Featured Articles Library

Journal Entry: Fri Feb 26, 2010, 5:48 PM
Joining | Submitting | About Us | Featured Articles | Summer 2012 Contest | Live Sessions

Welcome to Our Feature Article Section!




:star: Any time you see this big green button, click on it and it'll bring you straight to this list!




Inspirational
:bulletred: Having a COMIC Block?
Here are Some Practical Tips to Deal with It!
by xxheartlessbitchxx

:bulletorange: Take Care of Your Hands!
Don't Let Carpal Tunnel Happen to You!
by kabocha



Informative: Advice and Links
:bulletred: The Big Blog of Useful Links
Links to shops, helpful websites, and lots of other things!
by Everyone :D

:bulletorange: Links to Anatomy Tutorials and Guides!
Another link list!
by Kita-Angel

:bulletyellow: So You Wanna Make Some Merch...
A quick listing of printers and various places to get ready for the Artist's Alley!
by kabocha

:bulletgreen: Artist Alley First-Timer? What You Need to Know!
Some consideration before you take the plunge and get an AA table!
by ArtByMelissaM

:bulletblue: InkBlazers Shutdown and Webcomic Hosting Options
Some options for choosing a place to put your webcomic for your readers!

:bulletpurple: Hosting Your Own Webcomic
A review of what options are out there if you choose to host your own comic.
by kabocha



Art Related
:bulletred: Screentones Resource Compilation
What are they and where do I find them?
by bakenekogirl

:bulletorange: Basic Guide to File Formats
Overview of Common Formats
by kabocha, HeyTayHolt, Ashikai

:bulletyellow: Links to Anatomy Tutorials and Guides!
Another link list!
by Kita-Angel

:bulletgreen: Tearing Your Hair Out Over Bleeds and Trims?
Prepping for prints means upping your spec vocabulary! Print guidelines are easy to understand with this walk-through!
by HeyTayHolt



Characters, Creation, and Writing
:bulletred: Original Characters: Art and Beyond!
Making unique characters isn't only about the art, you know~
by Kita-Angel

:bulletorange: How to Write a Story:  A Guide by Kita
Going through the basic steps of a story with an example!
by Kita-Angel

:bulletyellow: Creating a Story: Where on Earth Do I Start?
Sometimes getting started is the HARDEST part!
by :devLOOMinate

:bulletgreen: #1: Getting Down with Genres and Target Audiences
The ugly truth about "writing for yourself!"
by HeyTayHolt



Manga-Apps Contest Information

:bulletred: 2010 Entrants List
Curious to see who entered and what they did?  Have a look!

:bulletorange: 2010 Short Story Winners
Here's our winners for the short story entries!

:bulletyellow: 2010 Long Entry Winners
Here's our winners for the long entries!

:bulletgreen: 2011 Contest Information
2011's contest information can be found here!

:bulletblue: 2012 Contest Rules
Here's the rules for 2012!


Outside Announcements and Events

:bulletred: About MICC and yen Press Talent Search
Brief overview about international & local comic contests!
by HeyTayHolt








Screentones Resource Compilation

Journal Entry: Mon Feb 22, 2010, 12:30 PM
Joining | Submitting | About Us | Featured Articles | Summer 2012 Contest | Live Sessions






Screentones Resource Compilation
What are they and where do I find them?
by bakenekogirl

:star: From the original article Screentone or are you...? by bakenekogirl!

What are Screentones?

:bulletred: "Screentone (or Halftone) is a technique for applying textures and shades to drawings, used as an alternative to hatching. In the conventional process, patterns are transferred to paper from preprinted sheets, but the technique is also simulated in computer graphics. It is also known by the common brand names Zip-A-Tone (1937, now defunct), Chart-Pak (1949), and Letratone (1966, from Letraset)."

:bulletred: A traditional screentone sheet consists of a flexible transparent backing, the printed texture, and a wax adhesive layer. The sheet is applied to the paper, adhesive down, and rubbed with a stylus on the backing side. The backing is then peeled off, leaving the ink adhered to the paper where pressure was applied.  A screentone saves an artist's time by allowing quick application of textures to line art where a hand-shaded area would not be reproduced in a timely or acceptable manner. Much like halftone, the size and spacing of black dots, lines, or hatches determine how light or dark an area will appear. Visual artists need to take into account how much an image will be reduced when prepared for publication when choosing the pitch of a screentone.

:bulletred: Screentones can also be layered to produce interference patterns such as moire effects, or to simulate multiple sources of shadow in an image. Different styles of screentone exist, variously intended to depict clothing, clouds, emotions, backgrounds, gradients and even objects such as trees. While the sheets are most commonly produced with black ink, there are also varieties in solid and patterned colors.Screentones can also be modified by lightly scratching the backing with an X-Acto blade to produce starbursts and other special effects.

:bulletred: Screentones are widely used by illustrators and artists, especially for cartoons and advertising. Use of the original medium has been declining since the advent of graphics software and desktop publishing, but it is still used, for example, by some Japanese Manga authors (Deleter and Maxon are common names within this specialty). While computer graphics software provides a variety of alternatives to screentone, its appearance is still frequently simulated, to achieve consistency with earlier work or avoid the stereotypical appearance of computer-generated images. It is sometimes accomplished by scanning actual screentone sheets, but original vector or bitmap screen patterns are also used.



Digital Advances in Toning

:bulletgreen: Digital halftoning has been replacing photographic halftoning since the 1970s when "electronic dot generators" were developed for the film recorder units linked to color drum scanners made by companies such as Crosfield Electronics, Hell and Linotype-Paul. In the 1980s halftoning became available in the new generation of imagesetter film and paper recorders that had been developed from earlier 'laser typesetters'. Unlike pure scanners or pure typesetters, imagesetters could generate all the elements in a page including type, photographs and other graphic objects. Early examples were the widely used Linotype Linotronic 300 and 100 introduced in 1984, which were also the first to offer PostScript RIPs in 1985.

:bulletgreen: Early laser printers from the late 1970s onward could also generate halftones but their original 300 dpi resolution limited the screen ruling to about 65 lpi. This was improved as higher resolutions of 600 dpi and above, and dithering techniques, were introduced. All halftoning uses a high frequency/low frequency dichotomy. In photographic halftoning, the low frequency attribute is a local area of the output image designated a halftone cell. Each equal-sized cell relates to a corresponding area (size and location) of the continuous-tone input image. Within each cell, the high frequency attribute is a centered variable-sized halftone dot composed of ink or toner. The ratio of the inked area to the non-inked area of the output cell corresponds to the luminance or graylevel of the input cell. From a suitable distance, the human eye averages both the high frequency apparent gray level approximated by the ratio within the cell and the low frequency apparent changes in gray level between adjacent equally-spaced cells and centered dots.

:bulletgreen: Digital halftoning uses a raster image or bitmap within which each monochrome picture element or pixel may be on or off, ink or no ink. Consequently, to emulate the photographic halftone cell, the digital halftone cell must contain groups of monochrome pixels within the same-sized cell area. The fixed location and size of these monochrome pixels compromises the high frequency/low frequency dichotomy of the photographic halftone method. Clustered multi-pixel dots cannot "grow" incrementally but in jumps of one whole pixel. In addition, the placement of that pixel is slightly off-center. To minimize this compromise, the digital halftone monochrome pixels must be quite small, numbering from 600 to 2,540, or more, pixels per inch. However, digital image processing has also enabled more sophisticated dithering algorithms to decide which pixels to turn black or white, some of which yield better results than digital halftoning.

Typical Resolution of Screentones

:bulletgreen: The resolution of a halftone screen is measured in lines per inch (lpi). This is the number of lines of dots in one inch, measured parallel with the screen's angle. Known as the screen ruling, the resolution of a screen is written either with the suffix lpi or a hash mark; for example, "150 lpi" or "150#." The higher the pixel resolution of a source file, the greater the detail that can be reproduced. However, such increase also requires a corresponding increase in screen ruling or the output will suffer from posterization. Therefore file resolution is matched to the output resolution.

:bulletgreen: Screen Printing 45–65 lpi
:bulletgreen: Laser Printer (300dpi) 65 lpi
:bulletgreen: Laser Printer (600dpi) 85–105 lpi
:bulletgreen: Offset Press (newsprint paper) 85 lpi
:bulletgreen: Offset Press (coated paper) 85–185 lpi

:bulletgreen: Wikipedia original context
:bulletgreen: More explanations

Buying Tones on the Internet


Software

:bulletorange: Photoshop ($) > see tutorial and brush

:bulletorange: Manga Studio ($)

Manga Studio is aimed at desiging manga. The interface of Manga Studio is located in the line of Illustrator. The software multiplies the tool palettes. He offers many features: management layers, converting bitmap drawings in vector mode, multiple tools, brushes or effects, a wide selection of models of pages, and several features to work faster (scripts, use of several instances of the same design)...

:bulletorange: Powertone ($ - Japanese Site)

Powertone is made by the same company that makes Manga Studio. It is a filter plug-in for Photoshop and ComicStudio 2.0, so you can tone your page in Photoshop. Though the tone is not vector base, if you mess up, you have to retone it all over again. Powertone only work in Japanese OS. To use it, either you have a Japanese computer, or set your computer to Japanese mode.

:bulletorange: If you own Manga Studio 3 EX, the powertone comes free as bonus plug-in. (This is located inside install disk 3, and the name is changed to computone in the English version.) The free computone only works as filter under Manga Studio, and it can't work in Photoshop. It's different from the tone inside Manga Studio tone menu. In extra computone filter, you can set the tone to white ink color instead of only black.

Screentones ready for use

:bulletorange: Here is a partial list of traditional screentone retailers.

:bulletorange: Letraset Manga ($) >  (This is an ideal introduction for Screentone novices! CD and print are available.)

:bulletorange: antarctic-press.com ($)

:bulletorange: AKA: Akadot ($)  

:bulletorange: Maxon ( $ - Japanese Site )

:bulletorange: Deleter ( $ - Japanese Site )

Freeware Tones on the Internet

Software

:bulletblue: Pixia  



Pixia, the original Japanese Edition was created and developed by the author, Isao Maruoka, but has also been aggressively raised by its fans, which makes this software to be quite unique and different from other tools.

:bulletblue: Texture Processor

Texture Processor is a program for creating various textures. He allows to get practically unlimited quantity of complex textures.

:bulletblue: The Rasterbator

The Rasterbator is a software ( Online or Downloadable ) that allows creation of large halftone type posters

Screentones ready for use in Devianart

:bulletblue: The links below include free screentones, but the use of some requires a permit! Make sure to read the author's notes and see if credit or permission is required for use!

:bulletblue: Use the dA search engine to search for screentones!

:bulletblue: :iconbakenekogirl: > bakenekogirl.deviantart.com/ga… :bulletblue: :iconpinkcamellia: > pinkcamellia.deviantart.com/ga…

:bulletblue: :iconscreentones: > screentones.deviantart.com/ :bulletblue: :iconshimmen-iero: > shimmen-iero.deviantart.com/ga…

:bulletblue: :iconnirakone: > nirakone.deviantart.com/galler… :bulletblue: :iconkyouyatsu: > kyouyatsu.deviantart.com/art/S…;

:bulletblue: :icontrashpandadeluxe: > jekylnhyde.deviantart.com/gall… :bulletblue: :iconamegoddess: > amegoddess.deviantart.com/art/…

:bulletblue: :iconskybase: > skybase.deviantart.com/gallery… :bulletblue: :iconwyldflowa: > wyldflowa.deviantart.com/art/H…

:bulletblue: :iconcospigeon: > debi-chiru.deviantart.com/gall… :bulletblue: :icondebh945: >  debh945.deviantart.com/gallery…

:bulletblue: :iconkabocha: kabocha.deviantart.com/gallery…


Other Internet Screentone Resources

:bulletblue: Chotto.art.coocan

:bulletblue: Aya's tone book

:bulletblue: Screentones

:bulletblue: Computer screentones

:bulletblue: Japanese Tones

:bulletblue: SCOF Kurse

:bulletblue: Fillamanga

:bulletblue: Milano Aoyama

:bulletblue: Photoshop patterns

:bulletblue: Yokohama Patterns

:bulletblue: Screen Tones

:bulletblue: Screentones Depot

:bulletblue: Mandichan





Other Traditional Methods

:bulletred: A sheet of paper, pencil, scanner and let's go! With a little imagination, you can create your own screentones!

White Ink





Gauze







:bulletred: Pens, Nibs, Black Ink, White Ink, and Sturdy Paper. Sponges, gauze, lace, grass, fabric! Grab anything to create your own tones!

:bulletred: How-to: Traditional Mesh-Hatching

:bulletred: How-to: Traditional Chain-Hatching

:bulletred: How-to: Traditional Gauze Effect


The sky is the limit!
Enjoy! :dalove:

Written by: bakenekogirl
Original Article here. Original has pictures!
Edited by HeyTayHolt
2/22/2010



Having a COMIC Block?

Journal Entry: Tue Feb 16, 2010, 7:52 PM
Joining | Submitting | About Us | Featured Articles | Summer 2012 Contest | Live Sessions



:flame: Manga-Apps Featured Article

Having a COMIC Block?
Here are Some Practical Tips to Deal with It!

by xxheartlessbitchxx


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I am not really sure if this concept is already in the dictionary, but I guess we all know what this implies. “Comic Block” like Artist’s Block, is when a comic artist suffer from lack of motivation or inspiration to continue conceptualizing and/or drawing his or her story. You are suffering from a “Comic Block” if you have at least one of the following symptoms:

:bulletred: You already know the sequence of the story, but you are unable to draw the scenes (for each panel/frame) because the scenes are too difficult or uncomfortable to draw.

:bulletred: You can draw the scene but you are not sure if you should continue with the story or episode you fabricated. You have questions like:  Is the next episode / page consistent with my overall story? Does adding the page help progress my story or would it just confuse the readers?

:bulletred: You know both the sequence and you are confident that you can draw the scenes but you are just too lazy to start. :D

:bulletred: You are not lazy nor ignorant of what should be next but you know that the next page is not interesting at all (and would be less popular to your readers).

If you have any of these, then you may be suffering from a Comic (or Manga) Artist’s Block.
So, the big question is, how do we BEAT this block?

Here are just a few tips that might help (which can also be applied to Artist’s Block).

(1) :star: STOP drawing. Stop thinking about deviantArt. Stop looking at your sketch pad or your tablet. Just stop for a minute, and step away from everything that relates to art. Instead, play the piano or other instruments. Go out with your friends, socialize. Cook. Do anything that will keep you preoccupied for the meantime. Do this for at least a day. This will help your mind rest from endless “plotting” moments. XD

(2) :star: After your “Stand-Still Period”, watch tv or read a book, a magazine, etc.  This time, you have to rest your hands, and just let your mind wander with the different images or thoughts from tv or from your favorite book or horoscope magazine. Imagination always stems from something else. You can even watch the trailer of your favorite anime or even your most hated anime. Read the newspaper if you want or your old mangas or comics. Talk to your friends, not necessarily about your comic but of different things, like current events or about Obama. Trust me, this will keep the juices flowing.

(3) :star: After resting both your mind and your hands, you can now continue with your comic. Think about your story first. Think about your finished pages. THEN, think about what the next page should be. Divide the page into three, do your paneling, etc. START DRAWING and do not rest until you draw at least half of the page. Resting will distract you even more.  Thus, the best way to finish the page is to go on and on.

(4) :star: After every page, REST. Sleep if you want. Exhausting one’s mind will make you lose interest in your own comic. Remember this.

thanks to Gravezone for pointing this out: For people with deadlines! :D

Apparently, #1 and #2, might not work for comic artists desperate to pass their works on time.

As Ashikai has said, do not always try to be a perfectionist. All artists have this problem--we tend to be so focused on getting each line straight, each toenail perfect, etc. that we forget about the time. Do not get me wrong, details are of outmost importance but we need to be time-conscious as well. Having said that, here are steps to counter this problem (I do hope this helps):

1. :star: Draw a dummy first (or an overall body structure). Do not worry about whether the lines look straight or the shoulders look awkward. Just draw your desired pose first (for each character).

2. :star: Second, before adding details, look at the dummy first. You can now fix the anatomy or the body structure if some parts look out of place.

3. :star: Then, get on with the first details. Some artists prefer to start with the face or the head, or the clothes. That's fine. It does not matter where you start. Just be sure to follow #1 and #2 first, lol :D

4. :star: Make the details more detailed. Add some ruffles there, a little shade over here, etc.

*If you are drawing a scene, remember to draw the setting first. Always start with the bigger picture before moving on to the smallest feature. Then supply your characters, following the above steps. And as I've said, resting after every panel is distracting. Continue drawing until you have finished at least half of the page.

So, umm, that’s it. I hope this help. Thanks for reading!
:heart: Belated Happy Hearts' Day everyone!


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