Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Not that you asked, but . . .
My master plan to turn myself into a web comic mogul (AKA Midlife Crisis v2.0) proceeds apace. First thing I did was find a way to pick up Manga Studios Debut 4.0 for free. This is a relatively inexpensive (especially if you get it FREE) program optimized for black and white comics, but also color compatible. But the Debut package is pretty limited graphics-wise; gradients, for example, are severely restricted. So I downloaded GIMP 2.6, a powerful (and FREE) graphics manipulation/creation program which works on my Vista computer, unlike my old friend Paint Shop Pro, which crashed me big time.
Thus far total expenditure about forty dollars to Cafe Press for a birthday present to Karen (that’s how I got Manga Studios Debut for free). To establish a basic vocabulary, I went back to Scott McCloud‘s excellent Understanding Comics, a book I’ve owned for years but have never read cover to cover. Oh, it’s good. I also popped for an Idiot’s Guide to Manga Studios for Dummies, or some such, and DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics. These have not yet arrived.
But it’s not a true midlife crisis until you’ve spent a bit of money, and I must interrupt myself by saying that my midlife crises are far cheaper than the average male’s midlife crises, which typically involve Harley Davidsons and Porsche Targas and seven-figure divorce settlements. Nope, none of that for me. Not even the Porsche. So I didn’t feel too bad dropping a couple hundred on the Wacom Intuos 4 graphics tablet. And I am proud to report that all of my programs are talking to one another, I haven’t crashed my computer, and I’m dutifully working through all the online manuals, and soon I will be producing ART! Or at least comics.
Okay, I’m off to buy a few tarantulas for Karen’s birthday! (Online, that is.)
D.
Hmm… comix. Maybe that’s where the big bucks are!
Err…. graphic novels. Sorry.
From what I can tell, “comix” is every bit as acceptable/respectable to folks in the biz as “graphic novel.” But yes, this particular media is the butt of a lot of disrespect and has been for many years. Tis a pity.
I bought Anime Studio 7 back in December when Amazon.com had a daily deal or something and it was almost free.
Still haven’t installed it yet though.
that was one I hadn’t found on my (admittedly brief) internet search on the subject. If you ever do install it, let me know what you think.