What's your technique? Why?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 12:40 pm

Is it really true that drawing in a mangaish or cartoonish style is easier than, let's say, the marvel style?

I have this problem cause I plan on starting a web comic soon and I've found the manga style character sheets are finished a whole lot quicker than the complex and over hyped torso and waist boxes look of modern American comics...

Any ideas as to why this is so?

Resource materials for this conclusion were :
CTRL+ALT+DEL
DUNN BOYZ
THE MAKE SHIFT MIRACLE
LOSERZ
And er...Sinfest.

William G · Post by **William G** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 1:27 am

"Manga" is more based off of typical Disney styles than anything else

I draw,pencil, ink on paper. Scan in as a BMP at 250dpi, clean if needed,then add color, text, shrink, post with basic HTML.

losttoy · Post by **losttoy** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 3:49 pm

I first start with deciding the layout of panels and text. I only draw really rough pencils to determine what I want on the page. I then scan my pencils in the computer to Photoshop, where I use them as a template to draw over using seperate layers. At this point I jump into the "inking" stage, drawing the actual image in paths, where the real detailed drawing is done. I draw everything using the pen tool in paths where I can change and edit each point and line to perfection. I sometimes will use photo referrences as a guide. In a seperate layer for each character, object and backgrounds, I stroke the paths twice, once at 5 pixels and once again at 8 pixels with the "simulate pressure" option. This gives a real hand inked look to the linework while maintaning the quality and consistancy that I have trouble actually doing by hand. Then after some minor edits, the page is done.

Why I do it this way. Because I am a rather prefectionist and have to use undo and history a lot. Drawing in paths in Photoshop allows me both the editing freedom of vector graphics and the style of a raster program. I will spend hours on one panel editing the lines, points, and curves of an illustration to get it is just right. Drawing on paper, if I make a mistake I end up getting discouraged.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 5:01 pm

losttoy wrote:Drawing on paper, if I make a mistake I end up getting discouraged.

I use an eraser.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 7:21 pm

Right now I'm doing nearly everything onscreen in Paint Shop Pro with Wacom. I start with very rough layout doodles, then add the text (putting it in early so I know how much space it takes up. Then pencil sketches of the figures and main objects. If they don't look right I sometimes move and resize the offending bits with the selection and distortion tools (good for the picture, maybe not so good for my drawing skills.) Finally I ink on a fresh layer.

losttoy · Post by **losttoy** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:02 am

Greg Stephens wrote:
losttoy wrote:Drawing on paper, if I make a mistake I end up getting discouraged.
I use an eraser.

An eraser does not really help during the inking process ... and don't even get me started on white-out.

Rip Tanion · Post by **Rip Tanion** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 5:03 pm

When you say "white-out" are you refering to Liquid Paper, or similar products? NEVER USE LIQUID PAPER ON TOP OF INDIA INK! It's just a bloody mess.

I use Graphic White, thinned with distilled water. Of course, that can be a pain in the tuchas, as well, especially when you try to ink over it. But it's a hell of a lot better than liquid paper.

Tim Mallos · Post by **Tim Mallos** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 7:57 pm

I run with my mistakes and fix them in post.

I use white electrons over black electrons and vice versa

Tim

William G · Post by **William G** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 8:47 pm

I use Crane style Kungfu when dealing with Ninjas.

I know that's not entirely on topic, but I thought I'd mention it because the worst thing that can happen to your work is to get ninjas all over it.

Eric F Myers · Post by **Eric F Myers** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:04 pm

It's not so bad. Eastman and Laird made millions by having ninjas get in their work.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:29 pm

Those ninjas! They're wacky!

Actually, I'm with Mr. Mallos on this one. If there's a mistake in inking that's just too heinous to live with, then I fix it in post. Most of the time, though, I live with it. I tend to pencil tightly enough that my inks aren't a real problem (by which, I mean, my inks don't deviate much from my pencils, so there's very little room for error).

Speaking of tight pencils, I have an unpublished, uninked page by Carla Speed McNeil and her pencils (at least in this case) seem to be exactly the same as her inks.

William G · Post by **William G** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:35 am

ninja in your comic is one thing... ninjas on your comic get happi marks all over the place.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:38 am

So long as I'm mentioning it, here's a panel of her amazingly tight pencil-work and a panel of her even more amazingly tight inking.

These are larger than actual size, and even still don't do the original work justice.

Surlyben · Post by **Surlyben** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:02 am

Lately I've been using a gouache to cover up my mistakes. It works with watercolors to an extent, and is flatter than white out... I also clean things up digitally, sometimes. Or I don't. It's not as if my comic is polished to a fine sheen...