Manga Studio... is it worth it?

[VermillionWorks]

Yes! Yes to all. Yes.

Ditto. I don't think I could live without Manga Studio now, SOOO much better than Photoshop for comicking stuffs and linework.

[lanceredding]

Wow, thanks for the feedback so far! It sounds like I'm really missing out not having the program haha. Sounds like a good investment.

Can you import scanned images into Manga Studio, or do you have to draw them into the program? I don't have a tablet, so I usually draw and ink by hand then scan them in...

Also, Manga Studio 5 or Manga Studio EX 5... ? I'm not sure what the difference is.

[Makutaleone]

Manga studio works just like photoshop with scanned images. It's a great program and worth the money.

[serenitysquirrel]

You can import about anything. Just open the file and drag it into the other file. Boom.

The difference in the two is alot of money. Also, the EX one allows for multipage support. Somewhere on their website there's a video with it. Is amazing for me who does the entire thing digitaly because I sketch out pages of story on screen and mess with it before inking. Can see all my pages for the chapter as thumbnails.

Oh! And you can move the canvas windows around alot more usefully that photoshop. But the exact how is somewhat hard to explain.

[VermillionWorks]

Here's a page with a side-by-side comparison of what 5 and EX5 has and doesn't have.
http://my.smithmicro.com/manga-studio-ex-5-compare.html

I think most can get by with just the regular 5 version but if you REALLY want more comic page and story tools then it might be good to fork out the extra cash.

[lanceredding]

Definitely sounding like EX 5 is the way to go to do multiple pages or do book layouts.

So... how user friendly is the program?

[Spitfire]

Well I've moved most of my work to Manga Studio 5 from Photoshop. The thing I still keep returning to do in photoshop is the texts, because MS5 is just stupid when it comes to text.

I stream often and I like to share and tell what I'm doing in case you have questions. Would you like a link to my channel on picarto?

I've just scratched the surface though, but I love plenty of it's features, such as it's intuitive paint bucket and brush creation options.

[scythe]

I could not make my comic without this program. I do a lot of perspective stuff and no other program offers similar capabilities in that regard. I don't do much else with it because it's not yet retina enabled, but I've heard nothing but amazing things about its many many functions. From my research, it seems to be fast becoming the industry standard for comic making if it isn't already. Hell, isn't that what it was made for?

[Makutaleone]

I'm a person who doesn't read manuals. So besides the basics it took me over a month to become completely comfortable with the program. But I can say, if you do read it and watch a stream or two, it's almost second nature. I have the 5 ex. Totally worth the extra money.

[UzukiCheverie]

I only spent $15 for it during one of their flash sales months ago, and I haven't regretted it since (although I still use SAI more, Manga Studio is my second favorite drawing program, easily kicking out Photoshop lol). If you can get it on sale, it's probably the best $15 you'll ever spend (it's around $50 at regular price if I recall, which considering the tools it has, still isn't that bad at all! . . . just most people aren't willing to spend that much money up front, at least not comic creators who aren't making money through their work atm lol that's why most people are super impressed by the tool itself when they do get it, as well as the crazy 70% sale it goes on every so often, marking it down to $15 >.>)

So yes. Worth it, it is very much so

[lanceredding]

Do you think you'll ever upgrade to EX 5? I'm still trying to figure out what the difference is between the two...

[UzukiCheverie]

Eeeh, I can't see you needing EX 5. I think most of us here use Pro, and it comes with pretty much everything you need. EX 5 only comes with a few extra features that Pro doesn't, including (according to the website here):

"You can manage multiple pages on a book basis."
"You can convert 3D model and 2D image data into very manga-like expressions with outline and posterization of tone."
"A file of multiple pages can be massively printed and exported in a specified format."

That seems to be the only listed differences. Other than that, I guess EX is really just industry-standard for places/artists that would use this program, and is probably more popular and commonly-found among professional mangakas and illustrators.

[doktormostro]

Hi

I must say that i bought the Clip Studio Paint version, just because i don´t like the Manga word in the program name lol..

To answer your question.. yes is a good investment and one of the most affordables in price vs performance, if not the best.

There is nothing in Manga Studio that can´t be done in Photoshop (sketch, draw, paint, color, thumbnail, comic template, diagram, balloon, speed line, screen tone, perspective) except for vector drawing, but overall any comic related topic is more quick and practical in MS.

About editions.. Only important difference is the multi-page and 3d-2d features.. wich aren´t important to myself so i don´t have the EX edition.

[jayjayparker525]

Manga studio is the #1 in comic creation, it's the only one I use for my comics since early 2014 and it's been awesome! Check out my comic and you can see how awesome manga studio is! Vector Panels, Dry media pens and brushes, awesome and accessibly customizable key commands and many more! ww.Tapastic.com/Life-of-Timm! HECK, EVEN BETTER COLORING THAN PHOTOSHOP!

[PotooGryphon]

My husband and I work with MS 5 EX. It makes sense for us and our process though. We use the multipage setup for all our issues, and dropbox as a way to work on the same file together, live. For example, he does all the backgrounds and works ahead of me, so he can open this same Manga Studio file on dropbox, open page 10 in the storyline, and work on backgrounds while I also have the same file open on my computer and working on page 9. Then, when he's done, all he does is save it on his computer, it automatically updates through dropbox, and shows up on my computer in Manga Studio as well. It's been an amazing pipeline for us. That alone has made EX worth it for us.

Also seeing the book pieced together like this is helpful when you want to take the book to a printer. We don't really use the 3D stuff at all. If it's needed, we use google sketch-up (free software btws).

So yeah, I totally agree, if you're not working in a team or not planning on printing your comic, EX probably isn't needed, and Pro is probably plenty.

[UzukiCheverie]

Also seeing the book pieced together like this is helpful when you want to take the book to a printer. We don't really use the 3D stuff at all. If it's needed, we use google sketch-up (free software btws).

So yeah, I totally agree, if you're not working in a team or not planning on printing your comic, EX probably isn't needed, and Pro is probably plenty.

Yeah, when I googled the differences, aside from the main website, I saw a post on DA about it and most people were saying the only real upside EX has over Pro is that it's meant for printing. But for most artists here, printing isn't really an issue, and Pro will be all they'll need.

[WarkDatch]

tl;dr Manga Studio/Clip Studio Paint is like the lovechild of SAI and Photoshop (no offence to both users)

[AnnaLandin]

I'm just gonna chime in and say that yes, it's worth it.

I can't make a call on whether you should go with 5EX, though - I only use the regular version. I do own a copy of Manga Studio 4 EX, though, and I do love that multi-page function, as it allows me to get a good overview of an entire story, or an entire chapter, at the same time, and files them all away in one easy-to-find place. But there's no reason you couldn't get by without it.

[Spitfire]

Apart text handling, you can't rotate text in MS5 without rasterising it first and then you can't edit the text with a text tool anymore.

[Spitfire]

Thanks for telling about this feature, I didn't know how it worked in practise