INK COMICS Like a PRO in CLIP STUDIO PAINT
And Avoid Common MISTAKES!
Inking Comics Digitally: How I Build Depth, Rhythm, and Story on the Page
When I sit down to digitally ink a comic strip, I’m not just tracing pencils—I’m making decisions about depth, focus, rhythm, and storytelling in every line. In this first part of a two-part breakdown, I took a Sunday-style adventure strip I drew a couple of years ago and walked through how I ink it in Clip Studio Paint.
This article is a written “director’s commentary” of that process. If you want to jump into the actual video at any point, I’ve added clickable timestamps so you can see exactly what I’m talking about in motion.
What This Strip Is, and What I’m Trying to Do?
The strip is built around a character I created back in my teens. My original plan was to do a Sunday comic on a semi-regular basis—once or twice a month—but like a lot of personal projects, it sat in the drawer for a while.
Now I’m using it as a teaching piece: how I approach digital inking in Clip Studio (though most of this translates directly to Photoshop or any other digital inking tool). I start from a blue-line rough I penciled earlier, then ink right over it. Watch the setup here.
Prefer a downloadable PDF? Get it here.
