I wonder, are you actually going to make a tutorial that shows how you make the comic like a couple fans suggested?
I don't mean like a drawing tutorial, but one that shows how you're doing the lighting, coloring, and panels in photoshop.

I'm curious because me and Photoshop are like this-- <crosses his fingers> This is me. <wiggles his thumb>

Just a question though, not a suggestion or anything.

Search for Lar DeSouza on youtube. He made a few fun videos showing how he works. Give it a try, you'll see.

G!

I know, it was a few of the comments that suggest that he show and explain how he does it.

The videos were awesome.

By the bye, when I watch one of the videos in the video section on this site, it gives a selection of LFG vids, including two of Lar doing a page.

I HAVE SEEN THE "MAKING OF" VIDEOS, sorry, but no one seems to get that.

I would like to see a video where he explains what he's doing as he does it.

I.E. - "Be really careful when you use the so-and-so tool, it tends to..."

Well, among other things, Lar uses a tablet. >.> So that's sorta important, there. It makes working in photoshop a whole hell of a lot easier.

why dontcha ask im? send him a private message, and if his first impression of you is high enough, he might respond!

Hey folks,

I have been hoping to make another screen cap of my process and add commentary over top of it, but, as with anything, time is the biggest issue.

If you've got a question that is beyond the basics of Photoshop, zap me a letter and I'll try to get to it in time. If it's just "what kind of tablet do you have" I've answered that ad nauseum and a few minutes of searching around here will fetch you all those answers.

Remember though, the computer is just one more tool. It won't make you a better artist. The best solution for that is *practice*. A couple of pencils and a good sketchbook with the discipline to use it, will cost you much less and get you much better results.

Later

Here's a question: Can I have your tablet? I don't have one at all. kkthxbai! n_n

XD *hi-fives*

Drawing epic comics is 4 guys, no gurls allowed >.> <.<



Anyways, I use OpenCanvas for all the stuff I draw. Just like moar.

Comic drawn by a girl. Kthxbai.

Lar can't exactly tell you how everything feels when he draws. Many things can feel "different" when he draws but when you try it, you'll probably be like, what is he talking about? We all have some style to draw, we just gotta get that style. Which is tough. I can't even draw without staring at something. Like I did to a certain bunny mount picture I drew for art class~> http://generalbrievous.deviantart.com/art/...G-quot-69898008

Alot of the draw learning is just trying it out. Scribbling. I finally learned scribbling is your friend. Tablets are the same way, you scribble. Course, I never could fully get the whole not-look-at-hand-and-stare-at-computer drawing. I've always questioned how artists from traditional of my Iron Giant picture from a certain Star Trek artist friend to LFG digital can have those varying lines! I'll have to ask Lar sometime.

Oh and Hi, I'm just new to the forums. Learned about LFG a week ago from my lock friend on WoW. Already addicted ^^

And us chicks so can too draw epic comics!

It's not just scribbling it's study too. Look at books on anatomy, draw from life, do some comparitive anatomy. Draw buildings, draw bones, draw trees, draw rocks, draw laundry, draw draw draw draw. Learn not to simply see but *observe* and *remember*. Size relationships, spatial relationships - after all, you're trying to make something 2d look 3d many times. Set goals for your scribbling and sketching. Study wrinkles and shading and then apply those lessons in every drawing you can

Yeah, I'm a little passionate about it

And don't sweat style. That evolves as you do. It'll happen.

Oh yes ... NE? No.

Later

Always bringing me down, Lar, always bringing me down ;_; Of course, I could go in Mission Impossible style and steal it! :-o XD That'd be pretty sweet.

if only I could send you mine *ponders the thought*
nm, I worked hard to buy my tablet.

With scribbling, I mostly see it from comic artists or animators that scribble to get where a person will be, how they'll be interacting with the world around them. I hated scribbling, I think it's cause I try too hard on my drawings. Kinda feel like a perfectionist all the way through my drawing. I use to start from the head or feet and work my way through the drawing, adding every little detail as I went which soon would make the picture off, make me throw it away, and lose my wants to draw for the day. Oh good drawings gone to the trash. *sniffles*

(sigh, my post doesn't show up cause I put a link to the bunny mount drawing. bah, should of read the rules sooner)

S'okay, General. I fixed it for ya.

NE - hahahaha!! Yes, for I have ze *MAGIC* tablet with +2 dex. I'm telling you folks, just get a sketchbook and some pencils. You'll save yourself so much more in the long run

GB - I think what you are calling 'scribbling' is really unfinished sketching? That's what a sketchbook is for. Those random thoughts. A place to push around ideas like you might if you were working with clay or tinkering on the piano or guitar to create new music. It's a place to solve the problems on a composition before you begin the final piece, or work out the details and figure out where you're going to need some reference or whatever It's not doesn't have to be a final album of finished art.

Later

I have so many sketchbooks, it's not even funny anymore : \ I'm seriously thinking of using some for kindling... if I had a fireplace >.<

But seriously, I love drawing, sketching, doodling... I'll use anything whenever I can. I've been known to draw on the envelopes for the donations in church before >.< On my homework... in my text books... on random junk mail...

I don't know if they have a name for that disease or disorder, but whatever it is, I've got it XD

Anyway, I just want a tablet to eliminate the step of scanning >.> Damn pesky scanners!

o_O And make no mistake, I will get your PC tablet, Lar!

...

You know, when ever I'm on the other side of the country... and in Canada...

>.<

Ty, Lar

That's actually a better term. Wish I could put my thoughts down out of nowhere like you, NE >< I usually have plans of what I want to draw, but I can never sketch them down without looking at a reference. One thing wrong with the sketch, and my mind tends to wonder and I completely don't have the want to draw that plan anymore.
Lar, maybe this has been asked before, but have you ever messed with Prismacolor Markers and do you use PS Elements or CS2 (or up if there is any)?

Yeah, after 20+ years of telling myself that I have no artistic talent, I finally resolved to buy a sketchbook and some colored pencils anyway. And you know what? I'm having a blast. I can't tell you how cool it is as a first-timer to have an image in my head and have it appear on the paper almost the way I wanted it to look. Maybe I don't have a lot of natural skill but hey, it's still a lot of fun. I'm gonna keep practicing.

Thanks for the advice, Lar.

Everybody has SOME artistic talent. But you've hit the nail on the head with the most important aspect of developing talent, Lunaya. You gotta have fun with it. Play. Thats the best way to learn, just get some paper and a pencil and play. The more you experiment the easier it all becomes.

Hey Lunaya - good on you for getting a sketchbook!!

I always tell folks that it doesn't matter if you're thinking of making a career of it or even a 'serious' hobby. It's just too much damn fun to not do stuff, like draw, or mess with Sculpey or tinker on the piano. I think the frustration of a lot of people is part of the explanation for folks doing things like scrapbooking or home decor stuff. Somehow it's not the same as just messing around. They want something tangible at the end and won't let themselves enjoy the process without it.

I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't having fun, I can tell you. It's not exactly "work", with a capital W and a timeclock, but it is a helluva lot of effort!!

GB- I haven't done any serious marker work in years. I never quite took to the medium back in college unfortunately. I have friends who are awesome marker artists though. They use everything from Prismas to Copics and dry media and collage. Just fantastic work

Later!

My friend used to suck at drawing but he eventually got good at it and now he is obsessed.

It takes determination, patience, a good atmosphere, sharp pencils, and a creative mind for me to draw good.

All I've got right now is the creative mind and sharp pencils.

I don't know about the pencils having to be sharp, Super Princess Peach :-p I find that dull pencils are good for shading XD

true. But i like to get my lines kinda exact.

Personally I prefer a good old bic mechanical. (I use to get into arguments with my high-school art teacher about that. Of course he said cartoons and comic books weren't art either. I knew there was a reason I didn't like him.)

Without art, cartoons and comics would be nothing but words. It would be a book.

Well, it really depends on what I want done. I use mechanical pencils when I'm drawing cartoons and the like, but when I want to draw a more detailed picture, I'll use a regular number 2 pencil :-p I have a ton of different kinds of art pencils, but I don't know where they got to when I moved >.>

I don't have any special art pencils. Hard to blend things in without em.

That's what a thumb is for SG or a shade stick

You there. Step into my office, I believe we need to have a chat.

Ignore the 17th century Spanish torture devices, they're only for display.

Seconded. T_T >:3

Oh, and don't pay any attention to the whips I gave Ish, either. Purely for decoration. Honest.

Oh, right, those.

I kinda re-gifted them. ^.^'

;_;

Cale: Hey thanks for the-*sees Rabies* SHIT!! *bolts*

*cough* Ehehe.

lol, Cale knows better than to turn on me with my own weapons XD He'd be in a whole new world of painful pleasure. With more emphasis on the pain than the pleasure.

I think it's been many years since I drew something that wasn't "cartoony", but now-a-days they're looking so realistic it almost doesn't matter. I pratice alot, even on simple things like a gag about my Gym/History teacher that's too good to ignore. With comics it's tons of fun to put your characters in serious, life-threatening situations, and still have them pull off a wisecrack.

I really enjoy making people smile and laugh, it makes it all worth it, even if you don't feel like you did very well.
It really helps if you like your characters and enjoy drawing them.

And the best part is, I'm still young, so I have many, many more years to get better through practice.

Not to toot my own horn....wait, thats not my line!

Same here, Mycotis, on the age thing. Got a lot of years ahead of me to disturb people with the images I put onto a sheet of paper XD *evil grin*

Mwahahaha

Awww, I bought some Pris Markers when I saw an online friend use em. Tried em, but I never had a thick enough paper that it wouldn't bleed. Oh well, I enjoy my Pris Pencils, I'll never go back to those old colored pencils.

I always use a mechanical pencil. And by the time I make my lines, my lead would have a smooth surface that could be used for shading. Then I usually have the eraser pencil-like thing for quick erases. Kneaded eraser for removing a bit of graphite dust.

And Neo, I learned it's not best to use your fingers to blend cause the oil from your skin messes up the paper. If i remember right it makes the paper yellow after a while. I don't remember. ><

Lmao at the convo now. *cheers Rip on*

And exactly Mycotis, exactly ;)

If youre intending to have me tote my artistic prowess, just search 'RipVanIshmael' at deviant*, unless you feel like looking through the Fanart thread**. My art speaks for itself.

*Note: The only thing you'll see there is LFG Fanart. Ye olde originale stuffs won't be found online
**Or here, for that matter.

My fan-art didn't really get posted, or include LFG characters, but I did have my Warlock sing "Slaughter Your World".

Let me just say, "Comic/Musicals" are not easy. Not easy at all.

But fun.

Who did what now?

I drew a two-page comic where the Warlock from my comic (guess it would be a 'witch' in this case ) sang "Slaughter Your World" while terrorizing a city.

I had to feminize a few things 'cause it was a girl, but the effect was the same. Everyone wanted to hear that song, so I guess you can say I helped advertise LFG.

He's enslaving all the warlocks of the world, making them sing Slaughter the World, and letting them recieve punishment from Richard for singing his song?

huh? I'm confuzey

(i sure do like replying late...)

you have this comic on the net mycotis?

Not yet, I'm trying to get it up though. I may have to ink it, and I really hate doing that.

Drew it about two months ago, so it doesn't look that great either, compared to how it would look if I re-did it.

your not alone on inking, my hand tends to shake like crazy and the lines aren't smooth....

and you could always redo it too

Well, Richard is the Cheif Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, so I'm sure there are plenty out there under his command. He probably charges some sort of royalty fee if they sing it, though.