Comments For Page 352

I've been meaning to explain why Racheal can understand what everyone is saying for a while now, but I just didn't see any reason for it until now.

Someday I'll have to explain why the letters "ARW" appear on the satchel, but it wouldn't be for a while. Lots of other stuff has to happen first.

I played around with some settings, and I think I've figured out a way to fix the line quality. I converted the line drawing into vector lines and this seems to remove the blurriness that occurs when I import the line work from photoshop.

Notice that the Bars in the 3rd and 5th panels still have white lines around them. That's because they are on a separate layer. The whole page was like that before I fixed it.

The only limitation with vector lines is that they are smoothed out somewhat. This removes some of the finer details (notice the thick fingers and lines around the mouth in the last panel. I'll need to draw fine details with a thiner line to to compensate for this.

I also tried writing the text in Photoshop and importing it. Maybe I should convert it to vector as well. The lines are readable but don't stand out as much as they usually do. I'll have to work on this. I had to play around with the word balloons to get them to fit since I made them last. As I said before, you can't do word balloons in Photoshop very easily. Most people use Illustrator but Manga Studio works well too. It took a little adjusting but it worked out okay.

Comments For Page 351

Looks like Slara's taking charge of the situation. That's understandable since this is her hometown and she knows how things work better then anyone. Balak isn't too happy about it, though that may have more to do with cleaning the boar then being left out of the search.

I wonder if anyone else noticed this is a Matriarchal society. There were enough clues with all the women in high positions and the men playing jokes on strangers.

Another late night again. I just keep getting distracted. I was doing so well after spending the morning doing paper work, but I got distracted once more and ended up late again.

It takes close to 6 hours to do a comic (8 if it's more complex), so giving myself 3-4 hours to work on the comic just isn't going to cut it. Besides, it's better to work a few hours, take a break and work a few hours then to take one long break and then try to finish my comic all in one go. I know what I should do, I just don't do it.

I messed around with the line quality and ended up doubling the lines so they would cover the fill errors. It looks a little better, but I wish there was a way to smooth the lines so they would fill better. Wait, doesn't Manga Studio have a smooth line option? I'll have to remember to try that next time.

Comments For Page 350

Looks like Kang has gotten himself hurt attacking a wild boar. Who will be able to track down the satchel now? It was bad enough when it was sitting in a field, but now that the satchel is being hidden away somewhere, the gang is going to have a very hard time finding it.

Looks like our heroes just can't catch a lucky break. One bad thing after another keeps happening. At least they can have a nice dinner of roast boar to keep their spirits up.

I'm still working on the Photoshop/Manga studio mix. It is much easier to draw in Photoshop with a tablet so I'll probably keep it up, but the quality of the line makes it hard to fill in the shapes with color. I tried a different method last time and the lines were too thin and jagged. Maybe I can find a way to mix the two. Use the thin lines to fill in the color and the thick lines on the finished page. I'll try that next time and see what happens.

Comments For Page 349

Oh No! It looks like someone else found the satchel first and they plan to keep it. This is going to complicate things a bit. Without the satchel there is no way Racheal and the others are going to be able to rescue the rest of the gang. Things just get worse and worse.

You may notice that the wide boarder is back. I found that you can import Photoshop documents into Manga Studio. You can also export from Manga Studio to Photoshop (which I knew before). This means I can do all my drawings in Photoshop and do the colors and word balloons in Manga Studio. Now I can use the tools I like in Manga Studio and use the better drawing controls from Photoshop. I could also re-export back to Photoshop and add special effects and filters at the end if I wanted to.

One limitation of Manga Studio with imports is that you can't import color. This is due to Manga Studio's habit of placing each color on a separate layer. You could place each color on a separate layer in Photoshop (and the exported Manga Studio file keeps all the color layers), but you'd have to reassign all the colors once you imported it. Not a very color friendly process, but the program was designed to make black and white Manga, so color wasn't a major consideration in the design. I suppose separating the colors may help produce a more accurate print out of the pages if you were going the publishing route. I may publish my comic someday, but I don't save the color information as the files are quite large. This may be a problem, but my test prints have turned out okay, so I'm not too worried.

Comments For Page 348

I once again put off finishing this comic until the last minute, but I actually got it done pretty quickly. The only thing that slowed my down was when I had to use Illustrator to make the work balloons - something I've never done before but read was the way most professionals make them. They actually work much the same as Manga Studio except you have to draw them freehand instead of choosing pre-made ones. It is nice to have the freedom to make balloons any shape I want but it does slow done the process.

I do find it easier to draw in Photoshop then Manga Studio - mainly because the tablet glitches don't happen with Photoshop. I do like some of the things Manga Studio can do though and I hope they fix the glitches soon.

One thing I like about Manga Studio is that every layer is a color or a texture. This took a bit of getting use to at first, but now I miss the ability to change colors just by clicking on a layer. Now I have to hunt for the color I want or make a new one. I also have to watch what I'm doing because it's easy to accidentally color on the wrong layer, which can cause problems if you want to make corrections later or add a color over a color (only to find the under color is actually on a higher level then it should be and you can't color over it without making another layer over that one).

On the other hand, it's much easier to copy sections of art and move then around in Photoshop. You'll notice I saved myself some time by coping and altering some pieces of art in this page. I know some people set up their art and text balloons in Manga Studio and then color the page in Photoshop (using filters to spruce things up). Maybe when Manga Studio is fixed I'll have to do that as well.

I'm not one to use filters because I think it hides the art and influences the skill of the artist. Many people use filters to hide their lack of drawing ability, others use it to push their art to new levels they wouldn't be able to achieve otherwise. I guess it comes down to skill, talent and ability. You need all three to create good art no matter what methods you use.

I hope I have all three. Most people say they like my stuff even if they like other peoples more. I guess it really comes down to time at this point. I can draw and color a complete page in under four hours, while someone "more talented" couldn't do it in less then eight and probably would take closer to 16. My artwork would look better if I didn't wait until the last minute to start and spend more then four hours on the page, but would people like my comic any better?

look at Milt Gross' artwork: Sunday Funnys

He can draw faster then anyone, and yet his work is very fun to look at and enjoy. It's not about speed so much as it's about skill. The more real things you can draw quickly, the more fun exaggerated things you can draw. I like this loose fun style. I should try it for my next project.

Comments For Page 347

All right! I actually managed to start my comic early and get it done before midnight for a change. Of course, I find it easier to get it done on Sundays anyway, but still this is the first time in a long time that I've gotten a page done early.

You might think that because this is a cover page, it was easy to get it done quicker. Fact is, cover pages are harder because I spend a long time trying to get them looking just right. Just look at this picture and compare it to the stuff I usually churn out. Granted there is some exaggeration in the bodies, but that just adds to the charm.

You might notice that this image doesn't have the usual white boarder around it. That's because I've gotten tired of how Manga Studio works in a Vista environment. Their web site says they are working on a solution, but I really can't wait any longer. I've started using Photoshop again. If I can continue to speed up my work, I may just play around with Photoshop and see what it can do. There may be a rise in my art quality if I can find a way to improve using some of Photoshop's bells and whistles.

You might also notice that the characters have gone back to their old outfits. Well they didn't spend hours in the mall picking out nice outfits just to leave them behind. The only reason they were wearing those other outfits was so they could climb the mountain in comfort.

It should also be noted the Racheal and Toi are back to normal in this picture. Well, you didn't think they would stay like that forever, did you? You'll have to keep reading to learn how they got back to normal and to see who they are up against. I will say that you may have seen this enemy before - well those that have read the whole story so far will have. Expect a lot of surprises and action ahead as the gang heads into their most exciting adventure so far.

Comments For Page 346

Sorry for the late posting ... again. I just hate that I can't seem to work on the story pages at a decent hour. If I can spend Friday morning working on a page, why can't I do it on Thursday morning instead and avoid being late at all? I really don't understand myself sometimes.

It might be a bit cheap to use the same background in every panel, but on the other hand I can spend more time developing the background if I know I'm going to be able to reuse it. I like the way this page turned out. Simple but effective.

I'm not sure it's clear due to the wonky perspective, but in the second panel, Slara is leaning away from Balap (and into the camera) as she explains that it may be her fault that he got hurt. If you're a regular reader of this comic you'll know why she's afraid of him.

This marks the beginning of a new story line, so I'll do up a cover page for Monday. Slara and Balap will have to lead the transformed Racheal and Toi into the unknown as they search for their missing friends. Don't miss the exciting new chapter entitled "Four against a thousand."

Comments For Page 345

Oh no! What happened to Dalap? Where are the others? Could something horrible have happened? Things just go from bad to worse for our band of adventures.

As I mentioned in the last post, this page was already laid out on Monday, but it wasn't finished until today. I wanted to get started earlier since I knew it would take a while to finish, but I still waited until the last minute to work on it.

When I read how other artists spend hours at the drawing table every day, I have to wonder if my heart is really in this work. It's something I can do and I'm pretty good at it (at least people say I am), but I'm just not as dedicated to it as I should be.

I guess that's always been my problem at everything I do. I'm a jack of all trades and a master of none. There is nothing I can't do and therefore I can't do anything at all. I sometimes envy people who only have one talent. They can put their whole heart into it because they know they can't do anything else. There are so many things I am good at, that I can't focus on any one thing. Sometimes I like doing this, sometimes I enjoy doing that. I'm sure there are some that envy my abilities, but I'll never be as good as those that are really dedicated to their art.

It seems odd to talk about my lack of ability on a day I put up a page that has perspective and detailed backgrounds. Not that it's great art by any means, but it is better then some of the simple designs I done in the past to save time.

I should start drawing the next page now, but I know there are a dozen other things clamoring for my attention. We'll see.

Comments For Page 344

Terra better show up soon before Toi hurts herself. Racheal seems to be taking a more relaxed approach to escaping, but it's still not good to see her locked up. Hopefully they'll be freed soon.

It's nearly 3 am as I post this. Once again I failed to start the comic early enough to get to bed at a decent hour. I've planned out the next couple of comics, so hopefully they'll go quicker. Wednesday's comic is a longer one, so it might take a while to get done. Maybe I'll start on it tomorrow. Maybe pigs will fly as well.

I will try to get something done tomorrow. Some sketches at least. I'll let you know Wednesday. See you then.

Comments For Page 343

Looks like Racheal and Toi have gone from one bad situation to another. Slara is definitely not taking any chances. I wonder if she's had to deal with her friends transformations before?

Being trapped in a small cage can't be any better then hanging upside down in a net, but at least they have been separated. They'll be able to bash the cages around until they tire themselves out.

Another late night getting this page done on time. I'm going to have to try to get to work on the pages earlier. Every day I say the same thing, and every day I get distracted and busy with other things, so that nothing gets done until the last minute.

I guess the main problem is that I tend to get very tired in the afternoons and don't feel like doing work. It's a good time to relax and catch up on email and reading other web comics. The problem is a huge portion of my day is used up because of this. I'm kind of a morning-night person. I have lots of energy in the morning when I first get up and I can stay up for hours late at night, but I get really tied in the afternoons. Sometimes I think if I slept 4 hours at night and 4 hours in the afternoon, I could get a lot more work done.

Comments For Page 342

I don't know how Slara expects Racheal and Toi to relax hanging upside down. It can't be very comfortable. Maybe they'll pass out from all the blood rushing to their heads.

The first panel took a while to draw because of the interaction of Racheal and Toi's arms and legs. I originally planned for them to be rolling around the floor with the arms and legs tangled up but I ended up will a less confusing image of Racheal standing over Toi and trying to hit her. I don't think the proportions and angles are quite right, but it looks okay if you don't examine it too closely.

Racheal is taller then Toi by at least a foot, yet when they are in the net Toi seems bigger then Racheal. I guess the problem is that Toi's head is bigger, so the proportions got a little messed up. Something to watch for in the future.

I don't know how many artists read my comic. No one has been to critical of my style, so either no one cares or I'm doing a good job despite my own lack of confidence in my work. I guess I'll just keep developing my style and see what happens.

Comments For Page 341

Looks like Toi pushed Racheal a little too far. Neither of them are in their right minds right now so it can be forgiven if their tempers are a little short.

Once again, trying to do things the easy way took longer then normal. Of course, doing 8 panels instead of the usual 4-5 might have had something to do with that. Still, 6 of the panels only had small changes made to them and it still took an hour and a half to draw them.

It seems some of the problems I've been having with my drawing program has to do with my upgrade to Vista. Not that it's Vista's fault. The program was designed before Vista was available and there are some bugs that need to be worked out. Hopefully there will be a patch out soon so I can speed up production of my comic.

Not much more to say. I'll see you Wednesday.

Comments For Page 340

Slara is still trying to keep one step ahead of the other two. In their new forms all they want to do is fight, but they are so strong, someone will likely get hurt. Slara is going to have to do something to calm them down, but what? Find out Monday when she tries again to distract them.

If the big panel in the center looks better then the smaller ones, it's because I did it last and worked on it this morning. I was too tired to finish it last night and I think the quality of the other panels suffered because of it.

Racheal looks weird in the large panel, sort of a cross between a human and a cat - which is what she is. I don't think I really captured that look anywhere else. Toi doesn't really look like a Mouse woman the way she should. Maybe I'll work on that for the next page.

Nothing new to report. I'll try to get something new done this weekend, but you know me. I'll get distracted and nothing will get done.

Comments For Page 339

Looks like it's every woman for herself as the three girls try to deal with the transformation of Racheal. Will they be able to work things out or will an all out fight start. Find out on Friday what happens next.

The half-cat Racheal is more work to draw them the regular version mostly due to all the fur. It's also hard to get the angles right and foreshorten the arms. The arms in the second panel look a little off, but I like Racheal's pointing arm in the last panel. It might be a little off, but it works.

Nothing to talk about today. I'm trying to get a logo done for my new business. I'll put it up later.