Hey! Just to say that I love your art and story so far. I'm not pressuring you to update (Just saying. I hate it when I get reviews yelling at me to hurry up.) Anyway, I just wanted to know how long you have been drawing for. And what what do you use for your art? How do you practice?
Thanks for writing! It means a lot to me when I receive positive feedback on my art and story - it helps to keep me motivated!!
I've drawn even since I first learned to use crayons, I suppose. (I'm turning 25 in March... ) I intended to become a Disney animator until I attended Ringling School of Art & Design for about a week, then decided I prefer art as a hobby. ^^;;;
For this comic, I use regular computer paper and a mechanical pencil... for shading I just smear the pencil with my finger (I know you're not supposed to, but oh well. :P ) I use Photoshop to add some backgrounds and patterns and such. (and for touch-ups of course!) I use Prismacolor pencils for the color pictures.
I don't practice much anymore, although I should. I guess I use this comic as practice. ^^;; But I always keep my eyes open when I'm around people... always watching for interesting hair styles, clothing, and definitely to pay attention to body shapes (for example, the shape of arms - how the shape changes when it moves & bends, perspective, etc.).
I hope I answered your questions. ^^ Thanks again for writing!
But what about perspective? What stops arms from looking like tree trunks when at an awkward angle? The hips area are also a problem when facing away. I kind of understand the whole 'buildings get smaller the farther away they are' thing, but not many manga/comic resorces talk to you about body perspective. And is really annoying when you don't have anyone around to pose for you.
You use digital effects? Is that easy to do, or are screen tones easier (not to mention much more expensive) What about the speech bubbles?
What inspired you to come up with the plot line and are the characters based after real people? I always have a problem with drawing the same person twice. That may cause a little problem if I want to start drawing a comic.
Forgive me if the questions are starting to becomes a little cliche. It is in my nature.
I don't mind your questions at all... makes me happy to know that someone out there likes what I'm doing! ^_^;;
Perspective is hard for me to draw too. My husband is not fond of posing for me, so most of the time I just keep running to a mirror and doing the pose for myself, then draw what I can remember. If something is still not right, I run back to the mirror and try to figure out what I did wrong. ^^;;
Sometimes I also use the "How To Draw Manga" book called "Bodies & Anatomy". If you're interested in the book, I'd recommend that you flip through it first, just to see if you would find it useful before buying it. (Warning: the book contains female nudity). I believe they are available in most big book stores like Borders or Barnes & Noble.
Drawing characters the same way twice is also really hard for me, and I actually don't think I'm succeeding very well so far. XD;; So, I can't really think of any advice to give about that. ^^;;
Um, as for screen tones, I've never really tried them. They seem rather painstaking. O.o;; I use digital tones for backgrounds like gradients or clouds, or I use paintbrush shapes for grass, etc. I use the PaintShop Pro shape tool to make the speech bubbles.
The plot was initially inspired a bit by Sailormoon, as far as the mysterious-guy-always-saving-the-girl idea. I had also drawn a character with a weird hairdo that I liked, and thought she could have a split personality with a girl from the past. Eventually I wanted to make a short "guinea pig" online comic, and decided to merge her with the first idea.
The characters aren't based on real people at all, but I am sad to say that Clover was named after a dog from the old Disney movie "The Ugly Dachshund". XD There's a little dog named Chloe, and I thought the name was cute... so the name Clover (or as I prefer, Cloie) was decided. Actually, Mark was named after the human character from the same movie. Hehh.
Well, I hope you'll keep reading... the story is almost complete! After this ends, I will be starting a longer & more "in-depth" comic called "Above Destiny". I'm really excited about it, so please look forward to it!!
Above Destiny? Sounds good. Can't wait for it to come out. You've been doing a great job on the characters. The only thing I can do for my own characters is to make sure that I don't make too many of them and that each character has something special about them (a scar, strange colour hair, etc) so you can always tell who it is, no matter what. (Like Ranma and his pigtail in Ranma 1/2).
I find panelling a problem in comics. How do you choose how many boxes on one page? I always find that I put too many and that they are always nearly too small. Or that I don't put enough. What size paper do you use? A4 or A5? The professional comics in book stores are usually pocket book sized and the art is so intricate. Mine always look clumsy and too large/small.
Will you be giving any spoilers about 'Above Destiny'? *hint hint* Can't wait!
Thanks. ^^ Do you have a website or have some of your characters posted online? I'd like to see!
I remember reading somewhere that you should try not to do more than 7 panels per page. When I'm making a layout for a new page, I just try to think about how I want the scene to look... like if I want a close up shot or a full body shot at which points... and then I try to make a panel layout that will fit. ^^;; If the scene won't fit on the page, I either cut something out, merge two panels into one, or just leave some panels for the next page.
I use regular 8.5x11 paper for my comic. ^^;; The pro's use the really big paper (I think it's B4 or B5?) so that when it shrinks down it will look better. ^_^ Also, manga is initially printed larger, more like the size of a magazine. It's done in installments, and then later collected into volumes at smaller sizes (like what we've become accustomed to seeing manga look like ^^).
As for Above Destiny... I will be posting some info on it soon. ^^ I'm happy to hear that you're interested! :D
Nope, sorry. I'd like to put some of my art on the web someday, when I have better drawings lying around. Not on my own site, perhaps in a gallery or something. Just to say, I like the way that you made Clover's hair straight after Keiko left her body. Neat little idea there. ^_^
I was wondering which would be better: Drawing your own poses without a reference on a complete guess/mind's eye on proportion
or
using loads of different guides so that when you know what you want to draw, you have a clear idea of what it will look like thanks to a previous example.
^_^;; Sorry, long worded question. Now that I look over it, I'm not sure if I understand what I just said.
...*shrug* ah well.
Can't wait for the new updates! Can't wait for that and my two new art books CLAMP North and South. *Sigh* Birthdays are sweet!
Ohh, I'm glad you noticed the straight hair! ^_^ I tried to hint about it earlier when Mark had asked Cloie why only some of her hair was curled. (page 15) I've been waiting to draw her with straight hair, cuz I think she's adorable looking. XD;; (is it bad to say that about your own character? ^^;; )
Hmmm, as for your question... that's tough for me to say. On one hand, I'd think your own poses are definitely better because you are being more original. However on the other hand, it's hard to draw correct proportions without references, and often times it comes out funny looking (for me anyway). I guess I'd suggest a mix of the two... parts that you are having trouble with, look up a reference. I hope I answered your question correctly. (Keep in mind these are only my opinions and not necessarily "correct" answers!)
Happy Birthday! How old are you now? (if you don't mind my asking)
Well, next week (4/16) will be the end of Twilight Kiss PINK, and also the beginning of Above Destiny. Along with tomorrow's update I'll be posting a little info about the new comic, as well as a voting incentive to see a preview picture! :D
Heh, I thought it was obvious. (The hair thing I mean.) She should have straightened it more often. It suits her! As for the question, yes. You answered perfectly, but I think that I won't do any serious drawings without my guides to hand. Or if I'm alone, it helps to have a best friend/teacher/potted plant sitting there for a guide. Even if they don't realise what I'm doing.
And...
MY ARTBOOKS HAVE ARRIVED!!! CLAMP are my idols. Their art is so pretty, even if it is a little girly. Heh. But it is annoying as when I want to use the illustrations as a guide, the blasted book is so new that it can't and won't stay open on a page without any help i.e. my two ton pencil case. Grr.
I'm afraid I can't pester you with any questions at the moment as my head feels blissfully empty at the moment. And I am trying to keep it that way as I have to go back to England for school in three days.
...
Christ. Three days already? Where did the time go??? I better get to work on the fanart that I was going to surprise you with in celebration of your almost complete comic. Is it your first? (You said it was your guinea pig in a previous post somewhere I think...)
Isn't today the 16th of April? Or am I just stupid? Ah well.
(Glad to see some Mark and Cloie action. Been waiting for that. Heh heh.)
BTW I'm fourteen. My brother still refuses to acknowledge that I am an official teenager and that I have been one since last year. Pfft.