hello i did a thumbnails 9/24 thumbnails why are thumbnails so hard, they're literally the roughest sketches ever
Niiice! For me they're hard because it's the part where I decide camera angles, character placement, and panels. Panels are hard because you can't have too many of them or the page looks crowded but you can't have too few or it slows the pacing down too much, and they have to be big enough to fit everything you want to show and the text, but not too big or you wind up with a lot of white space. And they can't all be the same shape, that's boring, but you can't get too crazy with them or it's hard for the reader to figure out where to go next. Character placement is hard because I need to figure out how to stand everyone so that I can configure the speech bubbles so that the reader's eyes will move across the page in the pattern I want without missing any text or getting mixed up. And camera angles are hard because it's easy to be boring, but I've also wound up trying something that was too difficult for me and had to scrap the sketch and start over from an angle I could handle. ...Basically I spend my thumbnailing time yelling "why am I doing this, I don't know anything about comics, why did I think this was a good idea" on the inside.
so do any of you comic veterans have any advice to a newbie? i'm just learning how to draw, and of course my brain said NOW DO COMIC. the few panels i've done for it though have actually made me improve more and faster than p much anything else i've drawn. i've mostly been working on paper, but i also have a tablet. which do you guys recommend pursuing? and if tablet, what are good comic programs?
@Kittenly I can't recommend one over the other. I prefer digital comicking over paper mostly because it gives me an "undo" button and my work isn't in danger of being stepped on, spilled on, filed and lost, crumpled or torn, erased the pencil too hard and now the paper is ragged, erased the pencil too soon and now the ink is smudged, etc., etc., etc. Also the scanner I used to use for traditional art is not that great, so. I've been using Manga Studio/Comic Studio Debut 4 for making comics since ... 2012? The good thing about it is that it was made for making comics, so it has some features I haven't seen anywhere else: Panel Ruler Layer/Panel Ruler Cutter Tool - The Panel Ruler Layer starts as a single panel that covers the entire page minus the margin/bleed, and then you can use the Panel Ruler Cutter to slice it into whatever sections you want, maintaining whatever horizontal and vertical intervals you want. This has been a lot easier for me than using line/polyline or rectangle/polygon tools to create panels. You can create a single story file which contains all the pages of your story (or do like I do and make each chapter a new story file). From the story section you can view all your pages, set binding position, insert new pages, and delete pages. From the page section you can move back and forth between pages just by pressing the < and > keys. I've found this to be very convenient. It's outdated, but that means it's pretty cheap. You can get it on Amazon for about $20, and I thiiiiink you can probably download it for free in a few places at this point. Oh, and the EX version, which has more features that I don't know anything about because I've never used it, is available for ... a bit over $15, huh. It was replaced by Manga Studio 5/Clip Studio Paint a while ago. CSP is pretty good, and I actually bought and used it briefly, but you can't create story files and I didn't like that. The paneling tools work a bit differently, and have some features that MSD4's don't (like the ability to curve or angle a line when cutting a panel - MSD4's Panel Ruler Cutter only does straight lines). The speech bubble tools I like better than MSD4's - they allow a lot more control/customisation. I've heard good things about the brushes and colour, but I didn't use it for long enough to have an opinion myself. But the paneling tools would probably make it easier to use for creating comics than most programs.
i am actually making an attempt to script and thumbnail something properly BEFORE i start for once in my life pray for EDIT: it actually only works out as 10 pages all planned out neatly! not bad.jpg
OKAY i finished the thumbnails for chapter 1 last night. Now to start the actual pages...as soon as I can convince myself that i'm not going to fuck everything up by officially doing this
i sketched three entire pages and my wrist isn't killing me yet! this is incredible!!! and they look great! here have a tiny bit of page 2
i get SO BORED scripting and thumbnailing is there a magic spell that lets me skip straight to inking?
Someone remind me on like, Monday, to continue working on the comic. I have to do school things until then
So I drew babbie's first comic. (Ie I drew a tiny comic, and never again) Just gonna link it here cause this is the comic thread. Link
@Kittenly You might give MediBang Paint Pro a try. It's not quite a Manga Studio/Clip Studio Paint-killer, but it has good comic-making tools and it's free. Also do keep an eye on Clip Studio Paint, the current versions frequently go on sale and if you catch one, you can nab EX for around $20. ...also also: well shit I guess I'm doing a comic. There is still much work to do before I do the thing but I'm gonna do the thing.
I'm still trapped in limbo with my brain holding me hostage, trying not to feel like a failure for suddenly skidding to a halt on my updates.
Makes frustrated noises at plot that WANTS to be a comic but CAN'T DRAW As an aside, for people who are interested in non-traditional-media type of comics: How would you feel about a narrative webcomic structured as an LP?
