Paper or computer? (not a debate on legitimity)

[freiheit]

Hi guys! Here's a question for you, I'm making a small comic for fun, a series of short stories with each a different graphic style. I though it'd be a nice exercise for both visual storytelling and polyvalence and the first set would be in a noir style, focused on the use of negative and positive space, lots of ink filled spots and cross-hatching and I'm wondering:

Would it be better for me to work it on paper so that we feel the natural media a bit more, keeping the little mistakes, adjusting the ones that are to problematic later on in photoshop or work straight ahead in photoshop so that I can layer stuff and make good use of the undo button? Is cross-hatching hard in photoshop with a tablet? I have a intuos4, not a cintiq so sometimes I have to re-do curves a couple of times before getting it just right. What are your experiences with it?

[Jason Rainville]

I personally have the hardest time with linework in photoshop, asking me to crosshatch in it would be a joke. For some reason the genesis of rough images and thumbnails is also difficult in PS for me, so for larger or more important images I sketch them out on paper first. At the same time, creating form and tone on paper is more difficult for me....

Point is, everyone's different and there's no right or wrong way to do something. There's only the way that makes it easier for you and the way that makes it more difficult.

If you're really concerned about it I'd try a few panels a few different ways: try one with a rough scanned pencil sketch with most of the work done in photoshop, try one where you thumbnail on paper and also create a tight sketch on paper where you only refine it a touch in PS, try doing it all digital etc. The process that makes you cry the least with be the magic slipper on your foot of creative desire.

EDIT: if you're not worried about your crosshatching describing form and just want to use it as a graphic of sorts, if you hold down shift you'll get perfectly straight lines.

[Katezila]

I would say you should definitely work out thumbnails, layouts, and page roughs on paper, but thats just my opinion. I personally get a much stronger feel for a page when it is literally a page in front of me.
As for your final look, that's really up to you. It depends on if you want to learn a new traditional medium, or hone your digital.
Since its a series of shorts, your could always have fun and mix it up, using a different medium/appoach each time to achieve your final look.

[Nickillus]

Hi Frei,
Great to find another familair face here.
Have you looked at Manga Studio Pro? It's designed to do just such stuff as set up boxed pages and comes with a raft of tones, cross hatchings and effects to apply to your drawings. Drawing tools seem to have decent touch too - not that I've actually done anything finished in it yet, but I've had a quick play. I got a copy of version 3 off Ebay a year or so ago for £80 (UK).
Yes - aimed at Manga lovers but capable of any style really.

There is a starter version of the latest (4) here
http://shop.smithmicro.com/v2.0-img/operations/aladdins/site/567350/lp/manga_debut4_uk.html

[Derek the Usurper]

I would suggest trying out Photoshop for initial drawing and see which you are more comfortable with. Getting comfortable with sketching in Photoshop often requires a brush that you really like, and I personally hate all the standard ones.

No matter what you choose to go with for this particular project, If you plan on doing a lot of digital work in the future, it's a very good idea to learn how to draw comfortably in Photoshop. The only distinct advantage to drawing traditionally, when your end product needs to be digital, is your own comfort level with the medium. Being able to start and finish an entire piece in Photoshop with the same degree of proficiency as traditional will save you a lot of time.

[arttorney]

Is the comic really for fun/learning, or you actually planning to do something with it? You can work at large size for no additional charge in digital. Not so with paper, because large format scanners start at about $600 and head for the stratosphere from there. (admittedly there is a tutorial down in the tutorials that talks about merging little scans with Photoshop, but there you've just gone digital anyway I reckon.)

I can see you are talking about for fun, but if you see something you like and want to commercialize it in the future there is that one little barrier with paper that will make you either work inside 9x12; or shell out for a big scanner; or be at least temporarily beholden to the guy who did shell out for the big scanner. Other than that I think bristol board really rocks.

[J Wilson]

Funny that you brought this up because I JUST did a black and white image in Photoshop. I haven't done straight black and line work in years. I probably would have preferred to do it on paper with ink and a brush, but I had to work quick, so I used Photoshop.

What I discovered was that any kind of really fine hatching was going to be impossible (for me at least). Line weights were going to be a little wonky, so at times I was going to have to kind of go back and either erase or paint white next to it. The over all process was fast, even with having to babysit some of the line weight issues. If I had the time I'd certainly do it on paper in the future, but Photoshop worked fine. Mostly I had to adjust the style I'd have preferred to use to something that worked better for me in Photoshop.