I need help.

SpiritWolf · Post by **SpiritWolf** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 3:35 am

Stop snickering Brem, I know you are. Probably.From one pitiful artist to an awesome trio, I need help. I've just started on my own comic again but things aren't going exactly according to plan. So here come the questions;What pencil should I use? Are there any that show clearly enough but rub out easily? Are the any colours or types invisible to the process of scanning?What resolution and size should I scan at? Should I scan at double res and resize it in PhotoShop? Though with this old PC that would take an age. Is there any quick way to do this whilst still keeping it looking good?Finally, what should I do about the boxes? Should I print boxes of a certain size off first and then scan those in? Ignore boxes and put them in later with PhotoShop? If so, what sizes should I go for (I'm using A4 paper, should I use bigger)?Any tips would be appreciated too. I really hate to be a best but when it comes to friendly and incredably skilled cartoonists, I don't know who else I could've gone to. You guys fit that bill finely.One other thing ... do I smell a crossover (today's strip)?[This message has been edited by SpiritWolf (edited 04-02-2001).]

Kiva · Post by **Kiva** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 9:23 am

Spiffy stuff? Hehe, naw, lots of "pros" I know are avid typing paper (newsprint, even...!) and mechanical pencil users. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">Try not to find yourself worrying so much about finding the "professional" tools (no such thing), rather, look at how to use some of the tools you probably already have. It'll surprise you how much time/money you'll waste on things you won't use otherwise. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif"> Seriously, the best tool I've ever found is the local bookstore. Adobe, Wacom, Prismacolor, and Copic will never magically zap anyone with more talent than they already do or don't have. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">As for some of the technicalities you asked about... well, pencillers tended to use blue and red colored pencils (Jesster, I think you're thinking of Col-erase pencils) <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">because the lighter-colored lines didn't show up on a Xerox copy. Color scanning tends to pick up even light colors, though, so it's probably better to scan in grayscale and then adjust brightness/contrast settings to "clean up" the lines. Given you make you final lines dark, this works... but inking (the way Jessie does) makes the lines even crisper. Resolution really shouldn't matter unless you're sending it off for CMYK printing. 75 dpi (screen) resolution will be enough for that. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Happy 'tooning and next time you see a blank sheet of paper, look for the polar bear in a blizzard. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">------------------
Mighty power of the pencil to you!!

Duncan · Post by **Duncan** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 10:55 am

A4 paper is the european "letter size" paper.
That's 210 x 297 millimeters (that's 8,72" x 11,69" if my calculations are correct)Just FYI.

SpiritWolf · Post by **SpiritWolf** » Tue Apr 03, 2001 2:50 am

Thank you all, I appreciate all the tips presented here. I think the thing I need most then is a marker or something along those lines to accompany my insanely light green pencil. I did a test recently and I was not happy at all, that's why I asked you. I think my biggest problem still though is how to print out something that can be scanned in at the same size, it's a bugger ... since I can't draw straight boxes for the life of me (sight problem). Then again, I could twist someone elses arm to try I suppose.I'll put the tips to use and let you know how it goes. Thanks again. You guys are great!

Arno · Post by **Arno** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 1:10 am

Nothing useful to add to any of this, I'm not anartist after all... But I can wish people good luck.

... Just thought I'd say that...
That I can wish people good luck.

Just kidding. good luck. *L*

Kiva · Post by **Kiva** » Tue Apr 10, 2001 10:17 am

SpiritWolf> Hehehe, hope to see some of yer stuff soon! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">------------------
Mighty power of the pencil to you!!

Dubble · Post by **Dubble** » Fri Apr 13, 2001 6:45 am

Well yeah, ppl can definitely wish other ppl good luck so:Lots of Luck Spiritwolf! And I can't wait to see what you come up with either. ^_^ *bets it'll be weird, anyway*

SpiritWolf · Post by **SpiritWolf** » Thu Apr 19, 2001 4:01 am

It has to be said, I'm jolly well impressed. Thanks for the tips, all. Been working with sketches lately and on my latest one I rather inconveniently ran out of rubber (it was my favourite sketch too) which meant a really bad scan, so I went back to the picture and inked it quite heavily. Then I rescanned it and used Brightness / Contrast to make it nearly invisible and by the time I made it visible again with Levels the pencil lines had gone, yay! Inks and PhotoShop make me look good. Not that good all the same but still, it's definetely an improvement.The scanning system of doing a double-size at low res worked anyways and if you're curious, my latest sketch (which is about the best of the crop, tragically) is of the ever cute Stith from Titan AE, it can be found <A HREF="http://www.fluxzone.f2s.com/Stith.jpg" TARGET=_blank>here</A>.[ Edit ] Oh and as a side-note, Stith's legs really do look like that, that was about the most correct part of the image. For those that haven't seen the film, Stith is a damned odd creature to say the least ... but ehh, I like damned odd creatures. ;>[This message has been edited by SpiritWolf (edited 04-19-2001).]

SpiritWolf · Post by **SpiritWolf** » Sun Apr 22, 2001 1:33 am

:laughs: You'd never believe it but Stith is actually the 'nicer' side of her species. So a female then.As for the signature, I didn't do that out of ego either. I did it because it's a real trip to (whilst being half asleep) try to sign your signature using a mouse that has worn down rollers. ;> "Well that sort of looks like an f ... ...".By the way, what exactly are o-legs? ;>

Arno · Post by **Arno** » Sun Apr 22, 2001 11:53 am

Whoah, that guy has got some serious O-legs!

Looks pretty good to me. Weird, but... *lol* And I just noticed the way it's signed. Cute.

Kiva · Post by **Kiva** » Sat May 05, 2001 2:16 am

Hey Spiritwolf! Glad to see that any tips and tricks posted here were helpful to you. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Keep that pencil to the paper! ------------------
Mighty power of the pencil to you!!

Arno · Post by **Arno** » Sun May 06, 2001 5:19 am

Kiva> *Saves the "Keep that pencil on the paper" comment* I'm going to throw that right back at you one day...

SpiritWolf · Post by **SpiritWolf** » Sun May 13, 2001 4:38 am

I hope it's okay to be doing this but here's another (and definetely my last for a while, I don't like to spam self-propogatedy, one post is fine but ...). It's a character of my own this time, some Inventist named Landal Xander (a cookie for anyone who can tall me what the Landale was and where it was). I think I'm getting better, sort of-ish. He turned out a little too um ... well, I'm not sure whether I should use the word but he just looks way too friendly and bubbly and that can't be overly good. ;><A HREF="http://www.fluxzone.f2s.com/landalxanderfinal.jpg" TARGET=_blank>The Link</A>[ Edit ]Oh and he's supposed to be an RPG type character, bigger and sillier than life and all that. No, the weapon isn't a hedge trimmer, nor a trash picker. ;> I'm not sure what it was supposed to be but it turned out very wrong.[This message has been edited by SpiritWolf (edited 05-13-2001).]

Kiva · Post by **Kiva** » Mon May 14, 2001 2:30 am

Bow> Hey hey hey!! No stealing my pencil and paper comments!! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"> Wouldn't do much good throwing it back at me, anyway, given I'm not that great an artist.......... *L* <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">------------------
Mighty power of the pencil to you!!

Arno · Post by **Arno** » Fri May 25, 2001 5:15 am

Inventist... You know, I like that word... Inventist... Inventist... *l*And Kiva, do you ever LOOK at your own work!? *L*

Kiva · Post by **Kiva** » Fri May 25, 2001 7:09 am

Bow> I do... and then I squint, make a face, cringe, and say "BLEH!", and then get pestered by a silly Dutchman who insists on me posting it up for all to see... *L* *twitch* I like the word "booger!" Has a nice ring to it, don'tcha think? Hehehe... <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"> <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"> <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">------------------
Mighty power of the pencil to you!!

SpiritWolf · Post by **SpiritWolf** » Sat May 26, 2001 2:00 am

{laughs} So did I Arn, that's why I so blatantly stole it from the Hercules animated series. ;> Not much good that, that word was one of the only two good things in it. The other being that lovable Griffiny show-host.Oh yes and everyone should fear ... and hide under their beds and such, whyfor? 'Cause I'm working on another piece of fan-art! Another strip no less.

Emambu · Post by **Emambu** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 6:28 am

Just don't forget the link.
---Emambu

SpiritWolf · Post by **SpiritWolf** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 10:02 am

I'm still working on it. ;> I've had to redo it because in one of the panels, one of the characters looks a tad too whacked out. ... and not wanting to insult Angie by drawing her characters in a bad light, I'm reworking that. ;>

Kiva · Post by **Kiva** » Mon Jun 11, 2001 1:14 am

SpiritWuffers> Heehee... sooooo.... let's see that artwork already! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">------------------
Mighty power of the pencil to you!!