In my continual experimentation with inkwork I came across the description of a good technique to render a starry sky without the bother of either painting around the stars or putting them back in later with white ink. Start out with a sketch. Then you take your masking fluid, lightly dip a toothbrush into it and then, dragging your finger over the bristles, splatter the fluid onto the drawing. When it is dry you paint with black ink where you want it to go. Wait for the ink to dry to and then lightly rub off the masking fluid revealing the white paper underneath. It's that easy, and it gives the stars a nice random look that is hard to replicate. In this instance I have extended the starry sky to the figures, but that obviously isn't necessary.

I used to drag the tooth brush over a screen which also creates the same effect; less messy on the fingers, but hey this art. We all get messy from time to time. Dragging the finger over the tooth brush works for me too.

Regards,
Gilbert

Thanks for the tip!