[Mitsukai]

Okay, got some good news for everyone here involved with manga creation. Just finished talking to the guys at CelSys in Japan, and they're going to be soon announcing the launch of English versions of their Comic Studio product line this May or June.

For those not familiar with them, the CS line are a bunch of computer programs designed to assist manga-ka who don't want to deal with (or who would like to migrate from) the old pen and paper and manual toner. For example, there's a program (On de Manga) that assists in the creation of panels and storyboarding; 3DLT, which allows you to render 3D buildings in celshading and flatten for use in manga crafting; and Comic Studio itself, which is essentially a Photoshop/Painter clone specifically designed for the manga community.

CelSys also has some stuff for animation, but no word on that (in fairness, I didn't ask).

[SS-Chan]

Originally Posted by Mitsukai

Okay, got some good news for everyone here involved with manga creation. Just finished talking to the guys at CelSys in Japan, and they're going to be soon announcing the launch of English versions of their Comic Studio product line this May or June.

For those not familiar with them, the CS line are a bunch of computer programs designed to assist manga-ka who don't want to deal with (or who would like to migrate from) the old pen and paper and manual toner. For example, there's a program (On de Manga) that assists in the creation of panels and storyboarding; 3DLT, which allows you to render 3D buildings in celshading and flatten for use in manga crafting; and Comic Studio itself, which is essentially a Photoshop/Painter clone specifically designed for the manga community.

CelSys also has some stuff for animation, but no word on that (in fairness, I didn't ask).

Damn it... I actually like using inking and toneing by hand stuff. I'm doing my act1 on photo impression, with is like a posh version of photoshop. And Man, it stresses me out, and looks nothing like manga tones... Anyway, I will save up or continuously begging my mum to use her credit card... life's hard...


~SS-Chan

[Mitsukai]

Originally Posted by SS-Chan

DAnd Man, it stresses me out, and looks nothing like manga tones... Anyway, I will save up or continuously begging my mum to use her credit card... life's hard...

You might want to give Deleter's Comic Works a shot, first. It has all of Deleter's tones to date, and as already well in use by many manga-ka. We haven't given it a shot yet, but we will in the near future.

Pending that, if you really want to save some cash, you can get the Antarctic Press Screentones and Speedlines CDRoms for $10 each, but I don't really recommend them as they're really not that good.

Lastly, if you know where to look, there's a dozen or so free screentones out there on the net.

[SS-Chan]

Originally Posted by Mitsukai

You might want to give Deleter's Comic Works a shot, first. It has all of Deleter's tones to date, and as already well in use by many manga-ka. We haven't given it a shot yet, but we will in the near future.

Pending that, if you really want to save some cash, you can get the Antarctic Press Screentones and Speedlines CDRoms for $10 each, but I don't really recommend them as they're really not that good.

Lastly, if you know where to look, there's a dozen or so free screentones out there on the net.

Ooohhh free screentones... I'll keep a lookout for 'em. Thank-ies. Seriously I need a job and fast

~SS-Chan

[thundakat]

Any news on a demo of the software, for everyone before we fork out our hard earned cash...

I couldn't really scroll thro their site as I'm not literate in Japanese

I hope somewhere like Forbidden Planet buy it in, as I'm kinda nervous about buying online.

[Dejiko]

Wow, that 3DLT program sure looks powerful! I assume you can build your own 3D houses and other structures in it as well?

[Mitsukai]

Originally Posted by thundakat

Any news on a demo of the software, for everyone before we fork out our hard earned cash...

Usually Japanese companies do have trial versions. Unfortunately, I tried to seee if I could get onto their beta list, but they said they do all their beta testing in-house, damn the luck of that.

Originally Posted by Dejiko

Wow, that 3DLT program sure looks powerful! I assume you can build your own 3D houses and other structures in it as well?

No, it's mostly prearranged structures. The program is (as far as I can tell, it doesn't really have that much detailed description on the site) is more along the line of a building blocks program. Personally, I hope it does have some sort of construction mode in it...there are some places I've been to in Tokyo (like the Tokyo Big Sight convention center) that would be perfect for scenery. Even if it doesn't, I could build it in Carrara and then import it into, if it's got an import function.

Hrm...maybe I should call them and ask again.

[lizstaley]

If you have Photoshop, you can also just fake screentones. I did this with some old drawings of mine and people couldn't tell the difference really. You just have to be careful with them if you work big and then resize, becuase they can start looking weird if you don't resize it precisely right. @_@ If I remember correctly, the site I learned the trick from was www.polykarbon.com

Also, when I was in teh bookstore the other day, I found these books FULL of manga backgrounds that you can photocopy and use, which looked like a really neat trick in and of itself. If I actually drew anything more than normal pictures, illustrations, pin-ups, and the occasional mini-comic, I would've gotten them. Although this new program that Mitsukai talks about is EXTREMELY interesting to me. I might have to draw a few pages of amnga just to try it out. ^_~ I'd love to hear more about the animation aspect as well, since I am an animator. ^_^

[Dejiko]

Originally Posted by lizstaley

If you have Photoshop, you can also just fake screentones. I did this with some old drawings of mine and people couldn't tell the difference really. You just have to be careful with them if you work big and then resize, becuase they can start looking weird if you don't resize it precisely right. @_@ If I remember correctly, the site I learned the trick from was www.polykarbon.com

It's nice for a start, but not before long, you will hunger for more complicated patterns . But I agree that basic patterns such as dots are the bread and butter of a toned comic, so it's something everyone should try when they give computer toning a shot.

[Sergei]

I just downloaded the Comic Studio demo, but as I don't speak Japanese it's a leeeeetle difficult to follow... Looks interesting, but so far I haven't figured out how to make it do anything interesting yet.

There's a version of it out in English already though, called Comic Studio Mini. I'd love to try it, but as far as I can find out it's only available bundled with Intuos 2 tablets for the Asia-Pacific market. This is a bit more than I'm prepared to invest! (But if there are any Australians out there who have a copy they're not using...?)

I've tried Comicworks too, but it's just a demo and I'm not sure yet if it's worth $100. Anyone know if there's anything else in this area? I'm looking for a good compromise between handdrawn line and vector output.

[iluvmyibook]

I'm buying the Intuos 2 this week and I'm preetty sure the Comic Studio Mini that comes with it is for pc only. If there's anyone who can get their hands on a Mac OSX version I am willing to trade

Originally Posted by Sergei

I just downloaded the Comic Studio demo, but as I don't speak Japanese it's a leeeeetle difficult to follow... Looks interesting, but so far I haven't figured out how to make it do anything interesting yet.

There's a version of it out in English already though, called Comic Studio Mini. I'd love to try it, but as far as I can find out it's only available bundled with Intuos 2 tablets for the Asia-Pacific market. This is a bit more than I'm prepared to invest! (But if there are any Australians out there who have a copy they're not using...?)

I've tried Comicworks too, but it's just a demo and I'm not sure yet if it's worth $100. Anyone know if there's anything else in this area? I'm looking for a good compromise between handdrawn line and vector output.

[Dock]

Originally Posted by iluvmyibook

I'm buying the Intuos 2 this week and I'm preetty sure the Comic Studio Mini that comes with it is for pc only. If there's anyone who can get their hands on a Mac OSX version I am willing to trade

I don't think that Comic Studio Mini is available for the mac! It's exclusively bundled with Wacom stuff, I believe. You may have to buy the proper version of Comic Studio in order to use it on Mac, but I don't know whether it's available in English yet.

[Mitsukai]

Originally Posted by Dock

I don't think that Comic Studio Mini is available for the mac! It's exclusively bundled with Wacom stuff, I believe. You may have to buy the proper version of Comic Studio in order to use it on Mac, but I don't know whether it's available in English yet.

I don't know. When I called Cel'Sys on it, they only mentioned that it will be available in May or June. Usually by default that means a Win setup, but they could be smart about it and make it a "bilingual" product, ready for use in either Win or Mac.

[iluvmyibook]

Originally Posted by Sergei

I've tried Comicworks too, but it's just a demo and I'm not sure yet if it's worth $100. Anyone know if there's anything else in this area? I'm looking for a good compromise between handdrawn line and vector output.

Email me your address and I'll post the cd that came with my Intuos 2. I'm on a Mac and can't use it

[Azure]

Originally Posted by iluvmyibook

Email me your address and I'll post the cd that came with my Intuos 2. I'm on a Mac and can't use it

I'm still deciding too, my linework is so messy I really need to CG it but it costs so much!

[Dchan]

Does anyone know if there are digital tones for the mac, maybe in the form of Photoshop plugins, I mainly use photoshop.
I wouldn't mind if there was Linux stuff but I can't get X11 to work on my system, I'm not running panther yet which has the final release.

[Dejiko]

Originally Posted by Dchan

Does anyone know if there are digital tones for the mac, maybe in the form of Photoshop plugins, I mainly use photoshop.
I wouldn't mind if there was Linux stuff but I can't get X11 to work on my system, I'm not running panther yet which has the final release.

Nope, not that I'm aware of... besides, if we're talking about stuff like digital tones, it doesn't really matter which system you use. You can use Photoshop to fake tones, there's a tutorial on www.polykarbon.com on it. If you find that too limited, those tone CD's mentioned earlier might be a gift from above. In know I want 'em!