inker

The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional American comic book production. After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing it with a pencil, an ink pen or a brush with black ink. Inking was necessary in the traditional printing process as presses could not reproduce pencilled drawings. Another specialist, the letterer, handles the "inking" of text and word balloons, while the colorist applies color to the final inked art submitted by the inker.