What softwares do you use to add text and speech bubbles to your comics?

[Shanny8]

Examples of my lettering using Illustrator...

[thepenmonster]

When I started making comics the richer kids lettered with these;

Now I make a lot of use of the Operation Tool in CSP to make customized balloons.

[GothickangelStudios]

I use CSP. I use either the default manga options or the free or paid assets. When I want good word sound effects I use CSP to hand draw them. I love making custom fonts in either CSP or PS. Same process I use for logos now in raster format. If i want to vector, later on I just change it in Illustrator.

[Leyelle]

what vibe are you thinking of going for though?

The first season of my comic is more comedic, but the second will be more dramatic, so the vibe will probably shift. I'll probably try several methods and see what works XD. Still figuring it out. i love that character design btw

[Leyelle]

that makes a lot of sense, thanks. My process isn't smooth yet, and that'll probably be really helpful xd

[beebutterbee]

Ah! Going for a comedy this time? That sounds like fun, and the nice thing about digital art is that you can always erase and kind of work by trial and error until you find what really works for your style. I think something more bubbly might work? But maybe you’ll find something works differently!

Also I forgot to mention the font thing: I know some people make their own fonts, I did it once and it was a bit time consuming but the results are nice because it’s your own handwriting but it’s written in a straight line and more consistent. I’ve seen people make two versions of the fonts, so they can add variation especially if two letters are next to each other, like “raccoon” or something. I think they have free websites to do this if you’re interested too but again it can be a bit time consuming, and I usually stick to hand lettering because it’s more easy for me.

i love that character design btw

And thank you!

[BoomerZ]

This. Too many people try to do the "marvel way", which is you draw everything then put your dialogue in. This is an incredibly waste of time. The dialogue balloons and dialogue should be placed right after your layouts. Your dialogue should be written and copy/pasted from your script. After placing the dialogue, you will now know what not to draw as no one will ever see it. With the dialogue in a separate folder at the top of your layer stack, it will always be on top of the artwork and can be turned off and on if needed.

[Shanny8]

I have one of those Ames Lettering Tools in my art box...I tried using it, then found out I suck at hand lettering dialogue.

[thepenmonster]

Hand lettering is the most difficult comics skill to get good at, and it's the most overlooked when discussing the art form. Nothing compares to it on the difficulty scale. Not drawing hands, not drawing feet, not perspective. There's a reason so few creators do it themselves.

Drawing the alphabet give you a new respect for the hand-letterers of old.

Mmmm... Look at that tasty dialog.

[KevinReijnders]

Personally I also find the idea of handlettering all mt dialogue extremely tedious haha. It's why I reserve it for SFX only

[XiuLyn_12]

I use Clip Studio Paint!
It has a lot of bubble speech options, you can even download some from the store if you don't like the app bubbles! Though I download fonts for the texts.

[Leyelle]

Ah! Going for a comedy this time? That sounds like fun

hopefully it will be. so far I'm enjoying drawing my leads, but it is a learning curve, as you forewarned me lol