Drawing comics

[handrawn]

You trying to put me down Risto?

As you say TG is a community - if you do not like the way a thread is going - read another - this advice I pass on from a moderator, who's name I forget...

So yes no worries, life goes on here, as everywhere.....

[Allen James]

thanks
strip cartooning [as opposed to illustration] is all spontaneity of line, and script - at least if you aspire to the hights of Watterson who was a genius in both fields

Agreed.

Ultimately this question is, what's best for him - not what's best for us.

That is indeed the question – what is best for him? That is also the question we ask the best racing car drivers. What car is best for you? The best cooks. What fry pan do you prefer? When you have the worlds’ best cooks all using a particular fry pan, it says a lot.

And in the end, we can't answer that.

Sure we can. The world’s best cartoonists still use pencils, pens and paper to sketch out and draw their toons. This isn’t an opinion – it’s a fact. Sure it will change in time, and that’s fine by me. The sooner the better. Also, they should be doing all the rest of the work in Xara - and that's a lot of important stuff.

By toggling the "Scale line widths" button in Xtreme, you can scale all your various line thicknesses in a drawing at once.

Foreground and background objects have different line widths though, so I would rarely use this function. I usually draw objects to the correct line width to begin with, and if I make a mistake, redrawing the image is often the best remedy, since it takes little time. Mind you, to make this fast it helps to have a triangular sided lightbox, and not a flat one. I like that drawing angle.

I'm sorry handrawn, and yes, opinions differ... This:
How can you even attempt to compare it to Bob Hahn's work here:

Well I guess the difference was, Steve’s improvised toon made me laugh.

Then we have Allen James single-handedly flying around like a flock of prepubescent pigeons and filling the forums with droppings of ridiculous proportions -- stinkers that nobody in their right mind would ever take seriously... "Bankrupting an ad agency and a vineyard in the Supreme Court of Australia over a toon in a car ad at age 21"... Yeah... nooo...

I couldn’t understand the media interest at the time, but I guess when you put it like that, I can. My barristers told me not to go on the Peter Couchman show (channel 2), in case I said something that would jeopardize our case. I disobeyed them. I remember Ron Barassi (a Carlton footballer) was in the studio for some interview, and he winked at me as I sat next to Couchman. It gave me courage. Couchman told the story, and began interviewing me. He soon asked the questions my barristers told me not to answer, and I told him I couldn’t. He pushed a few times, but I resisted. I told the basics of the story, but did not say that they were lying, or anything defamatory. Couchman kind of got all that across anyway, but I would not confirm it. Everyone understood what was happening – a young cartoonist was being ripped off.

Anyway, thanks for your interest Risto. Do you draw comics?

[remi]

I'll repeat my last post in this thread and I'll try to highlight the most important word in bold face:
"The wiser head gives in"

Remi

[covoxer]

Sure we can. The world’s best cartoonists still use pencils, pens and paper to sketch out and draw their toons.

Well, based on this principle, we can say many interesting things.
For example:
- Internet Explorer is the best browser ever;
- Windows is a best operating system ever;
- x86 is the best CPU architecture one can imagine;
- C++ is the perfect programming language;
- Adobe Illustrator is the most ingenious vector editor ever;
- petrol is the best fuel for reciprocating engines;
- smoking is a best way to relax...

None of these is true though.

[Allen James]

Well, based on this principle, we can say many interesting things.
For example:
- Internet Explorer is the best browser ever;
- Windows is a best operating system ever;
- x86 is the best CPU architecture one can imagine;
- C++ is the perfect programming language;
- Adobe Illustrator is the most ingenious vector editor ever;
- petrol is the best fuel for reciprocating engines;
- smoking is a best way to relax...

None of these is true though.

If you like, John.

The trouble here is, I used the word ‘still’, as opposed to ‘ever’.

[MarkMyWords]

I think the best we can do is say that, yes comics can be drawn in Xtreme (the original question) and yes, every stage, from sketch to final image can be done in Xtreme. Members here have shown it is perfectly possible and the results are as good as any other method.

Whether this is best for each individual and their circumstances is something we cannot answer. Fact is, there is no "right way" of doing things, there is only our way. We have to figure out exactly what that is by trying new stuff.

Chances are your methods will change and evolve as time goes by and new options and tools become available, so play around with lots of different media and methods, find what's best for you and keep trying new things.

[Bob Hahn]

Foreground and background objects have different line widths though, so I would rarely use this function. I usually draw objects to the correct line width to begin with, and if I make a mistake, redrawing the image is often the best remedy, since it takes little time. Mind you, to make this fast it helps to have a triangular sided lightbox, and not a flat one. I like that drawing angle.

Ah, the wonders of drawing in layers. Foreground and background objects can be draw on separate layers using Xara's layer gallery. You can edit any and everything independently.

Of course this isn't the best method for you personally as I've come to learn - this is just to clarify to others who may also be reading this and is interested.


Was I Punk'd earlier? I think I was being Punk'd. I think we're still being Punk'd.
Didn't want to say anything - but Risto pretty much said it for me

I'm done with this thread.
Cheers.

[covoxer]

Allen, you get me wrong.
Bob said:

Ultimately this question is, what's best for him - not what's best for us. And in the end, we can't answer that.

You disagree:

Sure we can. The world’s best cartoonists still use pencils, pens and paper to sketch out and draw their toons.

And what I am saying is that you are wrong here. You can't judge what's best for any particular person based on the majority.

[Allen James]

I think the best we can do is say that, yes comics can be drawn in Xtreme (the original question) and yes, every stage, from sketch to final image can be done in Xtreme.

That was never in question, in terms of responses. Questions did arise however about which tools gave the best results for drawing the images. It was reasonably argued that pencil, pen and paper are still the best for this, though tablets are catching up rapidly.

Members here have shown it is perfectly possible and the results are as good as any other method.

Other members have shown that all results and methods are not the same.

there is no "right way" of doing things.

Nor did anyone here claim there was.

We have to figure out exactly what that is by trying new stuff.

Debate and discussion stimulate people to try new stuff. That’s what this is about. One person thinks ABC works best, and another thinks DEF works best. They debate, and the result is that people try both ABC and DEF.

[MarkMyWords]

It is not so much a debate as you simply gainsaying other peoples point of view.

Take the way you itemised my last post. This was not an attack on you or what you have said, why so defensive?