the inker (also sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher)"bullpen bulletins," marvel two-in-one #52 (marvel comics, june 1979). is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. after a pencilled drawing (or copy of the pencilled drawing) is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink (usually india ink) to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines.fox, margalit (april 5, 2013). "carmine infantino, reviver of batman and flash, dies at 87". the new york times. the ink may be applied with a pen or a brush â many inkers use both â or even digitally, a process gaining in popularity. the inker is usually responsible for every black line on the page, except for letters, which are handled by a letterer. in many comic strips, as well as japanese manga and european comics, a single artist takes responsibility for penciling, inking and sometimes even lettering, either doing it all (e.g., charles m. schulz) or hiring assistants. for comics printed in color, there is usually a separate colorist. inking was a necessity of the printing process used in comic books and other print publications; the presses could not reproduce pencilled drawings. it is now a recognized art in itself. as the last hand in the production chain before the colorist, the inker has the final word on the look of the page, and can help control a story's mood, pace, and readability. a good inker can salvage shaky pencils, while a bad one can obliterate great draftsmanship and/or muddy good storytelling. == workflow ==  while inking can involve tracing pencil lines in a literal sense, it also requires interpreting the pencils, giving proper weight to the lines, correcting mistakes, and making other creative choices. the look of a penciler's final art can vary enormously depending on the inker. a pencil drawing can have an infinite number of shades of grey, depending on the hardness of the graphite and the pressure applied by the artist. by contrast, an ink line generally can be only solid black. accordingly, the inker has to translate pencil shading into patterns of ink, as for example by using closely spaced parallel lines, feathering, or cross-hatching. some inkers will often do more than simply interpreting the pencil markings into pen and brush strokes; depending on how much detail the penciler puts into the pencil drawings, the inker might add shading or be responsible for the placement of black spaces and shadows in the final drawing. an experienced inker paired with a novice penciler might be responsible for correcting anatomical or other mistakes, modifying facial expressions, or c
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