It's looking nice! I'd recommend using a type font instead of writing your letters by hand. Writing by hand is very tedious when writing a long form comic and if you use a type font it means that your text stay legible.
There's a nice free software called firealpaca that I think you might find useful, it has some nice features for comic making. In this software you can put a 'clipping' layer above your line art and change the colour of it. I think this could help in some places like Carlos's trousers or Neill's hair.
This is just my personal opinion, so you can take it or leave it, I'm just an amateur myself!
If you're writing this by hand I'd recommend this Handwriting Font Creator.6
Your style looks good and it's visually effective, I personally quite like the imprecise lines. The only thing I'd recommend is using darker hues so your pages don't look washed out but still retain their water-coloured feel.
Other than that it's looking lovely, great job!
thanks!! (his name is actually 'Carter' but tbh i might change it lol)
im doing everything from my school computer,,, (cant downoad shIT,,,,) so,,,,, i may have to move computers to download somethin (ive worked w/ firealpaca tho, it's good) though,,, id really meant to keep the lines like that,,, i thought it looked kinda nice /shrugs lol,,, but yeah,,, im gonna finagle a typing program
This is my latest Warmage page:
I am trying for a delicate balance here. The page starts out in a 3D programme, then goes to GIMP for post work. I do a stack of layered filtered and altered images for each panel, and then adjust transparency until I have the look I am going for. I am not trying to hide the 3D origins of the page, but I am trying to give it more of an artwork vibe, kill the photoreal look, and eliminate or at least minimise the uncanny valley look.
Currently, the stack of layers goes like this, in this order:
Outline (with alpha colour)
Inkdrawing (with alpha colour)
Shadows (picture reduced to B&W with alpha colour)
Pastels (with strong strokes)
Comics (The standard reduced colour outlined filter, set to 50 colours)
Paints
Original
I generally set the paints to 100% and then the other layers to varying degrees of transparency depending on lights, shadows, and so forth. There's no formula that works, I just have to play with the levels on each panel before I load it into the page.
So the question is, does this solve the listed problems?
Eagle
(As that is the goal)
The sepia does have a nice tone to it. It's not overbearing and provides contrast.
Just a personal note, if you can get away with it, always try to have your shadows as a dark color rather than just black. It can change and entire feel for a comic.
Like having the color set to orange for a warm moment, blue for a cold or sad, and red for anger. It can help with what types of emotions you want portrayed for a scene.
Hello, I need help! Some people told me that in my comic Life of Panda1, sometimes it's difficult to identify the main character, and that I could try coloring it in a diferent color. So here it is:
Is it better? Should I use a different color for the main character? Stick to just one color?
Thanks!
I personally didn't have a problem figuring out who the main character was. She is the first one to speak and she has a different hair style then everyone else. These are two important ways to make the reader know who the protagonist is, and you did it.
While I kind've like the idea of the main character being a different color, I don't think it's entirely necessary.
Hi there! I'm working hard on my comic, Xander's Legacy, and I have two versions of the same panel. I would like to know what version looks the most appealing to you. Should I use thick lines or thin lines? How's the shading? What do you like and dislike about both pictures? Please let me know.
A:
OR
B:
The hard shading definitely looks better. If you want to use a softer style of shading, you really need to blend it more. At the moment you're using the softer brush as if you're cel-shading, and the soft edge makes it look untidy rather than giving it depth or realism. Make sure you stay within the lines either way, and try to keep the edge of the shaded area smooth, so people can't see the edge of your pen strokes.
For the inks, the thicker lines look more dynamic, and you've got some variation in line width there. It does make mistakes in your lines more obvious, though. For both styles, it would look better if you drew the lines more quickly, so you get a smooth line with less wobbles. If you do make a mistake, or need to join two lines together, use the eraser to hide it. Also, I don't know what you're using, but your lines are blunt rather than tapering off, so you might want to consider using a tablet with software that supports pressure sensitivity.
For both images, there are some anatomy issues. The most obvious one is where you haven't drawn the hands. For tricky poses like this one, take a photo of yourself or a friend/relative making the pose you want, and copy it. Don't cover up the hands or feet to avoid drawing them. It will look weird and the readers will know, and if you don't start trying, you'll never get any better.
The first one catch my attention first. Though, I'm in no position to give criticism and point out helps like others- A stood out more than B as it's more bolder and cleaner. It's more pleasing to my eyes at least.
B might seem more recessive compared to A. The font seems like it's fading together with the background- maybe if you put an outline around it it'll separate from the background and give more impact.
//Cheers on you from the sideline //