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Fun Stuff => MAKE => Topic started by: jeph on 08 Oct 2005, 16:46

Title: New tutorial
Post by: jeph on 08 Oct 2005, 16:46
I'm gonna mention this in Monday's newspost, but I thought I'd give you forum-goers a sneak-peek at a new tutorial I just finished:

http://www.questionablecontent.net/tutorial.php

Enjoy!
Title: New tutorial
Post by: Malkster on 08 Oct 2005, 18:04
Thanks.  I really found that interesting.  I can see why I love the look of QC.  I enjoy a number of strips but the way you work up QC makes for a sweet end product.

Not that I really understood in the least what you were just talking about…
Title: New tutorial
Post by: fenmere on 09 Oct 2005, 00:55
That is one bad-ass tutorial!

There's nothing in it that I didn't already know, but there's a lot in it that I've forgotten about art in general!  Also, it's very well written, and you convey an enthusiasm that will serve your readers well.

Also, I just realized that I could actually compliment you on your artwork.  There was a point not too long ago where your art took a huge leap.  Must have been when you developed this latest set of techniques with the tablet.
Title: New tutorial
Post by: blackmage on 09 Oct 2005, 03:12
Very nice tutorial. I have one minor niggle, and that's when you say that PVP uses cut and paste. Of course, you're enititled to you're own opinion, and, of course, there are a lof of people who don't like PVP. However, as shown in this article here: http://webcomicsreview.com/examiner/issue050912/history2.html#scottkurtz, Kurtz does keep his use of cut and paste templates to a minimum. The guy's just honed his technique for drawing these characters to the point that he looks as if he's using templates. He's tried to do a newspaper style comic, and pretty much suceeded.

Of course, that said, comics like QC, and Mac Hall, and all the other comics that have broken out of the tradtion newspaper style format, are more enjoyable to read because the art doesn't get boring.

Anyway, that's my two cents.
Title: New tutorial
Post by: Rizzo on 09 Oct 2005, 05:00
Mage my boy! I didn't know you were on here! Howdy.

I found that tutorial really useful. I was just working on some background art for my comic which I'll eventually post...
When I say working I mean inking, I can't draw. It's my friend's drawings, my colouring.
Title: New tutorial
Post by: Thalass on 09 Oct 2005, 05:42
Wow, Jeph! This is really good. I would never have thought of the colouring technique you use. Though I don't think my computer can run CS2 with an image that size. *chuckles*


One question, though: Why do you use Illustrator for the text, rather than Photoshop?
Title: New tutorial
Post by: Valrus on 09 Oct 2005, 06:01
Quote from: blackmage
Very nice tutorial. I have one minor niggle, and that's when you say that PVP uses cut and paste.


What's up, my niggle?
Title: New tutorial
Post by: audacity on 09 Oct 2005, 09:05
I like Faye without glasses. Can't she wear contacts once in awhile?
Title: New tutorial
Post by: JamesslamDaddy on 09 Oct 2005, 20:08
Just wanted to say thanks for the great tutorial... I've enjoyed webcomics for a while now, but it wasn't until I read your first tutorial that I started seriously trying to learn how to do one of my own. I have a loooooong way to go before it'll be worth anything, but the point is - QC was the inspiration, all the way. Thanks again!

(P.S: This is my first post... I actually registered in order to ask a question about fonts, but this thread gave me more than enough to think about. :))
Title: New tutorial
Post by: jeph on 09 Oct 2005, 21:12
Quote from: blackmage
Kurtz does keep his use of cut and paste templates to a minimum. The guy's just honed his technique for drawing these characters to the point that he looks as if he's using templates.


Untrue. If you look closely you can clearly see where he has copied and pasted things from panel to panel. He does use templates so his art does look very homogenous, but there are just enough variations from drawing to drawing that I can tell, and it bugs me. Take a close look at Marcy in panels 1 and 3 of this strip and you'll hopefully see what I mean.
Title: New tutorial
Post by: kirabug on 10 Oct 2005, 06:43
Thanks for the updated tutorial! Your old one was the first time I'd heard about using a much larger image size than the final product would be, and it's responsible for a major jump in my (still mostly crappy) art quality, so thank you very much.

What kind of Mac are you running? I'm producing everything on a 933Mhz iBook and even with over a gig of RAM things drag to a crawl on 4400x4000, 300DPI comics. (Then again, I tend to put all my panels on my original, so I probably have 50+ layers...)
Title: Thanks and a little doubt
Post by: Lanika )O( on 10 Oct 2005, 07:04
Great tutorial, thank you very much! Sharing a technique makes lots of people work better on this strange new misterious art of drawing in a computer. Every little details counts and your tutorial is really cool!

Maybe it's my monitor config (1024x768 on a 17"), but I wish the images were bigger so I could see the menus better. So, here is my little doubt: You work your ink layers settled to normal, overlay, multiply? How does it work for you?

Again, thanks a lot! :D
Title: New tutorial
Post by: jeph on 10 Oct 2005, 12:13
I keep all my layers set to Normal. I don't mess around with any of that confusing overlay/multiply stuff.
Title: New tutorial
Post by: Justin on 12 Oct 2005, 03:39
it's always great to see how other webcomic artists work their magic, especially one enjoying some measure of success such as yourself. What i found most interesting is that you do your sketching in photoshop itself. in the short time i've been in this game, i've been doing my sketches on paper and scanning them in for the rest of the work (which incidentally is almost identical to your method), but your way seems like it might be faster. I'd just feel weird not doing any work with a traditional medium, but i s'pose you can't argue with results! Keep up the good work!
Title: New tutorial
Post by: kirabug on 12 Oct 2005, 08:26
Quote from: Justin
I'd just feel weird not doing any work with a traditional medium, but i s'pose you can't argue with results! Keep up the good work!


and in contrast, I never learned how to draw until I got a Wacom pad (it shows, doesn't it) and feel totally naked taking pencil to paper - where the heck is the "undo" button??
Title: New tutorial
Post by: Krogdor on 12 Oct 2005, 18:05
Pretty Cool, but not to much different from the old tutorial, but anyways, i also like it cause i got a tablet myself, but its only a 4x5 wacom graphire3, but it's fun to use
Title: New tutorial
Post by: Thalass on 13 Oct 2005, 05:51
Quote from: Justin
it's always great to see how other webcomic artists work their magic, especially one enjoying some measure of success such as yourself. What i found most interesting is that you do your sketching in photoshop itself. in the short time i've been in this game, i've been doing my sketches on paper and scanning them in for the rest of the work (which incidentally is almost identical to your method), but your way seems like it might be faster. I'd just feel weird not doing any work with a traditional medium, but i s'pose you can't argue with results! Keep up the good work!


I too usually have a scanned image to use as a... template, I suppose you could call it. After reading this tutorial I did my avatar from scratch in photoshop. I really like the method of colouring. I was using a layer behind the linework and manually colouring in with the paint brush. That gets tedious after a while. :P
Title: New tutorial
Post by: Justin on 14 Oct 2005, 03:47
well, i tried this fancy sketching directly into photoshop method today, and it seems to have worked just fine, probably saved a little bit of time too. although i still feel weird not having any tangible anything, and if i continue this way my scanner will be used much much more infrequently. good or bad? i dunno.