Sep 2019
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akitsukino
Sep '19

I know asking for shortcuts is not always good, but I am kind of on a time crunch. I've got a lot of drawings I'm trying to make clean lines for in the next few months. The only really quick inking method I could think of is using bezier curves but those are kind of hard to control. It doesn't need to be too clean so I guess if it goes faster I could just chicken scratch the lines instead of making them smooth. Outside of that I can't think of any faster way to make cleaner lines. And I know if I try to work too fast to hard I'll blow my arm out. If anyone has any tips/ tricks/ obscure YouTube videos/ tutorials they could direct me towards I'd really appreciate it.

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    Sep '19

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    Sep '19
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nostalgicroxas
Sep '19

If you have clean sketches you can just erase layers, adjust brightness and contrast, and move it all into grayscale, then put a layer of black over it. Though you might end up spending more time trying to clean up the sketches than it would take to actually draw the lines in.
One thing that can get you faster at drawing in general is just moving your hand faster if you're timed. "You have 2 minutes to line as much as possible. GO!!" And see how far you get. Then keep practicing on that page and other pages so your hand doesn't memorize the page.

CloudyMagpie
Sep '19

It doesn't have to be chicken scratch, but try to commit to each line in one deliberate stroke instead of fussing over the same line over and over. it doesn't have to be super fast, just deliberate. know the shapes you are using and commit to one line at a time using your whole arm for larger areas instead of just your wrist and fingers, this will give you better control. The speed comes with practice as you gain confidence in your inking and strengthen your arm. Take plenty of breaks when you start to feel tired. =D

Iris-Grimoire
Sep '19

Not only deliberate lines, but try to practice doing every line with a single arm movement instead of many small ones. That saves both time and possible strain in a traditional medium. In digital, always look into a brush that fits exactly the way you want to ink with minimal adjustments from how you'd do it on paper.

spadesart
Sep '19

i cut lineart entirely from spires backgrounds because it took too long. its a pretty fun challenge and i think it actually looks pretty ok.

if you cant cut lines, i can really only recommend practicing. get used to drawing quick purposeful strokes instead of tediously tracing over the sketch.

Tips and tricks #01 How to make nice lineart

this video shows what im talking about.
revisionstudios
Sep '19

Honestly, if your sketches are relatively clean, you can just use those as your lineart too. I see some people go through several sketch layers when they don't need to.

I go from messy af stick figure person to a refined sketch, which I just clean up to make my lineart instead of taking the time to redraw everything. Saves me SO much time.

Cavechan
Sep '19

That... was seriously amazing. Wow. Something else seeing the legendary Urasawa-sensei commenting on the drawings. It really did fire me up just like they said at the end.

Ah. Now I want to draw with pen and ink again. I switched to digital and it just isn't the same. Though in a way it makes things easier and faster... I don't think it actually saves me any time in the end. lol

A faster way of doing this, in Photoshop at least, go to Image -> Adjustment -> Threshold. It makes everything completely black and white. You can adjust the level for more/less detail. It will make everything pixelated though, so you have to work at a minimum 600 dpi.

You can also make multiple layers of threshold as well for greys. Just make multiple layers, turn off the top layers and start at the second from bottom layer (I always recommend leaving the original as the bottom layer) and threshold it at a lower level. Turn on the next layer above it and set it to 50% opacity. Then threshold that layer at a higher level. Now you have a layer of grey. Rinse and repeat, but don't do too many or the greys get too dark. Though it could be adjusted later after flattening with the fill bucket and turn off anti-aliasing.

This trick works well when you need to quickly and easily turn a photograph into flat colors or give it an illustration look.

nostalgicroxas
Sep '19

I know in paint.net (assuming the work's already in greyscale) you can adjust the levels without making anything fancy to the image. It's how I clean up my crappy cellphone pics to show people.

0920191940.jpg480x640 6.4 KB

image.png927x586 62 KB

Pixilated and hard to see no matter what because crappy phone picture, but now you can see the shapes.

rajillustration
Sep '19

What program are you using that you are relying on Bezier curves for? When it comes to digital drawing, Beziers are for if you need a really precise curve for like a technical drawing and they kinda take time. I mean I got used to them back when I still used Illustrator, but Illustrator is not actually an Illustration program. Do you mean the drawing guides in Clip Studio?

What might help, if you find your curves are too shaky, is to apply more smoothing to your brush. In photoshop CC smoothing is a feature you can find in the toolbar, same in any version of Clip Studio (not sure about SAI or Procreate) I go the extra mile and I bought Lazy Nezumi, but I wouldn't dive into Lazy Nezumi unless you really need to since it's mostly for perspective guides and stuff (but it does have extra control over smoothing.)

Then these are kind of a shot in the dark easy tips you probably already know, but rotating your canvas so the angle of the curve matches your hand, drawing from your elbow and shoulder when doing big circular shapes, zooming in for trickier curves, and making sure you are using your whole tablet is pretty important for getting your speed up. (so if you use multiple monitors, make sure your tablet is only set for the monitor you're drawing on.) And also, random tip, but if you're doing a tricky line, always make sure you are breathing out. It keeps your hands from shaking. I actually do a little whistle when I have to do parallel lines, helps every time.

akitsukino
Sep '19

A few bitmap programs like Krita and TvPaint have bezier / spline drawing tools. They don't look the best but sometimes they work. Also great tip about breathing!

rajillustration
Sep '19

Thanks! Glad it helped. I haven't used Krita myself, but luckily Krita does come with a smoothing option for brushes when I check online, so you may want to look into it if you haven't already. Smoothing helps just a ton when doing smooth curves.

Iris-Grimoire
Sep '19

I've tried using Threshold filters before but the whole thing looks pixelated even at a glance, I don't recommend it. Spent a few hours fighting it and just drew over the lineart again. I wish Convert Selection to Work Path would actually make a single line but nope it just selects the whole space colored black or grey.

ZombieOwl
Sep '19

I think the fastest way to ink is the way you're most familiar with.
Personally, Traditional is fastest for me. I like technical pens (micron, faber castell...) because they dry fast and they're portable, so I can draw anywhere I'd like.

I also like to have fairly detailed thumbnails or drafts so that I don't have to think/plan my lines while inking.

I like the other people's suggestions about editing the lineart, that's a pretty cool way to go about it.