Being a Traditional Media Artist in a Webcomic World

[Tieback]

Hi! I’m Tieback and I’m new to Tapastic, like an hour ago new… I’m currently creating The Archer and the Squirrel; it’s my first webcomic. I create my pages using watercolor and ink, and I scan the hard copies to get digital files.

Most of the webcomics I come across are created digitally with a tablet. I’ve never used a tablet, but I’ve thought about teaching myself for the sake of making webcomics. Although, I really love working with traditional media and getting my hands dirty, no pun intended. If there is anyone who exclusively creates webcomics with traditional media, I’d love to hear about your experience. Also, if there is anyone who has created webcomics both traditionally and digitally, I’d love to hear if you have a preference and why.

[respheal]

I know Monster Hunter Club, Liars go to Paradise, and Kaleidoscope are all done traditionally (copic markers iirc).

I used to do the lineart for my comic in pencil, but there were problems:
- the paper I was drawing on was WAY bigger than the scanner, so I'd have to scan each corner and then piece it back together in photoshop.
- There's no undo in paper, and the paper basically had hit points--too much erasing and it would become unrecoverable.
- this didn't impact me (since I was only doing lineart traditionally, not colors) but the artist of LgtP and Kaleidoscope frequently mentioned that the scanner washes out the vibrant colors of the traditional media.

I'm doing full digital now using a Surface Pro 2 (when I want to be portable) and a Wacom 15HD (when I don't mind being tied to a desk). There's not a whole lot of learning curve going from pencil/pen to tablet except for messing with brushes in your software of choice (Watercolor, for example, can be replicated with brushes). Nowadays I prefer full digitial because being able to undo is so nice and it just makes for cleaner lineart all around.

[niinasalmelin]

Hey there, fellow watercolor artist! Welcome to the forums (and tapastic overall). I do my comic Numb full watercolor and add speech bubbles and such with photoshop. I started to do it in watercolor because I wanted to learn how to use them, and get over my fear of colors. So far it's been working pretty well. Many readers have pointed out how much they prefer the watercolor look since it's a bit more rare sight in webcomic world.

I don't think you must change to digital just because of webcomics. Do what you do best. I prefer traditional, because I enjoy the making proccess much more and so far, I am better at it than in digital. When Numb comes to finish, perhaps I do othe comic full digital, just in sake of learning.

Only downside I can think of there was for me is the size of my pages. They're A3 and so far I can use the scanner on my university, but once I graduate I have to buy my own one and,... they're pretttty excpencive.

EDIT: I know the fact that you can't undo stuff so easily in traditional media is a big minus for some, but I enjoy the 'how-to-fix-this-with-what-I-have??' -learning proccess it brings. However, with a tight schedule this can be a problem.

[Tieback]

Yes! a list of new comics to check out. Thank you!

Also, I know what you mean about the paper vs scanner size. At first I went to Kinkos every week to get scans of my large watercolor pages. But it became too expensive and time consuming, so I started looking for a scanner/printer that could handle the size. Luckily I found one I could afford: Epson Work Force 7610. However, after scanning an image, I still had problems with fading. I use photoshop to help reclaim the colors, contrast, vibrency, etc, but I feel like I'm cheating when I do this... XD

Thanks for sharing what tools you use now!

[Jabbage]

Hi, welcome! I personally love seeing traditional comics. They're like rare treasures!

I'm someone who has done a couple of digital comics, and who has decided to switch to using more traditional media for my latest project the Trapper Lad. It's time consuming, less convinently portable and more expensive per page... but argh it's fun. I've been really enjoying getting my hands dirty and having a physical product at the end of the day.

I'm not sure I'd have the stamina to keep it up for a longer project (it'll only be about 20 pages) but it's taught me a lot, and given me so much respect for longrunning traditional comics.

[Jabbage]

@Tieback - I don't think using Photoshop to restore colours back to how you see them on your physical page is cheating at all! It's just standard practice.

(If anyone is cheating it's me, by rights I think my comic shoudn't really be called a traditional media comic or a digital media comic, it's a weird Frankenstein's monster of both)

[hushicho]

Welcome to Tapastic! I hope you'll enjoy your time here!

Whether digital or traditional, they're both means of expression to tell a visual, sequential story. There's not that much difference with technological development these days either, though working on things digitally tends to be less expensive and provides that all-important undo (as has been mentioned!), which can make things so much easier and also save work that otherwise might be ruined. I used to do traditional-only and scanned it in, then I went to digital finishes with advances in lettering and other things. Finally, I went entirely digital because, even with good posture practices and careful working, my back and shoulders were ultimately unable to maintain the positions needed due to some injury.

It's just so much easier to maintain good posture for me, as well as work more efficiently, when I'm doing things digitally. Plus, when space is at a premium, it's much easier to store digital files than it is physical works. Especially if you work in large sizes.

I don't think there's any more (or less!) respectability in working traditionally or digitally. The way I see it, people should do what they're most comfortable doing and what will enable them to create as robustly as they want for the story they want to tell. It's not cheating at all to use what resources are at your disposal, I think. There's so much out there in all media. It used to be a lot more trouble to do things from the start -- initially, the lines didn't feel right, until I found Clip Studio Paint, which works very well with my approach and tools. But now that everything is much more accessible, I find working digitally to be more suited to my needs.

[punkarsenic]

ive done a few short comics traditionally, and a lot of elements of it i love. i think tools on paper can never be perfectly mimicked by digital means and theres something so satisfying about pencil drawings - and with the right software even just taking a photo of your pages can turn out better than fine. i know a lot of brilliant comics that are done by hand, and i think it makes them stand out from the crowd a lot of the time. like, when it comes to your comic, its really fitting to the story youre telling, so id never complain about the traditional media (especially since it looks amazing)

on the other hand, digital has an undo button. thats very nice. when it comes to colour work i will always pick digital over traditional because my art is made by overlay and lumi & shade layers. theres a lot of great things about digital art that you cant get otherwise, and its just plain convenient, so thats always my go-to.

[dojo]

Welcome welcome!!

I currently do all my stuff digitally, but I used to do my lineart traditionally with a brush. The main reason I stopped is there was a period of time I didn't have a stable source of income and stopped being able to really afford the materials I was using. I still use a lot of the techniques I used when doing traditional stuff though, like when I'm on the inking stage, I don't usually go back and erase/undo anything except when my tablet decides to glitch out (which It's been doing a lot lately, probably because it's getting kinda old, but it doesn't bother me enough to feel like I need to replace it). I feel like not allowing myself to undo too much allows my art to be more raw and achieves more of what I'm looking for in my own art.

There's one comic I can think of off the top of my head that's traditional and that's QuickSilver (done in watercolor), and I know BearNuts has traditional lineart. I used to know of more but I only just recently got back into the webcomic game after being dormant for 5 or 6 years.

[AoDLegacy]

I work traditionally on comics in terms of drawing and occasionally coloring. My current project is a pure traditional aside from cover art and final layout and balloons. I do like and prefer my digital art color, but at present I have yet to get started on any other comics in which I'd prefer to resume digital color work.

Digital art is far easier once you know how it works, but there's a certain charm to traditional artwork, the only downside for me is time constraints and the fact it hurts my hands when I use colored pencils. Don't know if I'm just doing something wrong though.

I feel like there's advantages to both, depending on your resources and how much time you have in a day and what you're used to already.

[UrMom]

I'm pretty much a traditional only person, the only thing I use digital stuff for is fixing my handwriting, and adding shines on things since my gel pens don't like to work half the time. (should get some white ink, but I'm poor) Can't say I've done it for comics, but I used to dabble in digital illustration back in high school, and I didn't enjoy it that much. There's a feeling you get putting your pencil to a piece of paper that you lose when putting a pen to a tablet, it feels more... sterile, or lifeless. Plus, I prefer how traditional mediums look over digital.
If you love the feeling of doing traditional work, just stick with it, why ruin a good thing? Don't let the shiny, pristine looks digital works have deter you from what you enjoy most, there will always be crowd who like your watercolour work as much as you do.

[shazzbaa]

To me the biggest advantage of traditional media is less ability to be fiddly. I ink traditionally, and I've found that if I've gotta put down a line and move on, and then when I'm done I can digitally touch up the things that actually look wrong, that's a good bit faster than inking digitally, where there's a temptation to make Every Line Right.

[shaneoid77]

I did traditionally created comics back in my early days and it was good for getting skills in it, but I hated the tidying up afterwards. Plus buying the tools can be expensive in the long run. So I'm glad I learned to work from a tablet. However, in a scene dominated by digital works, I think something done traditionally can be a good selling point for a comic. @Tieback I found your art absolutely majestic and it so tied in with your story effortlessly. I don't really think you'd need a change if you enjoy this method.

[jessicasurline]

Wow! Beautiful work! Welcome to Tapastic my traditional friend! I am Jessica, the artist of Whetstone. I work almost exclusively with Copic Markers and Micron pens but for the ease of editing, I do the text digitally. There is something about working with a medium in real physical space that makes it special. I guess traditioanl art has a romantic quality for me. I went to college to learn animation and video game art so I have had plenty of time to get comfortable with digital media, but I always felt a certain diconnect with digital mediums. Especially when files would get corrupted or lost. I don't think I will ever get over that lol!

[J.MORK]

hi tieback, im the artist behind sweet talk :o)

i think that being a traditional media artist in webcomics is a great way to differentiate your work from other series. of course everyone has a different drawing style, but using trad media lends a unique aesthetic that can set you apart even more.

i used to do my comics digitally but i stopped mainly because it is so....incredibly boring..... there is nothing more soulcrushing to me than coloring digitally, just moving the pen back and forth like im in a coloring book. it's much more enjoyable to me to mix up paints and respond in real time to what is happening on the paper. of course, traditional media brings the possibility of making mistakes, but it's a good artistic skill to figure out how to work around mistakes. and if all else fails, i can just use my digital programs to edit and fix mistakes

if you enjoy making your comics on paper i'd say there isnt really any reason to stop. that being said, learning to use a tablet to draw is a great skill to have, especially if you're interested in making digital art pieces aside from comics. and you could try making comics both ways and see what likes and dislikes you have for each method

[popsiclestick]

I draw SARGENTUM in photoshop, but i much prefer working in traditional media - so much so that i pencil my pages on paper which i scan in (i find it hard to draw well on a tablet) and use downloaded brushes to try and create a traditional effect to avoid the clean digital look.
digital is fast and won't get anything messy though, which is a help with doing comic work to a schedule, rip

[neoyi]

I do traditional colors, too, using copic markers. My webcomic is Prince Marine: The Dandy Robot. As for why I do it? Well, I just plain suck at digital. I regret not learning it earlier. I suppose I still can (because there is something of a sad truth that digital artwork tends to get more draw in the webcomic world, C'est La Vie, ya know. XD), but I don't have much time right now. Maybe someday.