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Nov 2020

It's always interesting to me seeing people explain their processes on their programs and limitations.

For me, I've been using MS Paint for a little over a decade now. The biggest reason I still use it for my art and comics is that I've never really been able to afford a tablet, and the tablet I got to borrow, I didn't really enjoy using. Because of that, I've stuck with a mouse. A lot of art programs now are geared towards tablet users as that's the mainstream way to do art, and that's absolutely fine. The reason I don't use newer programs or most other programs is because a lot of it doesn't have specific tools or methods that I still use. Using right click to immediately undo on the mouse, or the curve tool. I've tried it on a few different programs, but it's never felt right to me like it does on Paint. I've usually also circumvented layers by using multiple windows.

Most of my friends who watch me stream get boggled a lot watching me do my processes.

Here's kind of a breakdown:

I first draw my roughs traditionally


And then I will line them on Paint. I initially line them with the thinnest line on the curve tool so that when I isolate the lines with an editing program, I can then draw secondary lines to imitate pen pressure. I'll be using multiple windows to have different layers of the art. I'll fill in what I want to overlap, this picture here is in process. I would have a second window of the characters themselves filled in with a color, and then repaste them back on the image so they don't have the background lines on them anymore.

Once all the lines are properly cleaned up, depending on what section the chapter is in, I'll either make the lines colored, or make them black. In this section the lines are black, so it's a lot quicker. I'll then fill in everything, send it to my editor to resize the image so it's not so massive anymore and can be the right size for uploading, and add text.

And that's how I do my comic! It's the same with my art, but I don't resize the art pieces. What's your art program and process for your comic?

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    Nov '20
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    Dec '20
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There are 71 replies with an estimated read time of 14 minutes.

I mostly use photoshop for sketches, panel, text, and painting.

I have been using manga studio only for the lineart, as it has vector effect.

As someone who studied graphic design, photoshop is just the program I use the most, so it's my default for most things.

I understand. My sister went to college for graphic design and has been using photoshop for years. She's mostly stopped though as she's finding different programs to use.

I am SHOOK that MS Paint looks like this now.

Like holy cow do you know how bad MS Paint was when I was a kid? Man. Good job, windows.

For me, I use Photoshop because I like to have layers, and I abuse them a lot. Those layers tend to act differently in Clip Studio paint (and I'm so aggressive that it tends to............crash Clip Studio. Photoshop is a little more bulky so it works better)

But my process is super similar to yours. (It's long form so I zoomed waaay out to grab this part of an episode. Hopefully you didn't need to see details to get the gist.)

I start with a sketch. (I also make a color study on that little sketch with a big ol soft brush, but I deleted that layer so pretend I did that here) I make those panels in a different file to save space, then I make that art one layer, copy and paste it back into a strip (since doing all of them at once chugs my computer. this saves on layers) Then add the bg and effects to pull it into one pleasing strip so the panels all flow.

I use a combination of Photoshop and Clip Studio. I mostly use Clip Studio for backgrounds so I can utilize the perspective rulers, then bring it back into Photoshop for everything else. I mostly just use Photoshop at this point because I've been using it for twenty years and the interface is really familiar to me, so I can get things done quickly.

@rajillustration I feel this absolutely. Also yeah I remember back in the early 2000's how much different paint was till now. At least there's a much better looking color palette in the default colors now instead of... that blue...

@ninjashira yeah, like, I've found that while using a program familiar to me, I'll still use some sort of other program just for a specific part of the art process. Also I've heard that Clip Studio is a good program. A lot of my friends recommend to me.

I used to use Photoshop, but I have been using Clip Studio Paint for years now after it wasn't manga studio anymore haha
I like the customizing my brushes and I personally prefer CSP's to PS when it comes to brush strokes.
I also like how I can insert 3d assets and even a 3d grid in when needed for different angles.

For line art process, I prefer using the vector layer in CSP, that way if I need to resize anything, I can re-adjust my line thickness based on how I want it. In CSP. I personally find it faster for my work.

I'm another "I use photoshop mostly because I've been using it for a decade and it's comfy at this point" person. Started out taking a set of graphic design classes in highschool that used it. Then in college I was part of an extracurricular student club that made pin designs on a bi-weekly base and we used photoshop for that as well. Then when I got accepted to the architecture department at school photoshop was what most students used to create the photorenderings of our projects. Finally after graduation I started getting back into comics and learning more about the illustration tools it has @u@

I've gotten the chance to use photoshop back in highschool in an animation class and honestly it's not my preferred method of art just because it's not super mouse friendly, also I couldn't really afford to have it at home either.

I use Procreate because it runs on my iPad, has great tools and is a one time purchase instead of subscription based. The UI is really simple and intuitive which is really the number 1 thing I’d say it has going for it. The learning curve is extremely minimal. I’ve looked at CSP and Photoshop because of how much other artists rave about them but it seems like there is a lot to learn just to get started with those programs. I also use Affinity Designer, but just as an image slicer tool. It can do vector art but I really haven’t even begun to experiment with that part of it. It shares a lot of the same benefits as Procreate though.

I use Clip Studio. Although I know I'm probably not using it to it's full capabilities, it's my favorite so far. The stabilizer and vector settings make it so much easier to do line art. Plus it has a cloud system so I can jump back and forth from my laptop and tablet. Unfortunately the mobile version is paid subscription only while the desktop version is one time.

I do wish I wasn't so reliant on it since Photoshop is the industry standard.

I actually use three programs
First I use Paint tool sai to do my sketches, lineart and coloring
Then I transfer it to medibang -- to apply the tones, speech bubbles and applying text
And finally, I use photoshop to combine all of the canvasses for a single episode then slice it according to the required image size for tapas.

I am comfortable using the three for drawing but It depends on what type of digital art I'm making like for example, if it is semi realism I use photoshop, for a manga(the one that will be printed and publish for a physical book) it's medibang since it has the standard canvas sizes ready for it and the screen tones and lastly if it is a webcomic/webtoon I mostly use paint tool sai because I feel more comfortable with the brushes there and it's cleaner doing line art. Another thing is I can easily customize the shortcut key for the tools -- which is really helpful because it makes me work faster (like without having to navigate the tools using the mouse then returning it to the canvas again.)

I'm using ibispaintx on my phone to illustrate my comics and I just love it.

I use Firealpaca for my comic. When I first got a drawing tablet, I didn't really have the money to pay for an expensive drawing program nor did I know how many there were. At the time I had a friend who used Firealpaca, a youtuber I looked up to who used it, I was using its sister program medibang on an ipad I owned. Plus it's completely free which is always good thing. Firealpaca specifically has a brush that I love and use all the time, so I'm privy to still use for my comic. I do have medibang still and clip studio, but I only use them for special occasions.

I use Krita because it's free and has the tools I need/want to make stuff. It's also a good testing ground to determine if I'm willing to invest more into digital art. My process is making the thumbnails traditionally alongside a script. I then transfer the thumbnail to Krita and refine it to a sketch. I then add the word bubble and text first so that I can adjust the sketch accordingly. After that, refine that sketch to line art. I make some layers and masks to control the colors. I add some shadows and extra details, export it to a png file, and then make resized copies for Webtoon and Tapas. That's my current process.

I use an older Photohop version. I clean up my scanned pages using functions like 'Dodge' tool, 'Burn' tool, 'Replace Color' with ease. I like the layering and text functions. Also my screentones are generated here.(I can set them to a certain degree to minimize moire effect)

I use Krita For flatting or drawing lines cos it draws smoother & does the job well. It also can open my Photoshop files. (however things like texts & layer effects becomes 'rasterized' when file opens on Krita, so I do them on later stage.)

Clip Studio Paint because I f​:green_heart:cking hate photoshop with a passion after having to take so many goddamn classes in it

I use Clip Studio mostly to pencil & ink my comic, then Photoshop for most of the coloring...I toggle back & forth between the two for certain FX, and to lay down a texture noise in some of my backgrounds.

I use Illustrator to letter my comic. CSP has lettering capabilities, but Illustrator is still the best as far as I'm concerned. I bought Affinity Designer earlier this year which is supposed to be their version of Illustrator, but I think Illustrator is still better(from what I've heard from one letterer who tested it...I also haven't tested out Designer yet, but will soon).

I started out learning Photoshop & used it mainly for coloring while doing my pencils & inks traditionally...then a peer of mine created some art for me using CSP(then Manga Studio) and I was curious to try it out. Like @ButterflyEmpress stated- the stabilizers and brush engine make it easy to work with...for most of this year, I'd been working on standalone pieces and trying to get used to coloring pieces in CSP.

Paint.NET, because it's free

...I mean, that and I like it as a program. ^^ It's like MSPaint but stronger: a simple UI, with lots of powerful tools if you know where to look.

Look at that...so clean...it may not have everything, but it has everything you need and it's just * chef's kiss *

Medibang paint for pretty much everything. I've been using it for the past...4 years so it's basically the software I'm most accustomed to and it's got a simple layout with basically all the tools I need for colors, effect, text and everything else. Plus cloud save has been a lifesaver when i forgot to save or my stuff crashes which is nice.

The only other stuff I use is photoshop (sparingly) and Fire Alpaca if i wanna make a gif or something (just simple stuff tho)

Gonna add to the list of people who use Clip Studio Paint (Ex), which i've been using for hell of a long time, even back to its previous versions- Manga Studio 4 & 5.
I've used Photoshop and the other Adobe things back when I was in art college but never really used it for personal art.

I used to draw traditionally and then scan it, to work on it digitally, but my laziness towards that ironically led me to git gud at just starting without drawing on paper first.

As for why i sticked with Clip Studio its a swiss army knife of art, don't got to switch to other software- just start a picture using it and finish using it-

And it has many helpful tools and secrets just hidden in throughout it like placing in 3d objects into your art, good animation tools,paint not going over lines, and other things.

Plus its occasional updates that happen 1 or 2 times a year adding new tools and uses to it-
(I Love the animation tools update it had)

I'm doing my job fully in sai (except for text in bubbles - it's a job for paint). my pc is old enough to run those cool new stuff and even if I have photoshop I never used it because I ain't comfortable with it.

Clip Studio (ex) for everything except doing text and spreading out panels to switch from print to tapas scroll format, which I do in Photoshop.

I've been using Manga Studio/Clip Studio probably about fifteen years now, for its great page organisation, panel making and gloriously crisp, responsive inking. Plus now as well as the best inking tools, it has painting tools that in my opinion blow Photoshop out of the water with just lovely natural blending on the "opaque watercolour" brush in particular.

Photoshop is still the best for things like colour grading, cropping and getting things ready for print though, as well as creating marketing assets. New features coming to Clip are closing the gap, but aren't quite there yet.

GIMP is my main tool for digital/mix media arting. I normally work with multiple layers. If I find/make a cool texture I will scan/take a picture of it, edit it in GIMP and then make it an effect or a brush. I often abuse layer mode effects during colour grading.

Clip Studio Paint. I just like the options for comics on it. It's nice just being able to go on the asset store and find all the things I need.

I sketch out my pages on Sketchbook Pro - Sketching literally feels the best on this program for some reason. Maybe it's the copic marker brushes? I also so a lot of the line art here, a thicker outline of any human figures and anything that doesn't require finer details. It's steady stroke tool has been a godsend as far as clean line art goes. It's not for everyone though. For the finer line details I jump to Sai. Their stabilizer for the line art is also fantastic for getting some crisp line art. Then it's off to Photoshop to line up all the panels and do simple flat colors. Theeeeen it's back to Sai because of that stabilizer again where I can add some flat shades easily. Then itts baaaack to Photoshop for the final bit of dialogue/text, etc.

Sometimes it feels like a bit much but, eh. It works.

I got an iPad Pro earlier this year and Procreate is interesting, I was able to do a whole page there once (not the text portions however) but it was a bit of a challenge. I mostly just use Procreate when I do color sketch commissions since I'm not planning on taking it to the next usual phase (line art and adding color to the line art)...

Lotsa jumping around... :sweat_smile:

I only have iPad and I didn't own PC, so what I use is Medibang and ibis paint X since they're FReE ;v;

Medibang get annoying sometimes because it likes to FC on me and I sometimes lose my progress when I accidentally clicked "leave without saving" than "save and leave" above it. QvQ

I also once made a 10 page comic completely on my Android phone. It is a nightmare for my hands and eyes.

I have bought procreate but I don't like the app so I leave it in the dust. It was a waste of money. I really really want to use csp but they're subscription based on iPad, so I've been hesitating for a long time.

Clip Studio Paint Pro for literally everything I do. I'm most familiar with the brushes and tools from there since I first started with it 3 years ago. It's a steep learning curve if you're a beginner at digital art but once you get the feel for it, you'll be using CSP like a champ! I also feel like it's easier to work on comics there since the entire program is geared towards manga creation (although I draw in webtoons style). I have CSP (EX) on my laptop, which is what I used a year ago and then once I bought my new iPad last year, I've once again installed CSP (Pro this time) on my iPad. A few cons I have for CSP on iPad:

  • Size and layers limit (because the iPad can't handle the amount of data)

  • The subscription. On desktop, it's a one-time payment but on iPad, it's $4.99 (Ex) and $7.99 (Pro) a month. That's about $59.88 or $95.88 annually, whereas it's $49.99/$219 for one time payment on desktop. You can also get a huge discount during summer sales or black friday for the one time payment too! As much as it's more cost-effective to go back to desktop, I prefer the portability and direct screen time drawing on my iPad. Perhaps when I finally have funds for a Wacom Cintiq, I'll go back to desktop since it's not like my CSP license will disappear from my desktop anyways.

  • The Gold + Clip tokens system - I don't mind the gold system where you pay users in gold to purchase their assets but I really dislike the fact that they added the Clippy token system recently. Some users lock their assets behind Clippy points so there's literally no way to access it unless you pay 200 gold per month and get the monthly 1000-1500 clippy tokens a month (no way to renew it manually btw! You need to wait for next month, post your own assets, have someone gift them to you or do the continuous login bonus to earn them and trust me, you can burn through the tokens FAST) At least with the gold system, you can still renew it by purchasing the $10 option

Pros on CSP:

  • Stabilization feature

  • Ability to download custom brushes from others

  • Custom brushes in general! Oh my I absolutely love these and it cuts down my time to create effects by a LOT

  • Endless supply of assets to use in your webtoons! Lots of Korean artists use these in theirs!

  • The built in 3D modellers to help you with difficult/dynamic poses

  • The 3D model to lineart conversion in Pro version is just- It's godsend trust me!

  • ummm idk as much as i detailed the cons, i'm still pretty biased towards CSP either way haha!

I just posted about CSP below your comment XD but I can vouch for CSP on the iPad! I'd say if you have disposable income, go for the $4.99/month subscription on CSP! It's well worth it imo since it's main usage is for manga creation. If not, then keep with Medibang and ibis Paint!

I use CSP for everything. It's pretty a pretty useful tool with helpful assets for backgrounds. Even more, once you've learned a lot more about the inner workings of the software, it's pretty fast to work in. I've been able to start my files with my folders already labeled, and copy/pasting whole folders and layers has been better for me. I've got a little gif of my process:

I been using Medibang Paint Pro. I use it because I prefer it over the other art programs; that and it gives you the tools to do a good amount of things and useful resources.

I'm currently using Procreate + Photoshop + Clip Studio Paint for most of my pages.

I do the sketching in Procreate, then open the file in Photoshop to create the actual panel layout, then back into Procreate for inking, coloring and shading. Textures and special effects are added in Photoshop (and, occasionally, Painter), while the lettering is done in Clip Studio Paint. Export is done in either PS or CSP, depends on what I have at hand when I'm ready to export XD

I love Procreate because it's the one that feels the closest to drawing traditionally: I can turn the canvas with one hand and keep drawing with the other, controls are fast and super easy to learn, the default brushes are pretty amazing BUT in case I feel they're not enough, I can still import my favorite PS brushes into it, files can be exported in .psd format, the built-in speedpainting video option is a super fun addition... honestly, if they had better lettering options and less clunky features for technical drawing, I'd use it for 100% of my work, lol.

With Photoshop... it's more of a matter of being used to it than anything else, I'm afraid :sweat_smile: like others, I also used to use it all the time during University. I learned all the shortcuts and while most of what I do in PS can be easily done using other softwares, with PS I'm about four times faster, hence why I'm still using it. Plus, there ARE a few things I can only do in Photoshop that aren't as easy to do in other softwares (I'm mostly thinking of PS actions... some of them I actually paid for and I'd hate losing them D: ).

CSP is great for lettering if you, like me, don't want to spend a ton of money on Illustrator :smiley: could never get much into it for actual drawing because, again, I much prefer Photoshop or Procreate for that, but I find its stabilizer tool to be super useful for inking. Also... assets, omg. I've got yet to explore them properly, but from what I could see, they're pretty damn amazing.

Sketches in Sketchbook, it´s the fastest and easiest to use program for me.
It loads in one second and you can start drawing with a pencil right away.
I can be very unpatient when I want to start a drawing, this feels closest
to drawing on a piece of paper with a pencil. Open the sketchbook and go.
It´s also a free program and you can finish your whole page in sketchbook.

But I do use clipstudio nowadays because setting up the page, inking with vectors, coloring
is better in that program. Photoshop is great for that too but that´s an overpriced program
in my opinion which is great though

CSP paint drives me crazy all the time though.
You draw a circle, just want to grab and move it and then grab the background instead.
That´s different in Sketchbook, you only grab stuff that´s on the layer you are on and can
easily move things around. Also the spacebar in Sketchbook can be used to rotate the
canvas and to zoom in or out, also something that is not possible in CSP as easily

That might be because you're grabbing the object instead of the layer! You'd wanna use the red one to grab what's on the layer

CSP is very much like a manual car to me. You need to adjust the settings by yourself and most of the time, you have to figure it out yourself by looking it up. For example, you can set spacebar to rotate/zoom in/out on CSP but you'll need to fiddle around with the preferences and do some manual button to setting thing yourself. Whereas I think Sketchbook sets it up for you automatically for convenience sake.

I just tried to draw a simple circle and none of the option in that button (move layer, grid, tone pattern) did anything with the circle

I figured it out, thank you, but that´s very much against my workflow because I want to move it and then transform it right away and that is 3 steps more than in Sketchbook. Then the transform tool short cut suddenly doesn´t work and I first have to open a menu to transform it. But I´ll try to set the program up in a way I can use it better. Everything seems to be overcomplicated in CSP

Yea admittedly it is a little more work than usual! :sweat: I have both Procreate and CSP and as much as I love CSP, I agree that Procreate is a lot less complicated. The only higher difficulty program is probably Photoshop and everything else is just so much easier to navigate.

But, to each his own I guess! :smiley: I started with CSP so I'm a lot more comfortable with the tools. It's probably just a matter of which program you're more familiar with ^^

I began by drawing my panels by hand, which I scanned, cleaned on Photofiltre. Then I discovered Photoshop which I used for a while, and for over a year I have been using Clip Studio Paint. I decided on it, because I find the tool really complete, the little extra compared to Photoshop is that it is really made for artists, with direct access to textures, backgrounds, frames, 3D objects.

I feel like Clip Studio is reeeeaaaally close to being a total Photoshop replacement for illustration. There are a few little things I still prefer to do in Photoshop, but if Clip Studio could 1) handle CMYK, 2) have ruler measurements in inches, and 3) beef up their text tool, then I would probably exclusively use Clip for creating my comics.