Tag: Comic

by David Burgess on May 26, 2018 0

Deluxe Art Set

Do you know what art is? , If so, are you interested in art?

Visual Art is a great way to increase your creativity skills; one of the best. Generally Art has to do with expressing your emotions. Visual art is one of the most important portions of art in which emotions, thoughts, messages are converted in to visual graphics. Graphics is basically using points, lines, planes and textures to express an idea. In other words, one or more of technologies and findings of human beings are released through art. All these technologies were just an idea in the mind of their inventors.

So, how is an idea is transformed into a product?

This is probably an important equation that you should ask. The first thing is that you have an idea to create a new product; it can be a new crazy house which is constructed out of living plants or paper. This may be quite crazy to think or seems unrealistic. But if you can manage to express and experiment your ideas in graphics, you can realize whatever you can think of. Graphics helps you to find out if something works or not. This is very critical in fields like Architecture and Mechanical Engineering.

Have you ever looked for a complete set of Artists tools?
Darice 80-Piece Deluxe Art Set is made to meet all your desires as an artist. The set is more than enough for a serious artist to make many great water colors, awesome paintings using the included HQ oil paints. The pack is also full of a set of tools including water color, oil paint, sketch pencils, several brushes and many other accessories.

Darice 80-Piece Deluxe Art Set Best qualities
Darice 80-piece deluxe art set- is perfect for a student like me which is interested in Art. This set is an ideal pack for an artist to express his emotions in the way he likes. The type of art an artist can do using this set is a lot. One can just make pencil sketches or comic cartoons only using the color pencils provided. Others prefer to make oil or water paints.

Make your art come alive. Use the right supplies.

Enjoy Art Express your emotions in Art!!

Darice Art set in Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTRIbnVg_pQ

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by David Burgess on May 11, 2018 0

So You Want To Start A Webcomic..

Webcomics…

You read them, you love them, and now you want to make them. But where do you start?

Hey all! I’m Kit, co-creator of the webcomic Strawberry Syrup. Since starting my webcomic in July of 2007, I’ve learned a lot of things about the process, and I’m here to share them with you – from the way my partner and I create our comic to some great sites that will help you on your way.

So, have a look around, and good luck with your webcomic!

Getting Started

The Basics
BrainstormingAlright, so you’ve decided to give webcomicking a try. Now what?

Well, there are a few basic things you need to get started.

An Idea. What’s your webcomic going to be about? Who’s the main character (or characters)? What does he or she want, and who or what stands in their way? Where or when does it take place? Whether you’re doing a slice of life comic or a full-fledged epic fantasy, now’s the time to grab your sketchbook and start brainstorming. Keep asking yourself questions until you feel like you’ve got a good handle on your story, and read the section on Prep Work: How Much Should I Do?

A Sketchbook. It could be an actual sketchbook, a folder full of loose-leaf paper and Post-It Notes, or a digital folder on your computer, so long as you have somewhere to experiment with styles, practice your characters, and keep your ideas together. When you have a story idea, jot it down. Explore it a little. And, of course, practice, practice, practice!

A Format. Will your webcomic be like newspaper comic strips, with each strip being a few square panels all in a row? Western comic books? Or maybe manga’s more your thing? Check out webcomics similar to yours and see how they handle things like panel format and page size. Choosing and committing to a format beforehand will help give your comic a cohesive, professional look.

The Right Materials. How will you be drawing your comic? With pencil and ink on a sheet of paper, or in a program like MangaStudio or Photoshop? Which way you choose determines what materials you’ll need. For all webcomics, you’ll need a scanner and some basic image editing software at the very least. Read more about it in Getting Technical: How Do You DO It?

This is kind of an important part of webcomicking. Where will you host your comic? If you’ve got the money and some programming skills (or know someone who does), you can host it on your own website. Otherwise, there are a whole slew of sites made to host webcomics or can be used to host them. Look around and see which option would work best for you, and be sure to read all terms of service and small print. Read more in Where to Host Your Webcomic.

So, those are the bare basics for what you need to start a webcomic. Now, let’s get into a little more detail…

Getting Technical: How Do You DO It?

Traditional Versus Digital
So, you’ve fleshed out your idea, done your prep work, and are all set to go. There’s just one little problem: exactly how are you doing to draw it?

It’s a pretty basic question, but an important one. Fortunately, you have options! Depending on how you work best and what technology you have access to, the most common ways are:

The Traditional Way. Take a sheet of paper, grab a pencil, and go to town! If you don’t have a graphics tablet, this is probably the way you want to go – nothing invites a headache like trying to draw with a mouse. Things you’ll need: paper, pencil, eraser, pen, ruler, compass, possibly markers, a scanner, and basic photo editing software. Draw your page, scan it in, make the necessary changes in whatever software you use to resize things, and you’ve got your page all set to go.

The Digital Way. If you’ve got a tablet or are just that good with a mouse, you can make the whole process digital. It can really take some of the blood, sweat and tears out of webcomicking. Use whichever graphics program you’re comfortable with, whether that’s Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, Manga Studio, SAI, or just good old MS Paint.

Half-and-Half. This may be the most common way. Draw your line art by hand, scan it in, then add your tones or color digitally with your graphics program.

Creating quality webcomics mean finding what works best for you and still works within your budget. If the only scanner you have access to is Aunt Selma’s ancient museum piece from the mid-nineties, you might want to consider going all-digital. Likewise, if you’ve got a fantastic scanner, but your only graphics program is MS Paint, you might want to stick to doing it by hand.

Manga Studio

Software to Help You Out
If you’re looking for the best software out there dedicated to comic creation, it’s Manga Studio EX. Plan, sketch, ink, and tone your work, all in one place. You can work on individual page files, or group them together in stories (an option I use to keep my chapters of Strawberry Syrup together). With a variety of pens and a whole library of screen tones, you’ll definitely find what you need to make your comic look professional here.

Artists familiar with Photoshop shouldn’t have any problem navigating Manga Studio or its layer system, but if you’re new to it all, playing around for an hour or so will get you familiar with it pretty quick (of course, you could also read the manual). You also need to figure out what page size works best for you and play around with the guidelines. Manga Studio is set up for creating comics for print, but if you don’t want to deal with safe zones and bleeds and all that technical stuff that doesn’t really apply to webcomics, you can just turn the guide layer off.

I love Manga Studio’s pencil tool. It really simulates a physical pencil for me, and makes sketching easy and smooth. The pen tool provides a nice, smooth, solid black line. The tones take some getting used to, but they do make your comic look professional. Manga Studio also makes it easy to add text and word bubble to your comic.

If you’re looking for a program to color with, I would not suggest Manga Studio, but for digital sketching and inking, I don’t think you can beat it. I use it to organize, sketch, and ink all my comic pages, then export them into Photoshop to shade and resize them. I’ve also taken to sketching many of my stand-alone drawings in Manga Studio before transferring them over to Photoshop for coloring. Working together, they’re ideal for me.

If you’re looking for the single best program for doing a black and white comic, then definitely check out Manga Studio EX. Or, try Manga Studio Debut for a cheaper option. Fewer features, but you can always upgrade later.

Tools of the Trade

What You’ll Need To Make Your Webcomic
Whether you’re a traditional pen and paper, scan-it-in webcomicker or a member of the digital art world, there are a few things you’ll need.

Helpful Stuff from the Web

Here’s some sites offering either advice or products that will help you on your way.

Blambot Comic Fonts
The home of great fonts on the web. So long as you aren’t planning on pitching your comic to TokyoPop or another big publisher, you can download and use most of these fonts for free.

The Psychedelic Tree House
This place has a lot of links to blogs full of helpful information to help you with your webcomic. Plus, the largest collection of webcomic logos that I’ve ever seen!

Statcounter
The free way to track traffic to your webcomic.

Prep Work: How Much Should You Do?

Before you launch your comic…
A Little Planning Now, Far Fewer Headaches Later!It’s a common question: before you launch your new comic, how much work should you do?

Answer: If you want a good, high-quality comic that updates regularly, a lot. However, some types of webcomics involve more forethought and prep work than others.

If you’re planning on a non-sequential strip, where each strip can stand alone and still be enjoyed, you’ll have a lot less work to do. Typically, this form takes less planning than others. If your strip has recurring characters, spend some time designing them and refining their look before your first strip goes up. Also keep track of strip ideas, either in a Word doc or notebook. That way, you’ll never have to struggle for what to draw when the inevitable brain block kicks in.

But what if you’re doing something with story arcs, where the tale unfolds page by page, week after week? If that’s the case, there’s a few things you should do before your comic ever sees the light of the internet:

Outline your story. Write out all your major plot points. You don’t need to hit every single twist and turn – some will likely surprise you – but work out the general idea of where you want to go and Big Twists or Events that need to happen.

Think of it as mapping out a road trip. You know where you want to end up each night, but you may make unexpected detours and run into great surprises (or a few hang-ups) along the way.

Flesh out your world. For fantasy stories, that means world maps and a lot of set work. Figure out what the main places look like. Does your story take place in a mystic forest, a quaint village, an epic city, or all three? Draw those places and work out the gist of how they should look. Is your setting based on an ancient culture? Medieval Europe? Asia? Victorian England? Is it a magical world? Steampunk? Pull out the research books, determine your technology level or your magic systems, and define your world’s cultures in – at the very least – some broad strokes.

The more time your characters are going to spend in an area, the more time you need to spend developing it. It will add a feeling of depth and dimension to your webcomic.

Develop your main characters. Your characters are your connection to the readers. Readers will forgive a lot in terms of webcomics, but if you don’t have characters they can get invested in, they’ll stop reading.

So, don’t just refine their visual design or say, “Okay, he’s a mage. He uses magic. Ta-da!” Give him a backstory. Figure out where he’s from, who his family is, his likes and dislikes, and so on. How did he learn magic? A royal academy? The village shaman? Self-taught? How does his family feel about his magic? Do they support him? Did they disown him? How does HE feel about his magic? Blessing? Curse? Maybe he always wanted to be a florist instead.

Thinking about these things will help you create fresh, original characters that won’t feel like cookie-cutter products to your readers and will help you tell a better overall story.

Thumbnail. Thumbnails range from small, quick doodles to detailed drawings, but they all do they same thing: they help you visualize how each page should look and work out any layout kinks before you draw the actual page.

If you have the attention span, you could thumbnail your entire comic before ever starting the first page, but I suggest at least doing your first chapter or two, and try to keep at least a chapter ahead of where you are in the comic. Doing so will help you spot any immediate kinks in your plot and let you work out plot holes before you trap yourself in a corner.

Modern world storytellers, don’t think you get our of all the work! All of these steps apply to you, too. Draw out the main locations you’ll be using in your comic: their school, their houses, their workplace, their favorite hang-out. You also need to put just as much thought into your characters and do your plotting and thumbnailing, too.

A little forethought and planning goes a long way towards giving your comic a high-quality feel and insuring your readers are enjoying the best possible story you can give them… not to mention, saves you on plot-based headaches later!

Keep a Sketchbook

And Keep It Handy!
One of the best things you can do as an aspiring webcomicker is to get yourself a good sketchbook. While there’s nothing wrong with digital sketch files, there’s something to be said for putting pencil to paper and letting your creativity run wild – and it’s definitely a plus when you’re brainstorming and working out story details! Plus, it’s a lot harder to just delete a sketchbook page, and you never want to do that – an idea that doesn’t work out now may come in handy later or spur on a new, completely awesome idea when you least expect it.

A few things to look for in a good sketchbook:

Binding. How is it bound? Spiral-bound books lay flat, but it’s a lot easier to tear pages out – whether you wanted to or not. Stitch-bound books don’t always lay flat and take up more room, but they tend to be more durable. I’ve used both kinds, and about all I can say is that it really depends on which one suits you better, personally.

Size. Sketchbooks come in all sorts of sizes, from ones that can easily fit in a back pocket or purse to ones larger than you typical printer paper. The pocket-sized ones are great if you tend to get a lot of ideas on the go, but for most of my brainstorming, I prefer the medium-to-standard-sized ones. They give you enough room to really explore ideas and draw everything from characters to cityscapes, plus all the notes you’ll want to jot down. Plus, if you’ve got a scanner, you’ll want a page size that will actually scan in one pass.

Paper. Do you like working in pencil? Pen? Marker? Watercolors? If it’s one of the latter, you’ll want to make sure the paper is thick enough to handle your medium of choice without bleeding through to other pages. Make sure the paper is acid-free; that means it’s meant to last and preserve your work without turning yellow or crumbling after a few years. Other than that, you’ll want paper of the right texture and thickness that best suits you. Most good sketchbooks have the paper weight marked on them. I personally prefer a paper weight of around 70 lbs., with a little bit of texture. Not so much that your average micron pen can’t draw a straight line, but still some texture. Other people prefer the extremely smooth feel of Moleskine sketchbooks.

Finding the best fit for you may take a little trial and error, but once you get used to working out your ideas visually, you’ll be glad you found one that works for you. To get you started, here are a few suggestions.

mportant!

Have a Buffer!

That means finishing pages before the first one ever goes up. I suggest having either your first chapter or at least 20 pages (or strips) done before launching your comic.

Why Do You Need a Buffer?

Build Your BufferI know, I know – you’re eager to introduce your webcomic to the world as soon as the first page is done, but trust me on this one. Sometimes, real life will just whack you upside the head. Family emergencies, technical failure, or author burnout may demand you take some time off. By having a buffer, you’ll be able to take the time to deal with life as it comes up and still not miss an update.

Readers are, as a whole, fairly forgiving with webcomic artists. That said, if you keep missing your updates, you’re going to lose readers. With a buffer, you can go weeks without drawing a page and still keep updating.

If you do need to miss an update or two, be honest and upfront with your readers. If you’re sick, tell them. If it’s a family emergency or technical issues, let them know that, too. You don’t have to go into detail, but your readers are invested in your comic – and they’re invested in you. If you disappear for a few weeks without a word, they start to worry about you.

Be nice to your readers. You don’t have to share every detail of your life with them (because, hello, creepy +TMI is not a good combination), but keep them in the loop.

Should you have to go on hiatus (an extended period without updates), here are a few tips on how to handle it in our All About Hiatuses post.

Other Helpful Guides

Never Hurts to Have a Sign Post…
The best way to get the hang of doing webcomics is to read a lot of webcomics and regular comics or manga… and to draw a lot. But it never hurts to have a reference, and that’s what these books are – great references. Check them out and see if they’re something that might help you!

Note: Most of these are in manga-style – mainly because that’s the style I use and the style I like. But there are many different styles of manga, and the basics are still the same for crafting a great comic, no matter what kind of comic you’re doing.

Where to Host Your Webcomic

Finding Your Home Online
Alright, so you’ve done your prep work. You’ve practiced drawing your characters til your fingers went numb, filled an entire sketchbook with settings sketches and ideas and plot twists, and you’ve built up a nice buffer of fully finished pages, ready to share with the public. Now, it’s time to take the plunge and put your comic online.

This is the part that makes turns your comic into a webcomic, but this could be the most perplexing part: where, exactly, do you host your webcomic?

You’re in luck! These are great times to be a webcomicker, and you’ve got plenty of options. Here are a few of them.

Build your own website. Have you got some programming skills and some extra cash? Then creating your own website might be the path for you. This is the only way to have complete control over every aspect of your comic. You choose the layout, add special sections like Character Bios and World Information, put up your commission prices (if you’re offering them), integrate a blog or a forum – your imagination’s the limit! Well, that, and your budget.
Pros: Complete control, your own domain name, and the ability to craft an entire website devoted to your masterpiece.
Cons: You’re completely in charge, which means you have to wear a lot of hats – programmer, graphic designer, marketing exec, publicist… You’ll have to decide if you’re going to have ads, where to put them, and how to manage them, along with keeping all the content up to date and figuring out how to build your fanbase. It’s the most work-intensive of the options.

Use a webcomic publishing site. There are several sites out there devoted entirely to building communities of webcomics. You might not be able to customize the total look the way you could if you had your own website, but you also don’t have to worry about doing everything. Some even have ways for you to make money off your comic.
Pros: No programming experience needed! You also get to be part of an established community, which helps guide new readers to your work. Each site/community has their own personality, so check them out to see which one fits you best. Another pro is that many of them are free (although some have special features for “premium” users).
Cons: Less control over the total package, and you have to play nice with the rest of the community. Be sure to read all terms and conditions before signing in. Pay especially close attention to restrictions and make sure you retain all rights to your work.

Use deviantArt. It’s not a comic-specific site, but it is an art community site and there are plenty of people who use it to host their comics.
Pros: deviantArt has a large community already built in. With their gallery system, you can separate your comics and extra are into different folders. There isn’t direct advertising (and please, don’t be a spammer), but when someone favorites your work, other people can find it through those people’s favorites. And, as a recent addition, deviantArt has added the ability to sell premium content.
Cons: It’s not a webcomic community, and it is massive, meaning it could be hard to find your work. Also, some features are only available on Premium accounts, and while there are ways to customize your front page, you can only do so much.

Those are a few of the options available for hosting your webcomic. If you haven’t found a good fit for you, be creative! If a blogging platform suits your needs, use a blog. It all depends on how much work you want to put in, the benefits offered, and which site you like best. Just be sure to read all the terms and conditions first.

Webcomic Hosts

There are several sites out there devoted to hosting webcomics. These sites have built in communities with readers eager for new, quality webcomics. Here are a few of the ones I check out when I’m looking for new comics to read.

MangaMagazine.net
A free site that works on a tier system. Be sure to read their terms, as they require certain tiers to post on their site before any others (If, ya know, you’re going post your comic in a few different places).

Tapastic
Another free site, this one with a pretty cool format for webcomics. It lends itself well to both traditional and more experimental “visual stories.” You’ll have to check it out to see what I mean.

Smack Jeeves Webcomic Hosting
One of the longest-running webcomic hosts out there, this old standby has stayed current and competitve with their features. The basic level is free, while there is also a premium version with special features – for a fee, of course.

On the Topic of Partners…

A Little Advice for Those Not Going It Alone

Awhile ago, one of my readers asked me how the whole comic thing works with a partner, as she was thinking about starting a webcomic with a partner. Well, the short answer is: it depends on the partners.

Hear me out before you dub that the cop-out answer. There are numerous ways for people to work on webcomics together. For example, a group might decide to do things the Western way, with one person writing, one penciling, one doing flats, and one doing the coloring. Teams of two might have one writer and one artist – if you go to OnlineComics.net, you’ll see a lot of postings looking for either a writer or an artist in the forums. It’s a great way for writers who have a great idea for a comic but perhaps not the most talent in the art department or an artist really wants to do a webcomic but can’t write. Other teams may have less defined roles.

When it comes to Koni and myself, Koni’s role is that of “creative collaborator.” Essentially, she’s my muse. When I need a sounding board, get stuck on something, or need to work out the story lines, I turn to Koni. Waaaaay back in 2006, Strawberry Syrup got its start when Koni and I were watching a vampire anime and wondered why all the half-vampires always side with the humans. From there, one thing led to another, and next thing we know, we were in the nexus of creative fusion. We tossed out a lot of story ideas back then, ones I still have to get to. My role is to then take those ideas, flesh them out into chapters with dialogue and plots, and then do all the art.

Some things to consider when you take on a partner or partners for a webcomic:

Make sure everyone understands and is comfortable with their role.

Make sure this is someone you can work with for the long haul if you plan to do a long-run webcomic. Consider doing a trial run – a short one-shot story of 10-20 pages to make sure the two of you can work together. It’s also a good idea with groups, to make sure everyone’s happy with their roles.

Make sure everyone understands and is capable of meeting the deadlines. Your writer has to have the final draft of each page to the artist in enough time for the artist to finish the page in time for that week’s post. Having a sizable buffer will help here.

Be flexible and open to change. If your partner has some ideas regarding your area, at least listen. It could make your webcomic all the better.

Consider a legal agreement defining who owns what and how any profits will be split. This is especially important when you don’t know your partner, only have a professional relationship with them, or have plans to get your comic published. The last thing you want is for legal squabbling to get in the way of things.

Those are just a few of the things to keep in mind when starting a webcomic with partners. And remember, webcomics are supposed to be fun! Whenever more than one person is involved in a creative project, chances are there will be conflicts. Just try not to let them get too blown out of proportion, and you’ll be fine.

Places to Promote Your Webcomic

Or Check Out Your Competition!
Once you have your webcomic up and running, you’ll need to get some readers… and the best way of getting readers is webcomic communities and lists! Here are a few of the ones you’ll want to be on.

OnlineComics.net
This site gives you your own forum, advertising possibilities, and the ability to see how many fans you have and what they like to read. You’ll need at least 10 pages done before you’ll be listed here.

buzzComix
This site lists comics by popularity through voting. You can even offer incentives to get people to vote, like extra art or even pages. You’ll need a banner to join this site.

Top Web Comics
Pretty much the exact same thing as buzzComix, but hey, the more exposure, the better!

The Belfry Webcomics Index
Another list of webcomics. It’s geared towards furry comics, but it allows other kinds to join, too.

Comixpedia
The Wikipedia for Webcomics. List your comic here and make yourself a nice page – you might snag some new readers!

The Webcomic List
Yet another webcomic listing. If you don’t add yourself, one of your readers just might!

Start Your Own Squidoo Lens!
That’s right, Squidoo’s a great place to promote your webcomic, too! Build a lens dedicated to your characters, give readers an introduction to your story, put up polls, and don’t forget to add a guest book, all for free!

Kit’s Favorite Webcomics

The Ones I Love To Read
If you want to make your own webcomic, you probably have a list of ones you love. I know I do, and these are some of my favorites.

Strawberry Syrup
Shameless plug time! Yep, this is my own webcomic. Strawberry Syrup is the story of Sammy, a half-vampire severely lacking in the traditional angst catagory, and Hunter, his own personal (and kind of inept) Van Helsing. If you’re looking for a deep, dark, serious story questioning the meaning of existence… you might want to look elsewhere. XD

No Rest for the Wicked
Follow an insomniac princess, Little Red Riding Hood, and Puss in Boots on a quest through a land of fairy tales more like the original Brothers Grimm than anything you’d ever find in a Disney movie. Delightfully dark with a sense of humor, this well-written and stylishly drawn comic will pull you from page to page and leave you wanting more.

Looking For Group
Are you a fan of MMPORPGS? Love poking fun at them and time-treasured fantasy tropes? Then you’ll love this comic. It will have you laughing out loud.

Lackadaisy
Fantastically drawn fuzzy comic from the gangster era. The art will leave your jaw on the floor… and the characters are great, too.

Inverloch
One of those webcomics to make it onto the shelves of your local bookstore. Beautiful artwork, compelling characters and storyline, and better yet, it’s complete – no waiting for more pages or worrying about the author going on hiatus! Be sure to check out her other comic, The Phoenix Requiem, too!

ps238
In a world populated with superheroes, there is the inevitable issue of… what to do with all the little superkids. Aaron Williams answers this question with ps238, a secret public school geared towards educating the next generation of superheroes. But what happens when the son of the two most powerful superheroes in the universe HAS no powers? While it starts off a little slow, this comic’s got humor, time-travel, super-powered hijinks, and some honestly touching moments.

Runewriters
Another high fantasy one, featuring demonic aberrations, a possibly corrupt holy order, and a shapeshifting runewriter who screwed up a spell and is now trying to fix that with the help of his deaf friend. Great art, great story, and some great humor make this a great read.

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by David Burgess on May 11, 2018 0

Markers And Sketch Pads For Teens

Choosing the Right Markers and Sketch Pads for Teenagers

These Markers And Sketch Pads For Teens have been handpicked to include the best quality, most popular, top rated and best selling styles for you to choose from.

The basics will get you started in drawing with markers (copic, permanent, anime, manga, and more). Watch the drawing lessons and videos showing step by step drawing instruction and techniques. Discover the best selection of markers and sketch pads (sketch books) that your teen artist will love.

Featured: Bee Paper Bleedproof Marker Pad, 8-1/2-Inch by 11-Inch

COPIC Manga Wallet Set B- 24 Sketch Markers in a Travel Wallet

Good for teens to carry with them in a backpack or purse
This is a great little wallet that teens will love – there is a wide range of colors, 24 in total, that are a great start for young artists. The handy wallet means they are easy to carry. These markers are alcohol based, acid free markers that are non toxic. They can be used with the Copic air brush for the adventurous. These are best used with Copic marker paper.

Letraset Pro Marker Comic Art Set 2, Twin-Tip, 10-Pack

Good for Manga drawing or any animated cartooning
When buying markers in the ‘set series’ look at each set and evaluate how important the items in each set are to the overall project you are working on. In most cases you will find each set has a varied purpose. And, the primary reason each set is sold separately is because they are used more or less often. The rule of thumb then is to buy one of each and then replace each as they run low.

More Magic Markers

suggested basic sets
Included in this section are suggested basic sets your teenager will need depending on their art styles and preferences.

For any type of drawing there is a basic requirement for markers or colored pencils for skin tones like the ones here. A blending kit is essential and from there you can add on additional supplies depending on their art work. For example comic artists will prefer vibrant tones like those provided by the Letraset Pro comic markers while manga artists will need the more subtle colors provided by specific manga markers.

Our choices are based on the best value and best quality marker pens that are smudge-resistant when dry, they won’t bleed into other colors but can be blended into tones and shades using duel tips and blending pens.

Of course, using the right type of paper is also essential to great results.

How important is using the right paper for marker art?

won’t any old paper serve???
The simple answer is really really important. If you pick a sketch pad on how cheap it is, you are likely to get light-weight paper that marker ink will saturate to the point colors will bleed into the paper and into other colors. Of course that is the worst case and pretty obvious but with the huge variety of papers available today it can be more than just confusing when you start out. If you consider how expensive it can be if you pick the wrong sketch pad, you’ll see how advisable it is to do a little research beforehand.

Many manufacturers make it easier by specifying on the front cover the type of art work their paper is good for. At the very least you need to target paper that is guaranteed not to bleed colors like this bleed-proof paper available on Amazon.

What to bear in mind when buying sketch pads for marker art

Because markers are alcohol based they will soak ordinary paper and bleed colors together unless the paper has been pre-coated with a solvent to prevent this.
For the same reason, unless you use the proper paper you will find your colored ink from the marker edging outward from the line you intended, the professionals call this feathering.
You want to pick a paper that will allow you to blend colors.
Pick the right paper for the right effect.

Best Bleedproof Paper For Markers

The Top Pick For Markers And Sketch Pads For Teens
If you want to go for the best paper for using with markers, go for the Copic range designed specifically for marker art. This pad holds 50 sheets of thin paper that is completely bleed-proof. This paper is designed to get the best out of alcohol based markers, the smooth surface allows for artistic blending of colors that are ideal for anime, manga and comic art.

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by David Burgess on May 10, 2018 0

Foreshortening in the art of drawing

What is foreshortening? Some answers and drawing examples and video tutorial

What is foreshortening? Foreshortening in the arts refers to a specific way to depict three dimensional objects on the two dimensional paper planes. One of the most famous examples of foreshortening in visual arts is the painting by Andrea Mantegna, the mourning of Christ. The painting on wood shows the dead body of Christ from an extreme perspective. The viewer is put on the same eye level as the mourning figures at the side in close distance at the very end of the bed near the feet.

The painting was done in the 15th century in Italy, a period called Renaissance. During that time depiction of three dimensional spaces was fully explored and displayed in visual arts with almost scientific “correctness”.

Foreshortening in this painting means the perspective compression of the body and it’s proportions to a fraction of the actual size. Feet and head come very close together; the limbs are foreshortened in perspective. Mantegna created a stunning and very dynamic piece by choosing this extreme perspective.

Foreshortenings are inseparable connected with the depiction of illusionist three dimensional spaces. Until the 13th century pictures were mostly flat, at least space often was not depicted “correctly” and thus lacked the illusionist effect. Since Mantegna and others renaissance artists drawing and painting foreshortenings has become the standard of illusionist painting.

Andrea Mantegna – the mourning of Christ

An impressive example for foreshortening in visual arts

Image credit: Wiki media commons An impressive example for foreshortening in visual arts

Using a grid to draw foreshortening

The image above is from the 18th century. In the old days using grids in drawing was the state of the art method to produce exact perspective drawings. The draughtsman has a paper with the same grid proportions on his drawing table. All he has to do is to transfer important points where outlines in the scenery cut the vertical grid on the grid on his paper. Then he can connect those points to reproduce the outlines of trees and other objects in the drawing to get an exact flat projection of his view on the drawing paper.

There is a very famous illustration by Albrecht Dürer in his tutorial on how to measure in drawing. It illustrates perfectly how foreshortening in perspective drawings of the human body can be obtained. There is also the vertical grid used to transfer a flat projection of a there dimensional space on the flat surface of the drawing paper.

The effects of foreshortening in drawing

Extreme perspective with foreshortening effect changes a couple fo things. What are the effects of foreshortening in drawing?

1. Foreshortening changes geometric forms: circles will change to elliptic forms, squares will change to rectangles and cylindrical subjects change to a more conical shape for example

2. Foreshortening changes proportions: foreshortening on the human body will change the proportions for example. Parts which are closer to the viewer’s eye can appear much bigger than from a “standard” figure drawing. Limbs might look much shorter, hands or feet might look bigger.

Super retro comic hero thinks about a fly

Video lesson in drawing foreshortening

In this video lesson you can see an example of a manga or cartoon figure stretching the hand directly to the viewer in extreme perspective. As the hand is much closer to the viewer than the body the hand is bigger in size than the head of the figure. This is one of the dynamic effects of an extreme perspective look. The artist shows in real time how he develops the position of hand, palm and fingers in relation to the perspective extremely shortened arm. The video demonstrates the characteristics of foreshortening very well.

Drawing Tutorial: Foreshortening
by markcrilley

Extreme foreshortening as means of a drawing composition

Foreshortening in drawing, charcoal drawing, houses and street

This charcoal drawing of mine (Basic tips for charcoal drawing) uses an extreme perspective with foreshortening as dynamic composition concept. The viewer is massively forced to follow the fence line from the foreground in to a mad dash down the road to the center of the image.

Foreshortening applied in a street sketch

foreshortening in a street sketch
This is a detail of one of my humble sketches of the city of Stuttgart. In the center there are some cars parked and the effect of foreshortening is compressing the outlines of the chassis. It is rather difficult to draw the wheels not as circles but as flat ellipses and the wheel wells so very narrow to shorten the sideview of the vehicle according to the perspective. It helps a lot to close one eye to observe and see the object as it would look as flat projection on paper.

Exercises to learn foreshortening in drawing

One can think of many exercised to learn foreshortening. The first one I did was taken from Bert Dodsons classic book “Key to drawing”. He request the reader to draw is/her own hand with the fingers pointing towards the viewer. It sounds easy but it is a quite tricky thing to do.
Drawing still life subjects like bottles , that are lying flat on a table for example, are also good exercises. Foreshortenings on the human body are a great challenge to

Drawing books that can help to understand foreshortening

In architecture drawing the term foreshortening is rarely used. Foreshortening mostly is mentioned in connection with drawing the human body. Here are two books that deal among others with this topic. especially in comic drawing foreshortening is an often used means to create dynamic and stunning sceneries.

The batman comics are well knwon for their extreme vertiginious perspective views of skyscrapers and the comic hero moving within this environment

Foreshortening in a tree sketch

This sketch is an exercise in drawing foreshortening. The base of old treet trunk pointed towards me. As a result the branches are very close together and the shape of the trunk appears to become a lot thinner from base to top.

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by David Burgess on May 10, 2018 0

Book Review: Figure It Out! by Christopher Hart

Christopher Hart’s book, “Figure It Out!” is basically a beginners guide to drawing the human form. It’s not an advanced book of everything you ever wanted to know about drawing the human body, but it is a book that will get most artists comfortable drawing the human figure. He’s got his own techniques, and a few unique examples for demonstration, and the most important thing about this book is simplification.

Christopher Hart has built himself a virtual empire when it comes to How-To drawing books. If you search Amazon for his name, literally thirty or more titles will be returned, in the search. Go to any bookstore, and the drawing section will be dominated by his name. He has garnered a bit of criticism, however, due to the fact that his drawing instruction is geared more towards the comic artists, than those looking to represent realism. He’s also been criticized for not doing all of his own drawing. Many of his books are filled with the art of other artists. However, much of the art is superb. Hart himself is not a recognized comic book artist, and he will routinely employ artists that are. However, what he does well is he covers all of his bases.

For me in particular, the book, “Figure It Out!” took me from being very tentative with my drawing of the human form, to feeling like I could conquer just about any pose. His instruction begins with the head as a basic shape, and then moves on to the body. He states that the body is more or less all about nailing down the torso, and he gives a great analysis about how to layout the torso with a few main angles. He then goes on to demonstrate the process by showing human poses using only stick figures. Simplification is his key.

Remember when you were a kid, and you’d draw stick figures? Well, guess what? You were, apparently, right to do this. Hart demonstrates this by nailing down intricate stick figures of the human form. He shows that this is all that’s necessary to get the form down. One of the chapters, called “Body Dynamics,” is dedicated to drawing dozens and dozens of stick figures, and by the end, I felt like I had a handle on manipulating the human form. Each successive chapter goes into more detail on fluffing up the human form, as in adding the muscles and the clothing. The book finishes with some fairly unique poses, that demonstrate the human form in all sorts of angles, specifically showing things like foreshortening, and hiding appendages, and some other complex poses.

The book isn’t an end all be all book of drawing the human form. It’s a starting point to get the confidence for the hard stuff, and it was all I needed to help me get over the hump, and help me feel more comfortable about tackling what I had up until that point felt was the overly complex human form. After reading the book, there are still things that may be out of my reach, but I certainly don’t feel like I need to shy away from anything either. In fact, most poses, I can bang out fairly quickly.

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by David Burgess on May 7, 2018 0

Webkinz World Studio Story

Webkinz Ganz Studio
After being on Webkinz World for quite a while, maybe six months, I finally discovered he Studio Movie Maker. Oh, that sounded like a lot of fun! I love writing stories and it would be so cute to have the little actors you could buy in the W Shop acting out my story.

I purchased the Webkinz Studio for 1,000 Kinzcash and bought a few actors and sets, including a Pirate, Princess, Knight, Ship background and Castle Background, along with a few other things. It cost quite a few pretty Kinzcash pennies.

I was more than a little upset when I went to make my first Webkinz Studio video. It turns out you cannot give your characters names. Even simple names that even Word Processor recognizes, such as Bob, Sally, Robert, etc. are not recognized and when the Studio does not recognize a word it will not allow that word to be used. Well, fine, they don’t want names. You can work around that by never naming anyone. Though this is sad for children, since they (and I) love naming the things we create.

Of course, curse words are not allowed to be used, and this makes complete sense. No one wants a child making stories with bad words in it.

BUT! words such as ridiculous, superfluous, beautiful, specifically, especially, harmonious, etc. are not allowed either. These are obviously not curse words, and yet they are underlined in red just as curse words are. You can see examples of this in the story below. In no world would I type “She is pretty” when “She is beautiful” is far more appropriate for the emotion (not to mention when adults are speaking they don’t usually use pretty). It seems, to me, that a child is punished for having a large vocabulary. The Webkinz Studio only wants very basic vocab. words. Oh, vocabulary isn’t an allowed word either, so maybe they don’t want vocabulary at all (har har, get it?).

Slang is also not allowed. Gonna, wanna, etc. My Word Processor recognizes these words, but Webkinz Studio doesn’t.

Only two actors are allowed in each scene. This is understandable, as it is complicated enough to have two characters for a young child.

You can only store two videos at a time. This was almost heart breaking even for me. And I’m a big girl who knows how to save her work in an offline format.

I had big ideas for a long story that involved multiple characters and could be broken into various ‘movies’ or chapters as I would use them. That I could only have two of them at any given time on the Studio makes me sad. How must a child feel when they have a third idea and must make the choice between deletion or just losing that idea?

Below is the chaptered story I had in mind. I’ll title the whole thing when I finish it and think up a title. I have fixed it up in comic panel format because it entertained me to do it that way, but the single frame panels are also available so you can see what each looked like on Webkinz Studio.

This is the first scene of my story. Our pirate is plotting to find his love… or is he only lusting after her? Pirate Black Bear is dealing with a very sinister Fairy Godmother.

I changed the title from Pirate Love to Pirate Lust to publish here. I was not allowed to, obviously, use the word Lust on Webkinz World, which I won’t complain about.

Sadly, my wicked Fairy GODmother must be called a Fairy Mother because Webkinz World does not recognize the word Godmother nor does it recognize God Mother, because God is a no-no word.

I know this is hard to read. Sorry. I couldn’t make it any bigger in comic form. You can view the single frame photos below though and the words are much easier to read. Just click the image and it will enlarge.

Our sweet Princess Chushu appears to be in love. But her love is not of the proper birth. It also doesn’t appear to be that she longs for Pirate Black Bear. How will the Pirate take this? The good Fairy Godmother will help her!

It seems all the censoring in the world (or Webkinz World) can’t stop me from finding a way to get innuendo in there. It’s tongue in cheek and can be taken in an innocent way anyway.

Again, hard to read. I’ll think that through better when I do the next set of comics. For now, both of these stories have been deleted in order to make room for the next two. Yeah, remember, I can only store two stories at a time. I feel really bad for kids who don’t know they can save these and are forced to just deleted what was, no doubt, hard work for them to create.

The max width on this Squidoo pane is 620 pixels so I’ll know to keep it that size next time.

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by David Burgess on May 3, 2018 0

How to Become a Comedian

So you want to become a comedian?

Well, it’s not easy. Many people have tried and failed. But don’t be discouraged, that doesn’t mean you don’t have a shot.

The fact that you are here searching on how to become a comedian shows that you are serious about learning from others. Successful comedians are your best source for information to help you pursue stand up comedy, either as an amatuer or a professional.

Becoming a Comedian

Killer Comedy Jokes Needed
So, people around you find you funny and witty. But is this enough of a reason for you to become a comedian? Well, maybe. Being funny and witty could be a start of a successful career as a comedian. But it is important to note that becoming a comedian is a serious business. To do stand up comedy in front of an audience, you need to have good self-confidence and a strong stomach. Additionally, you need to be ready to deliver explosive stand up comedy jokes. Of course, you wouldn’t want your first standup comedy act to be a bust, right? So, to avoid any embarrassment, you will need to come up with some killer stand up comedy jokes when learning how to become a comedian.

Tips on making stand up comedy jokes.

There is a common misconception that standup comedians do nothing but tell little jokes or hilarious stories to drunken audience at night. It’s a lot more complex than that! Standup comedians spend hours in making stand up comedy jokes and perfecting their routine. They invest time and effort in formulating stand up comedy jokes that will leave the audience laughing out loud and never have dull moments.

To help you come up with explosive stand up comedy jokes, here are some tips you need to know:

1. Follow the formula – Joke building follows two basic formuals – the setup, which explains the joke and the punch line, which construes the delivery of the stand up comedy jokes. For beginners, it is safe to stick to the formula to get better laughs.

2. Find a joke in everything – This is the secret to prevent embarrassing moments. Try hard to find the funny in everything and in every situation. The more you are creative in making stand up comedy jokes, the better you will get in making up jokes.

3. List your stand up comedy jokes – Jot down a list of hot jokes that you know will beef up your comedy act.

4. Observation stand up comedy jokes – By simply pointing out absurd and real funny things that happen every day and are part of everyday life, you can make people laugh.

5. Mimic stand up comedy jokes – You can mimic someone in a funny way. This will definitely add humor to your act. Make sure that the person you mimic is a well-known person so that everyone can relate to.

Beyond stand up comedy Jokes

In addition to these tips on enhancing your stand up comedy jokes, you also need to build up your comic vocabulary. Some terms you need to be familiar with are To Kill (to do really well), To bomb (to do really badly), Set up (the explanation part of a joke), and all other stand up comedy jokes term. Now that you have read this advice, you can now improve your stand up comedy jokes and start killing your audiences with your stand up routines. Master the tips and you are way to getting the fame as a pro stand up comedian.

Killer Comedy: Become a Great Comedian

If you happen to read good comedy books or have watched good killer theatre shows, skits, or films, then you know that there’s nothing more relaxing and medicating than a few good laughs. Yes, it is expected that comedy should be hilarious, but if you think that making killer comedy stories is simple, you are wrong! Good comedy is a serious business as it entails hard work, dedication, and most of all, excellent writing skills. The ability to create a real piece of killer comedy can be attributed to a moment of inspiration or a sudden light bulb moment. But putting that idea into the right words demands comedic skill.

In order to be effective, a killer comedy should instantly capture the emotion of the audience. Once this is done, expect it to get good laughs. As mentioned awhile ago, a lot of hard work should be put into it so as to put together a killer comedy piece that will leave your audience rolling in the aisles. Creating a killer comedy piece involves phrasing, reviewing, rephrasing, and then some polishing. This process goes on and on until a good killer comedy is produced. More than that, comedy writers also need to know what type of comedy they write the best.

Being a Killer Comedy Writer

Each comedy writer is unique. They have their own strengths and weaknesses thus, they should decide what type of killer comedy they should write and present. The kinds of killer comedy vary from one liner to lengthy ramble or also known as routine. A routine can be made up of various “gags” or it can have one theme. Sketches, on the other hand, are a type of killer comedy that are long and are packed with gags. Writers that write good sketches are much acclaimed than those who do not.

Since writing killer comedy is a tough job, it is always an edge for those writers with inherent talent for writing comedy pieces. This can be a good and fruitful occupation. All that is needed is focus, hard work, and mastering trade tricks. Aspiring killer comedy writer can learn and master the tricks of trade by simply observing expert comedians at work. By meticulously analyzing their works, they can easily grasp and learn the intricacies of comedy variations. Aside from that, another important thing that aspiring killer comedy writers should understand is the holistic concept of comedy. They will never be called noble writers without having the know-how about comedy.

Killer Comedy: Timing Matters

Killer comedy pieces are created by excellent comedy writers. Obviously, they are made and presented with the ability to amuse the audience while delivering a specific message. These are what professional comedy writers are known for. They have the ability to inject the right jokes at the right place and the right timing. This is what makes a killer comedy very appealing. Though a writer may be packed with jokes, but without delivering it on the right timing, all can be dull. Timing is a critical angle that comedy writers should work on. By mastering this aspect, they can make a difference to a good joke. To learn and acquire excellent comedy techniques, proven systems from the funniest pro comedians is the answer!

How to Be a Comedian Through Comedy Classes

Some people are born comedians. They usually are the jokester in the group, making funny jokes and leaving everybody in tears laughing. If most of your friends or family say that you are naturally funny and witty then why not try to make this as a profession? Consider taking comedy classes to bring your comedic talent to the next level. If you enjoy cracking jokes and making people laugh or if you know the value of comedy, you are a prime candidate for comedy classes. By enrolling in elite comedy classes, your natural comic abilities will improved and honed.

Being a stand-up comedian is no laughing matter! It is more than just making the people laugh, or simply retelling common jokes and wait for your friends and the people around you to chuckle. Comedy is more about putting the right jokes in the right place and in the right timing. Comedy classes will teach you the true essence of comedy. They will teach you how to be tenacious and cognizant about your comedy piece. The core function of comedy classes is to build-up your humorist talent. They will allow you to be knowledgeable about the stage, know how to write effective jokes, and develop holistic comic charm.

Be a pro standup comedian thru good comedy classes

For inborn comedians, undergoing comedy classes will not be a hard task. But for people who wanted to develop their comic skills, it can take years before hitting the big time. Taking up comedy classes and workshops will help you get started on a successful career as a stand-up comedian. These will get you up in front of an audience, create good jokes, and master the art of delivering jokes. More than that, comedy classes will teach you to write and structure jokes. Structuring techniques are important in making good jokes.

Most comedy classes offer performing opportunities for students. This is a good platform for students to exhibit and perform their comedy piece in front of an audience. This does not only provide an avenue for aspiring comedians to show what they have learned in comedy classes, but this is also a good opportunity to bring out what they got like spouting funny adlibs and delivering funny lines spontaneously while doing the entire standup comedy. Through good comedy classes, a great comedian can be spawned.

The advantages of taking comedy classes

While it is a fact that taking up comedy classes can be tough, on the contrary, they can be worthwhile. Through comedy classes, one can build up his or her personality. You yourself can create a unique comedy trademark that people will instinctively recognize. For beginners like you in comedy classes, it might be awhile before you can find your unique comic personality. One way to discover it is to test your comedy piece in front of the public and ask for feedbacks or reviews. After, you can tweak your stage presence until you have created the trademark you want to exude. Examples of famous comedians in the Hollywood that are popularly known for their distinctive comic personality are Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Dave Chapelle, and many others. When people hear their names, their comic styles are instantly recalled.

Anyone interested in taking up comedy classes should seek a professional standup comedy class. There are a myriad of comedy class offered in the internet today and all you have to do is pick and enroll in a comedy class that suits your criteria as well as will bring out the best in you.

Refine Your Comedy Through a Comedy Class

Do you think you are hilarious or do your friends and family often tell you how funny you are? If yes, then you may benefit from taking a comedy class. Taking a comedy class will bring your comedic talent to the next level allowing you to try a stand-up act in front of an audience. If you dream of becoming a professional comedian, a comedy class is the way to achieve your desires. If you are good at making everybody laugh, then why not turn it into a career? Not only can you have a fruitful profession, but you are sharing what you love doing and making people laugh in the process.

Basically, a comedy class aims to provide a supportive environment where you can write, edit, and perform a comedy. Additionally, your comic skills will be honed and further develop. This will be successfully achieved thru a good comedy class that offers workshops where you will learn joke formats, performance techniques, how to deliver killer comedy and explosive jokes, write a comedy piece, and more. By learning a handful of this knowledge from a comedy class, see yourself soar as a professional and excellent stand-up comedian.

What you will learn from a comedy class?

So, imagine that you have enrolled in a comedy class and you have learned everything and almost every technique. It is imperative that you will think that you already have the guts to have your own show. But don’t be so ecstatic! Before this happens, you will still need tons of practice. Before taking your act on stage, first of all, focus on one goal and that is to make every person in the room laugh. In any comedy class, the first thing that you will be oriented about is how to observe and learn from the expert comedians. After this, your comedy class will encourage you to write your funniest material.

Once you have finished writing your comedy script, the next thing you need to do is practice your delivery. Here, you will implement everything that you have learned from your comedy class. The timing, your punch lines, intonation, voice volume, and adlibs will all come together now. By mastering your delivery, you will become more confident facing an audience and evade yourself from any embarrassment. This is the advantage of taking a comedy class. More than just the mere idea of making jokes and making the people laugh, taking comedy class is more about the techniques you need to have for a real exceptional and amusing stand-up comedy.

Comedy Class: Things to think about

Aspiring stand-up comedians should understand that being a pro is a serious business. If you want to pursue it as a career, take a head start by enrolling in a comedy class. Once you are in a good comedy class, make yourself ready as there is a long way to go. It is hard to earn applause and the pay is not as rewarding as the efforts thus make sure that you stay funny to reap the rewards. Know what makes people laugh and remember to take a comedy class so as you will make it big in no time.

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