# Media  > Creator Showcase >  Comic Artist Tips & Tricks

## Ghost

I thought it would be beneficial to everyone in some way to start a kindof artist help thread. Share any resources, tips, tricks or ideas with other artists. Or even ask for advice on improving your own craft. 

Feel free to share your knowledge. Writers, letterers, colorists, inkers, pencillers, and editors. Any and all advice is helpful.

If you are in the middle of creating a comic right now ( indie comic, web comic, manga, newspaper strip, etc ), what unforeseen pitfalls have you encountered? Any tips to help others get started or motivated? Lets hear it.

I'll start. Ive been slowly working towards being a digital artist for 4-5 years now. I will say the best choice I ever made was buying a digital drawing tablet. I initially started with a mouse, but once you spend a week or two experimenting with the tablet youll never go back! 

I was initially hesitant but it has a few benefits over using traditional tools like pencils, pens, paints, etc. Mainly its convenience and the amount of time you will save. With an art program like Manga Studio or Photoshop (more on those later) you wont really need anymore pencils or paints.  

The first thing I guess you should know is there are regular drawing tablets and there are screen drawing tablets. The regular tablets are normally connected via usb port and lay flat on your desk. You use a wireless pen device that acts as a mouse pointer. This pen device can be adjusted for sensitivity whether you draw lightly or press down hard. They are intended to be used with a separate art program.

The screen tablets use the same pen device to draw but you are drawing 'onto' the screen instead. Some people may prefer one or the other, but I have found the screen tablet was superior for pencilling and inking of comics.. mainly due to the larger size.

One of the older and most widely used brands now is the Wacom brand. They have a variety of sizes and styles of tablets to fit most budgets. And their surface has a slight tooth to it, so that it feels a little like actually drawing on paper. The only real drawbacks Im familiar with are the price and software driver issues. Wacom is a little pricier than most due to name recognition, and once you go to larger sizes or the screen Cintiq tablet youre talking thousands of dollars.



One of the newer but less known brands are the Monoprice tablets. For a fraction of the price you are given a tablet that rivals (if not surpasses) the quality of the Wacom tablets. 



The current tablet I have been using is the Yiynova MSP19U screen tablet. It is a 19 inch screen tablet that saved me around $1,000 when compared to a similar Wacom Cintiq model. It shares the same UC Logic pen digitzer as the Monoprice drawing tablets, and draws just as smoothly for me. 



Regardless of which tablet you get it will take you some time to master just like anything else. Below I will include some links and reviews if anyone wanted to do further research. Also remember there are tons of reviews on amazon.com for most tablets.

*Websites:*
WACOM
YIYNOVA
MONOPRICE

*Reviews:*
Yiynova MSP19U 
Monoprice Tablets

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## ExcelsiorPrime

I'm hoping to save up to buy a tablet..any suggestions on an inexpensive one..also being new to digitally producing a comic strip any tips on coloring techniques that add shade and better definition to images--you know flare effects..making skin tone variances..or shadows..also a fellow artist End of Time shared this on coloring with Photoshop. More posts like this would be extremely helpful.

Decent enough tutorial on coloring with layers on youtube:




and a bit harder to wade through:
http://www.photoshopessentials.com/p...odes/multiply/[/QUOTE]

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## Ghost

I thought it would be worth discussing a few comic-creating art programs as well. I'll try to give my opinion on what you can use to get the most bang for your buck, as well as what I think is 'ideal' to use for certain purposes (pencilling/inking, coloring, lettering).

*The 3 main programs I will discuss are:*

Manga Studio
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator

Honorable mentions: Adobe InDesign, Gimp, ArtRage Studio, Corel Painter




*Manga Studio* 
Manga Studio is a digital art program created in Japan originally for the inking of manga and comics. It is fairly well-known for being very good for inking in fact, but in its newest iterations (Manga Studio 4-5) it has added many new features and you are able pencil, ink, color, letter, and do much more.

Main Benefits:
Manga Studio is really an all-in-one art program for creating comics. For penciling, inking and painting there are dozens of varieties of brushes at your disposal that can be customized to draw exactly the way you want. Almost identically replicating real life pens and pencils and such. Another nice feature is the line correction. This gives you the option to smooth out drawn lines if you have a shaky hand. This program probably draws the smoothest lines in my experience. You also have the option to draw everything in either pixels or vectors.

Another nice feature is the option to easily create your panels and borders. Once you have them set, you can then draw inside of the boxes individually without worrying about having to draw inside the lines, they can be automatically masked off. Creating word ballons is also a breeze, and has its own tool. You create the bubble itself, and then drag a tail to where you want and they automatically connect.

Another nice feature for Manga Studio (certain versions) is that you can draw your pages individually and then package them all into one file for easy organization. This also helps for the thumbnailing or storyboarding process, if you tend to sketch before you write. For example, if you draw a 32 page comic you wont have to sort through 32 individual files.

Main Flaws:
The main flaws that I can think of are that so far its lettering tools are very functional, but basic. Meaning for regular text it is fine. Things like spacing and leading can be adjusted. But for things like large sound effects and custom word logos, you are better off with something like Adobe illustrator. I will touch on that later in this post.

Pricing:
This is another of Manga Studios best selling points. It is far less expensive than the Adobe art programs, the most up to date EX5 version costing in the $93 range. Alternatively, if you just wanted something for packaging the pages or to organize page layouts Adobe InDesign serves this purpose well, but is much less cost efficient and is not intended for elaborate illustration and painting. QuarkXPress is a similar option, but not as widely used.




*Adobe Photoshop*
Adobe Photoshop is a digital art program that was created to digitally manipulate photographs. It has been around for over 20 years and is considered by many to be the industry standard for digital painting. Along with the ability to easily manipulate photos you are able to pencil, ink, color and letter.

Main Benefits:
Photoshop in my opinion has better effects than manga Studio right now. Things like dropshadows and glow FX come to mind. The program itself is also relatively stable compared to some art programs. There is nothing more infuriating than losing hours of work. 

Main Flaws:
It is a very competent illustration and painting tool, but is slightly edged out by Manga Studio as far as finesse and control. Its main purpose is still for manipulating photos. It is also useful for lettering, but lacks the convenient word bubble tools and easy panel creation of Manga Studio. It also suffers the limited lettering tools that Manga Studio has. Sound FX and word logos are more suited to Adobe illustrator for now.

Pricing:
Photoshop isnt cheap. Newer versions can cost you over $1,000-$2,000 unless you get some kindof art student discount. And this is for the full CS (Creative Suite), not the limited Elements versions. On the bright side though, there are alternatives.

The older CS2 version is available for free, but lacking many of the tools of the newer versions. A free alternative program that seems to be frequently updated by its userbase is called GiMP. 




*Adobe Illustrator*
Adobe Illustrator is a digital art program that mainly is used for its vector manipulation abilities. The benefit of vector art compared to regular pixel art is that it can be stretched indefinitely without losing quality or becoming blurry. 

Main Benefits:
It is mainly used for creating logos or manipulating text in ways not otherwise possible. Creating sound FX is also much easier with vectors as you are able to easily manipulate text as an object and stretch , skew and color it to any needed size or shape. it can also be used for regular lettering and creating word balloons, so long as you understand how to import and export art between various art programs like Photoshop or Manga Studio.

Main Flaws:
While it is good for manipulating text, it can be cumbersome to attempt regular paintings or illustrations. Inking is possible and even benefits from the use of vectors in Illustrator. But it can quickly bog down some computers as vectors use more memory, and it is not ideal for most. 

Pricing:
Illustrator is similarly priced to Photoshop at around $1,000-$2,000 without a student discount. For doing vector art you also have the option of using Manga Studio or Corel Painter. However, Manga Studio does not have the same text manipulating abilities and Corel Painter is also expensive and known to have stability issues.



So what should you buy? Well, Im pretty biased towards Manga Studio EX5 as being the all-in-one comic creation tool for the lowest price right now. But if you can afford it, I would say use Manga Studio for pencilling, inking and coloring, possibly lettering & layouts. Photoshop for certain special FX. And Illustrator to create custom logos and sound fx.

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## Ghost

> I'm hoping to save up to buy a tablet..any suggestions on an inexpensive one..also being new to digitally producing a comic strip any tips on coloring techniques that add shade and better definition to images--you know flare effects..making skin tone variances..or shadows..also a fellow artist End of Time shared this on coloring with Photoshop. More posts like this would be extremely helpful.


Hey Excelsior. 
For a new tablet user I would suggest looking into a regular Monoprice or Wacom Intuos tablet. Monoprice is less expensive and draws just as well in my opinion. I would check their website for reviews before buying though. Also consider that the larger the tablets are the easier it is to draw larger full-arm strokes with, but take up alot more desk space. While smaller tablets are probably better suited to coloring, unless you dont mind zooming in and out a bit more often.

hmm, by flare effects do you mean lighting and shadowing? Or kindof glowing effects? 

Ive found this video series very helpful for pro coloring tips:





Part 2
Part 3

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## ExcelsiorPrime

Thanks for both tablet urls. They range in price so i think i an get a decent one,

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## Ghost

> Thanks for both tablet urls. They range in price so i think i an get a decent one,


No problem  :Smile: . Let me know how things turn out.

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## Lady Warp Spasm

I came across this French artist (big Supernatural fan) on tumblr. 

She mentions her techniques and the various mediums she uses here.

I hope some of it is helpful to the artists here.

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## tsaimelemoni

Very useful thread, thanks!

I've been dabbling with digital art recently, but so far just on my samsung tablet. As a result there are resolution issues (pretty bad pixellation once you get close to 300% and larger of the original image) that seem unsuitable for commercial use. For example, comiXology won't accept submissions with the aforementioned pixellation issue.

Also, thanks for the information regarding actual tablets; I have held off on getting a cintiq mainly because of price. We do have a wacom bamboo tablet, but it's not easy for me to use (I prefer a screen tablet). Knowing there's a cheaper but still quality alternative is heartening.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Awesome thread idea!

I do all my art on a Motion LE 1700 tablet. They're available on Ebay very cheaply these days, and I'd recommend them for anyone wanting to dabble in digital art or on a tight budget. I'd tried a Wacom before, but being able to draw directly on the screen with the pen is so much better for me.

For digital artist who need a free perspective grid tool, here's a great little utility: Carapace. A few keyboard and mouse clicks set up a single or multiple point perspective grid, then copy to the clipboard and paste into Photoshop. 
http://epicgames.com/community/2012/...o-epic-friday/

For any artist (digital or traditional) wishing to improve their drawing, check out the Andrew Loomis series, available on PDF. These are a series of drawing manuals by a 60's commercial artist, now in the public domain. Great advice on all the basics like anatomy, expressions, perspective, etc. Plus he sounds like Don Draper in places!
http://illustrationage.com/2013/04/0...ion-downloads/

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## Ghost

> I came across this French artist (big Supernatural fan) on tumblr. 
> 
> She mentions her techniques and the various mediums she uses here.
> 
> I hope some of it is helpful to the artists here.


Nice, thanks for the link. Just goes to show you can still make great art with or without going digital.





> Very useful thread, thanks!
> 
> I've been dabbling with digital art recently, but so far just on my samsung tablet. As a result there are resolution issues (pretty bad pixellation once you get close to 300% and larger of the original image) that seem unsuitable for commercial use. For example, comiXology won't accept submissions with the aforementioned pixellation issue.
> 
> Also, thanks for the information regarding actual tablets; I have held off on getting a cintiq mainly because of price. We do have a wacom bamboo tablet, but it's not easy for me to use (I prefer a screen tablet). Knowing there's a cheaper but still quality alternative is heartening.


Thank you! I wouldnt worry about the pixely looking image. Thats just an extremely close-up view. Once its zoomed out to its original size the pixels are less visible (if at all). All images, videos and even fonts are all pixels. A few examples:





Thats also why 720p is less sharp than 1080p, 1080p has more pixels. The more pixels, the more sharp the image. It also can have to do with resolution if you arent zoomed in and it still looks pixelated. The higher the resolution then the larger amount of pixels that will be used per inch in the image. 



To be safe, I generally stick to a resolution of 300-600 dpi. Regardless of if its for print or web use. If its going to be something printed on a huge banner or maybe even a poster then 600-1200 dpi might be better. But there is some debate on how much is too much (plus larger dpi = huge computer bogging file size). I have had quite a few printing adventures so I may elaborate a bit more on some things in a later post.

And yeah Cintiqs are a pretty pricey. Drawing on a screen is great once you get the hang of it. But there are a growing number of far cheaper alternatives. I love my Yiynova MSP19U that I had mentioned in my first post. Costed me a few hundred bucks, and their customer service was great when I used them. I had a dead pixel on the first screen I got, so they payed for my shipping and I used the box it came in to return it. They shipped me back a new one free of charge. Id also read a review about a new screen-tablet that is even cheaper ($400!) but just as good: http://frenden.com/post/69444810884/...acom-take-heed





> Awesome thread idea!
> 
> I do all my art on a Motion LE 1700 tablet. They're available on Ebay very cheaply these days, and I'd recommend them for anyone wanting to dabble in digital art or on a tight budget. I'd tried a Wacom before, but being able to draw directly on the screen with the pen is so much better for me.
> 
> For digital artist who need a free perspective grid tool, here's a great little utility: Carapace. A few keyboard and mouse clicks set up a single or multiple point perspective grid, then copy to the clipboard and paste into Photoshop. 
> http://epicgames.com/community/2012/...o-epic-friday/
> 
> For any artist (digital or traditional) wishing to improve their drawing, check out the Andrew Loomis series, available on PDF. These are a series of drawing manuals by a 60's commercial artist, now in the public domain. Great advice on all the basics like anatomy, expressions, perspective, etc. Plus he sounds like Don Draper in places!
> http://illustrationage.com/2013/04/0...ion-downloads/



Thanks!

Ive never heard of a Motion LE 1700, I'll be sure to see what its about. Thanks for the awesome grid tool and Andrew Loomis art tutorials as well. Andrew Loomis was a master illustrator imo, these free art tutorial books by him are truly valuable learning tools to any artist. Great resource.

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## CrazyOldHermit

Paolo Rivera's blog is a fantastic resource everyone should check out.

In the realm of coloring he recently posted a great overview of his technique:

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## nova3333

I can vouch for Manga Studio - I use version 4 with a Wacom Tablet and its superb - the only downside is the online manual - way too complex so its one of the those programs that you're better off learning yourself -using the beginners mode on which is a more simple way to understand the various functions.

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## ExcelsiorPrime

> Paolo Rivera's blog is a fantastic resource everyone should check out.
> 
> In the realm of coloring he recently posted a great overview of his technique:


Thanks...for posting this!

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## Dr6

> One of the older and most widely used brands now is the Wacom brand. They have a variety of sizes and styles of tablets to fit most budgets. And their surface has a slight tooth to it, so that it feels a little like actually drawing on paper. The only real drawbacks Im familiar with are the price and software driver issues. Wacom is a little pricier than most due to name recognition, and once you go to larger sizes or the screen Cintiq tablet youre talking thousands of dollars.
> 
> 
> 
> One of the newer but less known brands are the Monoprice tablets. For a fraction of the price you are given a tablet that rivals (if not surpasses) the quality of the Wacom tablets. 
> 
> [/URL]



How is the pen-mouse? 
Would it work all by itself? Or do we need the entire set (tablets and the rest)?

I ask this because I bought  a pen mouse (I-pen) a year or so back and it just does the job for am amateur like me. I faced the same problem of not wanting to spend in excess of $400/500. So I settled on the i-pen which cost me a total of $25. But it seems its production has halted.

Hence my query about the Monoprice's pen-mouse and if we can just buy the pen.

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## Johnrap

One tool that inspires me and makes creating comics fun is the OneDrive from Microsoft. I don't know if it is the best cloud, but it's the best of the half a dozen that I tried.

First, it does what you need from a cloud, it allow you to host secure spec and delivery folders for all of your contributors. 

Second, and this is the feature I LOVE, you can preview and slide around image pages and the OneDrive will maintain the order for you. So, you can literally build your comic by starting with a handful of images full of text. Then as time goes on you keep updating the images and adding more details and improving each page. Midway you might have a shuffled folder with your pages in various stages from rough to complete. 

It's fun and powerful.

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## Ghost

> How is the pen-mouse? 
> Would it work all by itself? Or do we need the entire set (tablets and the rest)?
> 
> I ask this because I bought  a pen mouse (I-pen) a year or so back and it just does the job for am amateur like me. I faced the same problem of not wanting to spend in excess of $400/500. So I settled on the i-pen which cost me a total of $25. But it seems its production has halted.
> 
> Hence my query about the Monoprice's pen-mouse and if we can just buy the pen.


Yep, for the drawing tablets they generally only work in synchronization as a tablet and pen set. 

By i-pen Im assuming you are looking for something to work with on your ipad? I know Wacom has a variety of ipad styluses you can use for drawing. http://www.wacom.com/en/us/creative/intuos-creative-stylus 



Though I cant say Im familiar with them. It seems to have favorable reviews on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-C...+intuos+stylus

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## The Beast

The best tip I ever got about illustration was to study Dr. Edwards' book.

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-.../dp/1585429201




Here are samples of her student's before and after drawings that is part of her course. Dr. Edwards has you draw self portraits once before the actual course as a test to see where you're at and once again at the end to see how far you've developed. The improvement is almost always staggering.



I worked as a traditional animator for a few years and every supervisor or colleague that I worked with swore by this book. I didn't read it myself until I was already working in the industry and it still had a profound affect/improvement on my art. Dr. Edwards makes drawing as easy as writing a paragraph and she can literally teach anyone to do it. 

If you haven't already checked out this book, I can't recommend it enough. Once that kind of proficiency is under your belt, your creative expression with vastly expand and even if your art doesn't change that much, it will become easier to crank out.

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## CrazyOldHermit

I'm unsure of how sound the science behind "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" is but the exercises are fantastic and the core purpose of the book, which is breaking away from symbol drawing, is _vital_.

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## Ghost

> The best tip I ever got about illustration was to study Dr. Edwards' book.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-.../dp/1585429201
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here are samples of her student's before and after drawings that is part of her course. Dr. Edwards has you draw self portraits once before the actual course as a test to see where you're at and once again at the end to see how far you've developed. The improvement is almost always staggering.
> 
> ...


Interesting! I'll check out the video to see what exercises she is suggesting. Thats cool you were an animator. Any notable projects?

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## Dr6

> Yep, for the drawing tablets they generally only work in synchronization as a tablet and pen set. 
> 
> By i-pen Im assuming you are looking for something to work with on your ipad? I know Wacom has a variety of ipad styluses you can use for drawing. http://www.wacom.com/en/us/creative/intuos-creative-stylus 
> 
> 
> ]



Well it's basically a mouse in the form of a pen, that gets plugged into my lap top. As simple as that.
It comes with a thin plastic pad on which you write/draw. But isn't pressure sensitive. So I have to the extra work to adjust, trim, thin, ... the lines myself. But given  this as my hobby, I guess it'd do.




http://www.ebay.com/itm/I-Finger-Sys...item19ec9227f1



So my question was would the monoprice pen (the pen only. As it seems they sell that by itself too) also work like this without having to buy the entire package (meaning the pad, ...)?

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## Ghost

> Well it's basically a mouse in the form of a pen, that gets plugged into my lap top. As simple as that.
> It comes with a thin plastic pad on which you write/draw. But isn't pressure sensitive. So I have to the extra work to adjust, trim, thin, ... the lines myself. But given  this as my hobby, I guess it'd do.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/I-Finger-Sys...item19ec9227f1
> 
> 
> ...


Ah I see. Im not familiar with that particular brand myself so I cant speak from experience. But something about it makes me hesitant.. it _seems_ to be mainly geared towards writing notes and not really art. And you will definitely want pressure sensitivity imo. If not now then maybe in the future as your style continues to evolve. 

The Monoprice pen is a replacement pen for the pen+tablet combo. To my knowledge Monoprice doesnt make a pen by itself that works that way, but I think Wacom does. Though I think that also is mainly geared towards note taking and not so much art.  :Confused:

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## Ghost

Some helpful resources Ive come across:

Character Design Tips

Lighting Techniques

10 Typical Perspective Errors

Anatomy References

Color Scheme Tool


*Character Design:*

- Instead of focusing on details, try to initially build unique silhouettes/shapes. If a character was covered in shadow, would readers be able to recognize their shape or features?

- Plan functional gear and attire. Also try to incorporate your characters surroundings and history into its design. Does he ever use that huge backpack hes wearing? Whats inside? Is it important where the backpack came from, when he got it, etc.

- Simple characters are faster to draw. Consider all the small details you add will have to be drawn frame by frame in many different angles. 

This webinar is very helpful for character design:






*Use of Light:*

- Haze: Use beams of light in mist, smoke, haze to give illusion of depth.

- The sky doesnt always have to be blue, and grass doesnt have to be green. Try experimenting with colors and lighting for temperature or ‘moods’. EX. Cold, Warm, Green-lush or illness, Red-Fierce or danger, Blue-Night or calm, etc.

- Use foreground objects (dingle) to increase illusion of depth. Make it blurry/out of focus. Tree branch, characters shoulder, etc.

- Use of deep shadows and harsh lighting can evoke a dark or moody atmosphere. Think of old Universal horror movies, German Expressionism.

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## Ghost

Here are some resources and tips for writing your own comics:

Things you NEED to know to make a great comic

How to write superhero stories

Paper Wings tips for writing comics

Jim Zub writing walkthrough

Comic scripting template for Word

Mark Waid writing 101

Anina Bennett visual language

Literary Techniques

The Heros Journey Outline


I have been writing a ton lately. Jim Zub's blog helped me immensely since I never was much of a writer before. If you only have time to check out one blog, Id give his a try.  :Big Grin: 

Almost forgot, I also recommend checking out Scott McClouds 'Understanding Comcs' and Will Eisner's ' Comics and Sequential Art'. They really helped me to get a much deeper understanding of comics as a whole.





Feel free to share your knowledge. Writers, letterers, colorists, inkers, pencillers, and editors. Seasoned vets or hobbyists. Any and all advice is helpful. Share any resources, tips, tricks or ideas with other artists. Or even ask for advice on improving your own craft.

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## The Beast

> Interesting! I'll check out the video to see what exercises she is suggesting. Thats cool you were an animator. Any notable projects?


A couple of feature films back in the 90's and some breakfast commercials with some iconic characters but for the most part it was just T.V. shows you've probably never heard of.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Wow! That looks like an awesome list of links to follow, Ghost! There goes my Saturday!

And I'll second Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" - its great to read just to have a technical language for comic making, and to draw attention to all those little things you always knew but never quite articulated.

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## Ghost

> A couple of feature films back in the 90's and some breakfast commercials with some iconic characters but for the most part it was just T.V. shows you've probably never heard of.


Awesome. If you dont mind me asking, are you still in the business? I really admire animators. I dont think I have the patience and dedication for that type of work, especially traditional cel animation. 




> Wow! That looks like an awesome list of links to follow, Ghost! There goes my Saturday!
> 
> And I'll second Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" - its great to read just to have a technical language for comic making, and to draw attention to all those little things you always knew but never quite articulated.


Thanks Dr Mike, I hope theyre of use.  :Big Grin: 

I agree. Have you ever read any of Scott McClouds other books? Id really like to check them out someday.

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## Dr Mike 2000

I've got a copy of "Making Comics" by McCloud, and yeah, its definitely worth picking up. Its more or less in the same vein as "Understanding Comics", but written 13 years later. Theres the same kind of technical dissection of what we take for granted in telling a story in comics, and some intriguing theories on the interplay between picture and word streams, and the four tribes of comic makers, and so on.

I'd highly recommend it.

I haven't actually read any of his comics though. I really must grab some Zot! one of these days.

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## Groo Odyssey

Thanks for the great links ghost.

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## Ghost

Here are some comic Lettering and Logo creation resources:

*Lettering:*
Balloon Tales Lettering Tips

Todd Klein's Lettering Blog

Jim Campbell Man Of Letters

Nate Piekos Comic Grammar

*Logos:*
Successful Logo Design

Grim Leaper Logo Design process

Logo Design: 55 Pro Tips

Create A Professional Logo

How To Make A Logo

Comicraft also has a book on lettering, "Comic Book Lettering: the Comicraft Way.

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## The Beast

> Awesome. If you dont mind me asking, are you still in the business? I really admire animators. I dont think I have the patience and dedication for that type of work, especially traditional cel animation.


Nope, not for a decade now. Traditional animation got creamed by computer animation at the end of the nineties and the job market shrunk drastically. I was working as a layout artist near the end but I got tired of "polishing other people's turds" so I struck out on my own and now I polish my own turds in the form of independent comic books.  :Wink:

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## King White

Thanks very much everyone! Lot's of great info here to look over.

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## Ghost

Here are some good places to get your comics printed:

*Asian Printers:*
Print Ninja
Midas Printing
TriVision
Regent Printing

*North American Printers:*
Quebecor
Brenner printing
Lebonfon (contact: Patrick Jodoin)

*Print On Demand:*
RA Comics
Ka-Blam
Lulu
Createspace

Its worth noting that the Asian printers have a much much lower price than anything found in NA. But remember to account for the price for shipping potentially crates full of comics on a ship or plane over the ocean. Also remember to account for the time it will take to get here.. might not be good if you need a quick printing for a convention or something.

For something quick and simple I would go with the Print on Demand companies. They will usually (digitally) print quantities as low as 1-10 issues or as high as 1,000 or more. Though if you plan on printing that many it may be better to look into an offset printer. Around 1,000 issues is when offset printing usually becomes more reasonably priced per issue. Offset generally looks better for comics, though digital is getting better and better every day.

For offset printing, again I suggest the Asian companies or the North American companies listed. Most if not all Marvel, DC, Image, etc comics are or were printed using these companies. Also consider first getting a price quote from a local printer. Because if you are able to pick them up yourself you would cut out the shipping cost and would be able to get your proofs more quickly. Though smaller companies usually are more expensive, its worth checking out at least.

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## ExcelsiorPrime

> Thanks very much everyone! Lot's of great info here to look over.


Agreed.  Thanks Ghost

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## TroubleWithTrebles

That is a fantastically helpful post!

Do you have the specs on the prepress file types needed by the Asian companies, which might be different to lulu or KaBlam?  Some places are fine with flattened lmz tiffs in a zip folder while others want InDesign files.

For my own tips/tricks, suggestion:  sometimes a look you want cannot be achieved by digital means, and can only be achieved by traditional methods.  Particularly true of inking and painted work.  Some people can make a wacom yield work like Bolland, but more often than not, most applications can't achieve looks like Sinnott and Layton and Williams and Giordano and Palmer and Pini and Doran and Frazetta and Bisley and Fabry and Gogos, and for these, physical tools and methods are required.  Besides, after all the previous digital advice on this thread vs the paucity of traditional advice, more digi would be superfluous.

I'll start with paints:  when people paint on paper, or bristol, they forget that brushes intended for canvas can work just as well on paper or bristol.  Many folk get frustrated when they use watercolour and acrylic brushes on paper, when the effect they wanted could have been achieved with a filbert brush rather than a round or a sable flat...

ManThing, light acrylic wash with Fabry spatter, followed by semi opaques, finishing with opaques.  No digi.  Less than 9" x 7" original size on standard 1 ply poster paper.  The filberts made all the difference.

----------


## Ghost

> That is a fantastically helpful post!
> 
> Do you have the specs on the prepress file types needed by the Asian companies, which might be different to lulu or KaBlam?  Some places are fine with flattened lmz tiffs in a zip folder while others want InDesign files.
> 
> For my own tips/tricks, suggestion:  sometimes a look you want cannot be achieved by digital means, and can only be achieved by traditional methods.  Particularly true of inking and painted work.  Some people can make a wacom yield work like Bolland, but more often than not, most applications can't achieve looks like Sinnott and Layton and Williams and Giordano and Palmer and Pini and Doran and Frazetta and Bisley and Fabry and Gogos, and for these, physical tools and methods are required.  Besides, after all the previous digital advice on this thread vs the paucity of traditional advice, more digi would be superfluous.
> 
> I'll start with paints:  when people paint on paper, or bristol, they forget that brushes intended for canvas can work just as well on paper or bristol.  Many folk get frustrated when they use watercolour and acrylic brushes on paper, when the effect they wanted could have been achieved with a filbert brush rather than a round or a sable flat...
> 
> ManThing, light acrylic wash with Fabry spatter, followed by semi opaques, finishing with opaques.  No digi.  Less than 9" x 7" original size on standard 1 ply poster paper.  The filberts made all the difference.


Thanks, Im glad you find it helpful.  :Cool: 

As far as file types for the Asian printers, the only way to know for sure is to contact the companys comics representative (if they have one) and ask what specific file types they accept. 

I would say as a general rule to save the comics in at least 2 file types. One file in its native format (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Manga Studio, etc) for easy editing and as a backup, and the other file as a high quality press-ready Pdf to be printed. Some printers will prefer Tiffs instead, and some digital printers prefer RGB instead of CMYK files. So it doesnt hurt to ask them what would be optimal as things can vary drastically from printer to printer.

Also maybe ask if they have a limit on file size. InDesign files can be printed fine usually but sometimes programs have minds of their own and things can go wrong lol. Especially if InDesign on their computers have some crazy settings that yours doesnt, something might get changed when they open it to print. Plus, packaged files are usually larger than a paginated Pdf, and you never know if they have cruddy old computers.

----------


## Ghost

> For my own tips/tricks, suggestion:  sometimes a look you want cannot be achieved by digital means, and can only be achieved by traditional methods.  Particularly true of inking and painted work.  Some people can make a wacom yield work like Bolland, but more often than not, most applications can't achieve looks like Sinnott and Layton and Williams and Giordano and Palmer and Pini and Doran and Frazetta and Bisley and Fabry and Gogos, and for these, physical tools and methods are required.  Besides, after all the previous digital advice on this thread vs the paucity of traditional advice, more digi would be superfluous.
> 
> I'll start with paints:  when people paint on paper, or bristol, they forget that brushes intended for canvas can work just as well on paper or bristol.  Many folk get frustrated when they use watercolour and acrylic brushes on paper, when the effect they wanted could have been achieved with a filbert brush rather than a round or a sable flat...
> 
> ManThing, light acrylic wash with Fabry spatter, followed by semi opaques, finishing with opaques.  No digi.  Less than 9" x 7" original size on standard 1 ply poster paper.  The filberts made all the difference.


Also thanks for the advice. Its no secret that many digital artists (including me) will try to find ways to make some paintings look more like they were done traditionally. Textures and blending for example can be hard to replicate properly. Especially without the tactility of brush bristles or a pencil lead on paper. 

Do you know of anywhere online that is good for learning watercoloring basics? I have a few tubes of Winsor & Newton pigments and tons of brushes and bristol left over from art school. Barely ever used them.

----------


## CrazyOldHermit

Hooray for more traditional talk.

I'm pretty close to buying a small selection of Dr Ph Martins paints. Only problem is I can't choose which ones to get!

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

Ghost:  although I haven't checked their site in a year, Windsor & Newton had very good tutorial vids and links.  Having been hired for some watercolour stuff back in the day, I can already tell you 2 tips:   

1. Using watercolor mediums like ox gall and gum arabic as directed make a world of difference

2. A lot of what makes watercolor in comics "look right" is scrubbing/rubbing out color you have already laid down, gently.  This is most easy on Arches rough watercolor paper.  Not so easy on Bristol as the pigment tends to stain into the bristol fibers more, but Canson smooth is great stuff.  In fact the best stuff I ever used was Marvel board from over 10 years ago.

CrazyOldHermit:

 Dr Ph Martins paints come in Hydrus, Radiant and Bombay (Bombay is advertised as waterproof; it isn't entirely).  The colours in the sets are not exactly the same but some are replicated.  I have used the Radiant dyes from the 90s, and the modern Bombay and the Hydrus.

If you want to use controlled opaque paint over the underlying colors, I would go for Bombay.  If you just want one set of paints for the whole process I advise Hydrus.  

For both of you, remember to experiment with working the color into wet or moist paper as well for blending and misty effects.

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

Inking:  in a digital age, some traditional physical tools used untraditionally yield a great result for both pdf comix and print comics.

For fluid water media:  a cheapo cosmetic blush blender brush is basically a far less expensive mop brush.

Example: some of Tim Bradstreet's best work was done on Denril, often used by architects.

Some of the tightest and cleanest [published 4 pay] lines I ever made were with a brush, but not an artstore brush:  it was a 00 long round from a hobby store designed to paint model planes.

Bristol and waterproof ink only became mandatory in comics because of the need to passed between many hands and possibly 2 buildings (publishing editorial and pre press).  Now you can work on and with anything you csn keep dry and flat for scanning/dslr.

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

When working with acrylics on paper or bristol, best to gesso your substrate with a 1/2 gesso 1/2 water admixture.  2 Coats, let dry 24 hrs if you can.

----------


## CrazyOldHermit

> Dr Ph Martins paints come in Hydrus, Radiant and Bombay (Bombay is advertised as waterproof; it isn't entirely).  The colours in the sets are not exactly the same but some are replicated.  I have used the Radiant dyes from the 90s, and the modern Bombay and the Hydrus.
> 
> If you want to use controlled opaque paint over the underlying colors, I would go for Bombay.  If you just want one set of paints for the whole process I advise Hydrus.  
> 
> For both of you, remember to experiment with working the color into wet or moist paper as well for blending and misty effects.


Yeah I've been going back and forth between the three. I think I'll commit to Hydrus and get the complete set, but I have a feeling I'll wind up with a selection of Radiants and a few Bombays as well. I don't want to make full paintings, I just want to color my lineart by hand.

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

> Yeah I've been going back and forth between the three. I think I'll commit to Hydrus and get the complete set, but I have a feeling I'll wind up with a selection of Radiants and a few Bombays as well. I don't want to make full paintings, I just want to color my lineart by hand.



Ohhhhh I commend you highly and doff my hat.  I cannot encourage you strongly enough,   as so many shorts and 24 page issues looked so much better for that (including some of my own work for the paying folks).  

For coloring work I would forego and forget the Bombay; they are superfluous and unnecessary.  One of my colorists laid down a base of Dr Martin's Radiant then adjusted with Berol Prismacolor xylene based markers (for details).  These were done on blueline copies though (xylene dissolves the toner from copy machines).

----------


## CrazyOldHermit

> Ohhhhh I commend you highly and doff my hat.  I cannot encourage you strongly enough,   as so many shorts and 24 page issues looked so much better for that (including some of my own work for the paying folks).  
> 
> For coloring work I would forego and forget the Bombay; they are superfluous and unnecessary.  One of my colorists laid down a base of Dr Martin's Radiant then adjusted with Berol Prismacolor xylene based markers (for details).  These were done on blueline copies though (xylene dissolves the toner from copy machines).


Hand colored comics are something I wish were more common in the industry. I particularly resent that the rise of cheap digital printing also marked the rise of computer coloring and the opportunity to have the colorist's hand painted guides being directly reproduced was totally passed over.

The only Bombay on my list is sepia because I want to try and use it to nail values in an underpainting and use the Radiant or Hydrus to color  it for a desaturated and tinted look. I also want to try the black and white to experiment with. But you say they aren't totally waterproof?

The Bombay also happen to be the cheapest inks (I can get them for $3 an ounce while Hydrus is $6.29 and Radiant is $11 for the same amount) and I figured for bold flat colors they are the best value. But the allure of the Radiant and Hydrus is too strong. The problem is choosing what colors to start with. Hydrus is easier since it's standard watercolor pigment and I know a little about putting a palette together but Radiant is tricky because there are so damn many and the differences between a lot of them seems neglible.

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

> Hand colored comics are something I wish were more common in the industry. I particularly resent that the rise of cheap digital printing also marked the rise of computer coloring and the opportunity to have the colorist's hand painted guides being directly reproduced was totally passed over.
> 
> The only Bombay on my list is sepia because I want to try and use it to nail values in an underpainting and use the Radiant or Hydrus to color  it for a desaturated and tinted look. I also want to try the black and white to experiment with. But you say they aren't totally waterproof?
> 
> The Bombay also happen to be the cheapest inks (I can get them for $3 an ounce while Hydrus is $6.29 and Radiant is $11 for the same amount) and I figured for bold flat colors they are the best value. But the allure of the Radiant and Hydrus is too strong. The problem is choosing what colors to start with. Hydrus is easier since it's standard watercolor pigment and I know a little about putting a palette together but Radiant is tricky because there are so damn many and the differences between a lot of them seems neglible.



Very good points/concerns.  My set didn't have the sepia and I didn't try the Bombay for coloring purposes; I'd used them with some vigorous overpainting, so I bet you should be okay them, especially at such a good price.  The black and white weren't as "strong" as rotring acrylic inks (which I've also used/loved), but the Bombay black/white had good tinting ability.  

At a garage sale I once bought bottles of the old Radiant Dyes in the classic thumbsize dropper bottles, and loved the sepia.  I personally would by a single small bottle of the sepia, but fluid paints and inks always run the risk of companies "changing the recipe to cut costs" like Higgins.

And ditto your other observations .  To this day, no digital color has approached the quality and class of PCR's The Singing Citadel and The Red Dog.  

Are you into gouache?  Fun to chat about the rampant differences between brands...

----------


## CrazyOldHermit

> Very good points/concerns.  My set didn't have the sepia and I didn't try the Bombay for coloring purposes; I'd used them with some vigorous overpainting, so I bet you should be okay them, especially at such a good price.  The black and white weren't as "strong" as rotring acrylic inks (which I've also used/loved), but the Bombay black/white had good tinting ability.  
> 
> At a garage sale I once bought bottles of the old Radiant Dyes in the classic thumbsize dropper bottles, and loved the sepia.  I personally would by a single small bottle of the sepia, but fluid paints and inks always run the risk of companies "changing the recipe to cut costs" like Higgins.
> 
> And ditto your other observations .  To this day, no digital color has approached the quality and class of PCR's The Singing Citadel and The Red Dog.  
> 
> Are you into gouache?  Fun to chat about the rampant differences between brands...


It's difficult to uncover the history of the brand (there is surprisingly little documentation out there for an 80 year old company) but I have never seen a single complaint about them changing a formula like I have for other brands. I have heard that the Radiants will bleed into each other if you allow them to touch on the surface. Is that true?

I'm not into gouache, I'm barely into color as it is. I have a set of watercolor pencils and thats it.

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

> It's difficult to uncover the history of the brand (there is surprisingly little documentation out there for an 80 year old company) but I have never seen a single complaint about them changing a formula like I have for other brands. I have heard that the Radiants will bleed into each other if you allow them to touch on the surface. Is that true?
> 
> I'm not into gouache, I'm barely into color as it is. I have a set of watercolor pencils and thats it.



The radiants always bleed, sadly.  I once airbrushed Radiants, waited for them to dry completely, then *lightly* airbrushed delicate acrylics over it, using all precautions listed by all airbrush experts, using both a Pasche and an Aztek, and the Radiants always bled through.  This did not happen with WN and Grumbacher traditional tube watercolors oversprayed with acrylic/gouache.  When I used them "simply", in an attempt to recreate coloring from 1961 - 1981, they worked well (on xeroxes).

I am doing a test of Bombay on textured gesso of a Joker piece; frustrating so far.  I might post results later.

----------


## CrazyOldHermit

> The radiants always bleed, sadly.  I once airbrushed Radiants, waited for them to dry completely, then *lightly* airbrushed delicate acrylics over it, using all precautions listed by all airbrush experts, using both a Pasche and an Aztek, and the Radiants always bled through.  This did not happen with WN and Grumbacher traditional tube watercolors oversprayed with acrylic/gouache.  When I used them "simply", in an attempt to recreate coloring from 1961 - 1981, they worked well (on xeroxes).
> 
> I am doing a test of Bombay on textured gesso of a Joker piece; frustrating so far.  I might post results later.


One of my fears has been working on a piece, carefully coloring everything, then letting two different patches of color touch across the outline and ruin the thing. Thats the biggest reason I'm going to go for the Hydrus. Speaking of which, do you have any recommendations for mixing a good fleshtone?

And please post those results.  :Smile:

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

> One of my fears has been working on a piece, carefully coloring everything, then letting two different patches of color touch across the outline and ruin the thing. Thats the biggest reason I'm going to go for the Hydrus. Speaking of which, do you have any recommendations for mixing a good fleshtone?
> 
> And please post those results.


This took 3 layers of Bombay violet to get ANY depth at all.



Flesh tones using watercolor:

Standard comic white person wasp:

1 drop sepia
1drop rose madder or crimson
1/4 drop mauve or violet
 2 drops water (more to lighten; the recipe is a base like a soup base)

Latino, African, African American, Native American, Greek and Gaelic are different of course. *wink*

----------


## CrazyOldHermit

That looks really good, even if the results may have been difficult to achieve.

And thanks for that formula.

----------


## Renjo

Hey, this is just a quick, dumb question regarding lines and whatnot.

I'm a bit of a newb at Photoshop and the likes, and I was attracted to the work of James Kochalka in his "Superf*ckers" series.
Not sure if I'm allowed to post images of other artists' work, so here's a link:
http://37.media.tumblr.com/776ddd0d8...1z3o1_1280.png

Anyway, my question is concerning the line colours. How would you think he achieves them? I've been conditioned to simply work in blacks and then colour afterward; do you think he works in pencil, and then just re-draws over each line digitally in colour? It's such a simple look, but the idea of coloured outlines totally blew my mind.

Thanks for any help! I didn't think this warranted a new topic, so I hope posting it here is okay.

----------


## CrazyOldHermit

> Hey, this is just a quick, dumb question regarding lines and whatnot.
> 
> I'm a bit of a newb at Photoshop and the likes, and I was attracted to the work of James Kochalka in his "Superf*ckers" series.
> Not sure if I'm allowed to post images of other artists' work, so here's a link:
> http://37.media.tumblr.com/776ddd0d8...1z3o1_1280.png
> 
> Anyway, my question is concerning the line colours. How would you think he achieves them? I've been conditioned to simply work in blacks and then colour afterward; do you think he works in pencil, and then just re-draws over each line digitally in colour? It's such a simple look, but the idea of coloured outlines totally blew my mind.
> 
> Thanks for any help! I didn't think this warranted a new topic, so I hope posting it here is okay.


He could have inked in color. He also could have colorized the lines afterwards. There are a few ways to do it. You could just select the lines and colorize them with the Hue/Saturation tool. A more organized way would be to group each color on its own layer (red lines on one layer, blue lines on another) then colorize using a Layer Effect.

----------


## Ghost

> Hey, this is just a quick, dumb question regarding lines and whatnot.
> 
> I'm a bit of a newb at Photoshop and the likes, and I was attracted to the work of James Kochalka in his "Superf*ckers" series.
> Not sure if I'm allowed to post images of other artists' work, so here's a link:
> http://37.media.tumblr.com/776ddd0d8...1z3o1_1280.png
> 
> Anyway, my question is concerning the line colours. How would you think he achieves them? I've been conditioned to simply work in blacks and then colour afterward; do you think he works in pencil, and then just re-draws over each line digitally in colour? It's such a simple look, but the idea of coloured outlines totally blew my mind.
> 
> Thanks for any help! I didn't think this warranted a new topic, so I hope posting it here is okay.


Hey Renjo, definitely not a dumb question.

To me it looks like he did indeed just do the inks in color, probably on top of a pencils/sketch layer. Since all the shapes are fairly simplistic he probably just planned the colors before he drew them. It also could be achieved in the ways CrazyOldHermit explained by recoloring black inks.

Coloring lines like this can make things a little complicated for more elaborate art, but can create some neat effects as well. Off the top of my head Ive seen it used to color inks outlining hair, flames or energy, the entire body to create a ghostly effect (maybe with a glow fx also), and to color all background lines so that the black inked foreground characters stand out more. Its worth experimenting with.

----------


## Renjo

Oh wow, thanks for the help! Hmm...it's all very inspiring, and drives me to experiment with various techniques, both digital and traditional. I guess there's no right or wrong answer when it comes down to it.

----------


## CrazyOldHermit

> Oh wow, thanks for the help! Hmm...it's all very inspiring, and drives me to experiment with various techniques, both digital and traditional. I guess there's no right or wrong answer when it comes down to it.


No rules, only tools. If it works it works.

----------


## Ghost

*Ideas for Publishing your comicbooks.*

In the modern age of comics there are more ways than ever to get your work distributed. There are a varity of options for selling your comics for profit or just getting them out to be seen. 

*Below are some of the topics I would like to discuss:*

Web Comics
Digital Comics
Paper Comics
Outside the Box



*Web Comics*
Over the years webcomics have seemed to grow immensely popular with both readers and creators alike. Likely due to their free availability and often less complex stories. Or at least less demanding on the artist.

Webcomics are unique from other forms of comics in the addition of new pages over time and are most similar to newspaper or magazine comic strips. There doesnt seem to be any set in stone timeline for adding new pages, but there is the risk of possibly losing readers the longer you wait. Otherwise, this form seems to be the easiest way to experiment with new styles and ideas at a minimal cost of time and money. 

Many seem to host their webcomics on a personal website or free blog. I prefer to use Tumblr, as it is free and very easy to customize to fit your needs. Here are a few free Tumblr webcomic themes (you'll need to create a Tumblr account to use them):
Simple  Webcomic Theme
Simple Webcomic Theme V4

Something to consider with webcomics is page orientation and size. Since readers will be viewing this on some form of tablet or computer screen you have the option of adopting a more horizontal 'landscape' orientation in contrast to the more regular print comics 'portrait' style. Though again, there are no set in stone rules for how you make your own webcomic.

If you plan to ever have your webcomic printed into a collected format like a graphic novel then the size and orientation again comes into play, and will require you to plan things out a bit beforehand. 



*Digital Comics*
Another fairly new avenue for comics distribution is Digital Stores. Though the prices are sometimes comparable to print, digital comics take up no physical space, cant be damaged, and can all be easily accessed through any appropriate digital device.

Whether a comic is created by traditional means or on a computer it can be compiled and sold through a variety of online digital comic shops like Comixology, Amazon, iBooks, iVerse and direct from the publishers. This saves both the creator and publishers the price of printing and shipping your comics, though they still charge a fee in some cases. Jim Zub goes into more detail is his price vs profit breakdown:
Zubs Digital Comics Breakdown

If you are an indie artist and have no publisher thats ok too. Comixology has began taking submissions from any and all creators, and there are a growing number of smaller publishers that cater to indies. Though Amazons recent acquisition of Comixology leaves a few questions about what they plan for its future alongside their own digital store. 



*Printed Comics*
Printed Comics are the oldest and still most profitable course for publishing at this time. Though it is also the most costly and complicated as well. 

As I discussed in an earlier post about printing, there are basically 2 types of printing for comics. Digital and Process. Digital is less expensive for lower quantities but has generally lower print quality. Process has superior print quality but is more expensive unless you plan to print 1,000 or more issues. And a word of caution, most of us wont need anywhere near 1,000 issues unless you already have a large fanbase.

If you are published by a company they will usually deal with all of the printing, shipping and distribution logistics while you only deal with creating the comic. In return they take a percentage of the profit. If you are self publishing then you keep all of the profits but have to do all of the legwork and must find a way to create the comic, get it printed for a reasonable price, and then find a way to get it into comic shops or sell it through conventions or a personal webstore.

Then there is the matter of submitting your comic to Diamond Comic Distributors. Diamond is a distribution company that takes comic submissions from indies and big names and (if deemed potentially profitable) agrees to solicit them to comic dealers and consumers for preorder. 

These columns offer better explanations on distributing:
Marketing & Distributing Indies
Diamond Distribution Cycle


*Outside the Box:*
With all of the thousands of different great comics out now sometimes it may be hard to be noticed. Thats why i think it pays to be extra creative in your approach to publishing and advertising. 

I know that some people now will offer special limited covers to individual comic shops. This will be good to create possibly a collectible item as well as build loyalty with certain dealers. Another more obvious consideration is sharing advertising with another indie creator. One page ad in your comic for a one page ad in theirs, possibly something tailor made for that specific comic.

If you plan on making a webcomic, maybe consider trying to sell it to agencies that deal with newspaper comic strips? These agencies will sell it along with other comics in subscriptions to thousands of newspapers that are then read by who knows how many people. Talk about great advertising. Newspapers are ALWAYS looking for fresh entertaining content to draw new readers.

A little good will goes a long way, and word on the internet spreads fast. If you have a printed comic out maybe offer a few pages for free in a webcomic format? Or if you think your graphic novel will be pirated beat them to the punch and upload your own torrent with a little message thanking them for their interest and explain that you hope they will support you in the future so you can make more comics for them.

Crowdfunding has become a big deal for all hopeful creatives. Often our dreams and ambitions exceed our ability to produce due to the expenses of materials and shipping or hiring help. With sites like Kickstarter and Indie Gogo we can now skip over the middle man and pitch out ideas directly to the consumer. This can be doubly beneficial in that not only can you potentially receive the funds to create your work, but you are also gaining  fans and visibility to publishers in the process.

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

Yup, as crowdfunding is basically a quasi instant prepay system.

Dunno if newbie authors have made $$ from Thrillbent, but that company did something many of us claimed, for years, would work:  just sell high class pdfs.

----------


## Ghost

> Yup, as crowdfunding is basically a quasi instant prepay system.
> 
> Dunno if newbie authors have made $$ from Thrillbent, but that company did something many of us claimed, for years, would work:  just sell high class pdfs.


I respect Mark Waid and like the idea of Thrillbent (no DRM). But I have no idea how profitable it is now? Seems theres a fairly small selection and many are free to read. 

I imagine crowdfunding and Kickstarter could probably have a thread all on its own. Would that be helpful to anyone? I get the feeling this subforum is pretty dead.

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

It would be helpful particularly talking about fullfilment problems (getting the £$ then using that to make the books then all the effort in getting the books to the backers)

----------


## PigFiend

Assuming your line layer is transparent, you can just colour over your lines easily if the line layer is _locked_. Check out these couple chapters from my web comic Comic Chunk.
Line Layer
Opacity Lock

----------


## PigFiend

Hey, comickers.
My web comic is actually about tips and tricks for creating comics. Please check it out at Micah Manga.

----------


## Ghost

Some more comic creation links:

Making Graphic Novels Blog

Drawing tutorials on construction, foreshortening, dynamism, perspective.. and boobs

Character Design References

Make Publishers Notice You

Story Structure Tips

More Anatomy References

----------


## Ghost

Is anyone into experimenting with panels and layouts? Or know of any interesting artists who tended to break out of the mold a bit?

Ive been pretty fascinated with work by Jim Steranko in the 1960's Nick Fury run, and his Stroke of Midnight short story. Sooo many narrow vertical panels, you dont really see that much today unless its strictly an action sequence. I also like how he breaks up a large panel into individual pieces, each being their own small moment in time. Kindof like a camera pan on film.



I also find Winsor McCays old Little Nemo strips very charming, even down to the layouts. Its not very often you see circular panels, save for the occasional talking head.



I guess this goes more into design theory and how much easier it is to read a traditional grid based panel layout. Though the grid layout can read poorly in rare cases as well. Thoughts anyone? How do you draw your layouts?

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## TroubleWithTrebles

I could spend 30 psges on doing layout both professionally and as "personal projects".  But before I start, could you explain in the simplest luddite terms how you would take a tiff of a hand painted background, then take a tiff of characters with a white BG, knock out their BG, then put them as a top layer over the BG lower layer, using photoshop elements?  On windows ?

----------


## TroubleWithTrebles

Layout design is decided by many factors that can outweigh each other or hopefully augment each other:

The focus character's body shape/mass

Their costume and prop specifics (pages with a whirling Norse Hammer are not designed the same as pages featuring Sai or ice daggers)

Is it a mood page or an action page?

You don't design the layout for Swsmp Thing or Saga with 1965 Steve Ditko layout.

Compare the work of Pini Elfquest in 1980 to PCR doing Elric in 1982 to Barry Windsor Smith doing pre Raphaelite stuff for his final Conan work.  The layout styles are as different as the cosmetics of rendering.

Yet all are "fantasy".

----------


## Ghost

> I could spend 30 psges on doing layout both professionally and as "personal projects".  But before I start, could you explain in the simplest luddite terms how you would take a tiff of a hand painted background, then take a tiff of characters with a white BG, knock out their BG, then put them as a top layer over the BG lower layer, using photoshop elements?  On windows ?


Sure. Im assuming the characters are painted also like the BG tiff (instead of just being inks)?  

Im not as familiar with PS Elements so forgive me if some of the terminology is wrong, Im pretty sure most of its the same as regular Photoshop. First thing I would do once the characters file is opened is go to your layers panel on the right side of the screen. There should only be one layer, labeled 'Layer 0'. To the right should be a little lock icon. Click on that and drag it down to the little trashcan icon below, in the bottom right corner of the layers panel. Now you are able to manipulate the original image.

Now right-click on Layer 0 and select 'Duplicate Layer' from the drop down menu. Change the name if you would like, or leave it as is and click ok. You now have a backup copy of the original layer in case you decide to start over or make other edits later. Left click on the Layer 0 copy, and then click on the small lock icon above it. This will keep you from accidentally editing this layer instead of the original. Now click on the open eyeball icon to the left of Layer 0 copy and it will be hidden as well, so that you only see the changes made to Layer 0.

Now left click on Layer 0 to select it again, and from the toolbar on the left side of the screen select the Quick Selection Tool. What this basically does is select areas of your image that you will eventually delete. Your mouse cursor should look like a circle with a plus sign in its center. You can increase its size by pressing the '[' and ']' keys, though its size doesnt really matter. Now, with this quick selection tool click and hold down the left mouse button and drag your cursor over the white areas of your painting that you want to erase. Now release the mouse button and you should see a variety of marching cut marks or 'marching ants' over the areas you selected.

With the initial selection made, go to the very bottom of the tool panel and click on the quick mask button (a rectangle with a circle in its center). You should now see parts of your image covered in a transparent red. This is the quick mask mode, and makes it easier to further refine the areas you want to erase. Double left click on the quick mask button again and it will bring up the Quick Mask Option menu. From here you can decide if the mask color (normally red) indicates the areas masked, or the areas you have selected so far. I normally make sure 'Selected Areas' is selected and click ok. The red areas represent the parts of your image that will be deleted.

Now for the finishing touches. From the toolbar, select either the brush tool or pencil tool. The only real differences are that the brush tool has feathering, or anti aliasing for a softer line. Almost like airbrushing. While the pencil tool is more of a hard line with no feathering. It will come down to personal preference and the art itself. Either way, you can increase or decrease the size of the tools again by pressing the '[' and ']' keys.

With the chosen brush or pencil tool selected its time to go through and clean up any areas the quick selection tool missed, to make sure none of your painting will be erased along with the background. To do this, you will notice on the toolbar there is a large black box and a large white box beneath it. Basically, painting with the black selected will increase the red masked area and the white will act as an eraser to remove masked areas. You can switch between the colors by clicking the little double pronged arrow right above them.

It may help to zoom into some areas of your painting to make sure some fine details are masked, and to be sure the mask doesnt overlap the outer edges. To zoom easily just hold down the Alt key while scrolling up and down with the mouse wheel. This will probably be some slow tedious work. But this is to be sure the 2 paintings will blend seamlessly.

Once you finally have your red mask cleaned up and are satisfied, go back to the toolbar and click once on the quick mask button to bring back the marching ants/flickering lines. While holding down the Ctrl key press X. This should now erase the selection you made and only leave you with the character painting and a grey and white 'checkerboard' behind it. This checkerboard area means that the area is now transparent.

Last but not least, its finally time to merge the characters with the BG painting. At the top left of the screen select File, and from its drop down menu click on 'Place'. Find the BG painting and click on Place. This will now bring in the BG file and place it in the Layers panel, possibly above Layer 0. But thats ok.

The BG image should have a big X running through it, and you will notice small dots on each corner and side. This means that you can stretch and skew this image if you would like. You can also hold down the Shift key while doing this to be sure the stretching is uniform (this is normally preferable). Once you are content with the size of the BG image, right click on the image itself and select 'Place' from the dropdown menu. Then go to the Layers panel once more and click and hold the left mouse button on the BG image and drag it underneath the Layer 0. The characters image should now be visible on top of the BG image (dont worry if they dont line up the way you want, you can easily adjust that).

What you do next will depend on how large the BG image is in comparison to the Characters image.

Im assuming the BG image will be much larger than the characters image was. So there will probably be areas that are hidden or cant be seen. To stretch out your canvas to reveal the whole BG, go up to the top menu and select Image. Then from its dropdown menu click on 'Reveal All'. Now to get rid of that transparency checkerboard. Click on Image from the top menu again, and select Trim.From this menu select 'Transparent Pixels' and click ok. The image should now only show your 2 paintings.

Now as the finishing touch I assume you wanted to move around the characters layer a bit to place it exactly where you wanted. To do this first select Layer 0 from the Layers panel, then click on the 'Move Tool' from the toolbar on the left side of the screen. It looks like a large arrow with a smaller 4 sided arrow beside it. You can now move, rotate, stretch and skew it to your liking (though remember to hold down shift while stretching for it to stay uniform). Once you are content with this you may have to clikc on somethign like the Pencil Tool to show you are done transforming. A menu will pop up asking if you want to apply the transformation or not. If its what you wanted then click Apply.

Now if everything is finished all thats left is to save. Before you save, left click on the Layer 0 copy you made earlier and drag it to the very bottom underneath the BG layer. Now I would save in as at least 2 files, one being a backup Photoshop file in case you ever wanted to go back and change or edit everything you did. And the other as whatever file you prefer. Its worth noting that some file types will flatten your image, meaning it wont allow you to keep the separate layers you created and theyll all merge into one. This means the Layer 0 copy will be erased since its underneath the BG image layer.

Sorry for the enormous wall of text  :Stick Out Tongue: , but I hope that explains exactly what to do.. or at least the way I would do it. There are other ways like using the magic wand tool. But the results wouldnt be as good. Might seem like a ton of steps but once you do it a few times it becomes intuitive like anything else.

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## ExcelsiorPrime

> Is anyone into experimenting with panels and layouts? Or know of any interesting artists who tended to break out of the mold a bit?


 I love experimenting with layouts. And would personally love to homage the greats on every page. Steranko on one. Frank Miller on another. Stan Sakai.  Eastman & Laird.  Erik Larson.  Oeming. Simonson. Byrne. Deny Cowan. Diggle. JH williams. etc.  But wouldn't a reader complain after awhile?

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## TroubleWithTrebles

Beautiful but luddite terrifying post!   :Big Grin: 
And you gave me a porsche when you couldn've given me a used honda, so I thank you grestly.  I was in fact hoping to experiment with pics like this:




Remove the surrounding white from the outlines, then superimpose what's left over somthing like this:



Obviously the headshot would be smaller and the BG bigger.

This was easy on a 2008 macbook using the magic wand, saving as a png and importing into the titles/logo video app which came with final cut express, where layers were simply drag n drop.

Giganto gratitude for all your great work/generosity here, ghost!

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## TroubleWithTrebles

Layout comes in 2 flavors: 

What you do for yourself, or for someone else's story/script.

If a writer who wants to be Miller or Grell asks for a panel which shows a serial # or manufacturer's mark on a weapon, you instantly have to make that panel bigger to accommodate that visual info, factoring in reproduction and image size reduction, and this means the adjacent panels lose potential size.

Which is why I never draw that stuff no more.

Genre often decides the composition: a film noire comic is cinematic in origin so you don't get ornamental in panels.  But myth stuff is philosophically ornate, so look at PCR and drink in his compositional genius.

Some of my fave layout is from Asian and Euro comics.  Akira is brilliant layout.  Since it is surrealist, Lone Sloane Delirious is brilliant (and its author Druillet influencef BWS).

And of course the angle of the POV affects the desired emotional response of the reader, so the choice between an upshot and a downshot depends on the mood you wish to convey.

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## Ghost

> Beautiful but luddite terrifying post!  
> And you gave me a porsche when you couldn've given me a used honda, so I thank you grestly.  I was in fact hoping to experiment with pics like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Remove the surrounding white from the outlines, then superimpose what's left over somthing like this:
> 
> 
> ...


haha thanks. I know I wanted to snap my keyboard in half when I first started to learn photoshop. Did you have any trouble with it? I think the process is a little easier if its just some black inks on a white BG. Can remove all of the pencils and any other grey areas by adjusting the Levels and then cut out the black inks to its own transparent layer. Or even simpler, if you dont mind the pencil marks showing up just place the character layer on top of the BG layer and use the Multiply effect.

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## CharlesM

> Is anyone into experimenting with panels and layouts? Or know of any interesting artists who tended to break out of the mold a bit?
> 
> Ive been pretty fascinated with work by Jim Steranko in the 1960's Nick Fury run, and his Stroke of Midnight short story. Sooo many narrow vertical panels, you dont really see that much today unless its strictly an action sequence. I also like how he breaks up a large panel into individual pieces, each being their own small moment in time. Kindof like a camera pan on film.
> 
> I guess this goes more into design theory and how much easier it is to read a traditional grid based panel layout. Though the grid layout can read poorly in rare cases as well. Thoughts anyone? How do you draw your layouts?


This is turning into a great thread.

A lot of amateur comic book artists tend to focus upon pin-up type art, rather than sequentials, and one result of this approach is that it has the undesirable side effect of them failing to fully appreciate the value of the role that panels play in transforming a good comic book into a great one.

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## Ghost

> I love experimenting with layouts. And would personally love to homage the greats on every page. Steranko on one. Frank Miller on another. Stan Sakai.  Eastman & Laird.  Erik Larson.  Oeming. Simonson. Byrne. Deny Cowan. Diggle. JH williams. etc.  But wouldn't a reader complain after awhile?


Hmm. I guess maybe it would depend on how experimental you wanted it to seem? In a Thor story called God-Size Special there were like 4-5 different pencillers who used drastically different art styles to represent Thor traveling through multiple dimensions. I think in that case it was justified and seemed clever since it was part of the storyline and had a reasoning. Otherwise it may risk being a little jarring for some readers, unless maybe its a special or self contained somehow. I know Hellboy will occasionally do this and it works well. Though dont let me dissuade you from trying it out.. it is an interesting concept that isnt often used.

I normally appreciate subtlety and restraint so that when you do occasionally use something especially unique like a wild layout or surreal art style it has more impact on the story. In Grant Morrisons Arkham Asylum the layouts themselves are normally pretty clean and grid-like, while things become especially distorted once it switches to the Jokers twisted perspective. 

I think this worked well, because even though the art itself was very surreal and expressionistic, the clean panels seemed to reel it in and maintain readability. Though, I think distorted or unusual panels could also be used in some cases to signify a characters emotional state or frantic action.

If this interests anyone, I should mention German Expressionism. It was an art style that originated from the oppressive atmosphere of WWII Nazi Germany, and was most prominent in early Crime Noire and Horror films. It would use exaggerated shapes or harsh and moody lighting to convey emotions like fear, madness or pain. You still see bits of this used today, and I think its symbolism translates well into some comics.





> Some of my fave layout is from Asian and Euro comics.  Akira is brilliant layout.  Since it is surrealist, Lone Sloane Delirious is brilliant (and its author Druillet influencef BWS).
> 
> And of course the angle of the POV affects the desired emotional response of the reader, so the choice between an upshot and a downshot depends on the mood you wish to convey.


Ive been meaning to get into some Asian & Euro comics so that I dont limit my perspective too much. Have you ever read anything by Hergé or Akira Toriyama?

Speaking of angles & shots, cinematography is something I probably need to research way more. It seems most American comics use a pretty basic set of perspectives. Though to be fair, Im sure this is out of practicality. Since you would need more panels to convey things like camera zooms and pans.

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## TroubleWithTrebles

I have terrible trouble with photoshop, yet not with Flash.

These days, my layout is very loose compared to years ago, because I want to retain a fluidity of gesture.   it's different doing it for yourself than for approval by an editor.  EG:

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## ScaryThee

I have a question. We are working on a story together and I was wondering about the pros and cons of using vectoring as a main coloring method. I have come to love vectoring Photoshop because it leans toward such a clean slick look and I can't find any info on this so I ask here.

What are the cons of vectoring in comics rather than flatting them? Other than file size.

This thread is a wealth of information. I love it and I'm happy to see some sites that I've visited in the past showing up here and I LOVE the graphic tablet info. I use a wacom bamboo, but I nearly died when I saw the graphics monitor for less than an arm and a leg.

Also on the topic of layouts how does this page fair? Is this like the pin-up layout mentioned or where does it stand?

Pg1200dpi.jpg

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## Ghost

> I have a question. We are working on a story together and I was wondering about the pros and cons of using vectoring as a main coloring method. I have come to love vectoring Photoshop because it leans toward such a clean slick look and I can't find any info on this so I ask here.
> 
> What are the cons of vectoring in comics rather than flatting them? Other than file size.
> 
> This thread is a wealth of information. I love it and I'm happy to see some sites that I've visited in the past showing up here and I LOVE the graphic tablet info. I use a wacom bamboo, but I nearly died when I saw the graphics monitor for less than an arm and a leg.
> 
> Also on the topic of layouts how does this page fair? Is this like the pin-up layout mentioned or where does it stand?


I think it would first depend on how exactly you wanted your art to look? Since you mentioned you liked the clean slick look I'll assume you didnt plan on doing much blending or airbrushing and wanted to use mainly solid coloring. I dont have tons of experience with using vectors in photoshop, as I mainly saved vector work strictly for Illustrator.

With that said, yes vector will typically have crisp lines because that is the function of vectors. Think of it as a mathematical equation built into the art program that constantly adjusts the sizing to never be blurry. You could literally stretch it out to cover the surface of the moon and still have crisp lines! But as for using vectors for comics, it may be overkill. For instance, was the line art above also drawn with a vector brush? Or was it scanned in or drawn with the pencil/brush tool in Photoshop? That would risk the vector coloring being noticeably more crisp than the line work. Maybe.

Also, its not unheard of for some to ink and color their comics using vector art. It is done, just not as often. But for whatever reason there are some limits to what you can do as compared to drawing with pixels, and vice versa. Generally vectors are more cumbersome to deal with if you have a more painterly style, for instance. 

Something else to consider, printers dont really print vectors per-say. For the file itself to go through the printing process it will be converted to pixels anyway. Ive had huge 8 ft. banners printed off that Id created using pixel art in photoshop and there were (to my astonishment) no visible pixels, boxiness or 'stepping' to be seen. It looked just as good as if Id done it using vectors because the dpi was set around 800-900, I believe. 

So to summarize that, the clean look is very attainable using regular pixel art. Just make sure your dpi is high enough and youre good to go. This should make the file size smaller also, since some printers have file size limits.

I think that layout is fine honestly. The lettering isnt there, but I can essentially figure out the order they go in from left to right. So the readability is ok. The only issue I can really think of is that maybe since some of the panels have no gutters things may look kindof blended together when colored, mainly the middle and lower panels with the trees. This might create some unintended distractions, or it may be fine  :Stick Out Tongue: . Since I dont really know what you plan to do. 

Also remember gutters can be used to show time has passed. If panels bleed together some may read that as being in the exact same moment of time. Just my take on it, others may see things differently.

----------


## Ghost

Here are some entertaining Tutorials from Lackadaisy artist Tracy Butler:

Notes on Character Design

Drawing Tutorials for Expressions, Construction, & Poses

Making a Comic

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## ExcelsiorPrime

ohh loved the link on facial expressions.

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## Ghost

As I was working the other day I thought of a few things that may be worth sharing. These are just random observations from my own weird work habits, and should probably be taken with a grain of salt. 

*Concentration:*
Some days I wake up and my mind just feels foggy. I'll stare blankly at my screen or paper and cant think of where to start. Im not exactly sure why this is, but I suspect the brain just needs to be warmed up or stimulated sometimes the same as muscles before exercise. Ive found it helps me to start with small things like loose sketching or reading over my notes to kindof get my mind where it needs to be. This may be terrible advice lol, but Ive also noticed it helps me to play a videogame for 30-40 minutes to get my brain churning. Alternatively, it may be best to just dive in headfirst without much planning to get into the flow.

*The Flow:*
Speaking of the flow, this is basically the mental state you experience when you are in a sortof hyper creative focus. Sometimes its easy for hours to slip away once you reach this state, and things like sleep and hunger will seem to only be distractions to getting things done. I imagine its easier to reach this state once you find a way to avoid distractions and get your mind focused. But I still advise to take breaks occasionally. Sitting for long periods of time pretty much wrecks the human cardiovascular system, and it may help to ease a bit of tension to simply walk around for a few minutes or get something to snack on.

*Distractions:*
I seem to be easily distracted. I dont know why? I guess Im just very sensitive to my surroundings. Thats why I think its important to figure out when your peak times for creativity are. I tend to be a night owl, so get alot of work done once the sun goes down and outside noise lessens. If this isnt an option then working early in the mornings can be just as good. If you are more the extroverted type maybe it would help to be around others in an office type setting? Just something to consider.

*Organization:*
If youre anything like me you like to see what youre working with. As far as things like tools or inspirational materials. Some might consider it messy to have piles of books allover the place and pictures plastering the wall (I guess it is?  :Stick Out Tongue: ) but if this helps your creative process I say go for it. Supposedly clutter contributes to creative thinking.

*Do Research:*
I know this is pretty obvious. But you dont have to go to an expensive school to be educated or talented. I think being passionate, curious, and constantly wanting to improve will be what separates you from the pack. Or at least this is consistent with what Ive seen among my colleagues and professionals Ive followed. Some of the greatest artists had no formal education at all. If anything, you have the advantage of not knowing 'the rules', so its easier to break them. Though understanding the basic fundamentals are still important as a foundation to build from. Also, dont be afraid to use reference pictures. Part of creating comics is world building and character creation. Who better to learn these things from than those that have already successfully accomplished this? Would there be a Batman without Zorro and the Shadow?

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## Shannyeight

New here. I'm learning the ropes in coloring, but I guess you could say in certain zones I'm a little scared of the unfamiliarity of using a graphics tablet. I bought an ancient/jurassic Wacom graphire back in 2003(or 2004?), and I really hadnt used it for coloring purposes like I had intended to. I started trying to learn to color, and then I had to shelve everything because of life changes...needless to say, i never returned to the drawing table, or digital coloring/lettering for a decade. Last year, I attended a small local con, & was motivated to get back to self publishing my book after all this time. Certain concepts finally started to make sense(I digitally re-did my book logo, started doing more artwork); just recently(a few months back) I attempted to color again...right now I'm using a "cel animation" sort of style, and I'm sure I'll eventually learn to do the process that I see many mainstream colorists using- I just have one issue...

_I STILL havent touched the Wacom._

I've played around with it, but as to seriously sit down and try using it- it's not easy to control, and I guess that makes me leary to wanna be bothered with it. I've been doing everything with a mouse so far, and though I tell myself that I _need_ to use the Wacom to become more adept with it, I cringe at putting in the time(making mistakes & learning from the experience). Part of is that I'm not used to using it...part of it is that I dont know how to adjust the settings and other stuff(kinda like when you go online with your gaming system but you refuse to play COD with others because you dont know spit, and you dont want to be snipered to death, and have folks laughing you out of the room). I know some of this is a bit mental, but I'd really like to get over/past whatever this is, and use the Wacom.

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## Ghost

> New here. I'm learning the ropes in coloring, but I guess you could say in certain zones I'm a little scared of the unfamiliarity of using a graphics tablet. I bought an ancient/jurassic Wacom graphire back in 2003(or 2004?), and I really hadnt used it for coloring purposes like I had intended to. I started trying to learn to color, and then I had to shelve everything because of life changes...needless to say, i never returned to the drawing table, or digital coloring/lettering for a decade. Last year, I attended a small local con, & was motivated to get back to self publishing my book after all this time. Certain concepts finally started to make sense(I digitally re-did my book logo, started doing more artwork); just recently(a few months back) I attempted to color again...right now I'm using a "cel animation" sort of style, and I'm sure I'll eventually learn to do the process that I see many mainstream colorists using- I just have one issue...
> 
> _I STILL havent touched the Wacom._
> 
> I've played around with it, but as to seriously sit down and try using it- it's not easy to control, and I guess that makes me leary to wanna be bothered with it. I've been doing everything with a mouse so far, and though I tell myself that I _need_ to use the Wacom to become more adept with it, I cringe at putting in the time(making mistakes & learning from the experience). Part of is that I'm not used to using it...part of it is that I dont know how to adjust the settings and other stuff(kinda like when you go online with your gaming system but you refuse to play COD with others because you dont know spit, and you dont want to be snipered to death, and have folks laughing you out of the room). I know some of this is a bit mental, but I'd really like to get over/past whatever this is, and use the Wacom.


Hey Shanny,
Yeah, just starting out on a tablet is definitely weird and frustrating at first. I think it generally takes about 2 weeks or so to start to feel comfortable with it.. maybe sooner if you put in more time. Also, if you are used to using a mouse thats ok too. Some people go that route, but you would be missing out on the benefits of pressure sensitivity.

I would just start with small/simple pieces at first. Just to get used to the different feel. I dont think there are many settings to worry about, save for adjusting the pressure sensitivity (this is optional). You should be able to just dive right in and adjust things later if you decide to. To learn some new tips & tricks I really like to watch youtube videos of colorists explaining things, some good ones have been linked earlier in this thread. I think once you put in a little more time you wont feel as overwhelmed. You can worry about the fancy settings and custom brushes later on.

Also, tablet technology has improved a bit since the Graphires were out. Maybe see if you know someone with a Bamboo or Intuos you could borrow for comparison?

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## Shannyeight

Well, it's not being worried about "fancy" settings- just the settings in general(setting the pressure sensitivity- I've never done it). 

Now that you mention starting with small simple pieces, I guess that would take some of the anxiety down a bit.

As for you tube- blah. I had been runnin through you tube just trying to get the general gist of coloring- I hate it. Like 7 out of 10 videos are folks moving faster than I dont know what, babbling/rambling on about some stuff, and never fully explaining the process STEP BY STEP- that's one of the reasons why(I feel) I havent advanced as fast I want to. I know that there's about a 100 different ways to color, but if some of these people can slow it down, and explain their methods, processes, and the whys- it might make things a little easier(at least for me). I dont feel I'm getting anything out of "speed coloring and rambling while you're doing it" vids(I'm still scratching my head, wondering, "WTF are channels?!").

Sorry if that diatribe sounded like a "lash out" moment...I just didnt figure learning coloring would be this much of a pain(in certain zones).

I've thought about investing in a new tablet, but I want to be able to master working on a tablet in general, before I even make that decision. There would be no point in buying a new tablet if I still havent even touched the old one.

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## ScaryThee

> Well, it's not being worried about "fancy" settings- just the settings in general(setting the pressure sensitivity- I've never done it). 
> 
> Now that you mention starting with small simple pieces, I guess that would take some of the anxiety down a bit.
> 
> As for you tube- blah. I had been runnin through you tube just trying to get the general gist of coloring- I hate it. Like 7 out of 10 videos are folks moving faster than I dont know what, babbling/rambling on about some stuff, and never fully explaining the process STEP BY STEP- that's one of the reasons why(I feel) I havent advanced as fast I want to. I know that there's about a 100 different ways to color, but if some of these people can slow it down, and explain their methods, processes, and the whys- it might make things a little easier(at least for me). I dont feel I'm getting anything out of "speed coloring and rambling while you're doing it" vids(I'm still scratching my head, wondering, "WTF are channels?!").
> 
> Sorry if that diatribe sounded like a "lash out" moment...I just didnt figure learning coloring would be this much of a pain(in certain zones).
> 
> I've thought about investing in a new tablet, but I want to be able to master working on a tablet in general, before I even make that decision. There would be no point in buying a new tablet if I still havent even touched the old one.


Look up Draw With Jazza if you haven't stumbled upon him yet, he's on youtube and makes a lot of tutorial videos. I had been using photoshop for 4 years and was just looking to brush up on the program, looking for techniques. So I found a video of his on cel shading where he spoke about clipping masks and it was just about the best thing that ever happened to me. It BLEW MY MIND.

Here I found it! I think he does a good job, I personally have learned a bunch from him.

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## Shannyeight

Thanks for the link. Honestly, I didnt try to get good at cel shading- I was just trying to lay down color, and when I showed my work to some color guys for a critique(more along the line of trying to get a clue of what in the hell I was doing), they identified it as cel coloring. I'd like to eventually get better at the other style of coloring, but I think I'll roll with the cel style until I finish coloring with this pile of pages I'm trying to get done.

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## Ghost

Came across a few interesting links I thought I should share.

Tips for Visual Storytelling

Digital Painting & Illustration Techniques

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## Ghost

A few more.

The Definitive List of Comic Publisher Submission Guidelines

I also am loving all of the thorough and knowledgeable Comic Coloring advice from Nathan Lumms youtube videos. You can check them all out here.

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## ExcelsiorPrime

Informative as always..any tutorials on doing these parchment/be-speckled style background colors/textures.

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## Zainu

I think you can recreate that just by grabbing some textures online and photo-shopping it into any needed areas(adjust how light or dark you want it).

To be honest, the blue texture of the last panel reminds me of some sort of colored(maybe pulpy?) paper that I've seen while browsing the colored paper section in art supplies stores. So maybe you can grab some textured paper from Michaels or wherever you shop and scan those in for your own textures.

Kinda like this, but not so dirty:

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## Ghost

> Informative as always..any tutorials on doing these parchment/be-speckled style background colors/textures.


Thanks  :Embarrassment: . To me it looks like they used some kindof scatter/speckling brush to draw it. You can search for these online or easily make your own. Heres a video tutorial that shows how:




You may also be able to achieve a similar effect through making a new layer and adding a noise filter. Might have to adjust it and add blur and a dark and light colored gradient layer.

Zainu also had a clever idea. Heres a few websites with some textures to browse through. Theres many more free ones out there.

Mayang Texture Gallery
CG Textures
Texture King

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## Ghost

Here are some Lettering tips from Nate Piekos/Blambot:

5 lettering mistakes

5 more lettering mistakes

Properly stacking text in balloons

When to use 2 balloons

Dynamic sound effects

When a word is a noise

Creating sound effects

Balloon consistency

Using sequences of balloons

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## ExcelsiorPrime

> Here are some Lettering tips from Nate Piekos/Blambot:
> 
> 5 lettering mistakes
> 
> 5 more lettering mistakes
> 
> Properly stacking text in balloons
> 
> When to use 2 balloons
> ...


You are a fountain of comic creating knowledge!

thank you for providing such info and links.

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## Django P

Scott McCloud's books are great and insightful, on both art and writing, he also did a YouTube tutorial on lettering

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhsqRjBehmw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOSp76iGg94

Drawing Words and Writing Pictures is a website which helped me with scanning and colouring problems (they also have a book which is designed to be like a school course)...

Drawing from life/from photos as well as copying faces and body positions and stuff from my favourite comics helped me with drawing the human form...

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## pearlofthepacific

Wow, this thread is such a great resource.

As for getting used to drawing on a tablet, it's definitely worth it. Scanned/Photoshopped linework can look stiff and muddy. Reproducing tutorials helped me a lot, and so did some more approachable applications that are really strong on drawing, such as MyPaint. If I were going to do that now, I'd probably use Krita. Cloud Alpaca (multi-page version of the freebie comics art app Fire Alpaca) looks interesting, but currently website is only in Japanese.

I got CS6 before Clip Studio (Manga Studio 5) came out, and I'm pretty much ready to stick to Clip Studio. Since I got that, I rarely open Adobe CS6 (it's so slooooooow on my office computer), but then I really like linework (and storytelling!) more than anything else.

What applications do people actually enjoy using most?

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## Jonny Cannon

Hey people,

Thanks for posting all the hints and links. I'm pretty old school and still work off the boards (or heavy duty cartridge paper in some instances). Jings, I'm only a recent convert to Pentel and Molotow brushpens, never mind getting a drawing tablet. I am doing more in the post-scanning phase on Photoshop (and Comic Life for lettering), so all the advice on here is really cool.

I've found the following books very handy for inking in particular: 

The Art of Comicbook Inking by Gary Martin;
Modern Masters: Kevin Nowlan;
The Art of Sean Phillips; 
Woodwork: Wallace Wood 1927 - 1961
Essential Tomb of Dracula (for Tom Palmer's lush inks)

The Modern Masters series is pretty damn good in general. For example, the Kevin Maguire book is excellent for considering facial expressions and 'acting' in comics.

Jonny

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