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+-- Forum: Cool Shit You Can Do (https://eagle-time.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: Webcomickers' Corner (https://eagle-time.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=20)
+--- Thread: Resources! (/showthread.php?tid=1290)
Resources! - Plaid - 03-03-2016
Heres some basic comic stuff for getting started or some FAQs i guess.
Where to post a comic
What program do i use
How do i file type
Traditional or Digital
Collaborating
Things of interest
General art help thread!
ALSO heres the forum adventure critique thread! Lots of crossover skills here, so check it out.
RE: Resources! - OTTO - 03-03-2016
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RE: Resources! - PocketSprout - 03-03-2016
I also use MangaStudio, which is sometimes on sale for really cheap if you strike at the right time and still generally a lot cheaper than Photoshop. It's optimized for comics- with panel tools and speech bubble presets along with a LOT of screentones already built in!
RE: Resources! - AgentBlue - 03-03-2016
I do not webcomic but I got a copy of Sai from Romy and it has served me very very well
/5c
RE: Resources! - seedy - 03-03-2016
here's another podcast, from countershot press. I haven't listened to it yet but it seems interesting? they also have a LOT of links and resources at the bottom.
also I know everyone says this but everyone PLEASE READ UNDERSTANDING COMICS AND MAKING COMICS BY SCOTT MCCLOUD they are seriously the best? they are generally available at public libraries, too!
-omg plaid I was gonna link to that post by ryan estrada but then I realized you ALREADY HAD. stuff that explains workflow like that is honestly soooo good if you struggle with executive dysfunction
(yeah I don't think PS is good for webcomics, unless you intend to use a lot of photo collaging in your pieces. which...most people don't. it doesn't even have a line stabilizer! I mean their filters and adjustment layers are way better, but generally you don't need those? unless you intend to print it someday, or scan your traditional art, in which case you should prooobably get your hands on photoshop. Sai's main problem comicswise is that you can't really do text with it. ofc manga studio's kerning sucks iirc.)
RE: Resources! - Plaid - 03-03-2016
Photoshop's text tool is the worst too; slows the program down immeasurably and is really sub par compared to the other adobe products. If i did digital comics i would be using indesign, but i use it for day to day design stuff too and i wouldn't expect people to learn it just for text bubbles.
On a related note: You would be horrified by my concept art class; we're all doing digital painting in ps :v
Also also: a lot of webcomiccers lately have been discussing how understanding comics isn't really a must read any more! It was a fascinating twitter discussion which i would find if i wasn't literally falling asleep right now. Its still a pretty interesting read but tbh? I didn't get through all of it and i didn't find it that helpful. I had already been soaking up comic info from any industry professional i could find online though, so.
RE: Resources! - seedy - 03-03-2016
oh no, photoshop makes total sense for digital painting for concepting. (I mean, I'm using it for that rn...) but that type of drawing is so different from what most people want out of webcomics usually? (ofc I have to put here that sarah stone, the artist who drew the transformers comic my icon is from, draws REALLY GREAT speedpaint-y backgrounds in her comics. a great example of beautiful, beautiful pages that don't slave over every last detail.)
photoshop's adjustments, transform tool, liquefy, and user-friendly layer palette are definitely the best even if all you're doing are a bajillion thumbnails. my main complaint when it comes to concepting in PS is that it doesn't have a "transparent color" like sai & the workarounds for that (masks, darken layer settings, alpha channels) really slow you down compared to just hitting a hotkey, even if you make actions for them. (I know it has an erase tool but that's just not the same, dammit)
huh, different strokes I guess about the importance of those books. I still find rereading the two volumes to be pretty enlightening? it #speaks to me even if I already know all the lessons. obviously parts of it are dated, and there's been a lot of innovation since, but imo there's nothing else that lays it all out in one spot the same way. plus I really like the way it doesn't feel like it's telling you the One Right Way and the heavy use of examples.
RE: Resources! - PocketSprout - 03-03-2016
While I really do love Scott McCloud, I really don't think his books are like THE DEFINITIVE comic textbook like they once were.
I personally really love Drawing Words and Writing Pictures by Matt Madden and Jessica Abel, and it's continuation Mastering Comics. Both books show a ton of different ways to comic and go over tools, places to host, and a ton of that. PLUS a TON of fun exercises and stuff that's presented in a way that's really fun to do by yourself or in a group. I own both and they've been so incredibly valuable to me.
RE: Resources! - OTTO - 03-03-2016
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RE: Resources! - a52 - 03-04-2016
PaintDotNet is a pretty good free program for image manipulation. It's quite a bit friendlier than GIMP but it has a bit less functionality for more advanced operations.
RE: Resources! - seedy - 03-04-2016
OH my desire for transparency is nothing interesting, it's just easier when working with multiple layers to have stuff like linework and shading all separate. y'know, so the lines are just what you see and that layer's transparent in the parts where the lines aren't. it makes moving stuff around and adding new layers in a lot simpler. (really I need it more for concepting where I'm constantly hodgepodging things than comics)
(ryan estrada's speed comicing piece mentions a quick workaround (using the darken layer mode), buuuut that becomes a hassle if you're doing stuff more complex than the coloring he describes. you can always "fix" lineart like that through the use of the alpha channel in PS (I can explain how if anyone cares), but it's still slower than just having transparency built in. (in sai you just use luminance to transparency ofc))
RE: Resources! - Plaid - 05-04-2016
Updooped to include bigro's forum adventure critique thread.