Intro
Aright, listen up. I don't know HTML. Just this basic crap. So, try to read through.
This is a tutorial to learn how to make your very own sprite comic. You'll need
an account on DrunkDuck, a good place to make a comic and allows sprite comics
too. Take that, ComicGenesis!
1. First, you need the GIMP. And GTK+. They will usually be downloadable on the same page. Be forewarned, GIMP is harder to use than even Word.
2. Boot Gimp up, and skip through everything. You will have 2 windows up: Something that has a lot of icons, and this "Layer" thing.
3. Find some sprites. I go to the Spriter's Rescource. Save them wherever.
4. On the Gimp Icons thing, click "File/Open...", then find your sprite file.
5. /!\Warning/!\ Important! Look at your sprite file. Does it have a brownish, checkered background it doesn't have normally? If it does, you're OK. If it's not... Well, just follow my advice.
5a. How to add Alpha Channels...
>Go to Layers, Transparency, Add Alpha Channel.
>Select the icon with the glove and the boxes.
>Put the slider at the bottom to 0.
>Click the background, hit CTL+X, and voila! Gone.
6. Go to "File/New." Pick the size of your comic, and hit OK. You will have a blank white background. NOTE: This does NOT need the alpha channel.
7. Click on the wand icon. For those familiar with Photoshop, it's the "Select continguous regions" button. Deselect "Select Transparent" and drag the meter at the bottom up to 255.
8. Now the fun part! Click on any sprite in your alpha-channeled sprite sheet and it will automagically select the whole sprite. Then, just copy and paste into the blank sheet(use the arrows icon to move it around). Continue until you've got your 1st panel.
9. If your comic isn't 1-panel, you'll probably want another. Go to "View", "Show Grid", "Snap to grid". Then, click the paintbrush item on the icon menu. Then choose a brush and paint those separation lines!
10. Repeat step 8 until the whole comic is full.
11. To add text: Click the "A" icon on the menu. Then, choose a font and font size. Click where you want text(have you turned off the grid options yet?), and start typing. Repeat until you've got all the text.
12. Hit CTL+M again, and hit OK. Now, what I do is I use the brush to draw little lines from the text to the characters. You can draw bubbles, color them, etc. When you're done, save as a PNG or GIF or whatever. There you go! Your first comic. Hard, huh?