Strangewingz Odditorium
Monday, February 28, 2005
The NEW Copic Multiliner SP: Run out of ink? Replace the cartridge. Nib worn out? Replace it!
Also new in the drawing area are the extremely popular Copic pigment liners -- the first refillable pigment liners to have replaceable tips! ¶ 7:30 PM 0 comments
Also new in the drawing area are the extremely popular Copic pigment liners -- the first refillable pigment liners to have replaceable tips! ¶ 7:30 PM 0 comments
Welcome to a little documentary about how the strip is made, for those who are interested. I did a previous thing on the journal that was terribly verbose, and included a lot more advice than I wanted to give, so this time I'll keep mainly to how *I* do the comic, using #183 as the example.
THE IDEA -> SCRIPT -> ROUGH DRAFT
Obviously, the first part is the idea. I do get a lot of E-mail asking where I get my ideas, the answer is, I don't really know. They just happen. It's a totally unpredictable thing, so I can't really say how it happens. Somehow I get an idea, and it usually comes in a "bite size". By #183, it was established that Chie Sakamachi was living with Madame X, so the idea that Chie would answer the door when Touro comes calling was a pretty logical step. The link I needed was how it would all go wrong for Touro, and I jumped on the idea that Chie would wear a scary mask to protect her face from potential bukkake fans. That was the idea, and with that bite-sized idea, I wrote a script for it.
Since I've done the same first two panels almost a dozen times already, I just wrote the script for the last two panels. Normally I'd write script for all the panels, but I make up swearing friend dialogue on the spot anyways.
When I script it out, I wonder how it looks on the page. To get an idea what the finished strip will look like without actually spending the time FINISHING the strip, I draw a rough in pencil. The sketch usually takes about 5 minutes to do, and gives me a good idea how the layout works, the timing, etc. This is an important stage because I believe if it works in a 5 minute sketch, the joke will work when I sit down and draw and color the thing for real.
HOW THE STRIP IS MADE (PART ONE)
Welcome to a little documentary about how the strip is made, for those who are interested. I did a previous thing on the journal that was terribly verbose, and included a lot more advice than I wanted to give, so this time I'll keep mainly to how *I* do the comic, using #183 as the example.
THE IDEA -> SCRIPT -> ROUGH DRAFT
Obviously, the first part is the idea. I do get a lot of E-mail asking where I get my ideas, the answer is, I don't really know. They just happen. It's a totally unpredictable thing, so I can't really say how it happens. Somehow I get an idea, and it usually comes in a "bite size". By #183, it was established that Chie Sakamachi was living with Madame X, so the idea that Chie would answer the door when Touro comes calling was a pretty logical step. The link I needed was how it would all go wrong for Touro, and I jumped on the idea that Chie would wear a scary mask to protect her face from potential bukkake fans. That was the idea, and with that bite-sized idea, I wrote a script for it.
Since I've done the same first two panels almost a dozen times already, I just wrote the script for the last two panels. Normally I'd write script for all the panels, but I make up swearing friend dialogue on the spot anyways.
When I script it out, I wonder how it looks on the page. To get an idea what the finished strip will look like without actually spending the time FINISHING the strip, I draw a rough in pencil. The sketch usually takes about 5 minutes to do, and gives me a good idea how the layout works, the timing, etc. This is an important stage because I believe if it works in a 5 minute sketch, the joke will work when I sit down and draw and color the thing for real.
The original sketch for #183 is this:
As you can see, I didn't plan on any dialogue for the first two panels, since I didn't think it mattered that much at the planning stage. It is very rough, everyone is just slightly defined stick figures, sometimes with the character's name written to indicate who they were. All dialogue is written on the right. This kind of rough image is something I've done from very early on, and I think it's a good tool, especially for a comic that plays with different camera angles and cuts as opposed to the static two shot of other online comics.
HOW THE STRIP IS MADE (PART TWO)
PENCILS
The paper I use is B5 sized DELETER paper, 135kg KENT paper. It holds ink like nobody's business, and isn't fibery like other kinds of paper. Kent paper is the standard of comics in Japan, and it's cheap -- 40 pages of B5 for 300 yen (less than $3US). It also has all the standard rules in light blue, which is handy for drawing straight vertical and horizontal lines.
For pencilling, I split the paper up into 4 sections, each section is a panel in the strip. I then pencil the strip:
INKS
For inks, I generally use a maru-pen and standard black comic ink. For straight lines and sounds I use liner pens (Copic multi-liners). When I'm finished inking, I naturally erase all the lines in prep for scanning.
Large black spaces I fill in later in a graphics program. This is basically what the art looks like when I feed it into the scanner and assemble the panels vertically into the final shape of the strip. The squiggles at the top are me testing the nib before inking the pencil lines.
SCANNING AND FORMATTING THE STRIP
I have a standard layout that I use that's 500 pixels across, with a 2 pixel border on every side. My first job is to scan each panel into the program I use to format the strip, the GNU utility called GIMP. I scan each panel at 300 dpi in line art mode. Since what I'm scanning is inked, this is the best way to do it. I shrink it down to 500 pixels across (vertical size is variable). By scanning it large and shrinking it down, I get a less pixellated-looking line. Panel by panel, I add a border, fill in the blacks, and add dialogue balloons. The font I use is called "Wild & Crazy" ... I got this off L0cke years ago and I have no idea where to locate it on the web now. I assemble the formatted panels into the template for the strip:
COLORING
There are millions of tutorials out there for coloring comics, so I won't bore you with the particulars. For #183, I was still colouring with just the GIMP, but since then I incorporate other programs such as Painter 8 and Photoshop 7 for coloring. In a nutshell, I make the layer with the artwork the top layer and set it to multiply. The bottom layer is plain white. I add transparent layers inbetween the background layer and artwork layer, and these layers are the ones I color in.
When finished, I flatten the image into one layer, and resize it to 325 pixels across. That's the version you see on the web. Click below to see the final coloured version as is displayed on the site.
Click here to see #183 ¶ 7:26 PM 0 comments
THE IDEA -> SCRIPT -> ROUGH DRAFT
Obviously, the first part is the idea. I do get a lot of E-mail asking where I get my ideas, the answer is, I don't really know. They just happen. It's a totally unpredictable thing, so I can't really say how it happens. Somehow I get an idea, and it usually comes in a "bite size". By #183, it was established that Chie Sakamachi was living with Madame X, so the idea that Chie would answer the door when Touro comes calling was a pretty logical step. The link I needed was how it would all go wrong for Touro, and I jumped on the idea that Chie would wear a scary mask to protect her face from potential bukkake fans. That was the idea, and with that bite-sized idea, I wrote a script for it.
Since I've done the same first two panels almost a dozen times already, I just wrote the script for the last two panels. Normally I'd write script for all the panels, but I make up swearing friend dialogue on the spot anyways.
When I script it out, I wonder how it looks on the page. To get an idea what the finished strip will look like without actually spending the time FINISHING the strip, I draw a rough in pencil. The sketch usually takes about 5 minutes to do, and gives me a good idea how the layout works, the timing, etc. This is an important stage because I believe if it works in a 5 minute sketch, the joke will work when I sit down and draw and color the thing for real.
HOW THE STRIP IS MADE (PART ONE)
Welcome to a little documentary about how the strip is made, for those who are interested. I did a previous thing on the journal that was terribly verbose, and included a lot more advice than I wanted to give, so this time I'll keep mainly to how *I* do the comic, using #183 as the example.
THE IDEA -> SCRIPT -> ROUGH DRAFT
Obviously, the first part is the idea. I do get a lot of E-mail asking where I get my ideas, the answer is, I don't really know. They just happen. It's a totally unpredictable thing, so I can't really say how it happens. Somehow I get an idea, and it usually comes in a "bite size". By #183, it was established that Chie Sakamachi was living with Madame X, so the idea that Chie would answer the door when Touro comes calling was a pretty logical step. The link I needed was how it would all go wrong for Touro, and I jumped on the idea that Chie would wear a scary mask to protect her face from potential bukkake fans. That was the idea, and with that bite-sized idea, I wrote a script for it.
Since I've done the same first two panels almost a dozen times already, I just wrote the script for the last two panels. Normally I'd write script for all the panels, but I make up swearing friend dialogue on the spot anyways.
When I script it out, I wonder how it looks on the page. To get an idea what the finished strip will look like without actually spending the time FINISHING the strip, I draw a rough in pencil. The sketch usually takes about 5 minutes to do, and gives me a good idea how the layout works, the timing, etc. This is an important stage because I believe if it works in a 5 minute sketch, the joke will work when I sit down and draw and color the thing for real.
The original sketch for #183 is this:
As you can see, I didn't plan on any dialogue for the first two panels, since I didn't think it mattered that much at the planning stage. It is very rough, everyone is just slightly defined stick figures, sometimes with the character's name written to indicate who they were. All dialogue is written on the right. This kind of rough image is something I've done from very early on, and I think it's a good tool, especially for a comic that plays with different camera angles and cuts as opposed to the static two shot of other online comics.
HOW THE STRIP IS MADE (PART TWO)
PENCILS
The paper I use is B5 sized DELETER paper, 135kg KENT paper. It holds ink like nobody's business, and isn't fibery like other kinds of paper. Kent paper is the standard of comics in Japan, and it's cheap -- 40 pages of B5 for 300 yen (less than $3US). It also has all the standard rules in light blue, which is handy for drawing straight vertical and horizontal lines.
For pencilling, I split the paper up into 4 sections, each section is a panel in the strip. I then pencil the strip:
INKS
For inks, I generally use a maru-pen and standard black comic ink. For straight lines and sounds I use liner pens (Copic multi-liners). When I'm finished inking, I naturally erase all the lines in prep for scanning.
Large black spaces I fill in later in a graphics program. This is basically what the art looks like when I feed it into the scanner and assemble the panels vertically into the final shape of the strip. The squiggles at the top are me testing the nib before inking the pencil lines.
SCANNING AND FORMATTING THE STRIP
I have a standard layout that I use that's 500 pixels across, with a 2 pixel border on every side. My first job is to scan each panel into the program I use to format the strip, the GNU utility called GIMP. I scan each panel at 300 dpi in line art mode. Since what I'm scanning is inked, this is the best way to do it. I shrink it down to 500 pixels across (vertical size is variable). By scanning it large and shrinking it down, I get a less pixellated-looking line. Panel by panel, I add a border, fill in the blacks, and add dialogue balloons. The font I use is called "Wild & Crazy" ... I got this off L0cke years ago and I have no idea where to locate it on the web now. I assemble the formatted panels into the template for the strip:
COLORING
There are millions of tutorials out there for coloring comics, so I won't bore you with the particulars. For #183, I was still colouring with just the GIMP, but since then I incorporate other programs such as Painter 8 and Photoshop 7 for coloring. In a nutshell, I make the layer with the artwork the top layer and set it to multiply. The bottom layer is plain white. I add transparent layers inbetween the background layer and artwork layer, and these layers are the ones I color in.
When finished, I flatten the image into one layer, and resize it to 325 pixels across. That's the version you see on the web. Click below to see the final coloured version as is displayed on the site.
Click here to see #183 ¶ 7:26 PM 0 comments
Art Supplies Used at Continuity
For the most part, what goes on here and pays the bills requires drawing and marker coloring.Paper - Layout Bond, tracing, and xerox paper are used for commercial work.Strathmore 1 ply or 2 ply is used for comic pages.Pencils - Neal's favorite are Mongol #2 which at least at one time seemed to be the most popular brand. However a company called Sanborn bought Mongol and then discontinued making them so that they wouldn't end up competing with themselves. Thus we are left with Dixon Ticonderoga pencils that break in the electric pencil sharpener and have those tiny hard chips in the lead that make it feel like you have a grain of sand between the pencil tip and the paper. We're still looking for a quality brand pencil that we'd be happy with. No luck so far.Inking - When using India ink, Neal uses high quality sable brushes and inking pen. Some comic work and all commercial work are done with pentels and brush pens. A brand of pen called Fountain Pentel, made in Japan, is used to do thin brush stroke lines. Pilot Fine Liners and Pentel Sign pens are still found at the studio but less and less frequently used. Thicker brush stroke lines were done with a Tombo brush pen then a brand called Brushpen from Japan. The problem with the Tombos is that the ink smudges. The Brushpen from Japan offers a really cool effect in that it isn't very wet and therfore gives a drybrush effect that Neal had fun with. However when you print art work you need a solid black line in most cases. We've recently found the possible answer. The Copic Multi liner BM. These are nice and juicy and give a solid black color. They also make a thinner version, the Multi-Liner BS, but we've found that for some reason, the thinner one bleeds. Now a lot of work here at Continuity is inked in Fountain Pentel and Multi-Liner BM.Marker Coloring - For years, we used strictly "ab Markers" by Chartpak. They were the wettest and had the best colors. Some years ago we discovered that you could color on a xerox with Pantone and Prismacolor. This made things a lot easier for us because every now and then a mistake is made and you can't erase marker. We didn't need to color originals anymore. Pantone markers by TRIA are slightly better than the Prismacolor markers and come with a big feature the others don't have; you can refill them with TRIA dyes. We still use the "ab" markers too but limit it to backgrounds. They're still the best for big areas. A while back we used Design Markers but mainly for airbrushing because they developed a great little nozzle that you could attach a design marker too for airbrushing. They discontinued those. Can't imagine why. Recently we made another discovery. Copic markers. These are used by Japanese animators and designers. These seem to be the best by far for a few reasons. #1 they have a huge amount of colors. #2 they are refillable. #3 Airbrush attachment. #4 Color on Xeroxes. #5 you can change the tips from chisel to different size brush tips. We bought a set and tried them out. Had a great time with them. The brush tips open up the coloring possibilities a great deal. We recommend them highly.
Misc.Colored Pencils- PrismacolorAirbrush - AWATA A, B and C. OlympusDr. Martin DyesPremo! Sculpey Sculpey III Sculpey SuperFlex Super Elasticlay Super Sculpey ¶ 6:52 PM 0 comments
For the most part, what goes on here and pays the bills requires drawing and marker coloring.Paper - Layout Bond, tracing, and xerox paper are used for commercial work.Strathmore 1 ply or 2 ply is used for comic pages.Pencils - Neal's favorite are Mongol #2 which at least at one time seemed to be the most popular brand. However a company called Sanborn bought Mongol and then discontinued making them so that they wouldn't end up competing with themselves. Thus we are left with Dixon Ticonderoga pencils that break in the electric pencil sharpener and have those tiny hard chips in the lead that make it feel like you have a grain of sand between the pencil tip and the paper. We're still looking for a quality brand pencil that we'd be happy with. No luck so far.Inking - When using India ink, Neal uses high quality sable brushes and inking pen. Some comic work and all commercial work are done with pentels and brush pens. A brand of pen called Fountain Pentel, made in Japan, is used to do thin brush stroke lines. Pilot Fine Liners and Pentel Sign pens are still found at the studio but less and less frequently used. Thicker brush stroke lines were done with a Tombo brush pen then a brand called Brushpen from Japan. The problem with the Tombos is that the ink smudges. The Brushpen from Japan offers a really cool effect in that it isn't very wet and therfore gives a drybrush effect that Neal had fun with. However when you print art work you need a solid black line in most cases. We've recently found the possible answer. The Copic Multi liner BM. These are nice and juicy and give a solid black color. They also make a thinner version, the Multi-Liner BS, but we've found that for some reason, the thinner one bleeds. Now a lot of work here at Continuity is inked in Fountain Pentel and Multi-Liner BM.Marker Coloring - For years, we used strictly "ab Markers" by Chartpak. They were the wettest and had the best colors. Some years ago we discovered that you could color on a xerox with Pantone and Prismacolor. This made things a lot easier for us because every now and then a mistake is made and you can't erase marker. We didn't need to color originals anymore. Pantone markers by TRIA are slightly better than the Prismacolor markers and come with a big feature the others don't have; you can refill them with TRIA dyes. We still use the "ab" markers too but limit it to backgrounds. They're still the best for big areas. A while back we used Design Markers but mainly for airbrushing because they developed a great little nozzle that you could attach a design marker too for airbrushing. They discontinued those. Can't imagine why. Recently we made another discovery. Copic markers. These are used by Japanese animators and designers. These seem to be the best by far for a few reasons. #1 they have a huge amount of colors. #2 they are refillable. #3 Airbrush attachment. #4 Color on Xeroxes. #5 you can change the tips from chisel to different size brush tips. We bought a set and tried them out. Had a great time with them. The brush tips open up the coloring possibilities a great deal. We recommend them highly.
Misc.Colored Pencils- PrismacolorAirbrush - AWATA A, B and C. OlympusDr. Martin DyesPremo! Sculpey Sculpey III Sculpey SuperFlex Super Elasticlay Super Sculpey ¶ 6:52 PM 0 comments
http://www.gimp.org/about/
http://www.rexart.com/product8944.html
http://www.allartsupplies.com/item.php?articleId=839
http://www.greenjadeorientalart.com/greenjade/bw.html
http://www.erictalbot.com/sketchbook/tools/tools.html
http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/group_id/9002/FABER-CASTELL-Pitt-Artist-Pens-Sets.htm
http://www.pentel.co.uk/brush_pen_infopage.asp
http://www.scribblers.co.uk/acatalog/Chinese_Calligraphy.html
http://www.dixieart.com/FineArts/Copic_Multi_Liners.html
http://www.aabc.com/lotos/artfaq.htm
http://www.shoptheartstore.com/product_detail_multiple.cfm?groupID=12DB220E-CD75-439C-832DFB6BDD20A936&parentCat=ABF4A7FA-9BC0-4813-A16070273E5DB6EA&topCat=CA10DC26-FEF2-42B5-BC5A5D7AFBDD7051 ¶ 6:34 PM 0 comments
http://www.rexart.com/product8944.html
http://www.allartsupplies.com/item.php?articleId=839
http://www.greenjadeorientalart.com/greenjade/bw.html
http://www.erictalbot.com/sketchbook/tools/tools.html
http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/group_id/9002/FABER-CASTELL-Pitt-Artist-Pens-Sets.htm
http://www.pentel.co.uk/brush_pen_infopage.asp
http://www.scribblers.co.uk/acatalog/Chinese_Calligraphy.html
http://www.dixieart.com/FineArts/Copic_Multi_Liners.html
http://www.aabc.com/lotos/artfaq.htm
http://www.shoptheartstore.com/product_detail_multiple.cfm?groupID=12DB220E-CD75-439C-832DFB6BDD20A936&parentCat=ABF4A7FA-9BC0-4813-A16070273E5DB6EA&topCat=CA10DC26-FEF2-42B5-BC5A5D7AFBDD7051 ¶ 6:34 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Spies
GSM Technology
Conventional radio transmitters as we have discussed are now becoming obsolete due to GSM (mobile phone) technology. If we think about it, the old style device requires the eavesdropper or recording receiver to be located relatively nearby which is not always tactical or practical. In addition, the transmitted radio signal can easily be detected and listened in to by almost anyone with a radio receiver or scanner.
With GSM, technology all has changed. If you imagine the working parts of a mobile telephone re-engineered and housed in a protective casing; add to it a long-lasting power supply and a high gain microphone and you have your ultimate secure listening device with unlimited range. Think about it, the device is on ‘standby’ when in situ and uses up very little power. You dial into the device from a telephone or computer from anywhere in the world and are then able to listen in to the conversation within the immediate area. What is more - the signals being transmitted cannot easily be intercepted as they are digitally encrypted, this is the future of audio monitoring as we know it and by the way, it is also good way of bugging cars as Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein discovered in the recent past. MI5 fitted a most intricate listening device into a vehicle used by Mr Adams.
One of the most effective audio transmitters I have seen is actually a transmitting microphone used by performers on stage and by film crews. The small system is comprised of a small transmitter normally worn on the belt connected to a high gain microphone. This transmits to a dedicated receiver and the audio clarity far outshines any surveillance device on the market today and at a fraction of the cost.
http://www.eyespymag.com/tool2b.htm
http://www.eyespymag.com/tool4b.htm
http://www.eyespymag.com/tool5b.htm
http://www.eyespymag.com/tool6b.htm
¶ 7:24 PM 0 comments
Conventional radio transmitters as we have discussed are now becoming obsolete due to GSM (mobile phone) technology. If we think about it, the old style device requires the eavesdropper or recording receiver to be located relatively nearby which is not always tactical or practical. In addition, the transmitted radio signal can easily be detected and listened in to by almost anyone with a radio receiver or scanner.
With GSM, technology all has changed. If you imagine the working parts of a mobile telephone re-engineered and housed in a protective casing; add to it a long-lasting power supply and a high gain microphone and you have your ultimate secure listening device with unlimited range. Think about it, the device is on ‘standby’ when in situ and uses up very little power. You dial into the device from a telephone or computer from anywhere in the world and are then able to listen in to the conversation within the immediate area. What is more - the signals being transmitted cannot easily be intercepted as they are digitally encrypted, this is the future of audio monitoring as we know it and by the way, it is also good way of bugging cars as Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein discovered in the recent past. MI5 fitted a most intricate listening device into a vehicle used by Mr Adams.
One of the most effective audio transmitters I have seen is actually a transmitting microphone used by performers on stage and by film crews. The small system is comprised of a small transmitter normally worn on the belt connected to a high gain microphone. This transmits to a dedicated receiver and the audio clarity far outshines any surveillance device on the market today and at a fraction of the cost.
http://www.eyespymag.com/tool2b.htm
http://www.eyespymag.com/tool4b.htm
http://www.eyespymag.com/tool5b.htm
http://www.eyespymag.com/tool6b.htm
¶ 7:24 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Story reference
http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/wc2-2.html
http://www.aircav.com/survival/asurtoc.html
¶ 1:34 PM 0 comments
http://www.aircav.com/survival/asurtoc.html
¶ 1:34 PM 0 comments
Friday, February 04, 2005
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Gray scale
art is heavily toned with grays. They are effectively used to establish a color scheme in a black and white book. They also create three-dimensional shapes, separate planes in a panel, and add textures to items that would otherwise appear flat and clean. Taking those in order: The grays establish a color scheme just by helping to differentiate between tones. In some cases, darker tones indicate a night scene or a shadowy room. The three dimensional shapes occur in places where the tones wrap around items in a scene. Since there are elements of noir crime drama in here, light pouring in through window blinds is a necessity. Those stripes of light, in one scene, are wrapping around the sleeping body of the protagonist, giving him extra shape. It's obvious that his arms aren't flat even before the toning, but the inclusion of the tones emphasizes the point and helps to create a more naturally "real" feel. The traditional use of gray tones in indie comics is to keep the pages from looking too stark or simple, as well as popping things out of the panel. A brighter-lit object will pop off the page a bit more than a darker object set in a dark scene. It's a cheap and easy way to indicate this, in addition to varying line weights. It's one of the hardest things a colorist has to do in comics -- create a color scheme that varies from the literal to the metaphorical. No, that character isn't blue-skinned, but if the blue helps establish the mood and place the figure in the right spot in the "space" he's occupying, then it's the right way to go. Finally, some gray tones can indicate texture. I'm looking at characters who wear jeans in this book and see the way soft gray lines are used to indicate folds in the cloth. I see the shine off a pair of gloves a character is wearing, and I know he's wearing leather gloves and not latex gloves on a crime scene.
¶ 6:07 PM 0 comments
¶ 6:07 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
