When to use Tones

[jayjayparker525]

You know, like instead of drawing shadows, you use these patterns to indicate the shadow of a character. When and where do I use them?

[puppetbomb]

Do you have examples?

[jayjayparker525]

yes!

[GlanceReviver]

Are you talking about screentone or halftone patterns like in a manga?

Using those is difficult because when you change resolution, then the pattern can create moire effects.

Example:

Not only does this hurt your eyes, but also obscures your lineart and makes it difficult to read the comic.

That's why for webcomics I almost always suggest using flat greys and only doing screentone for print comics. There are some ways around it though, such as applying a blur before you change sizes, or simply redoing the tone at the size you intend to post to the web. Manga Studio makes this a lot easier to do since it has a built in toning tool, you can adjust the size automatically with mixed results.

[jayjayparker525]

Thanks! Wow, you're good! I owe you one!

[decisiveorigin]

also, tones are really based on your taste. Its all about value, visual texture and contrast. There's so many style of toning same way there's so many style of coloring.

In general, you should keep your black and white balanced so the heavier you are with your inking and blacks, the darker your tones.

look at clamp's cardcaptor sakura vs X to see the same artists doing 2 different tone styles.

tones can be expressive and create mood, not just laying down shading 'just because'.

I tend to gravitate towards a lot of gradients but many like just flat grays. I don't like laying one gray on top of the other, while many artists do. Its all about balance and looking good so you'll have to practice.

[puppetbomb]

Different genres of manga use tones differently.

Shojo tends to have more heavy use of a variety of tones. Shonen, on the flip side, tends to rely on ink and usually as few tones as possible.

My comic uses screentones almost exclusively (up to a certain point), if you'd like to see what it looks like.

[jayjayparker525]

I subscribed! it looks AWESOME!!