I think the next step in the progression of my art skills is inking. I first became aware of the concept while perusing the Tokyopop website and coming across their pilot manga submission guidelines. Of the many other requirements, it necessitated four to five fully "inked", toned, and lined pages of artwork as a portfolio sample. I thought "inking? using feather and black ink from india like in the olden days". To this day, I still don't know what is meant by toning.

Of course, in modern times there is photoshop and the wacom tablets to supplant traditional inking methods. But, I will opt out of the digital alternative in favor of the old-school inking (primarily because it is cheaper... initially). A sudden swell of excitement bubbled in me at the prospect of learning something new and fresh, completely convincing myself that this was the right direction. Recently, I have also been learning how to skateboard.

Today was my first attempt at a crude form of inking. I took an ink pen to one of my drawings. Then, to a separate piece, I redrew it bigger and outlined it in sharpie. It is definitely a different sensation - to "ink" your penciled drawings. Permanence, accent, depth. These are a few of the major qualities gained through inking.