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Rai_Muffin
Sep '24

Want to see if anyone else has this conundrum.

I've been looking to other works, most notably Full Metal Alchemist and Bleach and saw how little shadow work and detail is done in them.
It got me thinking; am I putting too much time into a single page?
Or am I just looking for permission to cut corners?

I mean I'm doing this part-time, have no budget, no assistants and am chronically behind on releases.
And if I permitted myself not to obsess on every page it may help my workflow.
Especially since this is a long story I'm writing and I'm barely a quarter of the way through it.

Has anyone else had this problem and what was your experience?
Is it better to go simpler?

  • created

    Sep '24

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    Sep '24
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AmysGames
Sep '24

As someone who does little to no shading in my own comic, that was absolutely a decision I made for the sake of saving time, lol. It also gives me some stylistic options, like saving the shading for panels with a particularly strong light source. (Or extra drama!)

Personally, I think your art style looks fine with the lessened shading, so it really comes down to whether or not you're satisfied with it.

BoomerZ
Sep '24

Do what you need to do to finish the comics. If a little less detail will put you on schedule, then do it. If it won't and/or you want the look of shadows, adjust the schedule. I personally like shadows as it helps with storytelling. Maybe find a quicker way to shadow?

moontokkym
Sep '24

"Level of detail" is something very relative. For one you're comparing to manga that are older and tend to have less detailing and then gain detailing as time progresses. There are also other manga like Berserk where detailing is everywhere, and compared to that Bleach has none.

Also the main thing with the less shaded manga: the shading is their linework. The thick and thin lines are what gives the work it's volume and 3D aspect, whereas you're working in consistent thin lines with no width variation, so in your case shading is necessary to get a sense of 3Dness.

Rule of thumb is the more your lines are visible and carry info the less you need to do for shading to make the drawing pop. Your lines currently carry very little info, so you can work on your linework if you want to do less shading, or work on your shading to keep your linework unchanged.

I'm in the same boat as you: part time, no budget, no assistants, I write and draw my comic by myself and I often get behind schedule. However I've gone in the opposite direction because I love shading and detailing, I've just accepted that my style takes longer, as long as I keep going at a slow but steady pace, the pages will come out, and I've got a whole book out now like that so it can't be that bad of a method for me. Plus with practice I got quicker with this more detailed style, so I was able to put more details in and work on really creating a world that was lived in and looked good.

Example page from my comic for what I mean when I say "detailed", most pages in book 1 are like this, and book 2 I'm working on has more backgrounds right now.

Lensing
Sep '24

The version on the right looks better, I would use that.
It also doesn´t look so time intense and worth the extra time you put into it

incoMan
Sep '24

use detail when necessary, adding detail to everything would definitely make the comic more appealing but you wouldn't want to take years to work on just one comic

piedpendragon743
Sep '24

I agree with lensing, the right looks better. You just need to find a sweet spot where it looks good without too much work. I was making this mistake on my story but good thing I made changes before I post them up. All you need is the base color, hilghlight and shading. Most 80's adventure animes use more. This is an example of my over rendered image.

Thumber
Sep '24

How long did it take to add those shadows, some minutes? I believe the end result makes it worth .
Rule of thumb: never skip 1-level shading.

allisoncandraw
Sep '24

Its really up to you and your schedule at the end of the day. Most popular manga/comic series either have a team of multiple artists, or one artist that does comics full time and possibly overworks themself :sweat_smile:

I work a day job full time and upload weekly comics, so I need to cut corners with details quite often. Most people will only look at your panels for a few seconds each, so don't sweat the small details if it gets overwhelming. Make sure your work is neat of course, and you will get faster the more experience you have.

piedpendragon743
Sep '24
1
KevinReijnders

When it comes to anime cel shading wich has it limits- that makes this over rendered. This is mostly used for promotions, covers or animated intros. It's difficult to keep up with the layers of shading when drawing a sequence. Rendering in cartoony styles or realistic uses different techniques. Not every style is equal in complexity. For the purpose of production timing and quality output- there must be a balance. Not everyone cares how rendered your art is- they care if its appealing and entertaining. A low rendered art can out due high render ones when it comes to what matters. I've learned drawing in different styles wich helps me appreciate the techniques that corresponds to that particular style. In Rai_Muffin's case, the one on the right is the middle road for anime shading wich is appropriate for the task.