I work primarily with digital tools these days. I am so very glad I learned and practiced with traditional supplies for many years, but I thrive with the flexibility provided with my iPad and Procreate, my art program of choice. I’m able to experiment with ideas and use tools previously unavailable to me.
That being said, old habits die hard, and I’ve only recently (within this past chapter) begun utilizing digital art to do something I never had the tools to do when I worked with pens and markers… make characters who have darker skin actually have darker skin.
In the Oracle for Hire years I never darkened the skin of semashi characters like Bumper because 1) it was faster not to do it, 2) I didn’t have the tools to make it look good, and 3) I was perhaps trying to make a statement that skin color didn’t matter. Which it doesn’t, of course, but when it comes to representation in fiction it also kinda does.
Kaianda’s skin has always been darker, as has Makena’s when he was first introduced, but I was still stuck in those old habits of keeping everyone’s skin color blank despite having the tools to do otherwise. But when black-and-white is your preferred medium and you have the means to add plenty of grays, you should probably make use of every tool at your disposal.
So, much later than I probably should have, I started using shades of gray for both Kaianda’s and Makena’s skin tones, and I’m glad I did. Don’t be surprised when you see the Ink Witch also having a slightly darker skin tone, as she’s from Semash and it’s about time I started representing them more accurately, too.
Old habits may die hard but you can also teach an old dog new tricks, so long as they’re open to learning. If I can do it after several decades, you can to. Use everything at your disposal. Your art and characters will be improved for it.