always to have a reasonable nicely detailed pencil drawing which can be scanned into the computer either saving it as a different file or importing it directly into the chosen program. Next a partially see-through layer is added to the drawing rendering the effect of tracing paper to permit the artist to commence adding thin reference lines to the original drawing underneath the layer using the tool that is the closest match with a pen.
Once the guidelines are in place the artist can choose a tool that can enable lines of various thicknesses to be added just like if pressure was being applied with a normal pen nib. Animators make use of this technique for their characters to give their heroes or villains that chiseled masculine look but one that will be exaggerated for effect, using color to create scenes or weapons that awesome. Where digital inking comes into its own though is that the artist can continually rework the drawing so that the effect required is achieved a basic keyboard press or mouse click can undo any unsatisfactory line.
Once the artist is completely satisfied with the work the original sketching can be taken off as the main layer with the digitally inked layer replacing it. In recent years digital inking has been utilized by tattoo artists to create intricate and detailed designs in order that when customers look at them they become blown away at the quality of work which can be produced. Architects also use digital ink to assist them to create line drawings in the initial stages of formulating ideas for new buildings they're working upon.
Among the initial uses with this form of ink was as a safety measure, graphics tablets were used to record handwritten signatures by the use of a stylus that would follow the signatories hand movements and then convert them into a a graphic. This enabled establishments to check the signature to authenticate documents that were sent to them for action. Digital inking has come a long way since its early inceptions but now with practice you also could draw works of art that resemble the styles of the masters, and you never know you could even turn out to be a great cartoonist in your own right.