A new Milestone

[Scai Rayburd]

Well for the last three years I've been working on a manga-style comic, and for the last three months I've been using a digital tablet. More or less it's looking a little better now, I'm still trying to master the digital tablet, but let's not get into that...that's not what I need.

Tones are something I'm having a pretty hard time with, either I can't imagine what kind of tones are appropriate for a panel and the tones I do put there looks plain and boring.
I'm hoping that someone could teach me how to use tones to do what I want and especially if i'm doing anything wrong with my toning now.

I'm serious about making this comic and will go to any length to see it's potential; Ideally I would want some form of Tutor who knows the style as well as the software enough to show me the ropes...but either way, please take a look at my comic (In Signature Below) and tell me if there's anything I can do to improve it. I take criticism well (So long as it's constructive) and could use any advice you can offer.

(Before anyone says it...Yes I know that starting in Chapter 4 of Volume 4 isn't the best idea in the world..but this is when I first began using the digital tablet. So Chapter 4 probably shouldn't take plot too far into consideration xD)

[Mr McGrumpypants]

Blargh. Toning. Pain in the a**. I'll take lettering any day.

I've never been a big fan of tones unless they're used to show lighting. Substituting lightning strikes or speedlines for dramatic effect instead of backgrounds usually bothers the hell out of me.

[Kupocake]

To me, fantastic inking beats toning any day. Especially if you take your time with your inking, like varying your line widths, crosshatching, etc. Have strong inked pages, and there is no need/minimal need for tones.

Tones, if you insist on using them, is a suggestion of depth or color. You use them if you want to indicate that it's a different color than something else, or to show that it is a 3-Dimensional form. If you keep these two things in mind, it's not that hard to figure out toning. Look up your favorite comics/manga with tones, and take extensive notes on how the artist placed their tones within the comic. Ask yourself why these tones look good; could it be that there are contributing factors why the tone looks better than normal? Better lineart? Strong penciling? Keep notes of these things.

I would keep your tones to a minimum. In traditional Japanese manga, the artist would only use a limited number of tones on each page because tones cost money, so they would try to maximize the usage of the tone by using it as little as possible, only when absolutely necessary. Even if you're using a computer to put on your tones, don't overdo it.

[Ihbuiahbvuihfdbiuhabdvfu]

Kupocake

To me, fantastic inking beats toning any day. Especially if you take your time with your inking, like varying your line widths, crosshatching, etc. Have strong inked pages, and there is no need/minimal need for tones.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I think tones are kind of distracting tbh.

[Mr McGrumpypants]

ninota

Kupocake

To me, fantastic inking beats toning any day. Especially if you take your time with your inking, like varying your line widths, crosshatching, etc. Have strong inked pages, and there is no need/minimal need for tones.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I think tones are kind of distracting tbh.

And annoying.

"HAI GUYZ LOOK AT THESE COOL TRIANGULAR PATTERNS I CAN s**t ALL OVER MY ARTZ!!111!!!ONE!1one!!1eleventyone"

I swear to God that if I see one more "tone" that uses geometric shapes instead of legitimate levels of toning, I'll ******** kill someone.

[Kyousouka]

Kupocake: Truth... except in the case of shoujo. Shoujo manga tend to be the worst example of economical and effective tone use, often to the point of being anti-examples that will do more damage than help.

[Seijaku_Ishida]

Mm...not using many tones would really depend on mood, in my opinion. For a dark moody manga like X/1999, it makes sense to use a lot of tones.

Background tones in most cases are lazy and distracting.

Since I do digital, I usually just shade in grayscale rather than doing tones.

[Kupocake]

Kyousouka

Kupocake: Truth... except in the case of shoujo. Shoujo manga tend to be the worst example of economical and effective tone use, often to the point of being anti-examples that will do more damage than help.

True. x_x Not to mention thin, boring lineart.

I feel that shoujo as a whole breaks a lot of "rules" in the comic/manga industry, but not in a good way.

[Scai Rayburd]

Yes, I've been working hard on my inking...i'm trying to take away from the stale tones...but that along with the perspective and paneling, makes difficult a comic page xD But I've been doing this for this long, I'm not about to stop. I'm still learning this medium and wished I had something to compare myself too...Professional Mangas are still a bit out of my league xD The occasional SmackJeeves comic is nice...but It's still hard to learn through observation.

[Ihbuiahbvuihfdbiuhabdvfu]

Kupocake

I feel that shoujo as a whole breaks a lot of "rules" in the comic/manga industry, but not in a good way.

wat u say about



mah pretty mangas????? stressed

Seriously yeah shoujo is pretty bad. Some of the worst anatomy/composition in manga is in shoujo titles.

Except Karekano. Karekano is perfect.

[Mr McGrumpypants]

Ah... Karekano. One of the few girly anime I could sit through.

[LeslieLark]

ninota

Kupocake

I feel that shoujo as a whole breaks a lot of "rules" in the comic/manga industry, but not in a good way.

wat u say about



mah pretty mangas????? stressed

Seriously yeah shoujo is pretty bad. Some of the worst anatomy/composition in manga is in shoujo titles.

Except Karekano. Karekano is perfect.

A-aw snap you didn't just mock 70's-era shoujo (the best shoujo)

[Helaine MS]

Tbh, I like old-style shoujo better, just because they don't milk overused plot.


The recent shoujo manga are... Ugh, typical, most of them. Especially the kawaii high school romance. RAWRGHGHRHG!!!1111 Too generic, too bland.


Old-style shoujo develops storyline more deeply, but with poor art. Recent shoujo manga do not have any good storyline and have poor art. D:


ARFGH.



EDIT: NINOTA, YOU LIKE KARE KANO? Didn't expect this from you XDDD

[iianbe]

I love how melodramatic everything is in 70's shoujo - especially SWAN and The Glass Mask. smile

[LeslieLark]

Why isn't Rose of Versailles out in America ;_;