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Geekboy posted:I'm going to have my first table at Galacticon in Seattle (I'm getting it for free. Yay, nepotism!). So. That's kind of a big deal. Any "babby's first convention" advice? This has been getting linked around recently, maybe it'll help: http://theblerdgurl.tumblr.com/post/121104481939/25-reasons-why-you-dont-make-any-money-at-comic
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Jun 13, 2015 13:11
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Scribblehatch posted:
It's mentioned a lot in creative circles but if your friends are nervous about their art in general, I'd highly recommend the book Art and Fear. There's a section in it that covers this topic. It also has a lot of other stuff and is just a really good read in general for dealing with art related anxiety.
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Jul 26, 2015 09:39
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Yeah, using 3d Modeling to explore various perspectives to use as reference is a smart use of the tool. It's an old trick too, traditionally you'd make a clay maquette but it's the same kind of thing. Can also build your own models in Maya or Zbrush or whatever and move those around to get an idea of how a character might look with different angles/lighting.
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Jul 31, 2015 19:25
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painted bird posted:Coming up with designs, most of all. If you are looking for modern regular clothes you might want to try street photo blogs. If you want something fancy then can try high end fashion blogs and the like. Or can do both and try something like http://www.thesartorialist.com/ that has a mix of fancy fashion plus everyday wear. There is a lot of variation in how people dress themselves so I think you can get a ton of ideas by looking at real life. Even for fantasy you can look up historical examples though I'd recommend to look at a wide variety of cultures and styles rather than just default to what people in one part of England wore. So yeah, I'd definitely just look up fashion blogs of all kinds (pinterest might help as well) and see if anything gives you ideas. Also there is a fashion/health forum here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=179 , you might get some good ideas from there as well. JuniperCake fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Aug 1, 2015 |
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Aug 1, 2015 15:31
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Raenir K. Artemi posted:I used to make comics when I was way younger and would sort of like to get back into it, but I'm also a poor college student so I have a question! Amazon has Manga Studio ex 4 for like half the price of base Manga Studio 5, would it be a bad idea to get the old software/is there anything super better in Manga Studio 5? Also, as an art student would it maybe be better to get a more well-rounded program like Paint Tool Sai or do Manga Studio's comics-oriented features outweigh the opportunity cost of maybe having to get a different program if I want to do digital art for school? Manga Studio 5 works really well as a digital painting program and is worth buying even if you never make a single comic with it. While it won't have every tool photoshop has, you get plenty for the price and you can easily make very good art with it. I've not used MS4 so I can't tell you what features you'd be missing if you went with it. That said, MS5 does go on sale frequently and I've seen it go as low as 20-something before during one. So if you wait a bit you might be able to get a good deal on that version.
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Aug 4, 2015 05:17
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So hey, if anyone wants a good example of how not to respond to a rejection from a comics anthology (or how not to interact with another human being ever) here you go. https://twitter.com/neekaneeks/status/635244348007776256 Jesus christ.
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Aug 24, 2015 06:32
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Color when done well really does have a way of grabbing attention and the only way you are gonna get better at something is to practice at it and learn it. For instance, I don't think Jeremy Mann's work would be nearly as impressive without his great use of color.  But yeah as others have said it's not essential, cause there are plenty of artists who do amazing stuff with black and white.  Bernie Wrightson <3  Harry Clark You could also go mostly monotone but have splashes of color ala Lackadaisy as someone mentioned or something like Sin City or whatever. Just a little color can really pop if it's the only color in the piece and that can be a cool effect if that's what you want. You certainly don't need to use color to direct someone's attention if you are good at value anyways. Imo, choose what you think will suit your story best and what is most aesthetically pleasing to you. If you make something good you'll get an audience color or not.
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Sep 14, 2015 04:44
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GreatJob posted:I don't think color plays into a comic's success at all. I don't think it's easy to make that claim. If you talk to a graphic designer, it's not uncommon for them to say that color is the most powerful tool to catch someone's attention, above anything else. I don't necessarily go that far but I'd definitely agree that color can be a powerful tool. If color made no difference, why would a great comic artist like Meredith Gran hire a colorist? Or why would marvel or dark horse or what have you hire colorists? Why would anyone? I'm not gonna say you have to use color cause I think there are plenty of examples that show that you certainly don't have to. I agree with you, your comics are great as they are but I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the value of color for all cases especially with people like Robin Pierce saying that color lead to a direct increase in sales for him. I think the question of whether to use color (and to what extent you render or use value/line/or whatever else) is a question people should consider carefully to see what works for them. JuniperCake fucked around with this message at 07:00 on Sep 15, 2015 |
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Sep 15, 2015 06:57
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Mercury Hat posted:Double posting because Manga Studio is on sale again, digital version, until September 29. $87 for EX, or $50 to upgrade your copy of 5, or buy the vanilla program for $15. Nice! for anyone on the fence, Manga Studio is definitely worth picking up. It paints as well (or better, depending on personal preference) as photoshop for a fraction of the price. Even good if you never make a single comic with it. Though I don't suppose people not interested in comics would be frequenting this thread much.
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Sep 25, 2015 06:25
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RasterPunk posted:
Honestly, if you want to be an artist, you have to make art. That's it. Whether it's good art or bad art, you don't get to find that out until you actually make the thing. You call making comics a hobby but by the way you talk about it, Id bet you have a bit more emotional investment in it than that. You don't have to be a professional to have passion and if you have passion you owe it to yourself to follow it. Yes some people will hate your work, but every single thing that exists probably has at least one person who hates it, that's just life. But, If what you do as a comic artist hinges on getting outside validation then you are going to be completely and utterly miserable, EVEN if you do get acclaim. You need to do poo poo cause you want to do it. So just make the drat comic already if that's what you want then move on to the next thing. Life is too short for waffling.
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Jan 23, 2016 10:23
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Yeah, it's definitely possible to have insane levels of detail and all sorts of stuff on your page and still be able to clearly see the characters or whatever you want as your focal point. Plenty of good examples here already but I'll just go ahead and add Bernie Wrightson.  You definitely need contrast of some kind to make things stand out but it doesn't have to be a different level of detail thing. Value works pretty well in this case.
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Jan 27, 2016 07:19
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Squidster posted:Holy poo poo, Comics Alliance did a piece on us. Grats! That's awesome!
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Mar 5, 2016 07:57
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The Ayshkerbundy posted:what are some good ink pens for comics? Should I get nib or fountain or brush? I'm looking for a least one that could get nice thick lines (along with the obvious thinner ones for thinner lines). Everyone has their preferences but ideally you'd want multiple pens and/or nibs since usually a certain tool will be good for a certain kind of mark. Also people have all sorts of preferences as far as pens go, so everyone's best list is gonna be different. Pentel Brush Pen -> This is a really good inking brush pen that's very easy to use. It's refillable so it drying out isn't a problem (though the cartridges are more expensive than just buying regular ink). http://www.pentel.com/store/pentel-pocket-brush-pen It's probably one of the best all around brush pens. Only thing that consistently beats it is a sable brush like Winsor Pro Series 7 or a Raphael but those aren't cheap either. Not the worst investment though if you think you'll do a lot of inking. If you get a good sable and take care of it it should out last you. Nibs, I've used crow quill nibs #102 which are the common standard used for comic book inking. They are decent, have a bit of a learning curve as all nib pens do but you can get a lot of good fine lines with this thing. The other nib that I like is the #512 http://www.jetpens.com/Speedball-Pen-Point-Nib-No.-512-Bowl-Pointed/pd/15142 which can get you thicker lines than the crow which is a bit more delicate. Don't buy a package of assorted nibs if you can help it, you'll end up only using one or two of them. Some art stores do sell individual nibs instead of the sets and you can stock up that way, or use amazon or whatever. For regular pens, I like microns they work pretty good until they dry out. Also have used Faber-Castells and those are also decent. Though I imagine almost any art quality pen will probably do in a pinch unless you have a particular preference which you won't know until you try a bunch of pens out. That's my preferences anyways.
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Sep 5, 2016 05:23
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WrathOfBlade posted:Are cons really a good marketing tool for smaller artists? Genuinely asking, I have no idea. I always hone in on the negative buzz surrounding cons and tell myself that you can only get something out of them if you've already got droves of fans (or if you draw lots of pictures of Spider-man and Pikachu), but it's entirely possible that I'm dragging my feet to avoid figuring out this whole new big scary part of being a comics-person. Yeah to echo what everyone else has said, you want to miss big cons that are more about tv/celebrities like SDCC. Small press expos and smaller conventions (or one of the few larger ones that are still heavily comic centric) are great opportunities however.
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Dec 10, 2016 05:09
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Wowporn posted:I see some comic where two people talk on a couch and everything but they're facial features stays exactly the same I question why they chose the format of comic strip in the first place I don't think anyone was arguing for this? There is a difference in repeating a panel for a certain effect and just copy pasting the same two dudes and couch over and over.
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Apr 30, 2017 16:40
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This thread is dead for long stretches of time. I don't think anyone will mind even if you post the whole thing in here. If you are really worried, then just post the first few with a link to where the rest are at and that should be fine.
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May 3, 2017 04:24
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readingatwork posted:Love it and want more. I agree with everything except the subtlety. I think it works quite well and feels like a more natural way to handle it. I don't mind a little bit of confusion for a page or two personally and it pretty quickly becomes clear they are conspiring together anyways. But yeah, you should definitely put the comic out there somewhere and start building an audience. It's a great comic so far and I think it could do pretty well.
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May 4, 2017 05:26
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Try this, uninstall tablet drivers, windows ink, etc etc. Unplug your tablet Restart Computer. Plug in tablet and reinstall tablet drivers. I get that issue every now and then and that's what usually fixes it. Problem is when you uninstall stuff then restart, windows will automatically throw a bunch of garbage on the tablet before you even get the chance to reinstall the proper drivers. May not fix it in this case, but it's worth a try if that's whats happening.
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May 16, 2017 23:57
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Wowporn posted:i wish when i made lines they were interesting Don't we all.
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May 23, 2017 06:29
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this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPaEdvCs1C8 but with ink (make sure your volume isn't too high if you click the link)
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Jul 1, 2017 18:14
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Das Boo posted:I finally got around to finishing out my chapter. Tumblr is a really awkward format for comics but you absolutely should get that comic out there somewhere. It's fantastic work. Hell, you should try submitting it to First Second or Iron Circus Comics. You might even be able to get that thing into print and you lose nothing for trying. JuniperCake fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Jul 23, 2017 |
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Jul 23, 2017 03:05
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I believe they want the proposed work to be 150-500 pages when it's completed, not that you need that many pages done before consideration. Often times its better to not have your work be finished because most publishers will pair you with an editor and it's much easier to make changes to something that's in earlier stages rather than a completely finished work. Though if they really want the work then they'll accommodate you as much as they can. I'm pretty sure Iron Circus at least is accepting submissions right now, not 100% sure about first second atm but they are definitely a good publisher to keep in mind for the future. They are both run by very professional editors who love webcomics (both companies are led by people who've made webcomics themselves) and they often publish new artists which is why I recommend them in particular. There are plenty of other options as well. It's worth at least a try when you feel ready for it. Your work is great and I could definitely see it fitting in with at least one of the indie publishers.
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Jul 25, 2017 09:23
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Been a while but absolutewrite's forum has a section on comic writing full of resources: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forum.php Doesn't look like that section gets much traffic but some of the stickies will probably still have useful information. I think what might help you, is getting some books on comic making. Stuff like Scott McCloud's understanding comics or maybe some of Wil Eisner's instructional books. Even if you won't be drawing them, understanding the basics of what makes a good panel composition wise and stuff like pacing is going to make it much easier for you to write good comic scripts. Also, if you plan on shopping your work around at some point, most people won't look at a comic writer's stuff without art attached to it. (Though there's the occasional exception). So if you do decide to try to sell your stuff, a good thing to do would be to hire an artist and work with them to make a short comic. Then you'll have something concrete to actually show people to garner interest in what you are doing. It will cost a bit but it's really worth it.
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Dec 6, 2017 14:33
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Covok posted:I find it very weird how often this place gets shitposted. Depends. If you are doing it to explore being creative and have a project that you really want to see come to life then it's very much worth it. Just have fun with it and enjoy the process. Don't even bother reading the rest of my post, just go out and make the thing. If you mean worth it as in using it purely as a money making opportunity then I'd say absolutely not. If you want more info then that: The market is more discerning now (because of the sheer volume of comics out there) but you used to be able to make a comic with decent writing and terrible art and still get an audience. Mind you even with good art and writing it can take years to build up a readership. The true 1000 fans rule works but getting there requires a lot of years of "firing off into the dark". 10 years isn't an off the wall estimate. There are exceptions but if you look into the background of any comic artist that seems to appear out of the blue and be successful, you'll see tons of past projects, work, etc that they made while off the radar. It just takes a long time of constantly working to make it. If you are a decent writer, and want to give it a shot, then work on making a few small, self-contained projects. Go for short comics that are complete stories. For the art, you can hire an artist and pay them to draw your pages for you. Those comics could also serve as portfolio pieces for you if you wanted to get a comic writing job for print. If you aren't a decent writer, then learn that first before trying comics. I'd say short fiction is a great place to start and you can practice in places like our very own Thunderdrome thread for free: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3845416 (beware, they hold nothing back in critiques). Steven King's On Writing is a pretty decent book to get you started on writing basics without too much nonsense. Yes writing for comics is different but you'll still need a strong grasp of writing fundamentals and short fiction can teach you those. And don't mind the shitposts, it's just how artists say hello.
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Apr 3, 2018 23:50
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readingatwork posted:Av does not shitpost. She makes art your puny mortal minds just can’t comprehend. Au contraire my friend. Posting the greatest works of art anyone will ever witness in all of their miserable lives in a thread such as this one is the most powerful shitpost of them all. JuniperCake fucked around with this message at 00:34 on Apr 4, 2018 |
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Apr 4, 2018 00:30
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It's up to you to find what works, there's lots of ways to approach color. Experimentation is definitely the key, and don't be afraid to try lots of things. As far as the discussion on schemes go, I think both are fair points. On the one hand the shift does indicate a change in scene but its so drastic that mentally I can see them being read as completely different scenes that have nothing to do with each other as opposed to being shown a close up and then an interior of the same city. Like here's a good example of using color to show a transition in scene:  You can see that peridot is coming from a different location with completely different lighting, but her panel still has some pink in her skin/clothing that makes it not out of place with the rest of the panels.If you are going for stylized and bold colors, GigiDigi is one of the best artists to study. She has coloring tutorials out there that might give you some useful ideas of how to tackle some of these issues. edited cause I found a better example:  Second panel here really helps with the transition. Also a lot of purple in the shadows to tie it to the color outside as well. In your comic, you did a great job making the blue buildings less saturated as they got closer to the horizon. For me a bigger issue are the line weights. It looks like the buildings in the back are transparent instead of just being faded due to atmospheric perspective. I would soften the line edges especially the ones facing the light as you go back, and even remove some edges entirely. Also with the way the back buildings are lit, it makes me think the sun is still in the sky though very low so the back sides of the buildings here should be much darker than the rest of the sides if that's the case. A little rim lighting in the right areas and I think that would really sell the sunset. But really the best thing to do would be to study artists and study life and then come up with your own ideas on color based on what you've seen. James Gurney's Color and Light book is very useful but certainly not the only source. Gigi as mentioned above is really good and can also study painters like Thomas Moran who were really focused on light and color and great at creating moody landscapes. Even if you dont go for the same level of detail, a lot of the same principles of light/color will be just as useful to you as it was for them. Again though lots of ways to approach it so I hope at least some of this ends up being useful. JuniperCake fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Apr 5, 2018 |
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Apr 5, 2018 22:26
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CelticPredator posted:So I have a weird dumb question I want to throw in to this thread just out of sheer curiosity, and maybe a dash of creative day dreaming; It's been a few years since I've researched comic stuff but last I knew these kinds of jobs can be difficult to get without connections. Though they are pretty much impossible if you are unknown and have no previous comics work. So if you want the job you should have at least one finished comic out there that you've written, if not more. Preferably ones that have also been published but that's not necessarily a deal breaker. So the usual advice given to people in this kind of situation is just to start writing short one-shot original comics. Then pay an artist to draw them for you (or at least the first couple of pages). Key here is original. They absolutely will not be interested in your ideas for their property at this point and often that's grounds for them to immediately put your submission in the trash. So never submit fanwork unless that is explicitly what they are asking for. The only exception is something like if you make a fan comic and put it online and get a large following. Then its 50/50 whether you get a job offer or a dmca letter. But the difference in that case is you've become a known entity whose work has gained a following, that makes you marketable. For getting known and getting publishing credits, comic anthologies can be a great place to start. They usually accept submissions and you can send them pitch letters or maybe the first few pages, etc. Whatever their submission page tells you to submit. Note these anthologies usually only accept complete teams which means again you'll have to pay an artist to draw your stuff. It can be very well worth it though. Once you have a comic or two under your belt, then you have options. Some companies do accept submissions of comic work for writing positions, like maybe a chapter or a couple of pages, etc. You might also be able to get an agent if they like your work and while agents are a mixed bag they might be able to open a door for you. (though an agent might be more useful for more niche things and less so for say DC comics, so that might be less applicable for your situation.) Also the company might take notice of your work and ask you themselves. For submissions just check their website, they should have a submissions section that will tell you what to do if they are accepting. If you don't have money for an artist, then you might try short fiction or a novel instead. While having published comics is better for a comics writing job, having written fiction work accepted somewhere and published is much better than nothing. So you might be able to leverage that, depending on the company. Anyways in short its very difficult but not impossible. But in general thats some stuff to keep in mind if you were trying to enter into this kind of work. JuniperCake fucked around with this message at 12:56 on Jun 29, 2018 |
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Jun 29, 2018 12:50
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Fangz posted:Depends on how much you paint or write. It's true that you shouldn't buy stuff just to have it or whatever, but if you need it, it's good to get the stuff that's going to work well. Watercolor especially is much easier with good brushes, artist grade paints and paper that won't instantly curl up or flake off the moment water touches it. Watercolor brushes/paints also last a while, so you can start off with a small set of brushes/paint and slowly add to it over time. No reason to buy everything at once. Though I definitely think you can find ways to be economical about paper in particular. You don't need to practice on something like 300lb paper. 90lb or 140lb is fine if you stretch it first and don't overwork it. If you really wanted to cut costs though, you could always buy a couple sheets of Yupo and just rinse that off every time. Reusable paper! (well plastic, but yeah)
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Aug 14, 2018 01:32
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