[Image: Two side-by-side screencaps of comic lettering in Photoshop.]
I think I’m getting the hang of hand lettering.Ā The letters on the left are from page 1, and on the right is page 3, which itself is the most dialogue-heavy so far.Ā I was getting into a pretty good groove and the letters on the right more closely resemble my handwriting.
[Image: A side-by-side comparison of a comic panel lettered digital by hand vs. lettered with a font.]
I’m trying to make this comic as thoroughly mine as I can.
I’ve been interested in doing my own lettering for The Hues, as opposed to using the font tool, which I did for Garanos.Ā As a parenthetical, I hand letter Alex’s Guide, but that’s mostly because it’s all natural media, apart from the coloring.Ā I’ve never properly “learned” lettering in the classical sense, and a majority of searching for a tutorial led to hand lettering with pen and paper.
However, this three part series on Making Comics was really helpful getting me started in digital hand lettering!Ā Above are my results, compared to the same panel lettered with the type tool and my old technique for making word balloons.Ā On the left, the balloons are drawn with vectors, and on the right, they’re drawn freehand with the lasso tool.
I may look back at these letters in a year and cringe at how they look, but I’m really happy with how it changes the page, especially with the nicer word bubbles.
[Image: a plastic tub full to the brim with black Sharpie markers.]
I may have a problem.
Every artist who sees this post should do the following:
– Watch the video.
– Follow the instructions
– Reblog
I canāt stress you enough about how important these exercises are for your drawing hand. You donāt wanna get CTS of Tendonitis and similar stuff that will prevent you from making art or even hold Ā a pencil.
I first saw this videoā¦ I dunno, a couple of years ago? But after seeing this it instantly became part of my daily routine. Having your wrist crap out on you because you havenāt taken care of yourself while drawing is agonizing and not fun.
Get to stretching, artist buddies.
I usually donāt reblog stuff when a post demands it of me, but I found this video to be very helpful.
Iāll start trying these and see if they help!
I was a little shocked at how much it stung when I did the very first stretch in this video.Ā I can’t bend it more than… 5 or do degrees without some excruciating pain.Ā That tendon is not used to being stretched AT ALL.
I don’t have any serious problems with my hands yet, but my fingers and the backs of my hands are usually the parts that bother me after a marathon session of whatever, so I’m going to start doing these on the reg.
My hands also get a hard workout at my job, so I think these will help me there, too.
OH MY GOD I’M DYING.
I checked my Bamboo pen stand, which does NOT have nibs inside, but does unscrew.Ā So now I have a place to keep the nibs I’ve purchased, I guess? XD;;
[Image: a blurry cell phone photo of Alex with Pony Drawing signs.]
IT’S BLURRY BECAUSE I AM SO EXCITED
I WANT TO DRAW PONIES
COME TO THE DEALER’S ROOM!
[Image: webcam photo of Alex holding up a large print of Ponies in the Malt Shop.]
Got these printed up on 11×17" glossy card stock for Penguicon this weekend!
Pony!Garanos approves.
Leftovers will be on sale in my store next week. :3
[Image: cell phone photo of a table strewn with sketchbooks, coffee cups, the corner of a laptop, and drawings.]
It’s Sunday Comix night!
Tonight at the local cartoonist’s meetup, I drew a really nice picture of Sami, Andrea, and Hannah that I will probably end up using a lot for promotion of the Hues once I get it rolling.
The only complaints I have about my new computer are the compatibility issues!
My printer is not compatible with Windows 7, so I have it hooked up to my old computer, which will be my printing station for the foreseeable future.
My scanner can’t communicate with my computer for some unknown reason, so anything I need to scan has to be done through either my old computer or my laptop. (So far, the laptop wins because it’s small and more convenient than the old PC.)
And the wonderful Photoshop plugin, BPELT, which I’ve been using for years in Windows XP, doesn’t seem to want to work with my new computer, either. ;_;Ā There’s a free 64-bit version of MultiFill for Win7, but the 64-bit Flatten plugin comes with a $100 fee, and Flatten is by far the more important and time-saving half of BPELT for me.Ā Ouch.
Why can’t it all just workkkkkkkkk.
[Image description: A webcam photo of Alex reading the Graphic Artists’ Guild handbook and scratching her chin, looking ponderous.]
Got a commission inquiry and trying to determine a quote.Ā The job exists somewhere in the hazy void between package illustration and fashion illustration…