Artistic styles and inking

[TomParrish]

Hey guys,

I've just started inking an Ed Benes page from BoP that's up on his Deviant Art and it got me thinking: Does everyone else have a preference on the style of art they like to ink? For example I chose this page as it's pretty outside my comfort zone (like the Eddy Barrows pages a while back) because he's usually inked with a quill - I tried again to use the quill but I just keep reaching for the brush, and am now experimenting to see what it'll look like inking Benes with a brush.

I know it's important to be able to handle whatever's thrown at you, but I thought I'd just see if anyone had preferences?

[justice41]

Yeah I'd think we all do. I'm not an inker per se, I just want to be able to ink my own stuff at a professional level as well as be able to, if the possibility comes up, to do some pro work. I actually need to find and print out some new pencils. Getting kinda rusty here. I tend to go for the heavy Renderers and to the other extreme the guys who do such tight light linework that inking them is nearly un needed. Fer Example I like Finch and Green, Jim Lee and Ed McGuiness.

[clockwerkj]

Rob Hunter inks Ed with a brush. Tons of guys have 1 style they can ink well. Most guys actually only ink 1 style well. In truth you'll be more famous if you can only ink 1 style well, as opposed to being pertty good at all of them.

[TomParrish]

That's pretty sad, but I guess like pencillers you make a name from a certain look to your work. Is the flexibility in style however more preferable from a hiring point of view? I mean, is it a case of the more types of pencils you can ink well, the more work you're likely to receive, or is that overly simplified version?

[bobalmond]

Ideally, yes. Jay knows the real mainstream world at this time at Marvel/DC better than I would. But while it would seemingly be best to be versatile in various styles, a lot also has to do with your quality of work, name recognition, page rate, if you were recommended by the penciler, a favorite of an editor, considered old school/ageism, etc.

Scott Hanna has been getting a lot of attention for our 'Most-Adaptable' Inker ballot category so that's a plus if you try to be flexible. He's also quite prolific which helps there and reasonably well-known. I've been told by commission clients that they're amazed at my versatility over various and different pencilers. But I'm getting older and may be considered too old school as I started almost 20 years ago....many of my past editors have left, my name recognition is probably questionable and my rate may meet resistance, even though it's most-likely lower than Scott's. So unless I were to be recommended by a series' penciler, and even then it's not a certainty, I may not see the walls of the House of Ideas anytime soon.

Too many factors to determine. It's like going to college....always best to go, but it doesn't mean you'll fine any work. If you're very good at one style in particular, always showcase that, but have other styles available just in case. Just my 2 cents from what I know. Jay may have more to add or contradict;-)

Bob Almond
almondink.com
www.inkwellawards.com

[clockwerkj]

I think you are on point there Bob. I have met tons of resistance along the way. I hit a roadblock several times because I was typecast early on as a particular type of inker. Even tho my portfolio says different. I really only think age plays a factor if you are out of the spotlight too long. If you go without work for more than a few months editors start to assume there's a reason why. Even tho there may not be. I think Scott is good at alot of different styles, but I think hes a big name guy due to his association to JRJR, and then people see his other work & realize he's versatile.

[thebringer]

Bob, I certainly hope we haven't seen the last of your work at the Big Two. If so, its their loss.
I've seen you ink wildly varying penciling styles from Frank Bolle to Brett Booth and you make them all shine. And I know plenty of others that agree.

[bobalmond]

Thanks, Damon....I hope not either.

But there are artists MUCH more talented than I that have not been able to return to the scene after years of work, and it's not always because they burned bridges or their style is dated. The fans aren't enough, it's the pencil artists and editors that need to be convinced and unfortunately some editors don't know the difference between inkers and the subtlety of our craft, and some pencillers bring in friends because they don't want an inker who may change their work.

So many factors and all one can do is press on and hope for the best by being prepared and trying to be on the cutting edge.