Stuff. It's a lot to read, I know, but please bear with me.

[wiggins]

Hi guys,

I’ve a ton of things to say and a ton of questions to ask, so instead of putting it all in different threads, I’m putting everything into one post.

First of all, some of you probably know I’ve an issue with fansubs. Actually, I’ve changed sides on it twice before. I still like them, and am still for them, that has not changed, especially since most fansubbers are halfway moral in that they stop distribution as soon as a series is licensed. However, fansubs are still illegal and that doesn’t change the fact. There are some articles on the net about people and students getting arrested fro possession and distribution of copyrighted material in schools and universities. That seriously scares me, and the punishments aren’t light either. In any case, this and numerous other reasons, I am going to stop downloading fansubs soon. I plan to download less, and then, stop completely. I’ll stop buying bootlegs too. This really makes me sad, but I think it is the right thing and I just felt I had to state why here at CAA. I’m not trying to press my beliefs on anyone. I’m just sharing, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If anyone disagrees, please tell me why. Maybe I’ll change again, but as of now, my decision stands.

First of all everybody knows that there are numerous copyright laws around the world, and that fansubs occupy at best a gray area of the law. However, upon research, I fear I have found that it is a bit less gray than I would have liked. As I told Ashley in my Fansubs yet again thread, one of my key sources is http://www.fansubs.info/fanfaq.php?view=legality. According to this website which I believe too be accurate, even though copyrights are country-specific (I think), there is an international treaty which makes fansubs illegal. This is the Berne Convention, signed in 1971. It is an international treaty signed by a few countries including the US and UK. However, the website speaks about both normal copyright laws as well as the Berne Convention, so I will just encapsulate it although if you’re interested, please read the site itself, because it contains the actual text of the laws relevant and the relevant portions of the Berne Convention. Fansubs violate the rights of a copyright holder, clearly, and are therefore unlawful since they infringe copyright laws. Some try to squish into the Fair Use copyright law, but anime for entertainment isn’t covered there, therefore it can’t really be used to defend fansubs. I’ve heard arguments that it is up to the copyright holder to pursue violations, but I am not sure if this is true, but it doesn’t matter, as even if these are true. It doesn’t change fansubs’ illegality. Now, even if you disregard all this, there’s the Berne Convention. There’s a whole bunch of stuff, but I’ve got a lot more to say and ask, so if curious, read the website. I also researched about how one infringes in copyrights. It was not as detailed as this website, but it seemed to mainly pertain to copying and distributing and/ or publicly displaying. However, as the above website showed me there were lots of other sides to it. Nontheless, as old philosopher told me when I thought only copying and distributing violated the law, possession of copyrighted material without holding the copyright is illegal as well. The above website again affirmed this. It also refuted the argument that went through my own head for a while, that they can’t do anything to the individual downloader and possessors of fansubs. That’s not true. Although the chances of getting caught and arrested for possession of these is nearly 0%.
Given the low chance of being found out, caught or arrested, I would have continued to download fansubs, but then I kept feeling this nagging feeling (almost guilt?), and numerous verses sprang to mind as I thought about issues surrounding my downloading and possession of fansubs.
First of all, we a Christians have to bring glory to God. In the unlikely event of my being arrested for downloading and possession of copyrighted anime, and people found out I am a Christian, they will point at me and say, “Look, if he is an example of a Christian, I don’t want to be one.â€

[inkhana]

Next question is related to manga. Some of you know I’ve been interested in making my own Christian manga. I found out from the Polykarbon website that storyboarding is more complicated than just having a story. I’ve only figured out my first chapter, so could someone give me some guidelines and tips on storyboarding and maybe post a good example?
Also related to manga, could someone write or show me to a link to a tutorial on how to make my hand-drawn pencil artwork into those beautiful pictures on screen (like Ink’s Steel Blood and PsychoAnn’s Psychoteers) by scanning and editing in photoshop. I have adobe photoshop 5.0.

Thanks! That’s all. I know it’s a lot…

Some people may be surprised to hear this (or maybe not, if they know me very well), but I do not storyboard. I print off a copy of my script, keep it shoved in my sketchbook, and I draw out the pages as the occur to me (and the script... ) This allows me a lot more flexibility because I can add panels that were not permitted in the original storyboard without compromising my form. So that's my suggestion: just come up with it as you come to it, bearing in mind the page that is to follow but not really worrying about anything thereafter. You can always make a full page splash if necessary.

Here's a copy/paste of the way I explained it to WhiteBlaze (hope you don't mind my repost, WB...^^ ) It doesn't explain how to ink, but I'll assume you already know how to do that, whether digitally or IRL.

Ok here is the last question for my drawing (I think anyway ]

Yes, you should use your tablet for this part also. When you put the ink on your drawing, did you a) put it on the drawing itself or b) put it on a new layer? These are both feasible methods, although I prefer the latter. For the purposes of this first part, we'll assume this is the case (I'll give you alternate instructions too).

Method #1 "Float" inks

The first thing to do is create a new layer. You can name it "color" if you want to. (I find naming layers helps prevent my making mistakes) Take this layer and place it so that your layer arrangement looks like this:

____<---inks
____<---color
____<---original background art

It's a good idea to leave your background art until the very end; that way you can remember details you wouldn't necessarily ink (like shinies in the hair, for example). You can delete that when you're finished if you want.

Go ahead and click on the color layer so you can work on it. You'll see that now, since your inks "float" on top of the color, it's like a crisp, clean coloring book.

Method #2: Multiply

If you drew your inks directly on the background pic, it restricts some of the techniques you can use on it. The best thing to do that I know of is to make an arrangement like this:

___<---color (this layer must be set to multiply!)
___<---background + inks

There are pros and cons to this method. Pro: because your pencils show through, it's likely that your pic will have more expression. Con: your picture will have a "dingy" quality to it (however, in certain cases, this may even be preferable). Also, if you try to use the color picker to select a color you dropped, it won't match the first color perfectly EVER unless you disable the background (thus showing the purity of the higher layer) select the color you had with the color picker, and then restore the background layer. However, the "float" method does not have this problem.

As for details of how to make shadows and such, the best thing to do is find a pic similar to yours on the internet and try to emulate the shadows and colors you see on it. That's how I taught myself. There are certain, more realistic palettes that are more common to anime (unlike the more "saturated," brighter ones that are common in American animation) so to make it look truly anime-like, you'll need to know to use paler, more gray colors. Sample colors from screenshots and cels downloaded from the internet to make sure you get it just how you want it...^^

[wiggins]

Oh yeah... another manga question: Can I've some tips on drawing hands and feet? Thanks!
Wiggins

[inkhana]

One of the best tutorials I've seen was at polykarbon.com. Me...I'm not good at drawing hands...LOL so I'm not much of a good example. My recommendation for learning to draw is to do what I did...hold up your hand and draw it...XD No...I'm serious. That's how I learned, by drawing my own hands. Then again, considering how I perform in that arena, maybe that's poor advice...

[Retten]

Here's a copy/paste of the way I explained it to WhiteBlaze (hope you don't mind my repost, WB...^^ ) It doesn't explain how to ink, but I'll assume you already know how to do that, whether digitally or IRL.

No I dont mind at all lol ^^ I'm glad you answer can help somone else

[Fsiphskilm]

Man You think about it too much...

[wiggins]

It doesn't explain how to ink, but I'll assume you already know how to do that, whether digitally or IRL.

Ehhh!!! There's something called inking? No I don't Ink! Sorry! Can you please tell me what it is and how to do it? Thanks!
Wiggins

[wiggins]

Man You think about it too much...

Here's what I do...

Just don't worry about it. If it was out in America would you buy it???

If Yes then you're not stealing it.
if No and you mean to keep it, without ever paying for it, then yes it's like stealing.

I'm a proud Owner of Star Ocean EX. And I don't feal any guilt at all...I can't steal what isn't available to me. But instead I get it from somewhere else. If it bothers you so much then you can try and contant the maker of the anime and ask them through e-mail...

If or When Star Ocean EX comes out on DVD in the USA...I will 100% postivly go out and buy it...I have the money right now...In the mean time I can't...

Why don't you just set aside money and pretend like you bought it. Make a promise to yourself not to use the moeny for anything else.

First of all I don't know if I would buy it or not if it came out. I too have that and am wondering how to dispose of them. However, even with the money when it comes to the crunch, I don't know if I would actuallly buy it. I don't know but to me, the video quality difference in .avi files and dvds are negligible. Even if I promised myself, I keep asking," Will I stick to that promise?" Also, the other problem I have is with or without the anime maker's consent, I still would be infringing upon copyright laws that are existent. I can't deny their existence. Also see the last verse I posted - Romans 13: 1-3 and what I said about it. That's the other thing that inclines me away from fansubs as much as I like them.

[inkhana]

Ehhh!!! There's something called inking? No I don't Ink! Sorry! Can you please tell me what it is and how to do it? Thanks!
Wiggins

Well....uh....there's not much to know, really. I'll give you a general overview of IRL (in real life) inking, as opposed to digital inks. If you don't have a tablet, don't even try to ink digitally. You'll just make yourself nuts...>.<

Basically the only purpose of inking is to solidify and clarify lines, and tbh, it's not something you -have- to do. It adds an extra element of professionalism, but well-done, clean pencils can also have a great impact. (I think Megatokyo did this some, and I can think of one notable panel in the Trigun manga where the inks suddenly stop and there is a pencil sketch) I would recommend buying acid free scrapbooking pens to ink with (NEVER use pens that aren't acid free! Your work will turn funny colors in a couple of years! And whatever you do, never ever use sharpies, no matter how tempting they are! he he) When I used to ink, I think I bought Sakura brand in the .5mm width, you can get these from any craft store, scrapbooking center, or online. dickblick.com sells these, I think, if you don't have access to a shop that sells them. Heck, you might be able to get them at WalMart.

Now...I'm not the authority on inking here (you may want to ask Psycho Ann, she's a much better inker than I am) but the main thing is to take it easy, stay relaxed, and remember that if you make a mistake of some kind, you can fix it in the computer. Just follow the lines nice and easy, but with a steady, even hand, otherwise your lines will wobble. You will definitely want to experiment with your pens first.

Now: digital inks. Like I said, if you don't have a tablet, this part may not have much use to you - but anyway. Set up your PSD file so that your pencils are the background. Then, create a new layer on top that's completely transparent (typically the default configuration). Take your pen/mouse and lightly trace the lines. I typically use a size 5 preset brush, but I've noticed in other versions of PS, this particular size is unfit to ink with, so you may want to experiment with this also before you start. The glory of digital inking is that if you make a mistake, so what? You erase it and start over.

Hope this helps.