Drawing Software: What do you use?

Submitted by Derik Badman on July 23, 2007 - 09:21

Since I know a lot of the readers here also make webcomics, I've got a question:

What software do you use in creating your webcomic?

I've been using Corel Painter IX for a few years now (with a Wacom Tablet on a Mac). It has a lot of great tools for recreating different types of media (paint, pencil, watercolor, crayon, etc) and has worked for me so far, but I'm getting annoyed with it for many reaons (including the fact that I just can't get the version updates to work). So, I've been looking around at other options. Photoshop and Illustrator seem very popular, thought neither seem particularly suited for comics and are extremely expensive. I've been demoing Manga Studio EX which seems great, but I've only played with it superficially. The easy creation of panels and word balloons would be a great time saver, and I really like the "feel" of the pen tools with my tablet.

Curious to hear what others might recommend?

Derik Badman

Drawing Software: What do you use?

by Xaviar Xerexes - 01/20/2008 - 22:12

Ding!

Anyone want to reboot this thread and add some more suggestions?

____

Xaviar Xerexes

Oh yeah... this place is called ComixTalk now.

I run this place! Tip the piano player on the way out.

Re: Drawing Software: What do you use?

by CyberLord - 01/21/2008 - 16:30

Well, from my perspective, I wonder why anyone would would put too much of his artwork into a proprietary piece of software.

I use Photoshop because I have a Mac Mini that I bought for art purposes. If I had not bought the Mac Mini I would have used a generic Linux box with the GIMP.

The problem with the GIMP is that it is eight-bit software. Photoshop is sixteen, maybe thirty-two, bits. That gives you a LOT more in terms of colors and shading. Also, The GIMP does not use the same formats as printers so your colors may change if you try to print them.

The problems with proprietary software packages such as Photoshop and the various flavors of Flash and other packages is that you may not be able to access your own artwork in the future. As an example I ask you to try to read old versions of Microsoft Word on a modern version. Micro$oft is notorious for making later versions of software that cannot read previous versions. The company that I work for had to spend a LOT of money to convert old documents into the newer version of Word. I don't think many comics creators have the resources to do that. What happens if the company that makes your software dies?

Then again there is the problem of ancient hardware. As I mentioned above I have a Mac Mini. The problem with my Mac Mini is that is has an IBM PowerPC chip, not an Intel chip. That means when my Mac Mini dies, it takes all the software I have in it with it. I have heard that the newer Intel Macs have an emulation mode that will allow older PowerPC chip software to run on it. That still does not make me comfortable.

My solution to this issue of software is to produce as much of my art on paper as I can. Then I scan it and convert it into an open format such as .JPG. This will give me the greatest flexibility in the future to reuse my existing work.

If you don't care about retaining your work, then my concerns are not yours.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort but where he stands at times of challenge and discovery. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.---------CyberLord

Re: Drawing Software: What do you use?

by Gordon McAlpin - 01/22/2008 - 00:44

"The problems with proprietary software packages such as Photoshop and the various flavors of Flash and other packages is that you may not be able to access your own artwork in the future."

Uh... I wouldn't worry about Photoshop not being around in the future. It's pretty well ingrained in dozens of industries. If anything were to come around to replace it, it would have to be a REPLACEMENT -- capable of opening and editing older Photoshop documents as well.

You don't need to emulate PowerPC Photoshop with an Intel Mac to access older Photoshop files; even if you lost the actual program, you could just buy the new version of Photoshop along with your new computer. Your document files will still be useable.

PSD files are fare more editable and flexible than a JPG would ever be -- and JPGs are a compressed format, so you're just throwing away data if you do that. I would NEVER, EVER recommend anybody store their files in JPG format. Save TIFFs if you're talking about black and white line art that you'll want to be editable by literally any program that would ever possibly come along, but really, you are safe with Photoshop and PSDs.

I have over a decade under my belt as a professional print production artist or designer, so I can speak with some authority on these subjects.

Multiplex is a twice weekly humor comic about the staff of the Multiplex 10 Cinemas and the movies that play there.

Re: Drawing Software: What do you use?

by CyberLord - 01/22/2008 - 13:43

Yes, TIFFs are better for storing black and white imagery. .JPGs are lossy (that means they lose data each time they are copied).

If you think Adobe is going to always be around because they have always been around, you have not been paying attention to the numbers of mergers and aquistions that have taken place in the US.

Sure, the current management at Adobe knows better than the play the kind of tricks Micro$oft plays. The real question is: how comfortable are you that they won't be bought out by a company with less inclination to change things? What happens at Adobe if Google decides to create a web-app that does the same thing as Photoshop?

I am not trying to start an argument. I just think that some of the newer computer users should be aware of tying their artwork up in any proprietary formats. The decision as to what direction to take is up to each individual.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort but where he stands at times of challenge and discovery. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.---------CyberLord

Re: Drawing Software: What do you use?

by gigglinsigler - 07/25/2007 - 13:54

It seems that I'm in the minority with this choice, but I go with Flash MX 2004 and a decent sized Wacom Intuos pad. The pressure-sensitivity really brought a completely new facet to my lines and I don't think I could do without it now.

______________________________________________________

"Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." - Dennis Miller

Check out my webcomic, Amazing Superzeroes, at www.amazingsuperzeroes.com! They're heroes! With a Z!

________________________________________________________________________

"Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." - Dennis Miller

Check out my webcomic, Amazing Superzeroes, at www.amazingsuperzeroes.com! They're heroes! With a Z!

Re: Drawing Software: What do you use?

by Derik Badman - 07/26/2007 - 09:58

I think of Flash more as an web/animation tool (a good friend of mine is a flash designer). Does it really work as a drawing/comics tool? Maybe I'll have to find a demo.

Derik A Badman

Things Change: http://madinkbeard.com/comics

Blog: http://madinkbeard.com/blog

Derik A Badman

Blog: http://madinkbeard.com/blog

Re: Drawing Software: What do you use?

by Tim Tylor - 07/26/2007 - 10:06

It seems to be pretty effective for general still artwork. The Alpha Shade comic is a good example, and has some tutorials on it.

Re: Drawing Software: What do you use?

by Uncle Ghastly - 07/23/2007 - 13:05

Depends really.

I have an ancient version of Paint Shop Pro which I keep falling back on because I know how everything works with it. I have Photoshop CS2 which I try to force myself to use as much as possible for certain things.

For colouring I still prefer the Painter Classic which came with my first RS232 Wacom tablet way way back.

Of course for for Apophenia 357 I used pencil crayons for the first chapter and watercolours for the second chapter.

Re: Drawing Software: What do you use?

by ubersoft - 07/23/2007 - 10:54

I use the Gimp and Inkscape, a vector graphics program that uses SVG as its native file format.Inkscape is still under development, but it's already quite capable. Inkscape's site is http://www.inkscape.org