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3-24 Apologies

Friday, November 9th, 2007

- Commentary -

Craig: “Z” asks:

Are there any good guides about drawing like this? (I want to know what is a tablet useful for and why is it better than a scanner, and what software can be used for coloring, preferably open source.)

J.D.: A tablet and a scanner are both necessary for the process that we use.

Craig: I should add that when we say tablet, we mean an input device with a pen, as opposed to a tablet PC, which is basically a giant touch-screen.

J.D.: That being said, we use the scanner to take the rough pencils and input them into the computer. From there, I arrange them into the page as it will basically look when it’s finished, then I use an adjustment within the graphics program I use to turn all of the pencil lines light blue. From there, I print out the “bluelines” and hard-pencil them. That is, I fill in or finish drawings that were merely suggested by Craig or add in details he’s forgotten.

Craig: I’m really bad about that. I might envision a character with certain decorations like rings or armor, and then forget that they have them, and draw them without them later on.
J.D.: Yes.

Craig: To combat that, I keep a corkboard directly in front of my drawing table, and pin the inks of previous pages for the characters that I’m drawing that week. For example, for this week’s page I have pictures of Angelina, the three, and Leon pinned to corkboard so that I get the details right.

J.D.: And you still missed some. Once the hard pencils are finished, I go over them with a Micron 0.1 pen and solidify all of the lines that I penciled.

Craig: Don’t you use different pens for different lines?

J.D.: I used to, but I found that the thinner lines became so thin when sized down to the page size that my selection tools didn’t acknowledge them as lines anymore. So now I use the Micron 0.1 for all the lines but for heavy lines I go over it multiple times until it’s thick enough to be distinguishable from detail lines.

Craig: Ah.

J.D.: Once the inks are finished, I scan them back into the computer and size them down to the size at which they will be viewed.

Craig: That’s 350×350 for a normal panel, so an average page is about 700×1050. I chose the horizontal dimension of 700 on purpose. I figured that I could safely assume that our readers would have at least an 800×600 screen, so that the entire width of the page would fit. As it turns out, many of our readers read on their PDAs with screen sizes less than a single panel!

J.D.: Ah well.

Craig: So when does the tablet figure into it?

J.D.: The tablet figures in once the inks have been scanned back into the computer. As I said, I size them down and then do a process called “split channeling” which causes the black lines of the inks to separate from the blue lines. I then adjust the black lines to the color I want them, which usually includes inverting the split channel from white-on-black to black-on-white, and deepen the black of the final lines. Once all of that is in place, I color the individual panels as separate files. It’s this for which I use the tablet. I flat-fill the major areas on a panel and use the pen and tablet to essentially paint in the areas that weren’t filled by the flood, as well as any details, shading, lighting effects, and so on. After that, I put them in place on the page, put the “realm layers” onto the page, and convert it to a PNG for your viewing pleasure.

Craig: For pencils, I just use a standard mechanical pencil and a click-eraser, the same kind you might buy at an office store. J.D. uses a Micron 01 for her inks. Our tablet is a UC WP5540. Our graphics program is Paint Shop Pro 8.0.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 9th, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Penance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “3-24 Apologies”

Djabanete Says:
November 9th, 2007 at 3:39 am
Awww….
Luckluster Says:
November 9th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Yea.. aww.. as well. Wouldn’t mind getting a hug from Angelina.
Are they using telepathy in strips 3-5?
Z Says:
November 9th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Why Leon used *&$% instead of his normal word this time?
Timo Says:
November 9th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I’m sensing triangle drama….No, wait, Lucky might be fourth wheel in the party. That makes it, what, quadruple-drama?

Leon just got a very good ally, maybe two. A true friend and a teacher of how things really work “down there”. Somehow I think he might not be so eager to get back in “normal” life after a while.

And, almost forgot: Aww….
Maverick Says:
November 9th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I’m not seeing a triangle or quadruple drama coming. Remember Angelina actually LOVES Hector and he returns the feeling. As I recall, Angelina had a line where she asked Leon if he had ever TRULY loved anyone before. I can’t see her having feelings for Leon, and I don’t think Leon will develop those kinds of feelings for her. I think he has probably found a definitely ally who will help him get to know the area even more than Lillith has. I think I’m beginning to see a bit of a change in him as well. No longer is he trying to coerce Angelina into giving him the information he wants. He just came out and laid it all on the table. I think Angelina’s “Oh Leon!” is more of a sudden understanding of where Leon is coming from, what he’s been through, etc. and feeling terrible for cutting him and caring/feeling pity for him in his relative helplessness.

I’m definitely feeling the “Awww” moment.
Jason Says:
November 9th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
“Ah!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t squeeze there! It hurts!”
“Oh, right. Psychosomatic pains from a heal spell. Sorry.”

Actually, if Leon plays his cards right, Angelina might teach him how to properly use a sharp-and-pointy object, a skill he to improve. Although she might be wary, considering that Leon’s just confessed to his crime.

And I agree with the sentiment that there will NOT be a love polygon stemming from these two and Hector. Sorry, that’s becoming a dead trope. Besides, there are easier ways to make a guy fall for a girl than a sword. (Fireball^H^H^H^H^Hworks, for one.) Friends? Maybe. Lovers? Eh, no.

And I see the Censors have arrived. Quick question! Who censors the censors?
Z Says:
November 14th, 2007 at 6:09 am
Are there any good guides about drawing like this? (I want to know what is a tablet useful for and why is it better than a scanner, and what software can be used for coloring, preferably open source.)
Z Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Wow, thanks for such a detailed reply!

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3-24 Apologies

8 Responses to “3-24 Apologies”

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