The next installment in this adventure is now up and running! And with a radically different style! Yes, I switched over from just one picture, to a sequence of pictures in a comic page style of doing things. This is great as it allows me to show more of what is going on, rather than trying to fit all the implications into one picture. Not to mention that making these is actually a lot of fun for me. This was the reason I bought Manga Studio in the first place, because I saw that it was highly recommended as a good program to make comic panels and pages on, which it is. With just the ease of a simple frame tool, you can place panels of varying sizes and shapes. And each time you make a box, it creates it's own series of layers, which helps in making sure the lines and colors don't run into other areas of the page. It allows more detailed tools to be used in each panel without ruining the others, and that's something very useful.
I also switched up my drawing style within the picture, using completely different line tools other than the effect lines to create a different feel. I really like how they turned out. With the varying thickness and the shape and the crispness, it looks way more professional now than it ever did when I was just using the "for effect" line tool. The coloring technique is essentially the same, layers of light and dark color blended on one layer, with darker lines to add detail and texture for fur and the trees. The whole page came out surprisingly polished and was very enjoyable to make, even if it did take me longer than I wanted to get everything planned out.
I have decided on a new direction for the story. I at last have a plan to set up more action oriented and fun pages, as well as another character in the workings to add to the current duo in the story. I have also decided to name the characters here. The cat's name is Strip and the fox's name is Feft. Simple, but I got tired of referring to Strip as just "the cat," so I figured a name was in order. The end goal for each character is also different, but fundamentally in the same place. Strip is looking for a lost family of his that supposedly live to the north, Feft is looking for a new home in a warm place with plenty of food, as he is never able to compete for food or territory due to his deformed paw. I think I found a new track for the story to follow, and hopefully now my excitement for it will be restored. The next page awaits!
I also switched up my drawing style within the picture, using completely different line tools other than the effect lines to create a different feel. I really like how they turned out. With the varying thickness and the shape and the crispness, it looks way more professional now than it ever did when I was just using the "for effect" line tool. The coloring technique is essentially the same, layers of light and dark color blended on one layer, with darker lines to add detail and texture for fur and the trees. The whole page came out surprisingly polished and was very enjoyable to make, even if it did take me longer than I wanted to get everything planned out.
I have decided on a new direction for the story. I at last have a plan to set up more action oriented and fun pages, as well as another character in the workings to add to the current duo in the story. I have also decided to name the characters here. The cat's name is Strip and the fox's name is Feft. Simple, but I got tired of referring to Strip as just "the cat," so I figured a name was in order. The end goal for each character is also different, but fundamentally in the same place. Strip is looking for a lost family of his that supposedly live to the north, Feft is looking for a new home in a warm place with plenty of food, as he is never able to compete for food or territory due to his deformed paw. I think I found a new track for the story to follow, and hopefully now my excitement for it will be restored. The next page awaits!