Fan art

[Lew Stringer]

Maybe it's just me but most students I come across nowadays seem to take photoshop for granted - and wouldn't dream of actually paying for it!

- Phil R.

Which is one reason it's so expensive sadly.

Photoshop Elements is much cheaper, but limited. You can't use CMYK colour for one thing, only RGB, unless they've improved it in recent years. And CMYK is what you need for print publishing.

Due to that, the full version is what people in comics use. Photoshop 7 is the version I have. I bought it from a shop on eBay a few years ago. It was brand new, and a version down from the latest version, so it was discounted because of that, but it does the job.

[BeanoMark]

Because Photoshop is part of the Adobe Creative Suite, they like to bundle them together as much as possible. Such as InDesign, Illustrator, etc.. So, sometimes you just want it on its own.

Currently Photoshop is on version CS5, which is actually Photoshop 12 (in old numbers). There's nothing wrong with buying an older version from eBay or somewhere, it can actually be good value. Anything above Photoshop 7 is good for colouring, any of the CS versions are great for the extra features built-in.

[felneymike]

hotoshop Elements is much cheaper, but limited. You can't use CMYK colour for one thing, only RGB, unless they've improved it in recent years. And CMYK is what you need for print publishing.

Though if you are just knocking out stuff on your own with a laser printer, you can get around this by increasing the brightness of the art on the screen until it prints reasonably on the paper. As the print is usually darker when using RGB.

No doubt people who are caught up in working professionally / anal about printing will tell you that you "can't" "just" do it like that... but actually you can.

[BeanoMark]

It's one thing to colour your art and print it out on your own colour laserprinter/inkjet - it's completely different if you're colouring for publishing. There's nothing anal about that, it's just the truth.

If you're just drawing for yourself, it'll not matter one jot if you're colouring in RGB or CMYK. But if you ever get the call from a publisher wanting to reproduce your work, you'll find that it will never look the same. Well, not without some severe colour-correcting, and who's prepared to do that amount of rework when it'll be more professional to just have it correct in the first place?

[Little Squelchy Thing]

I still use the same free Photoshop-like program that I got with a magazine a few years' back! Shame on me! SHAME!

In other news, I've done a spot of fan art, this time a cutesy take on a certain Beano bear:

http://www.andyfanton.com/2011/01/bear-with-me/

[Jonny Whizz]

I sent off some samples of my work to the Beano about three months ago but I have yet to receive a reply. I sent the package in the post by special delivery and I was given confirmation of its arrival at the Beano office the following weeks, but I haven't had anything since.

Any information would be helpful, for example when I could expect to receive a reply by.

[Old Freddy]

*Blows dust off of old thread*

I think this is an appropriate thread to post some of my stuff.

I started making comic strips at quite an early age. I'm 16 now and I think I'm one of the youngest members on this forum, but I've been doing comic strips since I was about 8!

A lot of my early strips I no longer have, but I do have a couple, which I'll show now



I invented the character Smart Alec in September 2006, although this strip dates from 2009.





I invented the characters from Just Da two of Us in early 2004 but they looked considerably different. Initially its lack of originality (Storylines and settings were based on various 90s cartoons) led to me stopping making episodes of this strip, but in 2008, I resurrected and redesigned the characters, as shown here (This was the first strip I drew that had the new character designs)

As of 2009 I have had two 'fake comic' names, Mad and Fizz. Mad consists of all the comic strips I came up with before 2006, and Fizz features the comic strip characters that I made after 2006 (Starting with Smart Alec).



Laura & Friends was a strip that I came up with in 2004. This was the first comic strip that I did in a traditional style. By 2004 my memories of reading the Beano and the Dandy during 2002 were very hazy and I barely remembered them. By this time the comics I generally picked up were the likes of the Cartoon Network comic, which did their strips in a less traditional style, as usually the strips in these comics were longer, so you could probably make 7-minute cartoons out of some of them if edited enough. I originally did Just Da Two of Us and The Powerpuff Boys (Gee, how original! It was one of my first creations, from 2003) in this style, whereas Laura & Friends was much more traditional, and my other strips of the time follwed suit. Laura & Friends always had several 'guidelines'; For one thing I never drew adults in this strip, a bit like Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy where they never show adults. Another was that every episode would either end in Laura Getting a detention (This was the most common ending) or she ends up getting a very low grade for her work or on her report card. This strip is from 2009.

Last but not least, there's Old Freddy himself!



I invented the character in 2009 and this strip is from... 2009. I say the main problem with my drawing here is the way the style seems to vary. Either way you now know where my profile icon comes from!

Well what do you think? I'm happy to accept any criticism of any kind.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

There's a fine sense of comic absurdity and enthusiasm within your drawings, Freddy.

Your stuff is a bit unpolished and unfinished, but you clearly enjoy creating strips and gag situations, and it shows in your efforts. Your stuff is quite clear to read, and uncluttered---always a good approach, keep this direction as it will help to sell your stuff.

I suggest you upgrade to drawing with metal nibs and bottled ink [actually works out cheaper than fibre-tips] which will give your material a more streamlined finish. Thicker card-like paper [or Bristol Board] will make your stuff more durable and harder-wearing , although it will yellow in about 20 years!

Nibs/ink are a bit tricky to begin with, but once you start drawing with professional implements [usually available in most art supply shops] you will see the marked difference after using felt-tipped pens, etc, and there is no going back!

I do hope you will continue working and developing your strips.

There is some potential in there. Just keep advancing your material regularly and I'm sure we will see further advancement.

[Jonny Whizz]

I think you've shown some very good ideas in those strips. I particularly like the Old Freddy story.

I must admit I'm not very creative when it comes to story ideas - I tend to have to think for a bit before coming up with decent storylines and I've never really tried to create my own characters, so I can appreciate the creative flair seen in your strips.

[dishes]

Great stuff, Old Freddy. Most of the strips I drew in my schooldays used existing characters (or thinly veiled versions of them) so it's impressive to see you creating your own characters for so long.

I love the half-hearted barcode, and the empty glass case reserved fro the Zeeber annual 1934 (now I want it!). In fact, in general, that last strip is great for idea, drawing and general sense of the absurd.

Given that it was drawn in 2009 it'd be good to see what your artwork looks like now.

[felneymike]

Hehe, reminds me of the strips I was doing in the early 90's! I also think it's a lot better than my art at 16!

A few of us at primary school wanted to start a comic called Speed (we didn't know there had already been one with that name then) but never had diverse enough ideas, nearly all the strips were about racing, and none of them were funny!

[Old Freddy]

Thanks, Everyone. Ispy, The next time I go to a town I'll look for a pen with a metal nib and bottled ink, although I still have several other strips that I drew using my trusty rollerballs!

I sometimes have to think a bit before I come up with a story worthy of being a comic strip. sometimes I recycle scrapped ideas that I was originally going to use for something else.

Likewise, I have to think a bit before I create new characters, ever since my first creation Thomas the Badger (Never a comic strip in its own right, but I used to make stories about him when I was about 6). I can definitely remember creating Laura from Laura & Friends; I wanted to make a comic strip based around two girls, but couldn't think of half decent hairstyles for the characters. Then I found a decent hairstyle for one of the characters, and decided to leave it at that. I drew her on a megasketcher (So all traces of the drawing are lost!) and couldn't think of a name for her, so I used a book of Babies' names to find a name for her, and chose the name Laura. (I got the name from the top ten most popular Girls' names of the time the book was published (1987) and the name was in it).

And even after I invent the characters, I have to go about changing them a bit. Originally the two characters from Just Da Two of us wore fancy hats, but I got rid of this idea within a few days. They also initially wore Lab coats and chemistry goggles, because the original idea was that they made daft inventions with the help of chemistry sets. Once again I had to get rid of these visual traits, but this time it took four years! Smart Alec was also changed a bit, as was a character I haven't shown on this forum called Courageous Christina (Made around 2004). This character originally looked like a Fairly OddParents character, but within a few years I'd changed her to something more conventional.

[stevezodiac]

Here's one I drew earlier. About 30 years ago. I remember it being base on a joke but have long forgotten the caption I was going to add - can anyone offer any suggestions?
I never set out to copy Malcolm Judge's style it just sort of happened.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I like your work Old Freddy. When I was 16 I used to sit for hours copying complete pages of Jack Kirby art - still have most of them. I also used to write and draw my own strips too and I made my own Mad magazine type comics - mine was called Mad Mitch.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Freddy; metal nibs are sold seperately from the pen holders. But usually they are sold in the same art supply shop. Two different pen-holders/nibs of different size and width for the nibs usually saves a lot of inconvenience.

The holders I use now were bought by me back in the mid-80s! Metal nibs last ages if you look after them: sometimes you have to 'break them in, though'.

It has to be said that some people can't stand using old-fashioned nibs and give up on them.....however, the blacks are much richer and permanent than any other method of drawing.


If you do decide to go with steel nibs ---I do recommend it, like yourself I drew with more fibre-tip-like pens at your age-----you will probably have to experiment a bit for a day or two first [very cheap , thin paper is no use for nibs, which will practically tear through them] as there will be inevitable blotting and other problems initially.

Sticking with this, though, through experience means these problems will eventually cease [almost].


However, once you get the hang of working with nibs, the flexibility of line and general more polished results are clear for everyone to see.


Some artists avoid using metal nibs though: today, you can get away without using them.

[stevezodiac]

At school in the 60s our teacher was obsessed with italic handwriting and we all had to have a fountain pen with which to write. At least I got a certificate for my work back then. With a broad nib you can get the thick and thin lines which some artists like to have in their work - Robert Nixon for instance in the modern age.