TWCL

[raines80]

I am using a realllllllly cheap tablet and GIMP (the free version of photoshop)

here is a pic of that tablet-



And yes... the tablet is as thin as it looks... it is a floppy tablet. Probably the dumbest purchase I have made in the last 5 years.

What are the rest of you guys and gals using?
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[iaviv]

@raines80 - I used to have a worse (and cheaper) tablet. It was a good starting point, actually.

I use Wacom Bamboo One and Manga Studio EX. For everything else (comic related or not) I use pens and Photoshop, though. I also never used Manga Studio before I started this comic. I'm not sure what happened there, I just went for it. <shrug>
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[raines80]

iaviv wrote:

@raines80 - I used to have a worse (and cheaper) tablet. It was a good starting point, actually. I use Wacom Bamboo One and Manga Studio EX. For everything else (comic related or not) I use pens and Photoshop, though. I also never used Manga Studio before I started this comic. I'm not sure what happened there, I just went for it. <shrug>

Yeah... this is actually my second tablet. My first tablet was another Wacom knock off that wasn't terrible, but somehow I misplaced it in the move. This tablet I have been using for about 2 months now... it is TERRIBLE.

The GIMP software isn't horrible. It just isn't very powerful. You can really tell in my word bubbles. The stroke path took pixelates a lot on curves.

I want to purchase new software and a new tablet, but my wife and I decided I should leave my job when my son was born so one of us would always be with him. I love being a stay at home dad, but it has really put a burden on our financial status so purchasing new equipment is just a pipe dream for now.
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[Max Vaehling]

I had a very old A5 Wacom tablet (no pressure sensitivity!) that now broke down. Well, I could probably fix the cable, but a friend already offered hers. Which is an evern older Wacom, but bigger, too.

Then, of course, there's the old combination of pencils, Pentel brush pens and fancy paper. And yesterday, I used a nib for the first time in ages. But usually, I just scan the pencils and ink digitally.

Recently, I bought a used (and, you guessed it, very old, though probably youger than the tablet I'm getting) Think Pad X61 convertible laptop on ebay and installed Manga Studio EX on it. That's now my main drawing tool.
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[Erik Roman]

I use a hb pencil and comic Bristol board. Then I scan it and send it to the colorist/letterer.

[Speezi316]

I also use Hb to 2b pencils, bristol board, and go to completion in watercolor, India ink, colored pencils, gouache, and whatever else could help me finish it. Then I scan it and prep it for online . May not be pretty, but I get me there . If you like to see my comic it's www.tanukiblade.com

[Varethane]

I use.... this pen:



And these markers:



(I sketch with Bic mechanical pencils, but I'm pretty sure everyone here knows what those look like XD)
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[AndrewBCrisp]

I use a Wacom Bamboo tablet and Manga Studio Debut 4.0 for both intial layouts and the final inking/toning/lettering phases. For drawing the page, I use light blue col-erase pencils on 11x14 paper, and Copic multiliners for initial inking. (In essence I ink the page twice, the first time traditionally and the second time digitally).

[smbhax.com]

raines80 wrote:

I am using a realllllllly cheap tablet and GIMP (the free version of photoshop) here is a pic of that tablet- And yes... the tablet is as thin as it looks... it is a floppy tablet. Probably the dumbest purchase I have made in the last 5 years. What are the rest of you guys and gals using?

Wow, that is a pretty crazy looking tablet. Nice find. :D (Although I hope it wasn't too expensive!)
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[smbhax.com]

Varethane wrote:

I use.... this pen: And these markers: (I sketch with Bic mechanical pencils, but I'm pretty sure everyone here knows what those look like XD)

I got one of those Pocket Brushes to try it out, but was surprised at how soft the bristles were. Not enough spring in 'em for my taste; everything I tried to do kept coming out mushy. Tried their Color Brush and had pretty much the same difficulty. Hm except their point *is* impressively sharp for a synthetic brush, and can do pretty good minute detail. The Pocket Brush sure has some nice ink in it, too (not so the Color Brush, that stuff took *days* to dry); I wish they sold it in bottles!

I hadn't heard of the Letrasets, I suppose because I've been looking at water-based rather than alcohol-based markers. What do you like about them?
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[smbhax.com]

I've been testing art supplies like crazy lately. Still have nine other inks to try, and one of these coming in the mail to test out (although I suspect it'll scratch the paper more than I'll like if I draw with the corner), but currently I'm using black Faber-Castell PITT calligraphy pen and artist pen big brush markers together with a Raphaël 8404 size 4 brush in Yasutomo waterproof Black Sumi ink and Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White on Canson Artist Series Illustration paper. For spatter effects, like stars, I flick a Speedball Hunt #22B nib across an old credit card, like this. When I do preparatory pencil work for the inks, I use an ancient Pentel (I think) 0.5 mm mechanical pencil with H leads (currently Rotring, although those were just relics left in an art store I think since Rotring doesn't really sell their stuff here anymore, so once those run out I'll be using Pentel), and a Staedtler Mars Plastic eraser.

The Hunt nib is missing from this photo 'cause I broke my last one and the new ones haven't arrived yet :p:



I scan the pages with Photoshop 4 (the ancient one) and a Mustek Scan Express A3 1200 Pro USB Large Format Scanner.
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[smbhax.com]

Speezi316 wrote:

I also use Hb to 2b pencils, bristol board, and go to completion in watercolor, India ink, colored pencils, gouache, and whatever else could help me finish it. Then I scan it and prep it for online . May not be pretty, but I get me there . If you like to see my comic it's www.tanukiblade.com

You have some nice art, but your site layout is scaling it down, which makes it appear slightly blurry. For instance, of the latest page, Firefox says "700px × 1,065px (scaled to 612px × 931px)."

If you upload your artwork at the actual resolution at which it will display in the web page, it will look better and you won't be making your readers download unnecessarily large images.
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[lexia]

I draw it by hand, scan it, use my Monoprice tablet to ink and color it, I will in in either Painter, Manga Studio, or photoshop and I tend to color more in Photoshop, but I will use others like Painter and Manga Studio if I want to.

Other programs I have used before, Illustrator, Flash, Pixie, and Gimp
My Tablet http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=113&cp_id=11303&cs_id=1084101&p_id=6251&seq=1&format=2

[Metruis]

CS2 and a Wacom Graphire4. It's near its deathbed, I think, and I've been very, veryyyy close to buying a new tablet a couple of times, only I don't like the feel of the new Intuos tablets (too rough with this 'stimulating paper' feeling) and my desk isn't wide enough for my keyboard and tablet as is... wouldn't fit the widescreen tablets, so I'm going to need some kind of space mod at the right height... hmmm.

But yeah, 100% digital creation here, except for the odd page I pencil by hand.
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[smbhax.com]

Metruis wrote:

I don't like the feel of the new Intuos tablets (too rough with this 'stimulating paper' feeling)

I thought that was going to bug me when I went from the 3 to 4, but in the end I guess I got used to it almost immediately--I think it probably did make it a little easier to control.
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