1. Intro

Years ago, when drawing digitally aren’t as common as today, I was drawing my first comic only with A4 HVS paper, a ruler, eraser, pencil, and pen. Basically, I used to make comics with whatever I got, especially when I only have a very limited budget to buy things. I didn’t even know yet what pen tablet was, or did such thing even exist.

As times goes on, I learned more about the tools that commonly used for making comics such as specialized pens (e.g. Rotring, G-Pen, Maru-Pen, etc); screentones; coloring tools for drawing the book cover and/or color spread pages (e.g. Copic Markers). Even so, most of them were very difficult to find in the place where I came from and could be very expensive.

 

The thing is, when making something, you can’t expect things would always going smoothly. It takes a lot of time as there will be trial and error, accidents, or anything in between that could be an obstacle to get the job done. Planning everything should be done very carefully from choosing the idea to be produced to producing the finished product so there won’t be any resource being wasted in the process.

 

That was the time when this question crossed my mind :

“How to make the whole process simpler?”

 

The answer for me is drawing things digitally.

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2.) Shift from Traditional to Digital: The Adaptation

Getting the answer for that question was just the first step in the transition from making comics traditionally to digitally. It’s not like a huge jump from traditional then suddenly everything turning digital.

 

When I decided to start drawing my own comic, I thought it was only possible to be done traditionally. It because whenever people drawing comics back then, they were always seen using analog tools to do it. Moreover, I was drawing digitally mostly in a PC/laptop with a mouse, which also has something to do with the fact that I didn’t know another way yet. Everything done with the mouse: drawing lines, coloring…

Even though it was extremely difficult especially when trying to draw stable lines.

 

That’s why I relied so much on a scanner whenever I need to produce and publishing comics digitally. Basically, the whole illustrations still should be illustrated traditionally starting from sketch to inking, and then using a scanner to make digital file out of it.

 

After the image scanned completely, I open the file(s) in a graphic design software then put the speech balloons and type the text. The result would more or less be like the sample below:

Note: You can always choose to draw the speech balloon and write the text traditionally before scanning the comic pages as long as you can make sure that your handwriting is clear enough to be read. But if you have the software, I suggest you to put them later digitally as it would guarantee the clarity of the words and make it more editable.

3.) Choosing Pen Tablet

I discovered about pen tablet when searching online on how to draw comics digitally aside of using mouse. Back then, digital drawing video tutorial was still very rare and people mostly draw in a rather traditional way. I started using pen tablet after it become accessible and affordable for me to have one.

 

In my experience, basically there are 3 things to consider when decide to buy a pen tablet:

a.) The budget you have to buy the pen tablet.

Research the price offline and/or online to see what’s available in the market. Compare the price from one place to another. The best choice maybe to buy from the official store just to be safe though in my case, I bought mine from some trustworthy local marketplace that give me the best offer I can get that time.

 

Note: Knowing the official price of a tablet would help you to know whether the one offer you “best deal” gives you legitimate offer or not. Product price that too low or too high than the normal ones could indicate scam, so please be careful.

b.) The size and the spot available on your workspace to put the tablet.

The pen tablet I’ve been using is the small one that’s not bigger than a 14 inches laptop. It’s convenient as I can put it on my lap, just in case I don’t have any special spot to place it like what I’m experiencing right now.

 

 

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Well, that’s my Emergency Setup. Not ideal, but it works somehow.

 

I used to use my pen tablet on a desk though, facing the monitor while sitting comfortably on a chair. If it possible, highly recommend that set up as the bare minimum to avoid backache. Obviously, the bigger your pen tablet or pen display is, the more space you need to place it, so take it into consideration.

c.) Available Features

Each comes with their own features and compatibility. Check the product carefully to know what’s available and if it matches with what you need. For example, the ones I use comes with bluetooth compatibility so I still have other option if there’s no USB port available to insert the cable. Other features need to take into consideration are sensibility, lifespan, and after sales guarantee.

 

Note: You can also check if the product comes with free software as some of them comes with it. For example, the one I have with me now comes with a free drawing software. It helped much especially for people who just start drawing digitally.

4.) Using Pen Tablet

Pen tablet is basically made by mimic the way people draw with a traditional, analog tools such as pen on a paper. Personally, this is the most convenient way for drawing digitally so far.

 

That being said, there are some things that still doesn’t feel the same way compared to drawing comics traditionally. One of the biggest different for me when shifted from using pen on paper to pen tablet, is the surface texture of the pen tablet feels too slippery, totally different with a paper's surface it's hard to even maintain drawing a single straight line with it.

 

It was a total struggle, to the point I almost give up completely to draw digitally. Because, what can I do if I can’t even produce a single straight line? It’s no different with back then with a mouse!

 

That’s when I got an idea to attach a piece of paper with tapes over the tablet’s surface.

And it works. I got the paper texture I want when drawing with my pen tablet. Yippie!

Who cares about looks? I’m fine as long as it works well for me!

 

But looks like that’s just not enough to produce the kind of lineart I want.

This time, I found out about stabilizer. Using stabilizer feature in the drawing software, such as the one in CSP on the screenshot below is highly recommended. This feature help so much in making a firm and crisp lineart, easy to adjust as needed by moving the slider to the left or to the right for the right amount of stability.

Now I'm using a different pen tablet, this time has a better sensitivity plus an anti-scratch sticker bonus from the vendor like the one people use to protect their smartphone's screen, so I don’t need to cover it with a slice of paper anymore.

 

Unfortunately, the anti-scratch isn't really scratch-free though, especially if you tend to draw in one spot over and over. But at least, the texture could give enough "paper feel" when I'm using the tablet.

5.) No Pen Tablet?

Problem solved. But then, another problem waiting in the corner.

 

Imagine that you’re in the middle of your creative process, have no prejudice whatsoever about what would happen that day and just want to finish deadline as fast as possible with the best result you could possibly make…when suddenly, your pen tablet stopped working properly.

 

I remember when I watched my first pen tablet die, I was crying out loud as if it was someone dear to me just died. It was really unexpect, I was in a very tight deadline and wasn’t ready for buying another one as a replacement in time. Using just mouse or touchpad would be impossible to finish the task as there’s not enough time to do it in such way.

 

When I almost fall into desperation, two options come to mind:

Plan A: Borrow Someone Else’s Pen Tablet

Whether is from a friend, co-worker or an acquaintance. One thing to remember, pen tablet may come with an installation driver and can’t be used immediately by just plug n’ play it like a mouse.

 

I experienced this once before when I borrow my brother’s friend pen tablet. Even after I downloaded and install the installation driver from the pen tablet manufacturer’s official website in the end it still not working. No matter how I need it to continue making comic and finished the deadline, the pen tablet belongs to other person so I returned it back to the owner to avoid any trouble.

 

Note: If you borrow a pen tablet from someone else, make sure to ask if you need to install anything before able to use the pen tablet properly.

Plan B: Try Mix Media

If borrowing somone else’s doesn’t work or not possible and it leaves you with just a mouse or touchpad, worry not. Try using mix media by combining traditional and digital similar with what I explained in the point No.2 earlier, where you just need to prepare the linearts traditionally while the rest still can be done digitally.

 

Here I’ll explain of how to do it, step by step in CSP:

1.) Draw the rough sketch of your comic on a paper, then scan the sketch with a scanner, or use a camera to take a photo of it.

2.) Send the file(s) to your gadget. Here I’m using PC laptop to open the file in CSP, [CTRL+O] to open it as seen below:

3.)  Prepare another file as the worksheet by clicking [CTRL+N] or [File]->[New].

There are two format I usually use: B4 paper size for manga, and A4 for other purpose that is not require a B4 format. If you use CSP, both versions can be found in the menu. Here I’ll use the B4 format.

 

You can choose to make comics in [Illustration] mode or [Comic] mode. Both way works well for me, but here I’ll choose [Comic]mode->write the [File name] and browse folder to save the file->[OK]

4.) Back to the sketch file, hover over the pointer toward Sub Tool: [Selection Area]-> [Rectangle] then select the whole drawing area. [CTRL+C] then [CTRL+V] all to the worksheet you have prepared in step No.3. Fill the whole page with it.

Note: If you’re not getting used yet in using the ruler, you can activate [View]->[Grid] to make sure that things are in the right size and placed precisely. This also could be useful for drawing the panels later.

 

5.) Draw the panels using [Selection Area]->[Rectangle], then click [Edit]->[Outline Selection]-> [Draw Outside]. Type the amount of [Line width]’s thickness you want in the box.

Note: Plan to draw other type than a simple rectangular panel? Draw the panels with the help of a mouse by drag it while holding the [Shift] button on keyboard to produce a straight line, following the shape of the panel you want to draw.

 

6.) As the pen tablet can’t be use right now, parts that need to be filled with illustration should be emptied first for a while because all part of the illustrations would be done in a non-digital way by using traditional tools later.

 

In the meantime, add the speech balloon by choosing one from the types available in the Sub Tool: [Balloon] or [Image Material] library->[Manga Material]->[Balloon], then proceed to type the text with the Sub Tool: [Text] if you working on comics with dialogues and narratives.

7.) Now we’re done with the worksheet, next thing is to prepare the linearts. Ink what you need on the previous sketch, or make a new individual comprehensive sketch per panel separately then ink them afterwards.

 

More or less, it looks like this:

8.) Erase the pencil lines, then proceed to scan or take a photo of them one by one for the best resolution, then import them to the drawing app. Copy-Paste the illustration to the prepared worksheet from point No.4, then put them on their respective panels in a separated layer so you can edit them easily later.

Note: Thanks to the layer system, you can put these traditional drawings on top of the panel without disturbing the panels.

 

I must admit, before discovering the layer system and how to use it, I’ve been drawing in one layer just like how I draw in traditional media and it wasn’t effective at all digital-wise. So please, don’t make the same mistake as me a.k.a do everything in one layer. Make the most of the layer system!

 

9.) All the linearts already put in their place, but they still don’t look right.

To make them fully editable linearts, click the lineart layer you want to edit and set the mode to [Multiply]. Next, click the [Layer Property] window->[Expression color (preview)]. Choose [Monochrome] in the drop-down menu, then click the black colored box on the right to make it transparent.

10.) Adjust the lineart and clean the parts you don’t need by using [Eraser(E)], or select them with Sub Tool: [Selection Area] to select the part you want to clean up, then click [Delete].

Now you can continue working on the comics digitally and add hatchings, gives black blocking with [Fill(G)] tool, screentones, color, etc to finish it!

 

Sample of finished comic page in mix media below.

(Resized it to A4 format from B4 to fulfilled this page’s size requirement)

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6.) Going Full Digital

Let’s just say you have solved any technical problems for a total shift from traditional comics making to digital comics making. You’re ready for going digital 100% this time and using CSP as your software.

 

Here’s the step by step of how I usually do it. Please be aware that I’ll just elaborate the general outline and will not going too much into details, just like the previous tutorial.

 

1.) Prepare a file as the comic worksheet. Other than [CTRL+N] and clicking [File]->[New], you can click the [New] icon as a shortcut for faster preparation. Choose a format and a folder to save the file, then click [OK].

 

Here I set it up in B4 format just like in the previous tutorial as both pages relate to one another.

Note: Need to record a timelapse video to document your drawing process, or just want to show it later to others? You can do it in CSP by clicking [File]->[Timelapse]->[Record timelapse]->[OK], then click [Export timelapse…] after all done.

Just be aware that the timelapse will begin as you click [OK] and stop if you click [Record timelapse] for the 2nd time. If you record the timelapse in the middle of drawing, it will record from the point you click [OK], so make sure to record the timelapse and click [OK] from the very beginning of your drawing process if you want the whole process to be recorded!

 

2.) Set the layer to [Multiply]. Start to sketch the comic page on this layer. You can use anything in the menu to sketch and start with a thumbnail sketch first, then enlarge it later. Here I use Sub Tool: [Pencil] and because usually the default color for inking is black, I choose another color for the sketches to not be confused with each other.

3.) Adjust the position of the sketch if it doesn’t fit the worksheet. You can cut-copy-paste everything until everything look just right. Proceed to draw the comprehensive sketch (the clearer version of the sketch, with more definition on the shape and details) on top of it in a new [Multiply] layer.

Note: Take advantage to the layer system and draw the background in separated layer to make it easier to edit!

 

4.) Draw the panels the same way as the one explained in the previous tutorial (point No.5).

Or use the Sub Tool: [Frame Border]->[create frame] to create panels.

Note: Be aware that using Sub Tool: [Frame Border] will create new folder for each panel you made and you would need to put all the drawings, text etc inside the folder or else they will be out-of-border (except of course if you need it to be so).

 

5.) Add the speech balloon and text just as explained in previous tutorial (point No.6) and you may make a layer folder to separate them from the illustration. You can also search for other type of speech balloon in [Manga material] library as seen on the image below.

Note: Putting the speech balloon and the text first before continue to the inking process to make sure everything in the right position is my personal preference. This will prevent unwanted clashes between the speech balloon and the drawings.

 

6.) Now begin the inking stage. Make a new layer and set it to [Multiply], then use your favourite pen to finish it. Draw the characters and the background in separate layer using Sub Tool: [Pen].

7.) Add new layers. Each one for:

- Blocking. Fill the parts that need to be colored black by using [Fill(G)]->[Refer other layer] command.

-Hatching mark. Add to gives shadow effects for shirt folds, neck creases,etc. You can replace this with colored shadings if you want to make a full color comics.

Here are the hatching brushes I used other than what came with the software:

-Grey/screentone with [Fill(G)] command or Layer->[New Layer]->[Tone]. To replace colors in monochrome comics e.g. for background, etc. If you want the comics to be colorful, you can skip this.

Note: Pay attention of the amount of screentone you would use in one page, as it could make the file size so big!

 

8.) Finish it with some special effect and sound effect if needed.

Watch the process in timelapse here:

7.) End Note

Initially, I hesitate to publish this as I thought it might be something that anyone else could have been going through in their creative journey and mostly technical issues. But after think about it thoroughly, I guess maybe there are some useful things I can share from my personal experience around this topic. So, I try to remember every single moment related to it and choose what’s relevant the most, just the way it is even if some of them was quite embarrassing to tell.

 

Every change need adaptation. Changing the medium for drawing is more like growing a new habit. This whole process needs time until you’re really getting used to it. It’s all started with a series of trials and try to takes things slowly with a certain goal in mind. (Even now, I still have hard times to against the temptation of zooming into details!)

 

Overall, there are things to consider if one decided to switch from drawing comics traditionally to drawing digitally. But it definitely could save more time and make it possible to draw with less worry of making any mistakes or failures in the process than drawing with analog tools.

 

And personally, that’s the bright side of drawing comics digitally.

Thank you for reading!

 

(More artworks at IG @khoiruunisarf)