Do You Speak Comics? Part 3: Black Ink, White Paper
Most comic strips today are fully colored, but for most of comic history, while Sunday comics were richly colored, daily comics were strictly black and white. There are also lots of other comic traditions that primarily focus on black and white work, such as most manga in Japan and most indie comic books in the US. Even today, many papers print their daily comic strips in black and white, and thinking about how a comic looks in black and white before color is added is an important part of comic art. Here’s some of the things to think about when talking about a black and white comic.
1: Line Weight
The width of a cartoonist’s line– called its “weight”– can be used to great effect in creating a unique style. Many cartoonists use varied line widths to communicate different information. For example, the thickest lines might be used in the foreground, to make characters pop visually, while thinner lines are used on background elements. Other cartoonists use thick lines on the outlines of a character or object and thinner lines on the details within.
When a cartoonist chooses to use the same consistent line weight on their entire drawing, this is a style known as “ligne claire” (“clear line”) which is especially popular in European comics.
In the digital age, there are more ways than ever to “ink” a drawing– that is, add the black lines or shapes to a cartoon. A technical pen creates a very even, consistent line similar to what you might achieve on a desktop computer. Brushes and nib pens create a varied weight in a single line, which can be mimicked easily with a digital tablet.
2: Spot Black
Because a black and white drawing cannot rely on color to draw the reader’s eye to the right parts of the image, careful use of all-black areas can help add weight or depth to a drawing and can keep a black and white line drawing from feeling flimsy on the page. These all-black areas are known as “spot blacks.” Spot blacks can be used as distinguishing features in character design and fortunately look beautiful whether a comic is colored or not. In the following illustration, the dog’s spots, collar, nose, eyes, and shadow are all spot blacks.
3: Shading
Black and white drawings don’t have the option of using color or gradients to add dimension or texture to the objects on the page. There are many inking techniques that cartoonists use to “shade” a black and white comic. For example, “hatching” is the practice of using many small lines with variable spacing to create depth or shade values. “Cross-hatching” is the practice of hatching in a cross-pattern, where the hatch marks overlap with each other. Drawing the hatches closer together or further apart creates darker or lighter values, respectively.
Two other methods for adding light and dark values to black and white are are stippling and scribbling. Stippling is similar to hatching but uses small dots. A cartoonist can vary the size and shape of the dots and the dots’ relative distance apart to create beautiful shading and textures. Scribbling is exactly what it sounds like– drawing lines in a willy-nilly pattern so they curve and cross over each other. Scribbling is great for giving shading an organic or chaotic feeling.
4: Screen Tones
Screen tones are a classic tool of comic creation that have made a comeback thanks to digital tools! Traditional screen tones are transparent sheets printed with black patterns that can be transferred to areas of a comic page. They can be intimidating to work with for a newcomer. In the digital world, screen tones can be downloaded or even created whole cloth in a graphic program and then applied to selected areas of a cartoon very easily. Screen tones come in many different patterns to mimic all kinds of textures.
5: White Ink
Another neat tool that can be used to add detail or depth to a black and white ink drawing is white ink. Traditionally, once the black inked areas dried, a cartoonist could embellish them with the addition of white ink on a brush or a white ink pen. Now, digital tools can be used to draw in white directly over the black areas on a screen.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction to black and white techniques in drawing. You can look out for them in your daily comic reading and see how your favorite cartoonists utilize these tools!