As much as I'd love to make a comic, I don't have any version of Photoshop and I don't make enough money to just go out and buy an expensive piece of software. I have MSpaint, but that's about it. I figure I can't make anything look as nice as yalls stuff without the crispness PS can deliver (so I won't even bother). So I'm wondering, what can I do/should I do to make my comics (if I were to make one) look all neat and stuff like all the comics on here? Is there any other (hopefully free) software I should use? Thanks...

Links, recommendations, or anything will be appreciated.

Is this the same as
http://gimp.org/ [gimp.org] ?

On top of that link I'll add a recommendation. There stands a chance that one of these days you'll be in college. Just remember at that time that students often get discounts on software... as much as half the price on Photoshop. Heck, maybe you're a college student already.

Yea I'm there - and it sucks. That's still alot though, I would say 70 dollars at the most is a fair price for an image program, not 649 (without discount).
I'm downloading GIMP now, hopefully this is good.

Gimp should work for you just fine. But you don't need fancy photoshop software to make a good comic. If you can do decent things with markers/pencils/pastels/crayons, it would probably look a lot fresher than fiddling with photoshop.

God I hate this thing, it never does what I tell it to do. I got the path tool and there's a X mark on it, what does that mean? Also I clicked the little X box on the tools options and now it's not coming back up.

You dont need photoshop , infact my leech comic on drunk duck has absolutly no photoshop use in it at all.

Who said you needed to use a computer? You can always draw it traditionally. But if you want to use the computer, or you don't have a scanner, or you just don't want to draw traditionally, then that's fine.

I use Manga Studio Debut 3.0 to make my comic, because I draw manga. (Sort of.) But don't try to get it, because it costs $. I suggest you go with Gimp, or something else that's free. Free is good. That's why I play Maple Story.

Well, whatever you use, good luck with your comic.

download it off something like kazza or limewire

piray

oh....yeah

PIRATE!!!!!!!!!


argggg matey

I might make the switch to GIMP. Two questions to help me decide.


1) Is it better than Flash?

2) Do you have to ink it before scanning an running GIMP or does can you ink it on the PC?

If you can get Photoshop from a friend I highly recommend that. It's such a great program...

I did, Photoshop 7. Was it legal? Probably not. Do I care? Probably not....

and yea this is a very handy program, I managed to make something O.K. with photoshop on the first try. Just need to find some tutorials now.

And yea I think I may have to ink it twice, once on the comic and once on the computer, I was doing some experiments and that worked best for me.

AQua_ng
I might make the switch to GIMP. Two questions to help me decide.


1) Is it better than Flash?

2) Do you have to ink it before scanning an running GIMP or does can you ink it on the PC?

1)It depends on how you look at it. GIMP is a raster program and Flash is vector. They're entirely different types of graphics. I use the gimp, and I did at one point use flash (aquired legally) I personally like both.

2)It depends, do you have a tablet. If not, you can still ink in the GIMP, but pressure sensitivity makes things easier. If you don't have one, there are ways to ink your works digitally without tracing, but they're not perfect.

Looks like I'm the only one around working paintshop pro
only 60 bucks and I can play with vectors all I want.

I know this is kinda off topic from the photoshop discussion and such but I heard someone mention something about pens and inking and I'm wondering if anyone knows what kind of pen would be best for inking hair. I have some scrapbooking pens, it's like a set with different sizes from .005 to 8 but I find that those aren't the best for inking hair.

Also, about GIMP. If I was to download the software, should I worry about any viruses and such. I once downloaded a free trail of an animating program and....it didn't end well.

TwilightPrincess90
Also, about GIMP. If I was to download the software, should I worry about any viruses and such?

That's not really a problem just make sure you're not downloading from a third party such as flamingtext.com (They make you pay anyways).

http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/ [gimp-win.sourceforge.net]
You want to download and install GTK first, and then the GIMP.

Everyone uses either Photoshop or Gimp these days. I've been using PS for a while and I tried using Gimp, but it was all so confusing :P

As for inking pens, I use Sakura Microns. You can get those from any art store adn they have a wide range of sizes from .005 (very thin) all the way to .8 and beyond (very thick). And they are pretty cheap, too and last a while.

I use the GIMP a little too much. So, naturally there's no confusion in it. It was pretty funny watching me use PS CS2 on someone else's comp. I knew what I wanted to do and how, but I couldn't find any of the tools and options.

I'm actually pretty good with the gimp , but not so much with drawing yet. My avy was actually drawn two years ago, which explains the blatent white pixels around the head.

There are some problems with the gimp, and there is no doubt that PS is a more efficient program. However, the difference that I once thought was great keeps proving itself to be smaller and smaller with every sig that I've seen created at a gimp site that I mod at. It's not paint with layers.

Even so it still comes down to the fact that there are many more photoshop users than GIMP users, resulting in more PS resources and tutorials.

Photoshop and the Gimp are not your only options for a program to make comics with. A lot of comic artists use other programs. Example:

OpenCanvas (http://www.portalgraphics.net/en/)
ArtRage 2 (http://www.artrage.com/artrage.html)
Manga Studio
Flash
Illustrator
etc

Each program has their strengths and different costs. Photoshop definately has some pretty powerful tools particularly for the type setting aspect of webcomics, but it has its weaknesses too. For example photoshop BLOWS at digital inking compared to like, manga studio, flash, or one of the painting programs. If you want vectors you might prefer Flash or Illustrator. If you want something simple to sketch in you might like to give opencanvas or ArtRage a try. Painter and ArtRage are way better than photoshop for acheving certain color and painting effects, ArtRage can import sketches and work in layers just like photoshop. OpenCanvas has a one month free trial, after which its about 45$ USD for the standard version or 65$USD for the enhansed version. Although there are lesser versions than the current (which is v4) floating about for free. Although they might be in japanese, its pretty self explanitory. Painter comes bundled with tablets often times, so you can get it nearly free with your tablet or download a demo. Art rage has a free version and a full version for 20$. Mangastudio has a lite version for 50$, but the full version is 200$.

So really it depends.

Many people use a couple of programs to finish their comics. They will draw in one and letter in another. I'd say the Gimp, photoshop, flash, or illustrator would be the best choices for lettering. But for drawing and coloring, any of the others I mentioned are totally fair game.

I bet im the only one using Corel Photo Paint 7 :D
and opencanvas1.1.

yay for old dusty programs!

and i wouldve thought photoshop was pretty good for inking O.o because you can get that nice faded out/pointed end to your lines.
i keep meaning to dig my photoshop cd out to reinstall it. but i havent got a clue where its gone. ho hum.

<--Corel Paintshop Pro X

psh, i said Photo Paint, not Paintshop pro :P

If you want to use vector graphics (eg Flash), there's a free alternative called Liveswif .

If you don't want to use vector graphics, then you could use Pixia .

Both are great programs once you get used to them. :)

AQua_ng
I might make the switch to GIMP. Two questions to help me decide.


1) Is it better than Flash?

2) Do you have to ink it before scanning an running GIMP or does can you ink it on the PC?

You are using flash eh? so you are mostly working with vector objects? perhaps you should consider Inkscape or microsoft expression code named acrylic.

Inkscape is fun, but really isn't tablet freindly.

All my current Vector needs are fulfilled by Acrylic Graphic designer, it may be in development and it may be trial software, but it's nice.

I have a deap seated hatred for microsoft, but damn, that program looks fun.