The market is full of offers of various digitizers with different properties. However, for artists, this diversity only makes it difficult to choose. In this review of graphics tablets, you will learn the features of popular models and new products, the advantages and disadvantages of products from different brands, and what you should pay attention to when buying a drawing tablet.
Main characteristics
Just like with any other technology, there are a number of parameters that a digitizer should pay attention to before buying. The very first step is to decide on the type of tablet, based on your preferences and occupation.
Most models of graphics tablets have one purpose - this is the introduction of a free graphic information V in digital form what artists, photographers, designers, etc. use. There are still instances with limited options that are more suitable for office work. They can completely replace notepads and allow you to make signatures on electronic documents. There are also monitor tablets that can perform 2 functions at the same time. They are less mobile, but more powerful, which allows you to draw immediately on the screen at a scale of 1:1.
The next step, before choosing a graphics tablet, you need to consider the following:
dimensions and area of the working surface;
Sensitivity to pressure
supported resolution;
speed, tilt angle and accuracy of pen and/or mouse response;
aspect ratio of the gadget and your monitor;
the interface;
Individual skills and needs
maximum pen response distance over the working surface;
availability of the options you need.
The dimensions of the device, its design and sensitivity directly affect your comfort during operation. If you are not comfortable working with a certain model, it can significantly reduce your productivity. A high resolution and precision allow you to make work of a more complex level and carefully work out all the details.
An important aspect is the level of your professionalism, as well as experience with similar gadgets. No digitizer will improve your skills, no matter how expensive it is, and for beginners, many brands produce special series of devices.
Wacom tablets
Wacom Intuos digitizers are among the most popular. This is due to a large selection of options and specializations, but this also affects the cost of models. The range includes devices different format, design and level of complexity. If you are still a beginner, you can choose a smaller device and from a cheaper and simpler series. Professionals, on the other hand, can focus on their experience and needs, choosing what they need. Wacom offers the following series of electronic instruments:
the Pro and Pro paper line for advanced professionals;
Comic - suitable for drawing comics, manga, etc.;
Photo - for processing photos;
3D - has ZBrushCore software for working with three-dimensional space;
Draw - for beginners and lovers of drawing, sketching and sketching;
Art is a touch device with WiFi connection, makes the workflow faster and more comfortable.
Drawing Gadgets by Genius
Genius is the second most popular digitizer seller in the rankings. What is the difference between their products and why do many choose it in their favor? It's all about low cost, which is associated with a fairly high level of quality. They also have more express keys on the case, which, moreover, is made of good materials. Of the shortcomings, it is worth noting the weighted stylus, which, at first, will be difficult to get used to. That's because Genius styluses run on batteries. Also, among the shortcomings, it is worth highlighting the not very high sensitivity of models to the pen.
The final choice when buying, of course, is yours. Carefully study the characteristics and consider your capabilities, and then you can easily determine for yourself which graphics tablet is good for you.
Manga (Japanese comics) is very popular among young people not only in Japan but also in other countries of the world. Many fans of this art even create their own comics by drawing them on paper or a computer. If you are one of them, then you are probably interested in learning how to create manga. This is discussed in detail in the article.
What you need to create manga on a computer
If you want to draw manga on a computer, then for a start it is advisable to purchase yourself, it does not have to be an expensive gadget with a screen. Even the most budget tablet will be more convenient than a regular mouse.
The next step is to download and install the program in which you are going to create. The standard MS Paint for manga will not work, because it has too few options. Suitable paid programs include Adobe Photoshop, Manga Studio, Pant tool SAI, and among the free ones are FireAlpaca and GIMP.
Explore the features of the program and practice drawing on the tablet. If necessary, find lessons on working with programs that interest you or try to figure it out yourself.
Characters
When creating a manga, it is imperative to come up with a plot and characters. At the same time, it is desirable not only to carefully work out the details of the appearance of each hero, but also to fantasize about his character and motivation. Imagine what his views of the world will be, what he likes and what he doesn't like. To create anime or manga characters, the best thing to do is separate file and write down the favorite and least favorite things of your characters, as well as what role each of them plays in the plot. It can be as simple Text Document, as well as a drawing with notes.
In your comic, create at least two characters: a positive and a negative. This will make the plot more dynamic. Also try to include characters of both genders in your story.
Plot
Not only the characters, but also the plot plays an important role in how to create a manga. Without a well-thought-out plot, it will be very difficult to correctly arrange shots and convey the emotions of the characters. In addition, it is worth paying attention to the backgrounds. If in a book the author describes the location of the characters in words, then you will have the whole environment. When you create a comic or manga in your mind, it is recommended to make a description of all the scenes. After that, you can start drawing.
Remember that the work should consist of a plot, a development of events, a climax and a denouement. There may also be a prologue and an epilogue. The presence of the main plot elements will help to properly develop the story.
Composition
It's important to remember that manga shouldn't start and end with events. On the first frame, it is recommended to draw the environment in order to immediately immerse the reader in the atmosphere of your story. Each spread of your comic should show a completed action. If you want the event to unfold more slowly, use wide horizontal bars, and vertical ones to speed things up.
Place the main events in the corners, and the less significant ones in the middle of the page. It is recommended to place a phrase or action on the last panel that can interest the reader and make him turn the page.
What is the difference between manga and western comics
To understand how to create manga, you need to know how it differs from other comics. Its features are:
- The first thing that catches the eye of the reader is the color. Most Western comics are in color, and manga is almost always black and white.
- Western comics use much more dialogue and text than manga, where characters are often laconic.
- The backgrounds in the comic and manga are also very different. Western artists carefully draw all the details, and manga creators can do without backgrounds or paint flowers, bubbles or flashes to give the panel more emotionality.
- In the manga, a lot of attention is paid to the eyes of the characters. They can immediately tell a lot about the character of the hero. Big eyes are drawn to kind and naive characters. The narrower the eyes, the more closed or angry the character is. In Western comics, the eyes are drawn schematically, and the character's character is described in text.
- To convey emotions in manga, they can change the proportions of characters, portray them with a huge head and a disproportionately small torso. In this case, the story itself can be drawn in a realistic style. Emotions on the face are drawn exaggerated and conditional. For example, a mouth that opens disproportionately wide in a cry, eyes that are too wide open.
- Another major difference between manga and Western comics is the arrangement of the panels. Japanese comics are read from right to left. In addition, sometimes the panels do not have clear borders, and on top of some there may be other panels.
How to draw manga with a computer
The answer to the question of how to create manga on a computer depends on whether you want to pre-draw the drawings by hand or draw everything in a computer program.
If you prefer the first option, then you will need a piece of paper, a pencil and ink. First create your manga (anime) on paper, then scan it in greyscale at a minimum of 300 dpi. Then open the file in your existing graphic editor, change the properties of the layer with your drawing to "multiply" and add new layers to apply tones.
How to create manga entirely on a computer, let's look at the example of Photoshop. For any other graphic editor, the principle of operation will be similar:
- Create a new file. To do this, select "File" - "New" from the menu or press Ctrl+N.
- The first layer in Photoshop is considered a background, so you can immediately add a second one. Do "Layer" - "New" - "Layer" or press Shift+Ctrl+N.
- On a new layer, sketch out the future manga page.
- You can draw the page on the panel right away, but it's better to outline the drawings with rectangles later so that you don't have to adjust the pictures to fit the frames you've taken beforehand.
- Don't forget to leave room for character dialogue. Usually they are at the bottom or top of the frame.
- Once you've sketched, on the top bar, set the layer's opacity to 40-45%.
- Add another one on top and hover desired lines. After that, the sketch layer can be deleted or hidden.
- On a new layer, add tones and shadows.
- If you want to colorize the manga, then create another layer and use the selection and fill tools. The Magic Wand tool will help you select an element if it is drawn with a closed path. Remember to switch to the outline layer to apply the "Magic Wand" and then go back to the color layer and add color to the selected area. If the contours in your drawing are not closed, then they can be painted with a brush.
- When you finish drawing the page, just save it in the format you want.
Manga drawing programs
Exists a large number of graphic editors, with which you can create manga. Let's consider some of them.
Artweaver is a free raster editor. The main interface language is German. Layers are available in this program, big choice brushes, there is a pipette and " Magic wand". Supports a large number of formats, including PSD.
Adobe Photoshop is a multifunctional graphics editor. Basically, it is designed to work with bitmaps, but also has several vector tools. Allows you to fine-tune brushes, has a huge number of different tools and features.
Paint tool SAI is a drawing program that takes up little space and starts quickly. Among its advantages: high speed, the ability to draw with the mouse, canvas rotation, hot keys from Photoshop, high quality Images.
Manga Studio - designed to create manga. Interface language - English. The program has a wide range of tools for working with comics. It allows you to apply different effects to the picture and has a large library of templates.
Krita is a raster graphics editor. In this program, you can work with It has a large selection of brushes and blending modes. The canvas in the program can be rotated and mirrored.
When coming up with a plot for a manga, decide who it will be aimed at. Teenage boys prefer the story with big amount action scenes and "cool" characters, while teenage girls prefer sweet romantic stories.
If you do not have sufficient drawing skills to create your own manga character, you can take finished images and adjust them to fit the plot.
Ready-made clouds for dialogues can be borrowed from Microsoft Word. If you do not want to draw clouds for dialogs yourself, just copy the shapes you are interested in from Word to the clipboard and paste it into the program you are working with.
The characters and atmosphere of anime stand out in their own way from other genres of fine art. Pictures are created both on canvas with a brush and paints, and with the help of special software, mainly graphic editors. In this article, we will take a closer look at several representatives of such programs.
Previously this program It was called Manga Studio, but with each update, the developers added more and more features, and now it is used not only for drawing manga. However, the set of tools is pushing users to the fact that the main emphasis is not on the graphic editor, but on the creation of comics. Thanks to unique opportunities everyone can create their own unique project without any practical knowledge and skills.
Animation deserves special attention, because it helps to achieve the maximum quality of the project and decorate it with new effects, so that readers will get even more positive emotions. If you are interested in the full animation of what is happening in 2D, then we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the Anime Studio Pro program, which is perfect for these purposes. In addition, Clip Studio has a standard set of tools inherent in every graphic editor.
artweaver
Designed by Artweaver specifically for artists who have experience in graphic editors. The interface is made in the style familiar to many, with a toolbar on the left and a set of tabs with color, layers and effects on the right. There is an option to turn on the grid, which makes drawing at the pixel level available.
This representative has everything you need when drawing characters and other objects in the picture. Separating all the elements into layers will help you not get lost in a complex project and make your work more comfortable.
Adobe Photoshop
Perhaps the most popular this moment a graphical editor that many developers rely on when creating their programs. Yes, Photoshop costs a lot of money, but for this price you get everything that can be useful not only to an artist, but also to a simple user who wants to slightly correct photos.
Adobe Photoshop is ideal for creating anime paintings, you only need to have minimal knowledge in the field of drawing. For beginners, this program will seem complicated due to the presence of a huge number of tools and functions, but it is worth paying a little attention to it, as everything gradually becomes clear and easy.
CorelDRAW
The developers focused on professional activities that require the use of such software, but CorelDRAW is easy to learn and freely distributed, so even ordinary users install it on your computer. The program differs from others in our list in that special attention in the functionality is paid to the creation of logos and single objects.
Here you can find detailed processing of objects, many options for working with text. Standard tools are also present, which will help in drawing anime. CorelDRAW is distributed for a fee, but there is a demo version on the official website that will help you get acquainted with all the features of this representative.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator- the main competitor of CorelDRAW in the market. They have almost identical functionality, but visually we see the already familiar design in the Adobe style. The main emphasis here is also placed on working with single objects. This will help the functions of their transformation, alignment and much more, which is described in more detail in the review of Adobe Illustrator on our website.
As for the usual drawing of pictures, it is really possible to do this here, since there are basic tools - brushes, pencils, shapes and a large color palette. We recommend. Although this representative is very similar to Photoshop, however, they are sharpened for completely different tasks. We advise you to pay attention to this when choosing a program.
On the Internet, there are hundreds of graphic editors and drawings from well-known and not very developers. It's impossible to fit them all in one list, so we have selected some of the best and most suitable programs for creating anime style paintings.
I decided to stir up interest in the long-selling Bamboo Pen & Touch graphics tablet by releasing its special Bamboo Manga edition. There were no changes in the functionality of the device, just a specialized software to create anime and manga (Japanese comics).
Because the Wacom Bamboo Manga does not belong to the company's professional products, the pen recognizes only the degree of pressure (1024 levels), not taking into account the angle of inclination. However, the novelty supports multi-touch data input, which is used to rotate the image on the screen and change the scale. For operation, the device must either be connected to, or used in any convenient place, having previously purchased a wireless adapter.
The special edition of the tablet is equipped with two programs Manga Studio Debut 4 and Anime Studio Debut 8. The first allows you to draw manga with popular characters or create them from scratch, and the second allows you to record a real anime. Beginners will benefit from the hint mode and various effects that make the scenes more dynamic. The applications have the function of sending work to friends in in social networks, as well as the publication of works on specialized sites.
Wacom Bamboo Manga is already on sale for around $150. If you purchase the software and graphics tablet separately, the purchase will cost $50 more.
