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<title>Mob Ties Recent Updates</title>
<description>The last update of the comic.</description>
<link>http://www.drunkduck.com/Mob_Ties/</link>
<language>en-us</language>


<item>
<title>Sad Face</title>
<description><![CDATA[Author ninja's next-door neighbor's house was struck by lightning, everyone is ok but it caused alot of damage to the house and everything around it. It also blew out AN's internet connection(the actual outdoor cable is completely fried), monitor and graphics card (Which is a shame.. it was quite new). The rest of the computer seems okay though there might also be some damage to the power supply, I don't have any pci express graphics cards to test with to make sure that its the only internal component that was damaged.

Please send donations to him to help get his pc working again.
Note: also needs better surge protector.


Author Update:

This is Artie now. Rhylith, my webmaster, made this picture. I'm at a friends house leeching off their internet now. 

Update: My HD monitor is slag. I think my video card is fried as well, But one of my computer friends has one they aren't using so I'll be transferring my hard drives to it. I think they weren't affected by the storm. But as far as I know, the internet is still down because the router is also fried. 

Now, since my little Hiatus has been extended without my consent, I decided to ask this:

My original plan was to come off the little Tutorial break and start off this winter with the continuation of the Christmas special I started last year. But Since I am not sure when I'm going to be back exactly, am giving you the option:

When I come back, do you want to continue with the current storyline, or do you want me continue the Christmas special?

I wanted to leave you hanging with the cliffhanger, but the Christmas thing is a cliffhanger I've left for 11 months now. I can pick it up a little after Christmas. 

So, let me know what you want and I'll try to get back online ASAP]]></description>
<pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<link>http://www.drunkduck.com/Mob_Ties/?p=637718</link>
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<item>
<title>How-To-Make Comics 4</title>
<description><![CDATA[Whew, this was a rough one. I didn't shade everything, just enough to be dramatic. I hope this helps.]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<link>http://www.drunkduck.com/Mob_Ties/?p=637362</link>
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<item>
<title>How-To-Make Comics 3</title>
<description><![CDATA[Just a reminder, this is just how I do things. Think of this more like a guideline than a end-all-be-all You MUST do it this way sort of thing. This is just what works best for me.

Obviously, the crest isn't quite finished.

That Levels thing I highly...HIGHLY recommend. I see so many good artists doing without it, and there's great pictures but there's this white line around the character as if the character was standing in front of a bad green-screen affect. It just sets my teeth on edge. And I can't just randomly tell people about it because I'd sound like a know-it-all douchebag.]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<link>http://www.drunkduck.com/Mob_Ties/?p=637058</link>
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<title>How-To-Make Comics 2</title>
<description><![CDATA[To clarify, the page was inked partly with sharpie but mostly with the Copic Pen for the thinner lines. A bit messy, so the rest will need to be edited in Photoshop. I understand there's a way to ink these with Illustrator, and of course I could theorhetically trace with my tablet, but all this was done by hand.


Number two. More details about the start. the rest will be about Photoshop and going over tricks and tips.]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<link>http://www.drunkduck.com/Mob_Ties/?p=636797</link>
</item>

<item>
<title>How-To-Make Comics 1</title>
<description><![CDATA[Recently I've been getting questions about how I make Mob Ties. And it's an excellent question. So I thought that to answer these questions so that we're all basically on the same page. I will be taking this week to show you, step-by-step how I do things.

Today we'll start easy. First of all, you materials are the most important thing. Without them, you couldn't make a ham sammich, let alone a webcomic.

Now I do things the old-fashioned way. I never really learned how to use a tablet very well, tho I really need to practice more with it. But in this paperless society, I'm still a bit of a dinosaur. But I've always drawn with good-old ink and paper, and edited on Photoshop. So I'm going to show you how to do it my way, with drawn pictures and later, photoshop tips and tricks.

Before I tell you about my current set of tools, I want to tell you that I started Mob Ties without all this Hoity Toity equipment. Nope, I did the first two years or so with regular Joe Blow computer paper, pencils, erasers, and sharpie markers. That's all it took. Hell, it wasn't until last month I even started using this comic paper. This is just Three years of practice that I have refined this to...for lack of a better word, fine art.

so, what I Personally use to make Mob Ties:

1. Professional Grade Comic Book paper

This stuff is great. It's smooth, thick, doesn't bleed, and even has blue non-repo (Reproduction) lines to help you with layouts and sizing. Also, this kind of paper is good for drawing pens because other kind of paper will just suck your pen dry. 

The size, however, is massive and I actually have to scan them in two parts and then splice the two edges together. But because they're so big, I can make much finer details and allow for more stuff in one panel. I've seen people draw really small, but I just don't. 

It's kinda  pricey tho. $17 bucks for 24 sheets. But if you still want the benefits of this kind of smooth paper, Before this I was using acid-free bleed-proof paper. locally $13 for 50 sheets. But for those you need to take a comic book and trace it to get the sizing right if you want a standard comic book size.

2.  Pencil sharpener         

Anything will do. I have two and a box cutter I sometimes use. But you need sharp pencils.

3. Rubber eraser

Some people swear by kneading erasers. I press too hard, they never get any of my lines out. Rubber erasers are great. Less great on the non-repo blue pencils, but they don't pick up when you scan anyway.

4. Non-repo blue pencil

These are...well, what can I say, the best pencils ever. I will ONLY use Prismacolor Col-Erase  20068 light blue non-repo pencils. Anything else seems to lay too much..dust or whatever on the paper and it gets on my pens and stops making them work and you gotta rub 'em on another page to clear it and there's streaks in the middle and ARRRG! I hate 'em!!! I've tried like 5 different kinds but only the Prismacolor Col-Erase  20068 light blue non-repo pencils work at all for me. Maybe I'm having an OCD moment here, but I will have these special ordered and use plain #2 pencils while they ship before I use anything else.

The great thing, again, is that these do not pick up on a scanner if you scan them right. It means you never have to erase your lines ever again. I cut down on my eraser useage by 90% I kid you freaking not!I can buy three pencils for the price of one eraser and I was going through erasers almost as fast as pencils doing this 5 times a week.

5. Sharpie fine point

These are to copic markers what monkeys are to man. They are cheap, they will do the job, but they are probably the worst type of marker you can use to ink your work with. I use rather thick lines for close-ups, so I still use them, almost out of habit at times, but if you can get them with a nice point they can still draw very nice, smooth, slim lines perfect size for editing, scanning and manipulating.

The downside is the quality varies for each pen. There's pens I can use for months and months and the tip is just right and hard enough to get me nice smooth lines, and some can be used twice and wind up so flat the lines are twice as thick, if not more. I recommend them for people just starting out, but that's about it.

6. Staedtler pigment liner  .5

Another professional pen. Very fine. I only use it for extremely fine details. Which isn't often, so I don't have much on an opinion.

7. Copic marker  1.0

Copics are by far the best out of all the markers I've ever used for my ink work. Smooth, firm and they don't bleed. I usually use a 1.0 for details, and a 0.8 for fine details. I recommend these for anyone who isn't just starting out for line art or comics or whatever.


8. Photoshop (Not shown here, but ironically used to make this picture)

Photoshop is the program I always use to edit my work. I've used it since High school and I'm very comfortable with it. I've learned many many tips and tricks over the years with it, and I seem to be learning new ones all the time. 

Now, yes, it's extremely expensive. However, some completely unscrupulous types may obtain this program by some morally ambiguous fashion. And I don't want to recommend or endorse ANYONE to ever pirate software in ANY shape or form. Because, remember, even tho you're a starving artist with barely enough money to keep food on your table, the billion-dollar software corporations need your money so their fatcat CEOs can pay for their cocaine and whores, just like everyone else. Ya communist bastards.


So, there you go. Like I said, this is just what I personally use. Others I can name use truly digital ways of making comics, with Tablets and whatnot, but I can't recommend anything. This is all about how I make comics. This is just the fancy stuff, but computer paper and #2's and sharpies work just as well. All this fancy stuff doesn't make me a better artist. Only practice can improve your skill over time. I mean hell, just re-read the first issue again and see what I mean. My backgrounds tended to be a lot more detailed back then. The again, I also had a lot more time.

Okay, there you are, part 1. Also, check out my newest episode of Gaijin reviews.

[url]http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3045314[/url]]]></description>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<link>http://www.drunkduck.com/Mob_Ties/?p=636449</link>
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