Making Comics: The Digital Art of False Positive
We’ve now embarked on the 3rd year of False Positive.
In the past 2 years, I’ve learned a lot.
Artistically, while the style I’m using has evolved, the process I follow for creating the digital art has remained fairly consistent all along.
See more after the jump.
Hardware– I love working with traditional media, but nothing compares to the convenience of working digitally. There’s no clean up. I don’t have to run to the store when my favorite brush dies or I run out of Zinc White. My colors are always consistently mixed and never dry out. The trade off: working digitally loses all the unsuspected and spontaneous moments that arise when working with traditional media.
To help facilitate the speed of my process, False Positive is created 100% digitally. When I’m at my studio, I work with my laptop (my tower collects dust in a less convenient spot) and a Wacom Cintiq 21ux, purchased in 2010. When on the road, I take the same laptop and carry an ancient (2005) 6 in. x 8 in. Wacom Graphire 3 and/ or my Large Wacom Intuos 4 with a 12 in. drawing area. As you might suspect, I’m a big fan of Wacom products. Working with my Cintiq isn’t very far removed from working on a traditional drawing. The stylus interacts directly with the monitor and the monitor easily tilts and rotates in the same way I might flip around a sketchbook or piece of paper. While I’m curious about newer Wacom interface products, I haven’t yet felt the need to upgrade.
To anyone on a budget, you can make just about any size Wacom stylus and tablet work for you. It’s been a while since I’ve tested other stylus brands, but in my experience, other brands lacked the sensitivity and response of the Wacom hardware and drivers.
Software- To get the most out of my tablets, I use Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. I’m not listing the version of the programs here, because I keep multiple versions of each program loaded on my computers. I’m a creature of habit. I’ve found that with each new version of these programs there are little idiosyncrasies that get changed. In one version of Photoshop, a filter might work in one manner, in a manner I come to depend upon, but then the same filter serves up slightly different results in the newer version of the program. Regardless of the version of the program, both Photoshop and Painter are my favorite 2D digital art programs. I’ve also messed with Manga Studio and Sketchbook Pro, but neither programs worked out for me.
To anyone on a budget, there’s nothing wrong with getting yourself an older version of these programs as long as they’re still compatible with your computer’s current operating system.
Still with me?
Here’s a rundown of the False Positive art process:
1. Working at 600 dpi and using Corel Painter, I create a loose digital sketch that quickly gets turned into finished line-art on a new Layer. Here is my default Brush settings for drawing/ inking.
2. Moving over to Phototshop, I create multiple layers of the art of various values. Using Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, decrease the Lightness. This makes everything white into gray.
3. Then I erase areas of the higher, lighter value, Layer to allow the darker Layer beneath to show through. This step is not unlike the subtractive method (a.k.a. wipe-out style or rub out method) of underpainting technique used with oils.
4. I repeat steps 2 & 3 until the desired values are achieved. During this process, I might add more whites or darker darks, etc.
5. I flatten all the Layers.
6. Again, I use Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and select Colorize. Then I adjust the levels until the desired hue is achieved.
7. If the image calls for more than one color, the Layer is duplicated and the process for step 6 is repeated to achieve the new Layer‘s color. Then areas of one layer are erased to allow the color of the under Layer to show through.
Man, that all looks tedious, but it’s actually a rapid process.
I don’t always draw like this. I created this style exclusively for this project. Next season, I think I might try experimenting with a different art style for each story. I’m wacky like that.
Any questions?
Would anyone want to see a video tutorial of this process?
Do any of you create digital art?
Any tips for tools or programs to share?
Cheers!
Big Mike
I always love tuts … video or otherwise
That’s good to know.
Cheers!
I’ve hearing good recommendations for a software called Manga Studio. I tried a bit of it and found their perspective ruler guides really useful. You might want to give it a try if you have the chance.
Perhaps I need to take another look at Manga Studio.
I’m not a digital artists, but it’s always super neat to see how other artists are creating their work. Party on
I’m only starting on digital art, so it’s about as crude as crayon on newsprint at the moment. I’m still getting used to using a tablet. I’m starting by using something that looks pencil-like and am using different colors for different characters. This is allowing me to avoid distracting backgrounds (which I use grey for) and separate the pieces in a way that abstractly fits into a story easily. I’m using (trying to learn, rather) Adobe CC since I get a sweet discount for being a college teacher.
What I do is nothing as beautiful or realistic as anything Mike draws (even when I rarely aim for realism in my preferred media (which is not digital), I’m still light-years from Mike’s realism).
Just like watercolor or acrylics, digital tools require practice. I started using Photoshop as a teenager, drawing with a mouse, using the line tool and coloring with the lasso tool and the paint bucket. Since then, my practice of making art using physical media has paralleled my practice with digital tools. I love painting in oils and watercolors, but the demands of my schedule make digital art more practical.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think of the art I’m using for FP as being “realistic.” It might not be as abstracted as Calvin & Hobbes or The Simpsons, but I think it’s far from Rosa Bonheur’s or Thomas Eakins’ work.
I often consider Scott McCloud’s triangle from Understanding Comics. Explained HERE..
I think of my art falling closer to “surrealism,” with elongated and often very funky anatomy and stylized forms. Of course I’m cursed with a somewhat anal-retentive tendency to overwork things. I’m experimenting with making art that is more abstracted and stylized. I’d like to play with the notion of “casting” the art to help better set the tone for each story. That’s why I’m planning to use different styles of art for each chapter next season.
Since we were discussing art, I thought I’d share my thoughts on this subject. But in the end, it really doesn’t matter how the style is defined and all styles can be equally valid, but in comics, they might not all best serve the story.
I agree the heavy line contour and flat shading you use is not photo-realistic, but to most people (as well as myself) it’s amazingly lifelike and detailed. For what it’s worth. 🙂 I don’t notice the surreal qualities but that may just be because the stories are so immersive.
Thanks for the insight into your work! It’s pretty interesting stuff.
Glad someone finds it interesting. And thanks.
“Would anyone want to see a video tutorial of this process?” *raises hand*
I would love to, even though I know this can be time-consuming. I saw one video-tutorial of a digital artist I like before and it was a true eye-opener as to how many steps go into creating a single frame and just how many details there are that we often don’t notice at first, second, or third glance. Would love to be enlightened again.
Good to know.
I’ll add to my list of things to do… at some point.
Thanks so much for this… I too would love a tutorial. I’ve been thinking about getting into digital art but the startup cost is kind of expensive…
Which is better? Wacom Bamboo Splash or Wacom Bamboo Crafts? Which has a bigger working space?
Wacom is continually redesigning their products. I’m not familiar with the specific Splash or Crafts Bamboo products.