Process

Not to be confused with Progress.

This is a little explanation about the webcomic itself, and how I’d go about creating it. Aw, hell, it’s just another FAQ. ^_^;;

Programs I use:

OpenCanvas 1 and Paint Shop Pro 6. ...Yeah. They’re not top of the line, I know, but I use what I can get. ^_^;; Oh, and I draw with a mouse. It’s a one-way ticket to Carpaltunnelville, but I’ve always been a really big idiot.

Method of madness:

I draw everything in OpenCanvas first (that is, the lineart for each individual page) and save it as a Bitmap. At this point, there are no frames. Those, I assemble in PSP one by one (simple copying and pasting), adding in the heading, the text, and the frames as you would ordinarily see in the comic itself. I then tone the comic using the layers option (though sometimes I just freehand it), and subsequently save it as a JPEG, under the name and date as per usual for Keenspace comics.

How long does it take to do one page?

Well, I’ve never sat down and timed myself before, but I reckon the drawing part can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on whether I need references, continuity, and all that. (This time does not really mean anything, of course, and gets longer all the time, due to other side projects, increasing detail-mindedness, and being a jackass instead of doing real work.) Assembling a page only takes about another 20 minutes. But I’m slow like that. Colour art takes longer, maybe double that time.

So all of it’s done on the computer?

Basically, yes. But I do have a scanner present and can scan in line drawings to colour over for promo art if I wanted to. If I had any promo art, that is. >_<;;

And it doesn’t really take that long; what does this mean?

Generally speaking, this means that I get to keep around 2-3 pages in my reserves. This is very self-assuring (especially during periods of school and/or general business). I just need to decide on the script.

Whoa...hold on a minute. You don’t write your script beforehand?

No. Do you? ^_^;; Actually, I do try to write my script beforehand, but it always comes out differently when I write it down on paper. Sometimes, when I really want the characters to say something, I save it in my planning notes and try to incorporate it in later. I have a vague idea of how the first 5 chapters are going to play out, but the lines themselves are tricky, and time is of the essence.

And I bet you’re one of those self-assured jerks who don’t make roughs and don’t follow the laws of perspectives, either.

Well...>____<;;

Never mind. What font do you use?

For the text in the comic, I use Webletterer BB; you can get it from 1001fonts.com. It’s really spiffy, I think. Other than that, I really like futuristic fonts like Barbatrick, and really funky fonts like Betsy Flanagan, so I may on occasion make use of those as well.

What the hell’s up with the odd bits of compression I sometimes see?

I can explain! ^_^;; Every once in a while, I forget how large I want an image to be. So I have to compress it down to get the entire scope of the picture. Hence, compression. Usually, it’s baaaad compression because I like using really compressible colours. Like dark blue. And red.

You gonna make any galleries?

Comic first, flaunting later.

A, B and Myra is hosted by Keenspace, a free hosting service for webcomics.