For page 60 I used a simple G-pen to replace the fuzzy pencil ink. I like the pencil-look, but I believe that I’m more likely to maintain a consistent style by sticking with simple ink lines.
My strategy is now to replace my “painterly” pages with simple line drawings. As for coloring, I’m using the bucket tool to lay down the base color, then using multiply and lighten layers to apply the shadows and highlights.
Replacing the pencil outlines with G-pen ink
When I started the book, I imagined Jimmy Jay and Betty Burro running from the Monarch Butterfly sanctuary to Guadalajara. I got frustrated with the background and decided to just sketch the two of them running and move on. I would come back to finish the page later. It is now later.
My plan is to re-ink both characters, re-color them, and then add a jungle background.
Instead of redrawing this image from scratch, I decided to simply use Clip Studio Paint’s mesh transformation tool to move things around a bit. I’m satisfied with this result.
I’ve started fixing some of my early pages. In the one above the heavy lines are bothering me. I drew this page so long ago that I’ve forgotten which brush I used to get the lovely texture. I’ve changed my style three or four times i n the last year. My fickleness coming back to bite me. Ouch!
I’m approaching the end of this book by drawing the last few pages first. Knowing how the book ends gives me a landmark and helps me focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Besides doing the painting, there’s a lot of hard work left. I have to put in the dialog bubbles and then put all of the images into InDesign. I’m looking forward to pushing the Publish button by the end of August.
These odd-sized pages have been combined into a two-page spread
Over the 18 months I’ve been working on this book, I’ve used several painting programs besides Clip Studio Paint — Krita, Photoshop, Procreate, and Rebelle. What I didn’t think about when I used those programs was getting the page size right. It didn’t occur to me that Clip Studio Paint EX can only combine pages into two-page spreads unless the pages are exactly the same size and resolution.
I’ve accumulated twenty pages with the wrong dimensions or resolution. Some pages were A4 size and 350 dpi, when they should have been 11.40x9.00 inches at 300 dpi. I spent the day changing nonconforming pages to exactly 11.40x 9.00 inches.at 300 dpi.
Some of the pages, like the example above couldn't be scaled without loosing content. I had to resize those files by scaling them up or down, resulting is some blank areas at the top and bottom. I first scaled the image to 11.40 inches wide, then changed the canvas size to 11.40x9.00 inches.
I’ll have to rework all of the pages that were imported at the wrong size. I could have avoided that extra work if I had been diligent about adhering to the project page size set in the StoryIP) -> Page Manager.
It’s been another live and learn day.
I spent the day adding a texture overlay to all of the pages. The image on the left doesn’t have a texture overlay.
After adding the texture layer to 70 pages, I learned what it feel like to be a robot. The up side is that I’m a robot in service of my own project.
To add the overlay,
import the texture file;
move it to the top of the layer stack
set the opacity to 70%
set the layer mode to “linear burn”
As always, when I write “final version”, I mean “at this moment I’m finished with it.” I may decide to rework the page at any time.
In other news, a 36-frame roll of Kodak Portra 400 costs $27 dollars. How times have changed. When the email arrived that Portra was back in stock, my partner waited a few hours to order and got the message “Sold Out”. The early bird gets the Portra.
Almost finished with the page…if I leave the background simple. Drawing Momma’s hand holding the plate took most of the day. I had to create a reference picture of myself carrying a plate. The gotcha is that I have five fingers and Momma has four. Three fingers under the plate looked weird, so, taking advantage of artistic license, I put her thumb under the plate.
It’s ironic that I always add the “self-publishing” tag to my posts 365 days a year, when in reality, I publish a book only once a year.
Momma’s right arm is a work in progress
I’ve decided that the Ringmaster and the Clown really don’t need to be in the birthday cake scene. They’re out. Instead I’m going to show Momma Burro serving two pieces of cake. The challenge is to draw her right arm carrying the cake high, at chin level. I looked for reference pictures of waiters and waitresses carrying food, but I couldn’t find pictures taken from the angle I need. Tomorrow I’m going to photograph myself in the pose I want.
