01_129869 ffirs.qxp 11/29/07 10:50 AM Page i Manga Studio ® FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Doug Hills and Michael Rhodes 01_129869 ffirs.qxp 11/29/07 10:50 AM Page ii Manga Studio®For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permis- sion of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007926397 ISBN: 978-0-470-12986-9 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_129869 ffirs.qxp 11/29/07 10:50 AM Page iii About the Author Doug Hillshas been drawing ever since high school. Originally influenced by the superhero comics of the early- to mid-1990s, his style has adapted towards his other favorite genre: manga. Learning and studying techniques from both the East and West, he’s constantly striving to create a style that can truly be called his own. In recent years, he has taken that love and desire for comics onto the Internet with two webcomics: Place Name Hereand Chibi Cheerleaders From Outer Space, which he works on with his wife, Stacey. His webcomic work led him to Ten Ton Studios, where he worked on a story for their book, Anthologica, and eventually became a member of the group. Originally from Chatham, NY, Doug now lives in Logan, UT, with his wife of seven years and their three-year-old daughter, Brady. All told, Doug’s a pretty happy and lucky guy. 01_129869 ffirs.qxp 11/29/07 10:50 AM Page v Dedication To Ben Tassinari, who taught me what it means to live for today and enjoy life to its fullest. Author’s Acknowledgments Jeez, where to start. Special thanks go out to my wife, Stacey, and my daughter, Brady, for their never-ending support and patience. To Mom, Dad, and my entire family for their support and always pushing me to do my best. To the guys at Ten Ton Studios — if it weren’t for you guys and your support (and pushing me in front of the right people), I wouldn’t have had this opportunity. To Fahim Niaz and the folks at e frontier for offering this project. To Jean Rogers and Steve Hayes at Wiley Publishing for their infinite patience during this whole project. Special thanks go out to Jason Masters, Joe Brudlos, Lincy Chan, and Teyon Alexander for providing additional artwork for this book. I wanted to show how Manga Studio works for all different artistic styles, and these guys stepped up to the plate. Thanks so much! 01_129869 ffirs.qxp 11/29/07 10:50 AM Page vi Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, Composition Services and Media Development Project Coordinator: Lynsey Osborn Project Editor:Jean Rogers Layout and Graphics: Stacie Brooks, Senior Acquisitions Editors:Melody Layne, Reuben W. Davis, Melissa K. Jester, Steve Hayes Barbara Moore, Christine Williams Copy Editor:Heidi Unger Proofreader:Evelyn W. Still Technical Editor:Sarah Vaughn Indexer: Sharon Shock Editorial Manager:Kevin Kirschner Anniversary Logo Design:Richard Pacifico Media Development Project Manager: Laura Atkinson Media Development Assistant Producer: Josh Frank Editorial Assistant:Amanda Foxworth Sr. Editorial Assistant:Cherie Case Cartoons:Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley,Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek,Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder,Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele,Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple,Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services 02_129869 ftoc.qxp 11/29/07 11:33 AM Page vii Contents at a Glance Introduction.................................................................1 Part I: Welcome to Manga Studio!.................................7 Chapter 1:Getting to Know Manga Studio......................................................................9 Chapter 2: Help for the Beginning (Manga Studio) Artist...........................................27 Chapter 3: Creating Your First Manga Page: A Quick-Start Guide..............................41 Part II: Roughing It....................................................63 Chapter 4:Your New Page Awaits..................................................................................65 Chapter 5:Importing and Penciling Your Rough Draft................................................77 Chapter 6:Layers, Layers, Layers!.................................................................................93 Chapter 7:Panel Layers and Rulers.............................................................................111 Chapter 8:You Can’t Draw a Straight Line without a (Virtual) Ruler......................137 Chapter 9:Working with Selections and Selection Layers........................................155 Part III: Refining and Exporting Your Work.................183 Chapter 10:Inking Your Work.......................................................................................185 Chapter 11:Tone It Up!..................................................................................................203 Chapter 12:Words Speak Louder than Actions: Adding Text to a Page..................231 Chapter 13:Printing and Exporting.............................................................................251 Part IV: Advanced Tips and Tricks..............................267 Chapter 14:General Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts.......................................................269 Chapter 15:Manga Studio EX Only!..............................................................................295 Part V: The Part of Tens ............................................323 Chapter 16:Ten (Or So) Books and Web Sites to Check Out....................................325 Chapter 17:Ten Ways to Improve Your Manga Studio Experience..........................335 Appendix: About the CD............................................343 Index.......................................................................347 02_129869 ftoc.qxp 11/29/07 11:33 AM Page ix Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................1 About This Book...............................................................................................2 Foolish Assumptions.......................................................................................2 Conventions Used in This Book.....................................................................3 How This Book Is Organized...........................................................................4 Part I: Welcome to Manga Studio!.........................................................4 Part II: Roughing It..................................................................................4 Part III: Refining and Exporting Your Work.........................................4 Part IV: Advanced Tips and Tricks.......................................................4 Part V: The Part of Tens.........................................................................5 Icons Used in This Book..................................................................................5 Where to Go from Here....................................................................................6 Part I: Welcome to Manga Studio!..................................7 Chapter 1: Getting to Know Manga Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 How Manga Studio Differs from Other Drawing Programs.........................9 Finding out what Manga Studio can do for you................................10 Knowing what Manga Studio can’t do (easily).................................13 Debut versus EX: Which Is Right for You?..................................................13 Getting to Know Your New Workspace........................................................14 Recognizing the Main toolbar.............................................................15 Adjusting your view with the Page toolbar.......................................17 Accessing your core set of tools........................................................19 Exploring various palettes..................................................................22 Chapter 2: Help for the Beginning (Manga Studio) Artist . . . . . . . . . .27 Acquiring Useful Tools..................................................................................27 You can never have too much RAM!..................................................28 Time to create some art — But with what?......................................28 Understanding the Essentials of Comic Creation......................................30 Basic terminology.................................................................................30 Storytelling basics: It’s harder than it looks.....................................35 A few other odds and ends you might find useful...........................37 Chapter 3:Creating Your First Manga Page: A Quick-Start Guide . . .41 Opening a New Page......................................................................................42 Roughing the Page Out..................................................................................43 Adding a New Layer.......................................................................................46 02_129869 ftoc.qxp 11/29/07 11:33 AM Page x x Manga Studio For Dummies Inking Your Work............................................................................................46 Erasing Your Mistakes...................................................................................48 Readying Your Panels....................................................................................49 Adding Screentones.......................................................................................52 Adding Text.....................................................................................................54 Saving Your Work...........................................................................................56 Reopening Your Work....................................................................................58 Exporting to an Image File............................................................................58 Printing a Hard Copy.....................................................................................60 Part II: Roughing It.....................................................63 Chapter 4: Your New Page Awaits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Creating a New Page......................................................................................65 Setting up a custom page: As you like it............................................66 Selecting page templates a la carte....................................................68 Creating your own page templates....................................................70 Save As Template: On-the-fly template creation..............................72 Creating a New Story.....................................................................................72 Adding author and page information.................................................74 The Save Button: A Vital Tool.......................................................................76 Chapter 5: Importing and Penciling Your Rough Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Time to Import Some Art!..............................................................................77 Using your scanner..............................................................................78 Importing an image file........................................................................79 What Happened?! (The Image Looks All Wonky).......................................79 Adjusting the image layer settings.....................................................80 Adjusting the image size......................................................................84 Regarding color....................................................................................86 The Pencil and Eraser Tools: Your New Best Friends...............................86 Laying down the line: The Pencil tool...............................................87 Whoops: The Eraser tool.....................................................................87 Pencils and erasers of all shapes and sizes......................................88 Treat Your Canvas Like You Would in the Real World — and Then Some!.........................................................................................90 The Zoom tool......................................................................................90 The Hand tool.......................................................................................91 The Rotate tool.....................................................................................92 Chapter 6: Layers, Layers, Layers! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 The Benefits of Using Layers........................................................................93 Getting to Know Your Layer Types..............................................................95 Creating a New Layer.....................................................................................96 02_129869 ftoc.qxp 11/29/07 11:33 AM Page xi xi Table of Contents Adjusting a Layer’s Settings..........................................................................98 The Properties palette.........................................................................99 Changing the layer type.....................................................................102 Using Simple Layer Functions....................................................................104 Copying layers....................................................................................104 Locking layers.....................................................................................105 Deleting and hiding layers.................................................................105 Organizing Related Layers..........................................................................106 Layer folders.......................................................................................106 Grouping layers..................................................................................107 Merging layers....................................................................................109 Chapter 7: Panel Layers and Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 The Idea Behind Panel Layers....................................................................112 Creating a Panel Layer.................................................................................112 Converting a selection to a panel layer...........................................112 The Panel Maker tool.........................................................................114 Working with Your Panel Layer..................................................................116 Opening a panel layer........................................................................117 Adding layers......................................................................................118 Masking off areas................................................................................118 Closing a panel layer..........................................................................119 Manipulating Your Panel Layers................................................................120 Scaling..................................................................................................120 Moving.................................................................................................122 Deleting................................................................................................122 The Panel Ruler Layer.................................................................................122 Manipulating the Panel Rulers...................................................................124 Adjusting panel rulers with the Object Selector tool....................124 Merging panels....................................................................................126 Dividing panel rulers evenly.............................................................127 Expanding panels...............................................................................129 Deleting points from a panel ruler...................................................131 Adding points to a panel ruler..........................................................132 Converting Panel Ruler Layers...................................................................133 Chapter 8: You Can’t Draw a Straight Line without a (Virtual) Ruler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 What’s the Big Deal about Rulers?.............................................................138 Keeping It Simple: Using the Line and Shape Tools.................................138 The Line tool.......................................................................................138 The Shape tool....................................................................................140 Drawing a line or shape.....................................................................142 You Can’t Use Rulers until You Make Rulers............................................142 The ruler layer....................................................................................143 Rulers on an image layer...................................................................143