Please guys, i need some help here. I need to know what it takes to create comics.
What kind of softwares would be needed e.t.c? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Photo comics? or hand drawn?

Raymand:

Photo comics? or hand drawn?

They're hand drawn comics.

ur hands are the most basic tools u need, Personally I use photoshop and coreldraw for finishing

D'you mean after drawing, u scan & then edit wit these softwares. If so, d'you know where i can get some help(, maybe a tutorial of some sort). Thanks

It still depends on your ability to use your mouse. Its easier to draw with flash if u r conversant with it or better still, stick to corel draw and do your finishing in photoshop. I've attached a sample of something i did with flash n photoshop. So its up to you, the possibilities are limitless if you know wat to do. (Please its not as if i'm saying its super fantastic or anything, i'm trying to let you know u can still do without scanning n all that stuff).

Do u think it'll b easier drawing on flash than scanning pencil work & editing wit maybe coreldraw & photoshop. I'm considering d time factor here. In order to go commercial & do a very good job in comic making, u need to do a design that's off d hook & still less time consuming. But, If u give your opinion on the topic i guess i'll just have 2 stick wit it. Btw aif u're into comics, i'n into a major comic project & i think i'm going 2 need your help. Hope 2 hear 4rm u.Thanks.

Namzo, like Moondust said, your hand is your ultimate weapon if you want a decent comic. The pros at Marvel, Image, DC etc do it that way pencil, ink, scan, digitalpaint. . . You can use toon shaded 3D models if you are a good modeler. Graphic tablet or not, tablet PC or not, I still prefer to do it by hand and scan.

@namzo
Hand drawn comics are ok but if you plan on taking it up as a career I would suggest you take time and study computer animation, the benefits are huge. You can still hand draw them but you would have the added bonus of manipulating them on your computer.Try Toon Boom Studio http://www.toonboom.com/ it accepts hand-drawn animations. You would have to scan them though. Good luck.

THe easiest and quickest way is to hand draw, scan into your PC, clean up, ink and colour the images in Photoshop. The following tutorial should be helpful http://www.webdesign.org/web/photoshop/color-management/digital-comics-coloring.5052.html

Rodent:

THe easiest and quickest way is to hand draw, scan into your PC, clean up, ink and colour the images in Photoshop. The following tutorial should be helpful http://www.webdesign.org/web/photoshop/color-management/digital-comics-coloring.5052.html

@Rodent: Thanks for d advice & d link. I found it very helpful. Btw, i also saw on a website that special pens should be used to draw before scanning & not pencils. Is that necessary? Once again, Thanks.

no you dont need any special pens, ur pencil lines are just fine, just ensure they are visible on the scanned image, alternatively adjusting levels within Photoshop will make the lines more visible. The aim is to trace or re-draw the lines within Photoshop which will give you the clear concise lines, the equivalent of the good old black lines one would get if an inking pen was used in the days of old.
This forms the base on which all colouring will be done.

Enjoy!

Oh and contrary to one of the earlier posts its a good idea if cashflow permits to invest in a graphics tablet and stylus as opposed to a mouse, the difference is like chalk and cheese, or pepsi & 7-Up as the saying goes

I don't think graphic tablets are that effective. You should draw on paper and then scan your work.

Seun:

I don't think graphic tablets are that effective. You should draw on paper and then scan your work.

That's the most effective method of comic book creation. Gives you a lot of freedom.

Seun:

I don't think graphic tablets are that effective. You should draw on paper and then scan your work.

grafikdon:

That's the most effective method of comic book creation. Gives you a lot of freedom.

I'm with Seun and Graphikdon on this.

The Graphics TAblet/Stylus would'nt give you what your hand would.

Though, It's an alternative (especially when u need to do fast quick drawings).

It has it's limitations.

But its better to use a graphic tab/pen instead of a mouse when if you want to trace what you have hand-drawn and scanned to your pc.

You might not need to do this kind of tracing if you are using SW like photoshop or flash for finishing. They enables u to edit your scanned drawings almost like they were drawn on PC.

well, all send and done. the key is to draw your comics on paper and then scan them, so you can retouch them in a program like photoshop. if you have enuf budget you can invest in a graphic tablet ( its worth it!) and try and get all those different engineering pencils( if thats what they are called) cos they have different line effect and one more thing, don't forget to scan your drawing in a fairly large paper ( i mean don't scan them with those small boxes you see in comics) that way when they are scanned large you have enuf space to work on the image which gives you better control of the image without the issue of blurred images. then when done, scaled them down to the size you want in the program. hope this helps.
goodluck!

@ iparrot
that's true talk,

Oh, hello, this forum got me trying what I am not really good at in the first place.
Guys, I scanned my work in corelDraw, converted the Mode to Line Art and then removed the white background, then I copied it to paint.
1. There were gray shadows everywhere making my work look stupid
2. I do not know how to use this photoshop of a thing

Thanks for your help

Scan your work in Photoshot or COrel Photopaint next time. Forget about lineart.

[b][/b]I usually do the preliminary pencil sketch by hand, scan it and then colour it with Paint, though that can be really tedious, whew all that pixel by pixel fixing!  I have found there are some nice applications in Adobe Photoshop that can be used to both draw and colour with, as well as working up to animations even.  If you aren't familiar with it, Newtype magazine is the largest animation magazine in the world, every month they spotlight a new artist and show their step by step techniques and also what prog they used. They also print pix done by unknown artists if you send them in. (I had the good fortune to be published in their April 2006 issue  )  I'm not sure what style of comics you are doing, but you can give them a look online at www.newtype.com. The featured artist stuff is really helpful cuz they show you more than just characters, but cover the actual layering and development of backgrounds as well.  Hope this is helpful. Cheers!

Well, while you guys are at it, a Comics and Cartoons Carnival takes place in Lagos every year.

This year, it is taking place 9th - 11th November at the National Theatre.
Visit http://www.coragroup.org/news.php?id=27 for more details,

Hand drawn, scanned & coloured with photoshop.
The problem is, i don't know how to make the lines bold. Thanks

pls, can anyone help me with photoshop tutorials that can be helpful in comic making. e.g: putting reflection on objects e.g a car, crowd simulation,adding shadows e.t.c. i'm not so good with photoshop. Thanks

@namzo, you are a lucky fellow. You even know some things in photoshop. Me, I am a stark novice!!!
Please send me a complete guide to the steps you used in adding colour to your car.
E-mail me: feelirabs@yahoo.com.
I will deeply appreciate

Lafem:

I'm with Seun and Graphikdon on this.

Actualy graphic tablets can give you very good results depending on the type you go for . Bear in mind that they are not necessarily an end in themself.
There are some good tablets that actualy allow you to even insert your hand drawn sketches or any paper pix and then trace the outline you need.A very good stategy will be to combine these tools with 3D programs like studio Max, Maya, Bryce, and Poser. You sketch what you need to sketch and use the modeling environments of these 3D suits to model your characters, land scapes objects, etc. You can also map textures to them and play around with the light tools and cameras to quickly get very good shades, and shadows, and you can easily pose you objects , revolve your cameras and pic out the best of several posible camera angles within seconds without having to redraw on and on. When you get what you want you use their in-built 2-D renderers to render the output as a 2D image. The results can be very impresive. You also get very good consistencies in the feautres of your character.

I drew this and scanned it.

Someone please highlight the steps to add effects in photoshop?

thanks

man go get yourself a graphic tablet, really that wil help a great deal. my boss in bayelsa uses one, infact he wants to upgrade, he's is for sale now but you should get a new one for say 300k, 340k. its always cool as you can simply write directly on it. i thought him how to use corel paint, export into corel draw to finish, now we are at fireworks for finishing. if you will contact me, 08037230230, 08083599147, i am in bayelsa with him now maybe i talk to him, he's is a siemens going for like 230, if you can pay for it. later man. i wish you luck. i would have loved to get it but man, energy small for now.

@namzo, adjain & the rest: I found a website that should adequately answer your questions pertaining to the subject matter, its address is: http://www.howtomakecomics.net/

go to http://browse.deviantart.com/ and click th categories drop down menu >> resources >> tutorials>>drawing/painting/airbrushing>>photoshop.

or go to http://www.pixel2life.com and type 'comic' in the search box

good luck .
also check out my work here on nairaland and tell me what u think (I also want to do the comic thing!)

@ Namzo here's what I did with your car sketch!
hope u like it