How do you begin Pencil or Digital?

[RyanScott]

I pencil and ink the old fashioned way. Ink on paper is therapeutic for me, almost like meditation. I then colour and letter in photoshop.

As for consistency in characters, just draw draw draw! In my opinion there is no substitute for just knowing how to draw your characters!

[AnnaLandin]

I use pencils to do thumbnails, but then I go full digital - using a combination of Manga Studio 4EX and Manga Studio 5 (i.e: Clip Studio).

Also, How do you maintain consistency in your character's appearance?

Well, uh, I have partial face-blindness, so I kind of don't when it comes to faces - I do my best to! I just can't always manage, because my brain works weird.

But in general, when it comes to consistent details in clothing and tattoos and scars and whatnot - I usually spend a lot of time scribbling and drawing in a sketchbook until I start getting the feel for how they should look, and then I draw a reference sheet for myself, where I draw them, in detail, from the front, back and sides, so I know what they look like from different angles. Then I keep that reference sheet on hand while I draw.

[vongcw]

Full clip studio paint for me. A layer for sketches, sometimes a second layer of sketches, inks, sometimes several layers for basis object depths, flats and shading on the same layer, often several layers of flats.

I really hate scanning things in. And i used to work between manga studio, ps and corel. Which was quite a pain. But once csp could color really well, life's been good.

[eleoza]

full clip studio here too.
I start with drawing panels, then I sketch the characters in the panels, then add speech bubbles (I add speech bubbles early so I can adjust the sketches if the bubbles don't fit) then I add the line art + color.

[Zanreo]

I do my comic 100% digital in Manga Studio 5. Though I do sometimes sketch out layout/storyboard on paper for what it's worth

[timinabox24]

I begin on my phone and finish on my computer

[LoboSong_Hitaka5Ever]

I have to draw on paper first, scan it in, and digitally trace over it. As for with my friend's and my comic, we do everything digitally

[gateofselidor]

I do the pencils traditionally, then scan and do everything else digitally. I can sketch digitally, but I like using pencil and paper, and it gives me the flexibility to work on the comic away from my computer.

For maintaining character consistency, it's just a matter of practice. The more you draw someone, the more used to their features you become. You should spend plenty of time sketching for practice before you begin drawing them in actual pages, and creating a reference sheet with them at different angles is also helpful.

[serverpanda]

I used to be able to work digitally, but have recently developed a disability that causes me to have seizures from prolonged exposure to computer screens. Which means doing art on a computer is a big no. :'D Therefore my process is entirely traditional. I pencil everything, I even do my lettering traditionally (which is still a huge learning curve for me, but I'm working on it). After that I ink with proper inking pens and a brush pen, erase my pencil later and then add my shading with Prismacolor markers.

As far as keeping characters fairly consistent? I have character sheets that I go by. That way I shouldn't forget any major details.

[Kayke]

I do my sketches and inks traditionally; colors and lettering digitally.

It's a good idea to draw character sheets and some concept art of your characters before you start so you can get a feel for them. They're probably going to change a little over time as you draw them more, I know some of my characters look different now than they did in issue 1. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just your style evolving. So long as the changes are kind of gradual and the character stays recognizable I wouldn't stress TOO much about it. It happens a lot in webcomics and in print comics and even cartoons.

[Doubtcent]

Sort of both.
If I'm doodling, I'll sketch through clip studio paint (with the multitudes of pencil tools). I also sketch a lot in a notebook, and sometimes those sketches are a lot better than anything I could ever do digitally, so if I want to ink I just take a picture and start inking over it digitally.

[Shanny8]

I started out traditional penciling/inking and scanning my stuff on a copier. But last year I invested in Clip Studio, which stimulated me to try doing comics digitally. I played around for a few months, drawing stuff to make sure I had gotten used to working with my tablet. Nowdays I pencil & ink in Clip Studio.

[CaptainUfo]

The first dozen or so pages of Captain Ufo were drawn and inked on paper, then scanned and colored digitally. Then I managed to buy a Cintq and since then I work 100% in Photoshop, from thumbnails to final colors.

[joannekwan]

I do everything digitally in photoshop, it cuts out the middleman scanner.

However when I'm bored on the couch sometimes I'll sketch in a sketchbook just character portraits mostly to keep myself in practice.

Character consistency comes with just drawing your character over and over again.

[ConradComics]

Pencils first, then scan and ink digitally.

[Ringarune]

I start and finish everything on my computer using clip studio paint. For consistency... let's just say that's not my strong point XD

[Starfestival]

Pencil, scan then everything else is digital.

[Kawaiiyusra]

100% digital
As for how I keep my characters consistent.. nervous laugh I don't ;___;...

[NickRowler]

Thumbnails as well as sketching out character's designs are all done by hand.

However, the sketching of the actual pages are all done digitally.

[shaylafarley5]

To me pencils is the easiest way to go. It helps me with size of my panels and angles before I scan them in.
And it's also a great way to keep consistency. I can dish out anywhere from 3 to 5 pages a day just with paper, but when it comes to coloring it digitally that is what takes time. Anywhere from days to a week depending on the details in each page.
If your more digital I think going with the bamboo cintiq (which I'm saving up for) is better since your drawing directly on the screen.