Mastering the Ink: Creating an Inked Illustration with ComfyUI
Welcome, artists!
Before we dive into today’s tutorial, let’s take a moment to talk about the elephant in the room—AI. I know some of you may feel hesitant, maybe even resistant, to the idea of using AI in your creative process. That’s perfectly natural. After all, art has always been about the personal touch, the human line, the heart behind the ink. But here’s the truth: the tools may evolve, but the craft remains the same.
Think about the comic book industry for a moment. For decades, artists have gone through the same fundamental process—penciling, inking, coloring, lettering. Today, many pros rely on digital tools to speed up and refine those steps without compromising artistry. Inkers like Walden Wong and Jonathan Glapion showcase the power of strong, deliberate linework—whether they’re using traditional brushes or digital tablets. The skill is in the inking, not just the surface you’re working on.
That’s where ComfyUI comes in. It doesn’t replace the artist. Instead, it gives us a platform to create roughs, generate references, and streamline workflows so we can focus on what we do best: adding our personal touch. You’ll find that many of the steps we’re about to cover echo classic comic creation—you’re just doing them with modern tools.
So let’s roll up our sleeves and dive in!
Step 1: Setting Up ComfyUI
The first step is preparing ComfyUI for illustration. I’ll walk you through the nodes I use for this workflow. Download the workflow here. Think of nodes as your toolbox—each one contributes a specific function, from generating base sketches to refining details. By connecting them, you’re basically laying out your digital drawing board.
The two main nodes we will be using here are the IPAdapter and ControlNet. Almost forgot, we will be using a Image Filter Adjustment to change saturation levels of the image.
As you can see in the image above, we are adding the reference image we want to ink to both Load Image nodes connected to IPAdapter node and ControlNet. The Image Filter Adjustment node helps use de-saturate the image and bring it to a soft sketch like drawing. Which is the image we will be inking.
(Tip: For readers new to ComfyUI, imagine this like setting up your brushes, inks, and erasers before you start working on a comic page.)
Step 2: Creating the Base Image
Traditionally, artists start with blue-line pencils. For this tutorial, instead of blues, I generate my base sketch in greyscale. This gives us a soft, neutral foundation to work with and makes it easier to focus on line weight and shading later.
Why greys?
- It keeps the foundation neutral.
- It’s easier to focus on line weight later.
- It feels closer to graphite pencils.
This is your “pencil stage”—loose, soft, and waiting to be inked.
Step 3: Taking It to Ink – Traditional or Digital
Here’s where it gets fun. Once the base sketch is ready, you have two options:
- Print It Out for Practice:
- If you love the tactile feel of brush and pen, print the greyscale base and ink it traditionally. This is a fantastic way to practice line confidence, feathering, and brush control without having to pencil an entire piece first.
- Go Digital with Procreate:
- Transfer the file to your iPad and open it in Procreate. Digital inking lets you zoom, undo, and experiment freely while still capturing the energy of your strokes. See a timelapse of the process here.
Either route keeps you in the driver’s seat—the AI is just your assistant laying down the scaffolding.
Step 4: Polishing in Photopea
Once the inking is done, import your finished file into Photopea (a free online Photoshop alternative). Here, you’ll make final adjustments:
- Boosting contrast to make your blacks pop.
- Adjusting levels so your linework looks crisp and professional.
- Cleaning up stray marks or imperfections.
This is the equivalent of prepping your inks for print or publishing.
Bonus Step: Animating with ComfyUI
Now for a little extra magic. ComfyUI isn’t just great for static illustrations—it can also help you create simple animations. I’ll show you the exact nodes and workflow I use to bring my inked illustration to life. Whether it’s a subtle breathing effect, shifting shadows, or a looping motion, animation adds an exciting dimension to your work.
Comfy UI offers extensive customization, making it suitable for almost any production project. It can be used to generate concept images, videos, and 3D objects, among other things. With recent API additions, Comfy UI now integrates with major text-to-image and text-to-video tools like Google Veo3, Wan 2.5, and Nano Banana.
For the final animated image, I utilized the basic Wan 2.5 Image to Video template workflow, available in the Comfy UI templates library.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, art is about exploration. Tools like ComfyUI don’t replace creativity—they expand it. Just like inkers in the comic world elevate penciled pages into bold, striking visuals, you can use these workflows to amplify your own vision.
So, are you ready to give it a shot? Download the ComfyUI workflows I’ve shared with this tutorial and start experimenting today. Whether you stick to traditional pens, dive into digital inking, or even play with animation, remember: the ink is still yours.
Keep creating, keep experimenting, and keep pushing your art forward.
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