Comics
VIArts
Posts: 1,515
Besides Photoshop and GIMP, what would you suggest is a good program to help me with comics? I don't want to have to paint a bubble every single panel.
Maybe this?
http://plasq.com/products/comiclife3/win
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Manga Studio has a 30 day trial.
http://manga.smithmicro.com/manga-studio.html
Manga Studio is a good choice. It will also work with scanned images.
If you want to create something along the lines of "images from a cartoon", then Anime Studio (from the same company as Manga Studio) is also a very useful program, as you can create 2D characters, give them bones and move them easily into different positions, then make single frame images.
What do you mean: "draw a bubble every time" ?
Surely you do that with a layer.
Another option for speech bubbles and text is Inkscape. It is a free and open source vector program similar to Adobe Illustrator. Yes, you do have to paint every bubble and put in your text, but it is very easy with inkscape, and you have total control over the shape and size of the bubble, direction of the pointer, etc.
Manga Studio... all the way.
It's created specifically for comics and the inking brush is the best I've ever dealt with.
That aside, if you just want speech and thought bubbles, it is the program for you.
Here's an example of a piece I did solely in Manga Studio for a Zatanna pin-up
I'm not into comics and I did this in less than two minutes, only one speechbubble as a layer. (photoshop)
Except the three at the bottom; these are fonts.
And before you install Inkscape: download the .zip not the installer and have a look inside the zip.
You really want over 1.000 little files installed just for speech balloons?
There is even a Photoshop brush and a 'cookie shape' for speech balloons.
I use illustrator for text/speech bubbles, personally I feel using a preset can save time but I find them impersonal and can make a comic look a little amateurish, and a font or choice of fonts that do not fit the mood of the comic can turn a comic unreadable to me. Lettering is part of the artistic process, not grunt work.
Here's a good article on doing this in Illustrator but there are free vector alternatives out there that can probably do the same.
www (DOT) balloontales (DOT) com/tips/balloon/
and heres' some seriously amazing free and pay for fonts for comics for Mac/PC.
www (DOT) blambot (DOT) com
Nice Zatanna, was it a 3D model first or an illustration?
Let me be another one to put in a vote for Manga Studio. This was done with a combination of M/S and D/S. If you’re going to create a comic, Manga Studio is one the best programs out there.
http://forum.runtimedna.com/forumdisplay.php?330-Manga-Studio-Forum
Honestly, if I want to limit my comics to what I can screencapture, I think I still have UGO's old (as in, older than the first D|S Beta) "Hero Machine" flash-app around here somewhere. If an app demo has no save/export capacity whatsoever, what good is it, I ask? Someone else might try it, like it, buy it and so on, but if I can't even produce a product during its trial period, it does me no good.
To each his own with these things, though.
ETA: I am sure it's a good program. I'm just not convinced the thirty-day trial version is more than a waste of time and hard-drive space.
Thanks everyone. I actually am new to comic stuff. I'm going by my head right now, setting up in DS afnd potorking the render. But all cI really have for postwork right now is GIMP, which can be a brat.
MY postwork is slow.
Manga Studio 5 seems to be on sale. What's the main difference between the standard and EX versions feature-wise?
The purpose of software trials is to check that the software runs on your system without crashing. If functionality is disabled well that is the choice of the developer. The important thing is to check it out to see it can do what you need it to do. If it does, then you decide if it is worth the money.
Ex adds page manager, which help in putting together a comic book. Unless you’re going to publish a comic book, you really don’t need Ex. You could start out with standard and see if you feel you need Ex.
Well, since version 5 is only available in physical form, I checked for it on Amazon and...oh boy....look at that price!
Holy cow batman! I can't believe no one told you about comiclife 3 at www.plasq.com
it's for PC and for mac. It makes panels, bubbles with variety, the text boxes and you can vary everything in it to suit. It is the most wonderful comic making software ever. I would still use manga studio for tones, but I would definitely use comic life for the bubbles as you call them.
my comic which uses comic life is at www.pacefiction.com
Love esther
Great Caesars layouts Esther! I'm seriously liking your work over at pacefiction. I'm going to have to look into this comic life 3.
I'm still experimenting a bit with different methods. I want to start using comic tones but I would need manga studio or illustrator for that (both of which I've got). I've just been lazy.
I'm using the software right this minute actually...
No Comic Life on Amazon. :'( lolc I might juyst try the trial for now.
Besides days, does the trial have limits?
I've never done it in Illustrator (which I use for balloons) but I've created layers in Photoshop with halftones, then used them behind my image with a little transparency.
What are you using to get that "inked" look to your images?
well it is only 30 dollars from www.plasq.com - why does it need to be from amazon?
Comics are very slow to make anyway. yOu need to make your characters, arrange the scene, render, do post work. anything that speeds things up is a must have for me.
I thought I'd quickly show you some lettering examples before I go to bed. you can stretch the words and deform them, add drop shadow, gradients etc
Agreed that does look good, I would like to know as well. :-)
Well, Manga Studio 5 is like 48 bucks on sale right now, but it was 28 on Amazon. I cafn get it easy enough on plasq, I just like saving. lol
Are there any coupon codes for Plasq Comiclife3 ?
I didn't find any when I looked.
Agreed that does look good, I would like to know as well. :-)
Here's one way of doing the "ink" effect; this is in Photoshop, but should work in comparably featured editors...
1. Load your render, then duplicate it onto a new layer. This will be your "ink" layer.
2. Desaturate the ink layer, and adjust the levels until you have a nice, contrasty monochrome.
3. Apply a Poster Edges filter (or equivalent), and fiddle with the settings to taste.
4. Set the blend mode of the ink layer to Overlay.
5. Adjust Color Saturation and/or Contrast on the base layer to taste.
And because of the 5 attachements per post limit, here's the finished effect...
I use CL3 as well and quite like it. It's also cheaper than Manga Studio.
Can Comiclife import 3D objects like Manga Studio can?
I don't believe so. I simply do my renders, do any postwork in photoshop, then import the pics into Comic Life and do the speech bubbles and such.