What tools do you use to draw your web comics?

[alexitsios]

What devices and tools do you use to draw web comics? For now I use classic pencil and paper to learn and make roughs, but thinking of buying clip studio and saw that most manga / comic artists use some kind of tablet. How do you design yours?

[faeriesandents]

I have an XP-Pen Artist22E pendisplay to draw digitally, and use CSP as my go-to art program (like most people here will tell you)

Currently CSP is on sale! I suggest getting it, if only for the future. ^^

[ninjashira]

I use my Huion drawing tablet hooked up to a desktop computer. I draw most of my comic in Photoshop, and I use a the free browser-based 3D modeling program TinkerCAD, along with Clip Studio, for the backgrounds.

And yeah like @faeriesandents said, Clip Studio is on sale right now for half off. And comic art educator Jonathan Hill is going to be teaching a pay-what-you-can web seminar on Intro to Clip Studio in July and August for anyone who wants to attend. He's a great instructor, and Clip Studio has so many hidden features and tools that I'm really looking forward to having a professional walk me through how to use it. Here's a link to details on that: http://www.oneofthejohns.com/blog/2020/6/22/pay-what-you-can-intro-to-clip-studio-paint-class

[DualDragons]

A lot.

I do my lineart with non-photo blue pencils and inking pens, which I scan in with a smaller scanner.

I used Medibang for a long time but I switched to Clip Studio Paint since a few days. I also use my Wacom Cintiq tablet for the digital part.

[CurryXSake]

I use Krita and XPPEN Deco 02 to make my webcomic. Krita is a pretty good drawing drawing program and I love the pencil and watercolor brushes XD. The text box needs improvement though, but that's just a nitpick. I sometimes thumbnail ideas in a sketchbook and a pen because it's quick and fast.

[sartinjacqueline05]

Huion drawing tablet hooked to my laptop and all my comic pages are made in Sketchable.

[KizKat]

My comics are simple, so I do everything in Photoshop. However when I do more ambitious artwork, I tend to use illustrator because vectors are so much nicer for me than pixels, and sometimes even set up shots using 3D like blender or C4D. Really, it depends what you're looking to achieve

[alexitsios]

@ninjashira & @sartinjacqueline05 what model of huion drawing tablet you use?

[rumpenstiltzkin]

At first I used a cintiq and photoshop but then my cintiq broke a couple of years ago and couldnt afford a new one, and since i had gotten an Ipad about the same time the cintiq broke I just started doing everything in procreate and i love that program

I do very minor edits in photoshop if needed, mainly resizing, some text editing, but im trying to keep most stuff in one place, so mostly just Procreate

[gempompadour]

I use Krita but just bought clip studio because it was on sale. It looks pretty intimidating though, so I'll have to get to know it properly before I switch over. But it has so many awesome brushes and stuff that practicing will be a lot of fun! So excited!

[ninjashira]

@alexitsios This is the one I've got...

I was a die-hard Wacom person for years and years, but after my last $300 Wacom tablet died, I started looking into alternatives, and came across this. I took a chance and got it, it was about $80 when I bought it, and honestly I like it so much better than the Wacom at 3X the price. The installation was sooooo much easier than having to dig through twenty million different Wacom drivers. The only thing I don't like is the Huion pen needs to be charged, and I always forget to do that until it dies in the middle of whatever I'm working on. But that's my fault, if I just remembered to plug it in, it'd be no problem!

[alexitsios]

Thanks for the link.

Do you think that it's ok for a newbie / aspiring manga creator? Don't know if having a drawing tablet with a screen would help more.

[ninjashira]

Honestly it totally depends on how you work and what fits you. Using a drawing tablet without a screen can have a fairly steep learning curve, because you need to get used to drawing without looking at what your hand is doing. You're drawing on your desk or in your lap, but looking at your screen, and for some people there's a bit of disconnect.

Conversely, I've been using this kind of tablet for twenty years, and I'm all about it. When I tried to use a tablet with a screen, I didn't like it at all, it felt so slow and clunky to me. But the people who grew up using the screen tablets love it, and can't handle the screenless kind I like.

I do think a tablet of some kind is essential for digital art, but everyone prefers a different way of working. The good thing with getting like the Huion tablet on Amazon is you can return it within 30 days if it turns out you hate it, and it is going to be significantly cheaper than any of the screen options.

[alexitsios]

Thanks again for your advice!

[sartinjacqueline05]

Its small but it works for me.

[KilljoyConstruct]

I mainly use my iPad Pro and an app called Comic Draw, which is, you guessed it, an app for writing and drawing comics. It might not be as fancy as CSP or Photoshop, but it gets the job done pretty well if you ask me.

[Freemints30]

1) Huion 420 tablet
2) clip paint studio
3) acer lap top
4)my hands
5) my free time

[artamazon]

Photoshop, Clip Studio, 3DSMax, Cintiq21UX - highly recommend Clip Studio. I was a hardcore PS lover until I started using Clip Studio. The bulk of my work is now done there, though I still color and do logo work in PS. Clip is doing the sale right now, but they also have a trial if you're not sure yet.

All that said, there's nothing wrong with pen and paper! Digital just makes some things easier and faster, but you still need the same skills to lay it all out and make it!

[Raven_C]

I, too, use Clip Studio. Been using the Pro version for years but recently upgraded to EX when they still had the sale available. I don't have Photoshop anymore since I never went back to it, although I still have Adobe Illustrator (but it's not for comic work). I use a Cintiq 13HD that I got secondhand two or three years ago. Still works like a charm!

[VibrantFox]

wacom intos medium on a dinky hp laptop (hopefully soon to be replaced with a new baby) and medibang pain pro or firealpaca depending on the mood.

the only time i bring photoshop back from the dead is if i need any color fixing which is next to never; and i got clip studio during one of it's last sales but i...still haven't used it. it's much different than when i used it years ago and that was on a trial version. i respect folks who can make good use of either