Issue 245: what's your sign?

[Quwaar]

Nice of you to do this hawk.

One question from me too ofcource:P
Is this the first sketch? No forms? rounds? Stickfire like stuff?
Is this really your first sketch?

If thats so, DAMN Nice sketch

[AI_Joe]

Speaking of clean - what resolution are you working at - and (if high) at what point do you drop it down? Your stuff always looks sharp.

I bought one of those inking CD-ROM tutorials that stated that a much higher b/w line art is saved separately and coloring is done under a lower-rez proxy version of the line art. Then when it goes to press, the color layer is "upscaled" to the higher line art's resolution. That way, you're not coloring in ultra-high rez and the line art remains sharp. Just an interesting technique. I was wondering if you did something similar to the "Choose Wisely" poster, since that looks pretty sharp for it's size.

And even if you don't need the high-rez for a webcomic, you do retain a high-rez version (for the Applegeeks coffee table book coming this spring ) right?

[Hawk]

Nice of you to do this hawk.

One question from me too ofcource:P
Is this the first sketch? No forms? rounds? Stickfire like stuff?
Is this really your first sketch?

If thats so, DAMN Nice sketch

back in the day i use to have stickfigure and circles as guides. but now I just draw without it.

[Hawk]

Speaking of clean - what resolution are you working at - and (if high) at what point do you drop it down? Your stuff always looks sharp.

when I'm working on the comic: the image is at 300dpi.

when I'm done: i created a photoshop action that copy merge all the layers and paste it to a new document, then drops the dpi to 72.

I bought one of those inking CD-ROM tutorials that stated that a much higher b/w line art is saved separately and coloring is done under a lower-rez proxy version of the line art. Then when it goes to press, the color layer is "upscaled" to the higher line art's resolution. That way, you're not coloring in ultra-high rez and the line art remains sharp. Just an interesting technique. I was wondering if you did something similar to the "Choose Wisely" poster, since that looks pretty sharp for it's size.

That's an interesting technique. for me I work at 300 dpi throughout the process. mainly because my computer can handle it.

And even if you don't need the high-rez for a webcomic, you do retain a high-rez version (for the Applegeeks coffee table book coming this spring ) right?

all my work is always high res and then dropped down.

[Flaming Bob]

I know this sounds like a really simple and frankly silly question but when your drawing do you always go through the whole 'How to draw manga' process or does it just get to a point when you dont even bother any more?

[Hawk]

I know this sounds like a really simple and frankly silly question but when your drawing do you always go through the whole 'How to draw manga' process or does it just get to a point when you dont even bother any more?

define the whole "how to draw manga process."

[Gamble]

you said you work at 300 dpi now is that pixels per inch or per cm..
My comp can run either but per cm is a killer.

Also photoshop has a setting for bits. do u do 8 bit or 16bit. for sum reason when i was working in 16bit and i saved the outward product looked odd.

And thnx for doing this, next up is a coloring tutorial on cd for sum of us . Lol you should consider how many people would purchase something like that. I think that woulda been able to pay for your wacom.

[AI_Joe]

you said you work at 300 dpi now is that pixels per inch or per cm..
My comp can run either but per cm is a killer.

Dots Per Inch (dpi) - on the other side of the pond, it's some weird conversion from dividing 72 in millimeters which eludes me

Here is a handy guide to diff from ppi, dpi, lpi, etc.

[midnightalone]

ok Im likin this // Hawks eyes in the last pannel gives away his emotion of wat he see

[AI_Joe]

ok Im likin this // Hawks eyes in the last pannel gives away his emotion of wat he see

"Oooh, peanuts..."  ?

jk

[Lead Monkey]

you said you work at 300 dpi now is that pixels per inch or per cm..
My comp can run either but per cm is a killer.

Dots Per Inch (dpi) - on the other side of the pond, it's some weird conversion from dividing 72 in millimeters which eludes me

Here is a handy guide to diff from ppi, dpi, lpi, etc.

Actualy that's something wanted to know, not really important but what is the definition of a "dot" in dpi. I've always assumed it's a pixel (wouldn't surprise me if thats what it is) but it would be nice to know.

[NeedleinBrain]

Hey Hawk,
I just was wondering if there are any alternatives to the Wacom Cintiq tablet? Its kind of pricy, so if there are any different tablets that are maybe a little but cheaper i would like to know about them, Thanks!
Oh, and I love your comics

[Hawk]

Hey Hawk,
I just was wondering if there are any alternatives to the Wacom Cintiq tablet? Its kind of pricy, so if there are any different tablets that are maybe a little but cheaper i would like to know about them, Thanks!
Oh, and I love your comics

if you want an on-screen tablet, your alternative would be a tablet pc. if you want a regular tablet. any of the wacom tablets are good.

[Shmi]

Is there any chance that we can see the whole script for this issue? I was interested just as much in the creation of the plot and script as I was the artwork, and it would be cool to see it in it's entirety from script to final copy.

Any chance?

[StarCreator]

Have a question on step 2...

You say that you export the ink layer from Flash as a 300dpi JPEG.  The inks certainly look grayscale, so why not save it in something that isn't quite so lossy, like PNG?  I have found that compresses great when you have a clean grayscale source.

Also, I was curious what other inking programs you have tried... and are there any particular reasons why you don't use them?