Finally done! This was a request in Cat Nine’s Discord server, and I’ve always wanted to draw Felicia… or Myan “dressed up” as Felicia in this case (close enough!). Felicia is from a fighting video game called Darkstalkers (by Capcom) by the way.
And yes, Myan’s chest is a bit bigger here since Felicia’s pretty busty, bustier than Myan anyway. I didn’t uh, upsize them all the way, but if you’re curious…
And here “Myan” recolored to Felicia because why not. (HD version)
Third panel was originally gonna be her sitting on a pile of dead birds, but even I found it too morbid, you know, aside from two cats being hit by cars.
Transcript
Myan: O-ok... How about the others? Hibi: Oh! There was who was the best birder I've ever seen.
Hibi: Once she set her sights on something, there's no escaping from her.
Hibi: She was really enthusiastic about it too. Too enthusiastic even.
Myan: Wow that's- Hibi: Too bad she did not see that car coming toward her...
First part of a four-part patron-exclusive comic that takes place during page 35. The original idea didn’t actually take place during page 35, but having Myan a litty giddy with using her newfound hands seems perfect for said page.
And like I said earlier, these multi-part comics will be available for everyone even to non-patrons, but I’ll only let you guys read the first page of these things, so better become a patron if you want to see the rest!
Notes for myself
It was time to move up from black and white & screentones to using colors using Clip Studio. And since I still have a couple of bonus comics and art to do, might as well get some practice with it!
Used multiply using a dark reddish brown for my shadows (30% multiply blend mode), and a lighter reddish brown for the highlights (30% screen blend mode) instead of using the unique shadow/highlight colors for each character. Saves a ton of time while still looking good. The red hue doesn’t work too well for black and cooler colors (i.e. Keith’s hair and Myan’s pants), so had to find a proper color.
Use maximum anti-aliasing for the lineart. Doesn’t seem to useful here and I probably won’t use it next time, but it looks alright for cel-shading using India ink brush.
Shading and highlighting things here is of course very different from Flash. If I wanted to mimic the shading/highlighting style there, I may have to use the selection tools. But heck, this was an opportunity to try it a different way, so I did.
So instead, I used the India ink brush > Bit husky. Looks a bit messy, but it works. I also like the slight transparency effect it does.
In Flash, I had to make do with using gradients and cel-shading for the backgrounds… but not anymore in CS! Wanted to start simple first, so I just used Watercolor brush > transparent watercolor. Looking pretty good even though I have no idea how to do any watercolor/painterly effects.
Speaking about backgrounds, the perspective tool is frigging useful. Making anything in perspective in Flash is a mess of lines. Kinda hard to draw the floorboards here though, but wanted to try using an asset/material anyway. Access to free (and frequently updated?) assets made by other people using Clip Studio was one of my considerations for buying it, so I’m glad I’m actually getting some use from it.
Lastly, airbrushing for the last panel. Again, have no idea how to airbrush at all, but it turned out alright even if it’s not 100% airbrushed. The subview window and the ability to rotate the whole canvas also helped a lot in drawing it! And oh yeah, the Special ruler > focus line was extremely helpful as well.
First finished artwork, ever, using Clip Studio. Had to say, this was pretty fun to do even if I didn’t do it 100%. Anyway, I’m still getting familiar with CS, and made this more fun without the pressure. Some notes for me:
Used a huge working canvas size at 4961×7016. With a canvas as large as this, it somewhat feels like I’m working in Flash.
Still unsure about my sketching here. Perhaps it’s just been too long since I’ve sketched anything.
Playing around with the screentones was definitely interesting, albeit time-consuming for my current skill level. My layers were a real mess here too, so I better keep layer management in mind next time.
Didn’t use ant-aliasing for the lineart here. Made applying colors and screentones a breeze. Doesn’t look too bad as well, although that might change if I used a lower canvas size. And a quick research shows Flash doesn’t use anti-aliasing anyways…
The rulers (and being able to rotate the whole canvas )were definitely useful for drawing the bag here.
Had to export it in JPEG (at 90% quality) this time, it was too large, particularly for the HD version. Quality doesn’t seem to bad, and I think the lower quality might actually contribute to the classic B&W manga look.
I better close Google Drive. It interferes with saving the file.
No crashes so far! No autosaves as too far as I know, so I better be careful of sudden blackouts and the like.
I can say, Clip Studio is a worthy replacement for Flash! I can think of a few cons though, but I think I’ll try making a few more things with CS before I decide.
First comic made using Illustrator! Like I mentioned last time, making this took WAY too long compared to drawing it in Flash, particularly the shading/highlighting part if you’d believe it. At least I actually learned how to shade/highlight faster while working on this, but it’s still way complicated than Flash. Just reminds me why I liked Flash in the first place, it’s simplicity.
Even with Illustrator’s more adjustable brushes (only 8 brush sizes in Flash, but if you zoom in/out, the brush adjusts), and massive zoom (Flash up to 2000%, Illustrator up to 6500%!), group-able and nameable swatches, it’s still not a good choice for making comics because you’ll need to micromanage the layers and paths a lot (other artists, imagine every brush stroke you did creates a new layer!). Still, I’m glad I finished this to the end! Illustrator will still be useful, perhaps for lineart (I certainly had an easier time drawing here), backgrounds, and wallpapers, which are, you know, illustrations.
Anyway, like I mentioned in another tweet, I think I’ll learn about Clip Studio next. I’ve downloaded video tutorials which I’ve been watching whenever there’s some spare time (i.e. in the bathroom). When I learned about its Rulers (like the Perspective Ruler. Watching this is free.), Clip Studio suddenly looked much more attractive to me since they’re exactly what I’ve been looking for! Drawing complicated backgrounds in perspective is very hard ti in Flash, and is the real reason why I haven’t been drawing them that often.
Transcript
These three notice a wolf that’s lethargic and alone at the zoo’s wolf enclosure...
Keith: It’s a... slothful solitary canine. Cruz: An idle isolated lupus. Tammy: A laidback lorn pooch!
