Suggestions for the Beginer Manga Artist/Writer

[janusdaguardian]

As of last week, I've officially started down the path of creating Manga-style artwork in hopes to move into full-on Manga creation, starting with the how-to-draw book "Mastering Manga" by Mark Crilley. I have GIMP 2 as my editing program, looking for both a good tablet that will work with GIMP 2(unless otherwise convinced that GIMP is not good Manga-editing software) and tips on how to go about learning how to draw Manga like what Mark Crilley and many other Manga Artists/Authors do.

I already have some experience in terms of story writing and plan to move towards writing my first novel, but I know that I can always improve. What I have in mind right now to practice drawing illustrations for the online stories I am currently writing while I collect and practice using various tools and tips offered by fellow artists. I've been investigating possibilities for advanced education in universities within both the U.S. and Japan for both Art and Creative Writing, but I won't be moving on until I have enough funds and information to risk that endeavor.

So, here's what I need so far:

-A good tablet that will work with GIMP 2(unless otherwise convinced that GIMP is not good Manga-editing software)

-Tips for how to use said tablet effectively.

-Tips on how to go about learning how to draw Manga like what Mark Crilley and many other Manga Artists/Authors do.

Whatever advice you guys can offer will be a great help.

[Shadow Major]

Well, as Mark Crilley says in his interview with Cartoon Block, if you want to study manga, you have to go straight to the source so that you learn from real, authentic manga. I believe in this idea very strongly. I have long dropped using "How to draw" manga books because almost every one I have read teaches the art in a style which I personally don't think is like the real thing. So for me, in order to practise manga, I make studies of the art online from mangas such as Bleach and Death Note - two art styles which I am very interested and highly influenced by. Just a small point of view on things by me, hope you can probably find something from it ;D

[leucome]

Tablet - You can start with a Wacom Bamboo if you have a tight budget.

And it work with last version of gimp.



How to use effectively . Hum don't fear to make insanely large files like 6000- pixel when details are big they are a easier to do. Or at least as large as your computer is able.

Sure it's possible to draw a professional manga with gimp.

And maybe you can consider manga studio .. just for is ink smoothing called "correction". And manga studio EX have an amazing vector layer . But it seam that the 89$ EX promotion is finished I can not find it for cheap anymore.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep2wgU4Hf1I

It so hard to draw with a tablet at start so this help a lot. Other software that give smooth line is paint tool Sai. Gimp ink smoothing is not that bad in last version.




Use different color for your draft sketch .. It easier to ink over color line. alastarfr.smackjeeves.com/comics/1577847/brouillon/


Often mixing your digital drawing with a paper texture, a noise or any other kinds of textures can give a more natural look.


Keep thing separated on many layer but not too much. lol
Just an example.
One main ink layer + one ink detail or effect.
A base color layer + one for shadow + one for highlight

You can use the selection as often as you wish and save them if you notice later that a part of the drawing need correction it easy to fix this part if you already have a selection of it. It's useful for coloring.

Look also for acrylic and oil painting tutorials they often do trick that can be used for coloring manga.


Also if you find a cheap gamer key pad it could useful to program your software hotkey on it.

[cn3wton]

The Wacom bamboo tablet is all you need. Smaller is definitely better when you are starting out with a tablet.

What is your background in art as well? If you have alot of experience you can move on to stylizing your drawings (aka manga style) However if you do not I suggest doing some drawing from life. Before you stylize anything you need to know why things look and act the way they do.

[richgraysonn]

Okay , For those that dont any money. You can get free autodesk sketchbook designer as a student. Designer is and awesome program. You just have to register, you get a full copy for free , no watermarks. This is so much better than Gimp.http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=download_center

[leucome]

I forgot to try this one. I'll go download it .


Edit: Ho my... More than one GB. I wonder why ?

[leucome]

I change something said earlier about wacom bamboo .. lol

I bought a monoprice tablet for a gift .. it work so good that I bought one for me too.. You can even get a 12 inch tablet for 90$

I got the 10x6.25 mostly because I draw on small earea.

For the presision and level of presure it feel as good as the most expensive Wacom intuos for sure it's a way better than a bamboo or a graphire .


They are made by UC Logic so Uc logic driver and pen are compatible.

I dont know why but I can not acces to this tablet parameter when my wacom driver are installed so I removed the wacom driver. Also the tablet pic my wireless mouse position so if I use the mouse on the tablet they fight together for the cursor position .. lol Anyway I was not able to use this mouse on the wacom too.

Edit: It seam this tablet do not work well with last vesion of gimp (window 7). (I got problem with gimp often even with a wacom ... ) The tablet is suposed to work with Gimp 2.6

[PJCzar]

something i like to suggest to every artist looking to use a tablet, be confident with paper and pen before you upgrade. It may be an entirely different beast, especially with the technology we have these days, but that confidence will ensure a quik grasp of the workings of your tablet.
On the subject of tablets: I had bought an off brand A4 paper sized tablet for $100 and it sucked bad, it almost turned me off tablets. 2 years later i got a name brand tablet that was smaller for $250, it saved my digital art career. If you want to go cheap on something in your art career, dont go cheap on your tablet.

[leucome]

Maybe it's better to be confident first, learnig to use a tablet is quite hard by itself.

I got a crappy weird brand couple year ago me too before I got a wacom Graphire 4 and bamboo.


I done extensive test with the monoprice tablet and there is more jitter and wobble in the line with photoshop..

It's not an issue with manga studio I did not even notice before making all those test.

No problem with Paint tool sai too.
IllustStudio really good .
Work good with art rage.
Little jaggy with SketchBook Pro and open canvas.

Too much jaggy ( for me) with photoshop .. anyway we must have an insanely good tablet to draw with photoshop.. It's why I stopped using it. (I have not tried CS6 maybe they have fixed this )


EDIT: I done some research and it's because there are no jitter filter at all in UC-logic driver and it's also why the tablet responce is so fast.

In case someone think that wacom do not jitter I got many jitter trouble with wacom too. Just search wacom jitter on google you will understand. It's usualy caused by RF interferance from wireless device or any electric circuit .. like a power supply or a screen .. Sometime defective pen. It's also why today I prefer software that have good line smooting function.

[leucome]

There my first serious inking test of Monoprice tablet with Manga studio ex 4.
Definitively it have a good presure sensitivity. I made the page using only one brush 1mm wide, using presure to change width.
I was not able to do it with the Bamboo pen sensitivity.

It's based on Dance in vampire Bund manga.


So Monoprice 10x6.25 42$ with Manga Studio debut 31$ or Ex 79$ on amazon (if you live in USA) or manga studio 5 also 79$ can make a good starter kit.

I ordered Manga Studio 5 yesterday so I'll be able to test this soon.

Attachments:

[leucome]

So about writhing, I got "Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate" ebook and there are some good tips and Idea in this book.

Now I'm working almost only on the writhing side. I will improve the story for my comic/manga. So if someone know some other good book I wish to know thanks


And this one for "Mark". after Mastering Manga 2 maybe a book about Mastering Manga Story ...

[mangakaryan2]

There are other brands, i have a wacom graphire tablet, its pretty old but works well. if you want to buy one, i would look at wacom bamboo or their other cheap line of products, there are other tablet companies but wacom is the biggest and most trustworthy. if you buy a cheap one from a different company, make sure you feel confident in it by looking at reviews and such.

my graphire is a bluetooth model, which means you need a pc with a bluetooth adapter (otherwise you need to purchase a dongle device) and it needs to be charged. its really freaking annoying. i suggest a usb tablet, thats what i would get if i was looking to buy one (i didnt buy my tablet myself)

mine is a 4x8 inch tablet and i find that its large enough, if you want a bigger one its gonna cost alot more. the pressure sensitivity is important to look at too.

it takes getting used to, drawing digitally, i just started, but its not too hard, the hard part is not being able to angle the surface or really get close and feel your lines, but theres lots of benefit to doing it digitally.