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Window Seat – Manga Studio Brushes

I’ve been struggling for about a week now with the inking brushes in Manga Studio. There’s so much I love about the program, especially the perspective rulers (which you can pry from my cold dead hands), but I’ve had a terrible time using the program’s out-of-the-box brushes. I could SORT OF use them, but the results were always erratic. Half the time a brush or pen would behave the way I expected, and the other half of the time it was like trying to ride a really pissed off horse. The results didn’t really look bad, but they didn’t look great, either. That said, yesterday I stumbled across this guy’s post, and it was a lifesaver.

Here’s a panel from a project I’ve been working on (I wish I’d thought to save a “before I adjusted the brush settings” version, because the difference is pretty dramatic. Oh well, I guess you’ll just have to trust me). I finally feel like what I’m producing looks like MY inking, not MangaStudio’s.

window_seat

Also, thanks to my friend Karen luk for the head’s up about MS 5. I’m biting my fingernails down to the quick waiting for the EX release! Can’t wait to get my hands on that version.

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Womanthology Pages – Delivered!

The artwork for “The Vesta” is finished! After making a few last minute tweaks, I uploaded the final pages to the IDW server last night. Right now I’m in a state of shock. I can…leave the house this weekend! I can go outside! I don’t have to stay up until 2am painting!

What a concept.

That said, I’d like to take a moment to share out a thing I did I’m proud of. This is a panel from page 7 – I spent a lot of time angsting over the “SEAL” display on Shriya’s suit. I wanted it to look like it was part of the fabric, not a hard-plastic add-on sewn into the clothing. My first attempt just didn’t look right. So I spent some time digging up reference on Google (keywords: wearable technology, thank you Richard!!!). I’m happy with how it came out. That said, no one is going to be able to see that detail on the finished page, it’s going to be way too small. So here’s a close-up:

the-vesta-page7-closeup

 

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What’s Up, Pussycat?

Okay, here’s the deal: my SDCC 2012 con report is super late because I picked up a really nasty bug while bopping around the convention center. This bug left me sacked out on the couch for two weeks watching Buffy, Frontline, Nova, and MTV’s Teen Wolf (as the mood took me) while my body did its level best to forcibly evict my lungs and launch them into space. Seeing as it’s pretty difficult — some might say, damn near impossible — to draw while hacking up one’s lungs, I spent the NEXT two weeks playing catch-up between my day job and pencilling Jennifer De Guzman’s Womanthology story, “The Vesta” (she’s posted the first page of pencils on her blog – check it out!).

I expect to spend the remainder of the month painting the pages (XOXOXO Painter 12!), so there won’t be much in the way of a con report until September, when I can take some time to, oh, I dunno, eat and breathe and fun stuff like that. To make it up to everyone, I’m going to start my Sketch a Day personal challenge again, starting tomorrow. Yay, pretty pictures! Sketch a Day was really fun and motivating for me, and I’d like to see if I can keep it going for a full year.

In some additional good news, @LadiesMaknComix has posted a review of the Frostbite graphic novel, and they said they think it’s awesome! Yay, thanks so much, guys!

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Almost There!

At long last, I’ve almost completely shaken off this case of con crud, and am feeling like something resembling a human being once more. Starting next week, I’ll be posting my convention highlights.