Lately we have noticed a considerable increase of people who confuse monochrome (or black and white) manga with grayscale.

 

For this reason, we have created this quick guide with tips on when it is better to make a monochrome manga or when it is better to draw it in grayscale.

 

At the end of this article you will also find some video tutorials in which we show you how to convert your work from grayscale to monochrome and vice versa with Clip Studio Paint in a few steps.

 

1.- What is the difference between creating a monochrome or grayscale manga?

We are not going to bore you with technicalities or anything like that. The only thing you need to know is that the difference lies in the color capacity that each process supports.

 

GRAY

Manages 256 achromatic colors. You can make gradients and use anti-aliasing tools such as brushes, which create a more "friendly" stroke.

 

MONOCHROMATIC

It only manages 2 colors (binary images). It does not allow smoothing, so the line of your sleeve will have a “pixelated” finish. But don't be overwhelmed! That is why the sleeves are worked in high resolution (600 dpi minimum), so that your work does not lose quality with the printing.

• The result seems worse in monochrome (left), since in the gray scale (right) the strokes are smoothed, however this will not be perceived in paper format

2.- Wait a minute, then, why are there gray tones on the sleeves?

At this point our friends come to get us out of trouble with the frames, they are in charge of pretending the sensation of gray, although what we really do is continue working 100% monochrome.

• TIP: Plots (both digital and manual ones) are a very useful element, not only to give depth to the manga, but also because they help convey emotions and feelings that are difficult to express in another way.

3.- Why in Japan is manga published in monochrome format and not in grayscale?

Because by printing such a limited palette, the production cost is much cheaper and easier to perform. Have you ever wondered why Japanese manga magazines are huge and so cheap? If we combine this with other factors (such as the quality of the paper), as a result we find a very complete magazine distributed weekly and at a free price.

4.- When should I draw a manga in grayscale?

Although you can find a publisher that accepts your manga in grayscale, we recommend this option when your intention is to distribute your manga online and that it is displayed on screens, websites, apps, ...

 

If you use dot patterns and textures and distribute your work digitally, the result will vary greatly depending on the device where your client views it, and many times you will end up seeing that horrible moiré effect that we all fear.

That is why nowadays there are more and more artists who choose to publish their digital manga in grayscale. At FUKURÔ Cómics -to date- we opted for a classic finish since we love textures and patterns. And you, what do you prefer? ;)

• Image taken from the manga "The Guardian", by ChieTan

• Image taken from the manga "Fukurô Ninpo Ryu", by Yuppe

5.- How do I publish my manga in monochrome format?

This is the preferred format to work in Japan, so if you intend to publish for them or enter their contests, we recommend that you follow the following tips:

 

1) Make sure that the line is in pure black and white: When you scan your inked work and edit it, raise the black threshold and eliminate the midtones by playing with the saturation and contrast levels.

• When the line is not well transformed to manipulate it in monochrome, when filling in black with the paint bottle, you will see that there is a horrible border around the drawing

 

2) Use dot patterns and textures: There are a huge number of patterns that serve to balance and give life to your sleeve, from grids, dots, patterns ...

• These are some of the plots that exist to draw manga. They will help you so that your work is not so dull and boring

 

3) Use the black blocks to balance your manga pages and do not give all the work to the plots, they also have the right to rest!

6.- How do I modify my manga from grayscale to monochrome with CSP? [VIDEO-TUTORIAL]

The first thing you have to do is modify the layer where you have drawn the line of your sleeve and turn it into monochrome (Bottom image 1.).

 

eye! The changes you make in the lineaturation layer will be irreversible as soon as you accept them (Image below 2.), so we recommend that you duplicate the layer you want to modify or that you save these changes in a new file.

Now go to the layer you want to modify and click on the following icon (Bottom image 1.). You can manipulate the thickness of the points freely with the parameters lower than this (Figure below 2.). Repeat this process for the other layers.

• The illustration that we have used as an example in this video, was originally in color, but we used it in this case because of the amount of nuances it had. For a manga we do not recommend abusing this effect at all.

7.- How do I export my monochrome manga in grayscale with CSP? [VIDEO-TUTORIAL]

This conversion is much simpler than the previous one since it does not require "structural" changes within the manga, but is a change that is made when saving your file in another format. As you can see, in this guide we have saved the file in jpg format.

 

First go to the [FILE]> [EXPORT] window> choose the desired format> choose the folder> [ADVANCED COLOR OPTIONS]> disable the [ENABLE LAYER TONE EFFECT] box.

 

If you want to preview the changes before saving the file, check the first box in the export options and you will be able to make changes before saving the file.

The best thing about this option is that since it is an export in another format, you will never lose your original manga creation, so it is a very interesting option if you want to share your work online and later distribute it in physical format: D

About us

Have you ever wondered what happens when a gamer dedicates himself to drawing manga? Well here is the answer!

 

We are an independent Spanish manga studio and ardent fans of manga, video games and Japanese culture.

 

If you liked the illustrations shown in this article, you can buy the first chapters of each manga to which they belong, for free in the following links ^ __ ^

We hope this article on drawing manga in grayscale or monochrome has served to dispel your doubts. And, if there is still something that is not clear to you, do not forget to tell us in the lower section, we will be happy to help you!

 

Until next time!

• Monochrome version of the swordswoman to later export it to grayscale