Best pen? (and other questions)

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Cybeat
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Best pen? (and other questions)

#1 Post by Cybeat »

Hey guys, what's the best kind of pen for outlining your character? I use a fine line pen that doesn't write in dark ink anymore and it appears sloppy on photoshop (maybe I'm supposed to do lineart after that?) and won't appear neat after coloring. Anybody knows how to make your art look neat after scanning? Also, I can't download photoshop anymore since I used up the trial version. Is there another program that's like photoshop? If it's open canvas, how do I make the background transparent(like a magic eraser)?
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#2 Post by Samu-kun »

I use a bunch of different sized Sakura pens... But when it comes to inking, I will attest that it depends on the skill of the artist and not the quality of the pen... No matter how hard I try, all my inkings come out looking horrible. XD

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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#3 Post by Qu-ko »

If you're looking for something you don't have to order all the way from the moon and pay shipping for and that you can just buy in a store, I would suggest micron pigment pens. They come in various widths, some big, some small -- I mean, I have a 0.1mm one. And they're good; they don't seep through most decent paper, and they have nice felt tips. :D

Just suggesting. 8D

Also, to make your art look neater in Photoshop, play with the contrast and levels of the image and see if you can make it look more like digital lineart. If it's inked, you should be able to get rid of most of the lighter pencil grays by doing this.
Last edited by Qu-ko on Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Cybeat
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#4 Post by Cybeat »

At where I live, it's hard to find manga pens or those kinds of art pens. It sucks. What's a micron pigment pen?
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#5 Post by Qu-ko »

Cybeat wrote:At where I live, it's hard to find manga pens or those kinds of art pens. It sucks. What's a micron pigment pen?
Pigma-based. I don't know a whole lot about them, but I know they work. 8D You should be able to find them in craft or, if you're lucky, office supply stores.

(If you live in America, anyway. I don't know about Europe or other countries... *shrug*)
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#6 Post by Cybeat »

Qu-ko wrote:
Cybeat wrote:At where I live, it's hard to find manga pens or those kinds of art pens. It sucks. What's a micron pigment pen?
Pigma-based. I don't know a whole lot about them, but I know they work. 8D You should be able to find them in craft or, if you're lucky, office supply stores.

(If you live in America, anyway. I don't know about Europe or other countries... *shrug*)
Oh. And, about the contrasting level thing, are you talking about the ctrl M thing?
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#7 Post by risingbamboobanana »

call me lazy or stingy but i almost never ink. i just clean up my drawings to the point that it can be mistaken for being inked. when i do ink though, i usually use a super-fine ballpoint. i like them because of the degree of control you have and that it's a bit similar to using a pencil. i get nervous when i use fancier or more expensive pens (this is coming from someone who used to ink with a whiteboard marker :oops: )
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#8 Post by Qu-ko »

Cybeat wrote: Oh. And, about the contrasting level thing, are you talking about the ctrl M thing?
That's the Curves command; I'm not too familiar with it. I was referring to ctrl+L, which brings up the Levels dialogue. Also, there's Brightness/Contrast under Image -> Adjustments for a simpler way to fiddle with it.
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#9 Post by Cybeat »

Qu-ko wrote:
Cybeat wrote: Oh. And, about the contrasting level thing, are you talking about the ctrl M thing?
That's the Curves command; I'm not too familiar with it. I was referring to ctrl+L, which brings up the Levels dialogue. Also, there's Brightness/Contrast under Image -> Adjustments for a simpler way to fiddle with it.
I never tried that. I wish I could try it, but my photoshop trial version is over. It ended today. I mean, I wish I could afford photoshop. It's like what? 600 dollars? Do you have another painting program?
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#10 Post by Cybeat »

risingbamboobanana wrote:call me lazy or stingy but i almost never ink. i just clean up my drawings to the point that it can be mistaken for being inked. when i do ink though, i usually use a super-fine ballpoint. i like them because of the degree of control you have and that it's a bit similar to using a pencil. i get nervous when i use fancier or more expensive pens (this is coming from someone who used to ink with a whiteboard marker :oops: )
A white board marker? That thing's huge! Well, not all of them. I also use brush pens, but they're hard to use.
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#11 Post by risingbamboobanana »

lol well the one i had was pretty thin. yeah, that's the thing with brush pens. i get so scared of messing up i take forever on a single line.

oh and GIMP for life 8)
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#12 Post by Cybeat »

risingbamboobanana wrote:lol well the one i had was pretty thin. yeah, that's the thing with brush pens. i get so scared of messing up i take forever on a single line.

oh and GIMP for life 8)
Hmm, I'm unfamiliar with it. Is there a selection tool? Can it make the background transparent?
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#13 Post by risingbamboobanana »

i'm pretty new to it myself. i know it can select areas that are similar in colour and there's the standard lasso tools. as for transparent backgrounds, i only know how to do that using the eraser. i'm fairly sure there's an easier way of doing it that i'm unaware of though. lol i've heard people call it "photoshop for hobos" so it must have its uses. :lol:
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I did not scream, I did not cry
But thanked the Lord that cows don't fly!

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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#14 Post by Cybeat »

risingbamboobanana wrote:i'm pretty new to it myself. i know it can select areas that are similar in colour and there's the standard lasso tools. as for transparent backgrounds, i only know how to do that using the eraser. i'm fairly sure there's an easier way of doing it that i'm unaware of though. lol i've heard people call it "photoshop for hobos" so it must have its uses. :lol:
I might stick with paint tool sai. You should try Paint Tool Sai.
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Re: Best pen? (and other questions)

#15 Post by risingbamboobanana »

hmm i've never heard of it *googles*

might be worth a try. thanks for telling me :mrgreen:
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