Traditional or Digital

[Bluefishpinkfish]

So for the last few years all of my artwork has been drawn on paper, however as of late the idea to produce a fully digital comic has caught my eye.

how do you guys draw your comic?

for me I like drawing on paper because i like to get messy when i work, I also like to learn from my mistakes, however I do hate not having CtrlZ sometimes ahhaha

If you guys work 100% digitally how long have you been doing it for and why did you choose that method?

My manga STAR*SHOOTER is all drawn on paper where text and tone is applied on photoshop.

http://tapastic.com/series/STARSHOOTER

[rosette]

I draw and ink at paper. and text at computer ^_^

[AnnaLandin]

I do my storyboard-thumbnails on paper, because I need to be away from the distractions of my computer when I do it, but everything else is 100% digital - mainly in Manga Studio 4EX and Manga Studio 5. It's just faster, especially since I am a very, very messy sketcher - I need multiple layers to clean up a sketch before I can ink it, even if I've learned to ink on loose lines.

I do work traditonally on illustrations, rather than comics, and I did do one huge project traditionally (168 pages, black and white, only the lettering/word balloons done digitally as my handwriting SUCKS - it's called Fathoms of the Sky), but I've been 100% digital for a good while now. A couple of years, certainly.

If I had more time, I'd love to do comics at least partly traditionally, but Grassblades updates twice a week, on top of everything else I'm doing - I simply don't have the time.

[SpavVy]

I do the line art for the comic traditional because I like the way I ink on paper, plus it forces me to put in all my effort, I use Deleter paper type A B4. I do the toning and other touches in manga studio 5 which is so much easier than traditional screen tone plus I don't have to worry about slicing my fingers ^_^

[jazylh]

I draw my comic completely digitally, from thumbnailing to final especially as im pressed for time with my full time animation job. All the rebbing & redoing on paper is something i cant spend much time on. Mostly all photoshop & certain panels in paint Tool Sai.

[scythe]

All digital from beginning to end because it's so much faster and actually better for my style, I can quickly erase, reshape or resize as I go.

[globuline]

I'm 100% digital as well. It's only when I need to have a good idea of the perspective that I doodle very quickly on paper to try different views fast.

[getsuart]

Storyboard on paper, easier to take when I'm on a trip. Then everything is digital. It suits me the best.
And most of the sketchs that comes between pages are half traditionnal, half digital, depending on my mood. I love having full notebooks on my desk.

Digital isn't only for its advantages (you can zoom a lot, brush size, ctrl z or whatever), but also for personnal health problems. I had a really big problem in my neck that led me to be somehow nearly paralized. While on traditionnal board, you have to elevate it (which I can't always do), in digital, you look at a screen in front of you because you don't look at your tablet. Neck pain relieved for my case.
Besides this, I love digital medium It's a really cool thing to work with.

(for those who have neck, hand or back problems and work traditionnally, check this link ! It may help you )

[elibeaird1]

now i have a weird situation, I love traditional art and if its digital i am a little more critical. All my comics are traditional and then i like touch them up digitally, but i think my vote is for traditional. I don't know why...

http://tapastic.com/elibeaird1

[xxcelestialangelxx]

I have a wacom tablet but i suck so i draw it scan in and colour it via photoshop. My style is kinda simple anyways.

http://tapastic.com/series/Nommie-Zombies

[Spinester]

I'm 100% digital now. I use a Wacom Intuos tablet so art is still fairly portable for me. Plus I hate my scanner.

[magmi]

100% digitally, and now because of it I'm forgetting how to draw traditionally : D

[puppetbomb]

I ink the characters and any organic lines before scanning in and adding panels/lettering/tones/boxes that need to be drawn in perspective with either Photoshop or Manga Studio.

So I suppose it's 70/30? (digital/traditional) It might change as time goes on, though....

[ippotsk]

Without a scanner in hand, I've always drawn my comics 100% digitally. I guess years of amateur fanarting on dA has helped me out a bit, as I already knew the basics of digital drawing and coloring once I started drawing my first page~

The upsides to digital art is, that you can Undo as many times as you wish at the click of a button~ And formulate panels much simpler~ And add bubbles/text easier~ Heck, everything is easier, as far as I know. The downside is, you'll strain your eyes a lot in front of the screen. But that's why we take breaks. |"D

[jessiepolfliet]

I started drawing my comics traditionally. But it never became the pictures I had in my head. When I began working digital the more the images starting to match the ones in my head. It worked especially fine with effects and lightning is a big element in my series. That's not to say you can't make a comic the tradtitional way, and it be good. Cause I have seen some out there. but for my comic digital is the best option.
Stormspectrum

[kazukitakamura126]

I prefer to draw digitally. In my opinion you have a few more options like layer styles, different types of brushes, the use of multiple layers, masks and so on. I used to do comics traditional but, it usually took too long and the quality wasn't all that great. In 2010 i decided to make the switch to making my comics digitally, this allowed me to experiment with different layers and cut inking out of the equation. I do however draw traditional pictures, mainly for chapter pictures.

[VeloursRose]

I'm mainly digital but I love to dabble in traditional inks and colors from time to time. Both have their pros and cons, being able to utilize both is probably a good thing.

[MylCreates]

I draw in ink, shade partly in grey ink, scan, and do further tones in photoshop and text.
If I mess something up in ink then I can always erase it when scanning it in to photoshop.
likeso:

[akuna-san]

Both. But I prefer to start traditionally & then digitally edit my work.

[LTyler]

I do my writing and thumbnails on pen and paper, since it's simpler to have them on-hand right in front of me then to be jumping between 3 different tabs constantly.
I used to do all of my drawing using traditional medium (I also used to do oil painting and charcoal life drawings), but eventually I found that I just couldn't afford the material costs.... or a scanner to upload my traditional work with, lol. So, I switched to digital - which was around 6 years ago. And I'm finding it's more affordable in the long-run.

I find it kind of funny, as (in my experience) there seems to be very little respect for digital artists in the art community at large. (There's more respect among comic artists, though. But among painters & the like? Yikes, get ready to defend yourself as an artist.). A lot of traditional artists I've met (not all, but quite a large portion), stick their noses up at digital art and think very poorly of digital artists as a whole. Some even refusing to call us 'artists' - Claiming that it takes no skill to create the works we pour days into...
I gotta say, that hurts.
The confusion a lot of people have about digital art may lie in the difference between digital editing/touch-ups (modifying & airbrushing already existing photos/drawings), and creating original art from scratch on a blank digital canvas. One is art, the other is simply editing.
And, as someone who's lived both as a digital and as a traditional artist, take it from me: Because of the mistake forgiveness digital art offers, there's a lot less mistake forgiveness for works of digital art. While with traditional art, there's a lot more social leniency towards mistakes. ('Yeah, I totally meant for my painting of a man to have his eye socket in his cheek, and for his fingers to look like they're broken joints. It's not like I messed up or anything. Style points! Abstract! People love it.)

Remember: Digital art may be forgiving of your mistakes, but people certainly won't be.

I've spent 6 years learning digital art, and I still have a lot to learn... There is skill involved.
It may start out as being easier for lower-level artists, due to the innate mistake forgiveness digital art provides; but the skill level cap for digital art goes just as high as any other art form, I can assure you.

...His nose doesn't look right... Dammit.