Comic Artist Tips & Tricks

[ExcelsiorPrime]

ohh loved the link on facial expressions.

[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? ) 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?

[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.

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Ghost]

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

Tips for Visual Storytelling

Digital Painting & Illustration Techniques

[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.

[ExcelsiorPrime]

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

[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:

[Ghost]

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

Thanks . 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

[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

[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

Dynamic sound effects

When a word is a noise

Creating sound effects

Balloon consistency

Using sequences of balloons

You are a fountain of comic creating knowledge!

thank you for providing such info and links.

[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...