Figure 4.	The final inked splash page.

I sometimes have two bottles of ink: One for the pen which is thinner and one for the brush which I often leave open. By leaving it open some ink evaporates and it becomes thicker, denser and covers better with a brush. If the ink gets too thick I just add a little water.

I also will use templates when needed and suggest that any artist have a good set of ellipse templates, circle templates and French or ship curves. I also like Sakura Micron and Copic markers and often use the .02 or .03 for inking small faces and details. But always wait at least 20 minutes before erasing the page after using them as they will smear badly if the ink isn’t dry, especially on plate finish paper.

My favorite tools of the trade are:

• Kohinoor Rapidograph:Technical Pens or any technical pen 00 or .35.

• The Winsor & Newton Series 7 No. 3 sable brush: The tough yet supple hairs allow great response and delicate control.

• The Sakura Pigma Micron: These pens are great and the tips last a pretty long time. The ink is waterproof and fade proof. Just let the ink dry at least 15-20 minutes before erasing to avoid smearing.

• The Hunt 102 Pen: The industry standard. Its point is fairly flexible and allows a snappy thin-thick line.

Some Mike Manley sketches, as he worked on establishing character and attitude for the character.

Character Development
by Danny Fingeroth
Who are your characters? Why should anybody care about them?

These are the challenges you face when writing a story.

Creating a character can seem deceptively simple. Pick a hair color, a body type, maybe a nifty superpower, a romantic interest, and a car-style, and you have a character, right? Well, a very shallow character. One who people have no real reason to care about. You need to give your character character. You can call this personality, if you like.

As with the other elements of story-making, character can work on several levels. A hero who claims to be dedicated to pursuing justice can have a certain interest for your readers, especially when pitted against a villain who champions evil.

But what if your hero has a bad temper and accidentally kills an adversary who was shoplifting a pack of gum? What if your villain gives all the proceeds from his crimes to cancer research? Wouldn’t that make them more interesting? Wouldn’t that make them more like people you meet in daily life — flawed humans whose actions are often at odds with their stated intentions, or whose actions are a mixed bag of good and bad?

That’s what characterization is about. And that’s the difference between surface characterization and deep characterization.

Surface characterization is when a character seems to be about what they say they’re about. In a Superman story intended for younger readers, Superman is about doing the right thing, and doggone it, he always does the right thing.

Deep characterization is what it sounds like. A character has more complex motives. Superman, in a story for an older audience, may sometimes question why he does what he does. “Is it worth it to do the right thing when people keep committing crimes no matter how often I do the right thing? Maybe I should retire to a desert island.” The struggle to keep doing the right thing even when it’s not appreciated or when it’s hard to know what the right thing is, is a story that involves deeper characterization.