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Nimaru — The many parts of an MLP comic
Published: 2011-08-31 20:34:16 +0000 UTC; Views: 11673; Favourites: 101; Downloads: 550
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Description
Several people have been asking me about art and comicking so I thought I'd share a little behind the scenes stuff. Here's a screenshot of most of the pieces that were vectored before being assembled for the final comic.Ask me anything.
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Comments: 43
I'm starting on my first comic. Starting very simple with a 6-panel one, which I have so far. I'm just aiming right now to sketch what it's going to be so that I know what's going to happen, what I'll need to draw, etc. Is there any advice you can give me for this? Any good "how-to-comic" guides you can think of (I've been looking everywhere for something like that)?
HALP.
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It depends. Are you shooting for doing a color comic or just black and white?
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Definitely color comic. Like, the real-deal. The kind that get on EQD (of course NOWHERE near as epic as your "the Real Story" comics). I'm struggling to decide.
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I went that way too and it was hard, but GREAT practice. What programs are you using? I first used Photoimpact, but Sai would work and so would photoshop if you happen to "have" that.
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Yes, I have (am renting) Photoshop. I at first planned to sketch in PS w/ my Wacom, then vector in AI. And I have the specific backgrounds plan but no idea on how to do those.
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Sketching can be done in PS or paper (and then scanned or photographed). Illustrator is a good choice for "inking" the outlines whether you use the pen tool or the brush. The brush may be faster unless you're pretty good with the pen tool. It depends on how complex your drawings are. Either way, once that's done, you'll likely do the rest of the coloring in photoshop. Backgrounds included.
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Well, I'm not too great with the pen tool. 
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Pen tool is cleaner, but slower in most cases. Using the tablet with the brush tool in Illustrator is a good choice because it helps smooth the lines you draw.
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Would it be possible to use the brush tool in illustrator w/ a tablet to do the entire thing? So many questions! D:
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Not really. Illustrator does colors ok, but only if you use paths (which is what the pen tool is for). It also id hard to do shading with or things like sparkles and such.
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Hmm.... What would you suggest I do? What's the best way to get a comic onto EQD?
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Something orignal, color is better, but not necessary if it's cool/funny enough. Single pictures work too if they're interesting enough. Note that using canon characters works better than OCs in most cases.
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That's what I'm doing. I was wondering if EQD tends to accept comics on their comic compilations that are vector over non-vector, or it doesnt' matter?
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Doesn't matter. It's about making people laugh, being interesting, being unique, etc.
I remember once when they posted my Elements comic how they said that they don't like to post OCs much, but they were so relieved it wasn't pony creator stuff again.
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Well, I definitely believe I can do that. I'll just have to decide for myself if I want to ink and color or vector. I've been trying new things recently. Perhaps the former would work out.
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For comparison:
Vector comic - [link]
Drawn comic - [link]
In a purely drawn comic, if you screw up a little, you can draw over it, but otherwise you need to redraw large sections. You won't be able to size it up much because of pixelization. Vectors can be crazy easy to deal with because you can reuse so much and resize and re-angle lines.
If anything, the best way might be drawn/screenshot/DA vector backgrounds with vector art for the main part of the comic.
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Okay, I think I'll vector it. On the other hand...
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Your comics are just so... AWESOME! I bet you need to make tons of vectors for a single comic page? It would be better if you created a tutorial of your process of vectoring in Illustrator or any other software you use
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I've been thinking about that since I bet a lot of people could use a quick and easy guide.
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Wait.. Your the magical person who made one of my favorite MLPFIM story comics??? OMGOSH!!!!
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i just love your drawings. when i first saw them,was the first thing that come to my mind" is this a comic or something made by hasbro?
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What is your order? Is it Vector > blacklines > color vectorlines > color inner body > touchup?
I can't seem to figure out a way to color everything without having to have a touchup layer or two. If I use a 'soft edge' my 'body fill' has gaps... but if I use a hard edge I have to blend it (which takes a long time).
Do you use a 'paintcan fill' or do you prefer filling the body in with a brush?
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I'm using Illustrator for vectors so when you make any shape or line, you just pick the outline color and fill color. No special fill to worry about
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where did you get the "celestia's phoenix mode" drawing? Seems like there's no available vector for it. Original drawing, courtesy of you? <<<(my best guess).
keep up the good artwork
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Almost everything I do is based on the style of the show, but completely original otherwise. That's partly what takes so long. Most of the things I've actually trace-vectored are body parts like a wing or two there, a leg there, a building or a cloud (and plants), but a LOT of it (most in fact) is just from my imagination. For example, mix Twilight's rage mode from Pinkie Keen with Celestia and that's where I got the Phoenix mode from
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Scratch that, I would rather call it "Phoenix Fury", it's sound cooler that way hehe, just thinking out loud.
Anyways, any idea to when part 3 will be finish?
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Possibly this weekend, definitely by next if there aren't too many interruptions.
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Wow, that is an awful amount of work. *claps at your awesomeness of doing this*
I love your character designs for the maids.
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Thanks! It's really hard to come up with original colors and hairstyles, but it was worth it.
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This is beyond impressive. It's just...wow. The comic, too. I'm really looking forward to part 3, and anything else you may have in store for us.
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Thank you. It's getting more challenging to create what I imagine the further I go, but thankfully the experience I gain as I go gets me through the next one. I hope I can finish this story with the justice it deserves.
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Oh wow, that's quite a lot. Quite a lot of work goes into these comics, no?
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Yes. I posted a pic of some of the vector pieces of the comic to give people some idea of the work involved.
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? That's not all of the work by far, but it's most of the Illustrator stuff. Notice that I grab some screenshots here and there to help me remember the correct sizing and proportions. People have commented how a lot of my stuff looks authentic. This is why.
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Oh, thanks! I didn't really expect anyone to fav this, only to use it as a topic of discussion.
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