Have you ever noticed that the work of a particular inker adds that extra flair or polish to the jobs they do and you find yourself pumped to discover that a favorite story or series of yours is being inked by this artist and not someone else?
If so, this is where we'd like you to express your appreciation for that quality work. We're not here to over-hype the status of the inker.
Inkers enter this biz understanding that they are not going to draw the same attention, or 'super-star' status, as other crafts but will probably fall below the radar.
But, like almost everyone in the community, we do it for the passion for the art form. And while most industry awards have a 'best or 'favorite inker' category (but not all) we'd like to draw recognition here for the ink artist, his craft, and his history. This has been, through various efforts, my intent for a while now and it was in my upcoming "Inkblots" column in Blue Line Pro's SKETCH magazine #35 (March) that I came up with a much smaller-scale version of the Inkwell Awards you see here (and we truly want to certify that we make these gestures without any intended malice or agenda against any specific publisher or their editors).
It was after seeking input from my inking brothers on the Yahoo 'Inkwell' mailing list that some more ideas developed and I proceeded to gather others who shared my passion and concept and restructure the awards together. It's a huge thanks to them that this function is active as it is...and it is to the unsung inker that this awards proceeding is dedicated.
Bob Almond
..The Inkwell Awards..
