248: Opportunity Knocks
Jeff: For an in-depth look at the process of how we create comics together, check out these two blog posts: The Script, Pencils. Then come on back here for the conclusion:
Jeremy: So, after I have my pencils prepared in Photoshop, I set those layers to a lower opacity (around 40%), so I can see just enough detail, but not so much that they interfere with my inks. The inks go on a new layer above the pencils, and I select a brush for inking called “Organic”, which is part of an excellent set of Photoshop brushes created by Frenden. Using a WACOM tablet in conjunction with Photoshop allows me to draw digitally, and the built-in pressure sensitivity allows my lines to change from thin to thick, depending on the amount of pressure I apply to the surface of my tablet with the WACOM stylus. For inking, I prefer to begin with thick outlines of the characters, and then fill in inner details with a thinner brush.
When I finish inking, I hide the pencil layers, and then I fill in flat colors in a new layer under the inks, by either “painting” them in, or making selections with the magic wand tool or lasso tool, followed by filling those areas with the paint bucket. In a new layer above flats (under the inks layer), I shade with darker colors. For a more detailed description of this process, please see this post about creating art for our first collected print volume.
After I am happy with all the colors and inks, I add tails to the dialog balloons, and save the comic as a flat jpeg. Then I upload it to our site and create the post. That’s pretty much it! If you have any questions about more of the the art creation process, please feel free to post in our comments below, and I will be more than happy to give detailed answers!
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