The Inking Tutorial

First a few definitions are in order. There are only two broad categories of line. They are not exclusive, and often exist side by side on a project. The two broad categories are "dead" or "fixed" lines, meaning they do not change their width, and "live" lines, which do vary their thickness. Illustrated below are the two types of lines: "fixed" and "live." which is also known sometimes as "cursive," though "cursive" is a subset of live lines.

Also portrayed are a few more specific line types. The "broken" line is one in which the lines do not close the shapes. They can be fixed or live, but tend to often be absent. Those that work a lot with computer coloring will want to avoid this line type. The other line type is a scratchy, or tentative, line. These types of lines often look "furry" or scratchy, usually because they are drawn using just the fingers, with small, tentative, or under-confident strokes. If your ink or line work looks like this, the concepts here may be more advanced than you can attempt now, but do feel free to read along and practice later. Learn to draw with the whole arm, making broader, more sweeping gestures.

There is a way of using this style where, on initial examination, it looks like the tentative line drawing style. However, if you look closely you will see the shapes are closed, and the actual line is really a form of hatching.

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