5
Jan2010
[Random] Photoshop Woes
So, I've talked about my WOES with Photoshop previously in the main nemu*blog... In 2009, I had upgraded from Photoshop CS3 to CS4 with the hopes that some of those "shakes" problems would have been fixed.
In a way, they were~
One nice fix was the ability to rotate my canvas. I could also draw a line at *under* 50% zoom and it wouldn't show up all choppy and shaky. This was a definitely improvement over CS3 and I rejoiced.
And then I slowly came to realize a couple things:
1) My inking was taking longer for some strange reason.
Excerpt from #527
2) My inking wasn't improving... in fact, it was getting WORSE.
Detail of #527 - at 100% zoom (Click to see full-size)
...
I understand that most people won't ever see my work anywhere as up-close as I see it on a regular basis, but I cannot tell you just how much it IRKS me to see messy lines, "smudges" left all over the place and unfilled bucket-fills.
Most of the time, I feel like I'm literally fighting with Photoshop to get the line quality I'd like~ Nice tapered lines, line variation, clean edges... is that too much to ask?
This past weekend, I was at my breaking point. I needed some alternatives.
Some fellow artists suggested MySmithMicro's Manga Studio. I downloaded the trial of the v.4 debut and the demo of v.4 EX. I was rather overwhelmed at all the tools and couldn't figure out how to get my files up and running... and resources on how to use the program were pretty sparse. (Don't even bother watching the videos they have on the MySmithMicro site... they're pretty useless as learning tools, IMHO.)
Also, no PSD compatibility. That won't do for me.
So, my other option was Corel Painter X. (Note, they are currently on v.11)
I have very mixed feelings about Painter. I haven't been able to get a good feel for the program's interface and Mac support has been rather spotty at best. I've had numerous issues with lag and occasional crashing mid-way through a stroke....
But when it comes to emulating real media on screen, it does a great job... so I keep buying upgrades, but always end up feeling disappointed with my personal results. Gah.
So when artist friends suggested Painter, I figured "why not" -- since I already have the program and had fiddled with it previously.
This time, I set up my files in Photoshop before hand and imported the PSD into Painter. Aside from my "hidden" guides popping up, everything looked good. I set up a custom brush, following Ray Frenden's guidelines, and gave it a go today.
... and these were my results:
Sample from #528
SOOOOO much better~~~~! (Click the image to see at full-size.)
I'm still not really comfortable with the Painter interface -- so many hot-keys are different from Photoshop which is even more irksome and I'll need to fix right away... and I need to relearn some of the tools, but it's a definite step-up from my recent work.
I'll be giving this method a go for the current chapter and see if I can find my way around the program.
Does anyone have thoughts about Painter XI? Especially for Macs? I am allll ears~ ^^
My personal issue when using Painter IX for inking is that at anything but a 100% zoom the lines look all jaggedy whereas Photoshop and Manga Studio have smooth previews at 25%, 50%, etc.; I have no idea if they fixed that in later versions.
Just a quick note on Manga Studio: The learning curve is indeed pretty steep, and I will be the first to admit that the interface is unnecessarily clunky. However, there definitely is PSD support -- at least in the EX version I own -- even if the way it's implemented is not 100% ideal (you have to import PSDs into the Manga Studio file format instead of seamlessly switching between the programs).
Thanks for the note on MS -- I'll have to research more about EX... but just finding resources on how to effectively learn the tools is nearly non-existent.
I'll be giving MS a better look over the course of the 30 day trial -- do you know of any good beginner's tutorials.. at least to familiarize one's self with the tools?
I understand what you mean about Painter. I think in X, the incremental zoom is a little better... but my biggest beef is the auto-zoom by scroll on my mouse. o_o... I totally want to turn that off, but I don't think it's an option.
You might see if you can get hold of the "Manga Studio for Dummies" book (maybe from a library or a used book store. It has lots of great info, and the Dummies books are organized so that you can pretty much just skip around the book to find the info you need, rather than having to read them cover-to-cover.
Pencilkiller.com has a couple of useful ressources to get you started on Manga Studio. It was more of a trial and error process for me, ha ha.
If you're still interested in learning more about MS, I think the artists and myself at Hanabi Studio might be able to help. We've learned a lot about MS4 while creating the first issue for Hachi Maru Hachi. As the editor for all their stuff I know how to use most of the tools. I don't think the artists would mind giving you advice, though I guess we are all so busy that a good-ol' manual would probably still be more convenient...
Anyway, if you are interested let me know, I can try schedule something.
Also I personally like to use Inkscape to get really clean lines. It's a vector program, but can convert raster images quite well and the developers now have a fill tool which makes coloring a cinch. It's a freeware program under the GNU GPL. You can check it out at inkscape.org
Hey Kamuro!
Is there a manual (either digital or booklet) that comes with the hard copy? I've only gone as far as trying out the downloadable trial copies but got lost trying to figure out the simple things like making panels.
I've been using Painter X to do most of my lines since. It's great for line expression, but not as intuitive as Photoshop with hot keys and tool functionality, so I end up switching between the 2 programs a lot.
Thanks for the tip on Inkscape -- I'll have to look into it!
The hard copy doesn't come with any physical manual, which is unfortunate.. There is a link in the program to their electronic user manual (http://www.mangastudio.net/documentation/) However, I've never used it myself so I don't know how good it is. One of the artists did buy that "Manga Studio for Dummies" book which he said came in handy.
The best way to make panels is to use the Beginner's Assistant(F10) to make the whole page a single panel, and then cut it using the panel ruler cutter tool (F).
I also have had similar experiences across platforms. Some of MS's hotkeys are slightly different from the programs I use such as Inkscape, GIMP, which can be nuisance.
Hope Inkscape is helpful, though from what I hear about Adobe Illustrator, they sound similar.