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The thing is, to really start drawing comics you'll have to get your brain into comic mode since right now and yeah, the only way to jump start that is to draw comics. Like, it's really tempting when you're drawing for yourself without a goal to just draw what interests you. When you do that, yeah maybe you'll be good at drawing a particular pose or character or environment, but there'll be a whole bunch of things you won't improve at all and you won't even realize it. All that said, you really want to ease into it. Until you really get used to making full pages, comics can be a little more daunting than an illustration, I feel. Have a set story planned out, and don't do a huge story for your first project if you've never finished a story before. You need to figure out how you work before you can feel comfortable scaling it up. When I got back into doing comics, I started small with short stories, no more than 15 pages and that was at the beginning of 2013 and I got about 45 pages done. I had a little hiccup in 2014 and didn't do any for a few months, but I was still doing between 10 and 15 pages and had a more productive year with around 80 pages. This year I've figured out how my work flow goes and what an ideal story length for me is (30 pages plus or minus a bit) and I'm on track to get about 180 pages out of me this time around. But if I'd tried to do a page every day or every other day when I first started, I would have given up. It's a skill like anything else, you gotta build up to it. If you try too much at once, you'll probably just burn out.
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Nov 16, 2015 20:35
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 04:52 |
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The vanilla version of Manga Studio 5 / Clip Studio Paint is on sale again for $15 USD! Does anyone not have Manga Studio at this point  ?
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Nov 25, 2015 19:06
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 Got another chapter done and dusted, though it won't finish updating for a week or so yet, but why not check it out anyway? Here's my favorite panel sequence, but since it's the climax I'll throw it behind a spoiler if anyone cares to wait: 
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Nov 26, 2015 03:02
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Spike's opened submissions for publishing ! I'm ineligible but maybe you other folks might check out the guidelines and see if you want to throw in.
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Nov 28, 2015 03:43
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Hey, I just put up the last of my latest chapter! Go read it, maybe? It's an alt history western and I had a lot of fun working on it.  
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Dec 4, 2015 21:47
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Sounds like your friend likes cartoon porn. Are they posting it on face book or printing it out and pinning it to the wall or what. If it's nothing illegal just tell them to get a porn Instagram or tumblr side account and stop telling you about it, I guess.
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Dec 11, 2015 19:16
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BlitzkriegOfColour posted:My question is this: should I be doing this every month, with narratives, and will this make me internet famous*? Monthly updates are pretty hard to build an audience with if you're starting brand new. Weekly's about as low as I'd recommend, probably.
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Jan 9, 2016 00:41
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Every page is a chance to learn and experiment and add to your bag of tricks. Sometimes what you try works out, sometimes it doesn't. I did a broad recap of my art progress in 2015. I was pretty surprised that even when I thought I was doing alright for myself, I still had a lot of areas of improvement. It's not just the art, I've streamlined my process and figured out what worked for my needs. Anecdotally, I didn't see the most growth until I started averaging a page a day by the end of the year, but that's not fair to expect of a newer artist.
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Jan 14, 2016 00:40
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Not to mention there's also been an up take in things like tablets which are practically tailor made for an archive binge.
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Jan 14, 2016 19:21
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How's everyone's year been so far? I finished off another chapter of my western and got a fan comic done on the side. 2016's gonna be great, comics are great!
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Jan 18, 2016 11:29
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my comic started as a straight adaptation to an old Western radio program, Gunsmoke. I swapped out all the main characters for new ones, but kept the same sort of feel at first. In doing the first story, though, I developed the characters a lot and now, even though it's still based on the program for the plot beats, it's really turned into my own story. I'm a lot happier with it than I would be if I'd kept it strictly in the original program's setting or characters. Give yourself a lot of space to grow if you decide you like the setting or characters enough, I guess is what I'm saying. I know you're worried from a legal standpoint, but I'm thinking creatively, as someone whose done a fair amount of fan stuff too. Ultimately, you exercise different creative muscles doing fan vs original. When I do fan stuff I'm making sure the character voices or setting stay true to the original, but in my own stuff I'm a little more free to let things fly. Fan stuff can be a good starting point if you wanna jump start your output but it can have limitations. That's my two cents anyhow.
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Jan 21, 2016 11:15
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Your website opens a new tab for every time I click on a navigation link, it gave me a bitcoin when I went there for the first time, and your comic looks like ballpoint pen on lined paper. Like, yeah, there's less barriers to getting people to read your stuff if it's fanart vs original, but physician, heal thyself.
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Jan 21, 2016 19:45
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Also keep in mind a creative project is a bit of a living thing, stuff will change between the beginning and the later stages as a nature of the beast. This is why novels go through drafts before the final product and there's always things you'll want to change even after it's done. You'll probably never be 100% satisfied and that's okay. Not over-stressing details lets you build in an escape hatch if you decide on a different plot point, as well. Worldbuilding is fun and it's like you're in a warm bed on a cold day and thinking about all the chores you have to do that day, but at some point you gotta get out of bed. Like, I'm doing an alt history. I didn't sit down and figure out a detailed timeline from 1492 onward and invent fake land treaties and political movements. The important part I want to get across is "the American west, but different" and I think readers get that much. Same goes for character backstory, it helps to keep in mind to write the characters, but I don't need to devote pages to the main character's life from childhood on if it doesn't impact the current story. Just make a mental map of important bits that matter to the story you're trying to tell to make sure you don't do any major contradictions is my advice. Anyway post your worldbuilding stuff here, is what I'm saying.
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Jan 23, 2016 22:12
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You can try breaking it down into smaller pieces. What about a short story that only takes place in the kitchen? What about a short story just about the janitor? If it was me, I'd definitely try to nail down how major set pieces look. The bridge or the luggage claim area or whatever. Also whatever the characters will be consistently interacting with so communication devices and the like. Computers are here to stay so they can basically do whatever you want them to, I'd probably add some flash like subvocal recognition or visual control. Broad strokes are better, imo, since you can read detail into it if you need to and as you start actually doing stories you'll figure out what needs detail and what doesn't. You can show peeks at the things you've developed without having the whole thing plotted down to the kinds of rivets holding the wall up and characters don't have to know the intricacies of their setting to live in it. I couldn't tell you how Ford made my car or how the computer inside it works, but I can put gas in it and make it go.
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Jan 24, 2016 03:11
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The human brain is pretty good at filling in detail if you give a hint of it. It's better to have less detail than wrong or distracting detail. For example, your long grass field looks more like cornstalks, the blades are huge. In black and white and with color, contrast is key. Your goal is to get readers looking where you want them to, and adding or subtracting detail is one easy way to do it. Contrast doesn't just mean light vs dark, by the way, it can also be curved vs straight lines, thick vs thin lines, heavy detail vs little, and so on. Here's a sampling from Lackadaisy, which doesn't skimp on detail, but because Tracy Butler plays with hue, saturation, and line width/hardness to build up contrasts, even though there's a lot of detail (woodgrain, clothing folds, etc) on and behind the characters, they don't get lost.   Look at how Mordecai on the far left is contrasted with the other characters, as well as Serafine, the speaking character. The coolest part about drawing, for me, is you have full control over your composition and you can use all kinds of tricks to direct a reader around a panel or page. In the first page, look at how the stairs separate the two fighting characters, and check out how the background details draw your eyes toward the action. Look at that crocodile hanging from the ceiling in the second sample right above Serafine and how the man's cane is pointing to her as well. Even if everyone is looking at Mordecai, you can't help but look at her. Your backgrounds don't have to be photo-realistic, you can use them to draw the eye around, divide up panels, and so much more. I went off on a tangent, but I've really come around to appreciating backgrounds. I think most starting artists resent them, but they're a really versatile tool to have in your mental toolkit.
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Jan 27, 2016 00:45
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QUEEN CAUCUS posted:I've been sort of lurking in this thread. I just bumbled my way through it, honestly, but it was my first digital art program so I didn't have to unlearn anything from Illustrator or Photoshop like other people. It might be easier to ask or look around if you have a specific question or something you're trying to accomplish? Also look into Frenden's brush sets, they're really nice for inking.
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Feb 15, 2016 01:17
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I have some downtime from work and I thought I'd try to get back into comics and sequential art.
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I made a logo and some new headers to go with it.
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Feb 19, 2016 23:17
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I've got a little brother printer and my stuff is black and white so I print my minis out at home. 36 pages is about the most you can get away with without having to trim the edges neat I think. I think as far as price goes I think $5-8 is usually what I've seen them go for? I guess it depends on page count and printing costs. You might also price a fully contained short story different than a sampler. People with multiple kinds might also do discounts if you buy more than one. Like $6 each but three for $15. I've never really sold minis before though, I've mostly given them away. People might trade stuff with you, though, that's always cool.
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Feb 24, 2016 14:16
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Things haven't changed much in that area, generally speaking you'll probably want to work at 600 if your computer can manage it. I think anything higher is more used for digitizing photographs and negatives. Anyone going to SPX? It's in a few weeks and I've got a slice of a table with a friend.
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Sep 2, 2016 05:47
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I did my first con this weekend and I had a blast even though it super tired me out by the end of it. I tabled with a friend, we had fun, and I handed out a bunch of flyers. Now I'm energized and full of feel-good spirit and ready to get my next chapter out the door.
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Sep 22, 2016 22:54
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I'm using it as a mirror/extra place to get eyes on my stuff, but I've only done one chapter there so far. I don't think there's a lot of cross over from there to my main site but I get a few comments when I update which is nice. It's a very self contained community, but I can't see it hurting you in the long run.
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Sep 23, 2016 12:29
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I used one of those free online converters and it's serviceable, though some of the kerning and stuff I have to adjust manually in manga studio. Anyway I like it because I can then hand letter words for emphasis or sound effects and it's meshed nicer with my art, in my opinion. It's also a nicer contrast for when I use a professional font like the text narration on this page. If I could all hand letter, I would, but the convenience of editing and rearranging dialogue makes up for it.
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Oct 14, 2016 17:37
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Is it almost November already? Heck yeah, I'm basically always doing NaNoManGo and I've got to get rolling on my next chapter, so we can use this thread for progress updates if you want  .
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Oct 27, 2016 19:20
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It's November first, is everyone ready to Nanomango ? If you don't know, Nanomango is the comics equivalent to Nanowrimo. Originally the goal was 30 pencilled pages in 30 days, but you can also set a different goal for the month if you want. 30 pages of thumbnails? 20 inked pages? 10 fully colored pages? Whatever fits your work flow, the idea is to get motivated, not burned out. It can be part of an ongoing project or something new, it's up to you. Here's my goals for the month: Get the pencils for my next chapter done no later than the 10th assuming the US hasn't sank into the ocean and start updating with finished pages no later than maybe the 16th. These are soft dates, of course, but I'm hoping to come out ahead since this chapter's gonna be fun to draw .Currently I'm finishing up the thumbnails, then I can start on the pencils. Hopefully I can get that going tomorrow.
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Nov 2, 2016 01:20
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Honestly, I just treated drawing comics like a fun reward at first. Come home from a long day at work, work on a page. Down time during my lunch break, do some thumbnailing. Once I got into the habit, it was easier to fit it into my routine. It's hard to find a balance between wanting to do something and feeling obligated to do something, though. I also really don't have any hobbies besides drawing. I'm not big into video games and it was easy to pick drawing over refreshing websites for an hour. I get that I'm an anomaly, though, so my advice might not be too helpful for a lot of folks. If you're having trouble focusing, I'd recommend trying the pomodoro technique for time management. Basically you work 25 minutes, then break for 5, then repeat for a total of 4 cycles (2 hours) and then take a longer break of 20-30 minutes. There's an easy to use website for it, or a multitude of phone apps (I like Brain Focus for Android). I like breaking my workflow down into time rather than tasks, it's easier for me to say "I'm going to work for 2 hours starting at noon" rather than "I'm going to finish this page".
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Nov 2, 2016 15:59
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I'd think doing your own thumbnails for yourself might be good practice to find out how much text / action can fit on a page, too. Even if the artist doesn't use them, it's good to keep in mind the flow of the pages as you're doing the writing. I've never collaborated, but I know I have to do a lot of editing on my script when I start doing thumbnails because I just write too much and even now I over / under estimate how many pages a scene will take.
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Nov 15, 2016 01:38
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Hah, yeah, I fell behind my optimistic goals. I've finished my pencils and started inking, probably going to start updating tonight if I can get enough ahead of my update schedule.
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Nov 21, 2016 13:43
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I'm really happy with Clip Studio Paint (the merging/rebranding of Manga Studio) and Frenden's brush set. I only do black and white so I dunno much about how the program handles coloring, but I've heard some good things, anyway. My inking style can get pretty loose and I haven't done any serious physical work in ages but I think my digital stuff is pretty close to what I could manage with an actual pen and ink. But I work on a pretty big canvas and don't zoom in too close  . There's definitely a learning curve involved but I can't say how much, I only really started doing a lot of comic pages in earnest a year and a half ago.Some doodles:   Some finished pages:  
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Apr 9, 2017 16:03
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Avshalom posted:your linework is so silky smooth and i want to eat it  . Most of the brushes I use are Frenden's, I love 'em to pieces and think they do a pretty good job recreating the feel of traditional tools.Also I just noticed I grabbed the smaller versions of those off my tumblr on accident, oops. These are the more legible sizes.  
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Apr 10, 2017 01:27
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This is a double post on purpose to say Clip Studio Paint has gone on sale like it usually does: Get the standard program for $25 or the full fancy-pants program for $79. It's my main program and I really love it, it has some neat built-in tricks like screentones and perspective rulers. There's a free trial available, too.
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Apr 10, 2017 20:45
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Wowporn posted:do they ever have a special for people to upgrade from normal to pro or would i have to just buy it again Unfortunately I don't remember them ever offering a discount like that. I dunno if emailing them would be worth a shot, if you paid full retail price for the normal version. KariOhki posted:Somehow I got lucky enough to win the table lotto for SPX, and it'll be my first table at a convention ever. Both excited and panicky as I need to get a lot of stuff done and I've never had the best motivational drive. Congrats, I got in on the lotto last year and it was fun. I wish I hadn't been too wiped out to socialize that Saturday night. I didn't get in this year, but I'll be back as an attendee since I live within driving distance and it's such a fun show.
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Apr 11, 2017 01:01
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I'll write out a script as a first pass to get my ideas out, then use the thumbnail stage as a chance to edit it down to the important parts. But I've written enough pages by now to have a rough idea of how the story will flow as I'm doing the script so it doesn't get too out of hand.
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Dec 7, 2017 12:34
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But where is the gormless male lead who wins her heart.
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Mar 11, 2018 13:19
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Yeah you kinda broke the 180° rule between the second-to-last and last panels so it looks like they switched places. It shouldn't be too hard of a fix if you wanted to keep most of the composition of that panel, though. E: oh but if it's supposed to be the same guy throwing a punch and then doing the biting then you've jumbled things around too much. Sorry I'm not sure which one it is now 
Mercury Hat fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Feb 7, 2019 |
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Feb 7, 2019 17:13
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We had a mouse infestation at my work and in my experience this man isn't acting deranged enough  .
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Nov 21, 2020 01:50
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pop punk posted:I wish this thread was more popping, I love everyone's stuff. Super clean inks, love em  .I've been making comics again myself. I feel weird promo'ing when I'm at, like, 3 pages uploaded but here's some finished panels I liked.    
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Dec 1, 2020 16:22
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Minor nitpick, but clé is feminine, it's "une clé". Looking good!
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Dec 12, 2020 15:11
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I've been updating for a month and I finally have a cover page to show for it  
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Dec 25, 2020 01:47
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readingatwork posted:4) Make a website from scratch. I do NOT recommend this unless you already understand a little HTML/CSS and know what you're getting into. It's not the hardest language to learn but there's still a learning curve and no, a program like Dreamweaver won't let you get around actually understanding the code. This path will be a pain to maintain (since you yourself have to handle updates and maintenance) and will require you do do pretty much everything by hand since you won't have Wordpress's features to do things like automatically generate an archive. On the upside though this option gives you the most freedom to do what you want in terms of adjustable layout, visuals, advertising, etc so if you're super picky about what the final result looks like and aren't afraid of spending the next month trying to figure out why the GOD drat SIDE MENU KEEPS TRYING TO JUSTIFY TO THE LEFT This is what I did because I'm not a fan of Wordpress's options for comics and I can't say I'd recommend it to anyone who isn't an old dinosaur like me  . Not having an automatic updater is a definite downside, but for a twice a week schedule, it's not so bad. You can integrate a comments system with disqus, if you want.Unfortunately, webcomics are still a niche enough format that I couldn't find many options for stand alone content management systems and a lot of the ones google pulled up hadn't been updated in 5+ years lol. The upshot is webcomics are a simple enough format that unless you want or need a complex archive and tagging system, you can get by with an HTML template and a copy of Notepad++.
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Dec 25, 2020 14:49
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then it might be worth giving a shot. It's a good learning experience if nothing else.
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readingatwork posted:I just finished the first chapter of my comic. Any feedback people would like to provide would be very welcome. My next goal is to get this thing up on Tapas by the end of January. You can look at some Akira Toriyama stuff too, the Dragon Ball / Z manga has a lot of clear panels with minimal tone work. Pogo is also good, as is Bone for strongly defined character inks. The main thing I can see is you don't really make use of any solid black areas in either foreground or background details, but they can really help to draw the eye to the main parts you want readers to focus on. Since you mentioned Bill Waterson, here's just two random strips to show what I mean.   The background isn't very detailed, but in the first strip the blacks on the mountain ranges both imply shadow and draw the eye to the characters. In the second strip the black on the suitcase helps to isolate Calvin from it and similarly in panel two the blacks provide the contrast to separate the wagon from Hobbes. There's also the solid black of Calvin's pants and the not-quite-straight black stripes on Hobbes. This makes the characters distinct, even from a distance. I'm far from an expert, but I try to have at least one or two points of solid black on a character's wardrobe or design to break up their form and also have them pop on the page.
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Dec 31, 2020 16:16
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