How do I make captions for comics, and should I use Photoshop for postwork?

[Prancing Pony]

I like comics by others and I want to try my hand at it. I’ve been practicing with Daz and I’m happy with the way I’m going up that learning curve. Same with developing characters and storylines. Now I have a couple of questions for people with more experience than me.

What is the best way to make good quality captions - text in single or multiple clouds near the speakers. There are several free systems online, and the results are pretty meh. When I look at work by Nethoc or Himeros I see a much higher standard, so what are those sorts of devs using to make captions?

Does Photoshop help with overall quality? I can get a long way in Daz but a lot of comics out there seem to have some extra ‘polish’ in their images that suggests postwork work to me. I’ve never used Photoshop; is that what the experienced comic makers are using?

 

[MissFortune]

You basically need Photoshop if you're going to be making decent comics. Either for the bubbles/clouds or postwork. Simply googling "speech bubble brushes photoshop" is going to pull up a fair number. Some of which are completely free. Such as

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one, for example. Find a style you like, download it, and brush it into photoshop (or drop it, if it's a PNG/SVG.).

As for Nethoc, he doesn't really do much from what I can tell. Some solid lighting, clear renders, but they look pretty default. Though hard to say with any certainty without looking at his workflow. Just threw together an example, just something quick and dirty, but you can get a lot done with the shape and pen tool with some experience in Photoshop. Or like I said above, brushes/shapes made for Photoshop might be better for you. Either way, I'd get a grasp on Photoshop itself before starting.

Left is straight from Daz, no postwork or PS. The right one speaks for itself. Font, kerning, etc. could use some work, but like I said above. It was pretty quick and dirty.

 

[TessaXYZ]

Does Photoshop help with overall quality? I can get a long way in Daz but a lot of comics out there seem to have some extra ‘polish’ in their images that suggests postwork work to me. I’ve never used Photoshop; is that what the experienced comic makers are using?

Yes. It's pretty much essential to post-process in photoshop or light room to get the final "look", as you may want to tweak some things to get consistency across the whole work. Mostly by messing with levels, editing areas of the image as needed, etc.

For example, here's the same render, edited in photoshop to brighten the dark areas without washing out the image and adjusting the colors to get a blue tint. Could you do this purely by messing with lights in Daz? Yes, but that would be cumbersome. Edit: Yes, but getting it *just right* is tough, so final tweaking is beneficial.

 

[MissFortune]

Could you do this purely by messing with lights in Daz? Yes, but that would be cumbersome.

Yeah, because it's both technically the right way to do it and looks far better. Photoshop is for fine tuning, adding highlights, or adding stuff like speech bubbles (for comics) and post effects (e.g. lens flares.). Or more professionally, retouching, recoloring, etc.

You get what you put in.

 

[TessaXYZ]

Yeah, because it's both technically the right way to do it and looks far better. Photoshop is for fine tuning, adding highlights, or adding stuff like speech bubbles (for comics) and post effects (e.g. lens flares.). Or more professionally, retouching, recoloring, etc.

You get what you put in.

I suppose I should have clarified. I used an extreme example to show the difference (and in my VN I actually did want it dark per the first image, I edited it for the sake of this post). Of course you should try to get close to your intended image, but Daz will only usually take you 90% of the way.

 

[Prancing Pony]

Thanks heaps for the replies; much appreciated. Those images show what PS can do. It looks like I have another learning curve coming up!

After their miserly 7-day free trial, Adobe offer me a couple of options for using PS if I submit to monthly financial pain. Is the basic plan going to be good to get me started (Photoshop and Lightroom, and 20GB cloud if I wanted it)?

 

[DoubleLust]

Is the basic plan going to be good to get me started

no.

pirate it, take your time and learn the software, watch tutorials on basic comic construction and don't waste money on lightroom, figure out how to create custom brushes learn about screens and gradients.

Once you have a greater understanding of the software and everything it can offer then i would consider purchasing it, and if you are looking for a more wallet friendly option check out gimp, most of the same functions as photoshop except its free

also

DONT USE FUCKING COMIC SANS

 

[TessaXYZ]

also

DONT USE FUCKING COMIC SANS

Prancing Pony

More to the point, find a font on

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These are all free to use with no license required. Don't ever use a default font for anything.

 

[Prancing Pony]

if you are looking for a more wallet friendly option check out gimp, most of the same functions as photoshop except its free

Thanks. Does gimp include the ability to do text bubbles?

 

[MissFortune]

Thanks. Does gimp include the ability to do text bubbles?

Sorry. I'm gonna be that guy. GIMP is trash. The only reason it has any relevance currently is that it's free (and works on Linux, I guess.). If you're looking for something cheaper,

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is probably the way to go. $60 and you own the license permanently. No subscription.

That said, if you want to pirate Photoshop, m0nkrus is basically a one-click install.

1. Install Deluge (BitTorrent software.):

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2. Download the newest version of Photoshop (or the second newest, if you're worried about bugs, etc.).

Newest version:

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Second newest:

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3. Go to either of the PB.WTF links on the m0nkrus sites linked above (#2). Those PB.WTF links should be at the bottom of the page.

4. If needed, right-click on the page where there isn't a link > Translate to English. Scroll down until you see five buttons on the right side of the page. Hit "Download Magnet". If you have no other default software for .torrent/.magnet, then it's likely going to automatically find Deluge (though, I believe when installing Deluge, it asks you if you want to make it the default handler of .torrent/.magnet files. In which case, you should.). It should look like this:



5. Once downloaded, find the folder you downloaded. It should be the name of the torrent. Click on the folder > You should see a file ending in ".iso" > Double click that and it should automatically mount, followed by taking you into another sub-folder. > You should now see an "Autoplay.exe" file. > Double click that, select "Yes" on the "user account control" Windows popup > The just hit Install and wait until it's done > Start it up and you're good to go.

If you still find the above confusing, just watch

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video. But instead of the master collection, just use the Photoshop links on #2 above (unless you want the entire Adobe Suite.)

 

[DoubleLust]

Sorry. I'm gonna be that guy. GIMP is trash.

I am aware of the features lacking in gimp, but for the simple tasks required, it will work just fine, he's learning how to create comic bubbles... and considering the forum we are on, most people like the free option.

as well

I wouldn't suggest buying affinity photo either, considering he's just starting out he's going to want a program that has a lot of support, both photoshop and gimp are well established with millions of tutorials.

 

[DoubleLust]

Thanks. Does gimp include the ability to do text bubbles?

the ability to "do" a text bubble is understanding the software.

in this case you draw or find a basic white bubble, add a stroke through blending options and warp and resize as needed.

 

[MissFortune]

I am aware of the features lacking in gimp, but for the simple tasks required, it will work just fine, he's learning how to create comic bubbles... and considering the forum we are on, most people like the free option.

Fair enough. I'm just largely against GIMP for a number of reasons, though not entirely pertaining to it's UI or performance, but the people behind it and principle. The biggest being that they've had 1.3 million dollars in donations just sitting around for years (assuming it's even still there and they just didn't run off with it.) while doing absolutely nothing of note with software for the better part of a decade, a fact that's only become more noticeable as one of the few guys left working on a majority of it just up and disappeared. If you've got that much money sitting around, you can hire an engineer or two speed things up.

Which is also why I offered a little help in pirating Photoshop (or nearly any other Adobe software for that matter.).

I wouldn't suggest buying affinity photo either, considering he's just starting out he's going to want a program that has a lot of support, both photoshop and gimp are well established with millions of tutorials.

Affinity also has a 30 day free trial (though I'm not familiar with the trial limitations.), along with 14 days to return a purchased version of it. While I'm personally not a fan (been using Adobe for well over fifteen years now, I ain't trying to learn new tricks.), it's easily the closest I've come across in regard to Photoshop, especially for its price. Again, just offered depending on where OP's moral compass lies.

At the end of the day, I'd say just pirate Photoshop and forget about it. But obviously that's not going to sit well with some people, even if it means their wallet gets repeatedly raped without lube.

 

[Prancing Pony]

Thanks again for all your comments. It’s understandable that there are feelings associated with software whether it be free (with misused wealth) or a monthly addiction (which I hate!). I fall into the try it then buy it if I like camp, but I need plenty of time to try it as I go slowly up a learning curve on a part-time basis. So a free PS to start with sounds interesting. Thanks for the torrenting info. I also found that Render-state (a great site by the way) has it without torrenting.

Just for text bubbles (including multiple ones linked) is one of these packages easier to use than the others?

 

[TessaXYZ]

Thanks again for all your comments. It’s understandable that there are feelings associated with software whether it be free (with misused wealth) or a monthly addiction (which I hate!). I fall into the try it then buy it if I like camp, but I need plenty of time to try it as I go slowly up a learning curve on a part-time basis. So a free PS to start with sounds interesting. Thanks for the torrenting info. I also found that Render-state (a great site by the way) has it without torrenting.

Just for text bubbles (including multiple ones linked) is one of these packages easier to use than the others?

They can both get the job done, but having used both extensively, the UI/UX for photoshop is just so much better than GIMP in basically every way.

 

[jamdan]