onezumi.com : Stupid and Insane Defenders Against Chaos

This tutorial set is going to show you the rather unique method I currently use to draw the comic. I say "unique" because at the time of this writing I find that most artists prefer to make a traditional pencil drawing or an inked pencil drawing before moving to the computer. I don't work like this. I think in many cases, traditional methods are an option, but in my case with my comic, I need to get this thing up on time and I really don't care to do more work than I have to get each one ready for the site, because I have another deadline in less than a week that I also have to be on time for in addition to everything I do behind the scenes.

I believe in working smarter, not working harder.

When I worked in a well-known animation studio I was exposed to things that they didn't teach me in school, like how to manage your work properly to keep things moving. However, even they didn't take advantage of the technology that is available today. They were content to redraw and photocopy everything. It was only when it was absolutely necessary that they would move to the computers, which were all frightfully outdated. Their filing room was overflowing with unnecessary papers that could have easily been kept digitally. So much time was wasted in searching out the right papers, photocopying them, and retouching them when the photocopier didn't work right.

On what seemed like the billionth time the photocopier had broken, I put my head inside the thing again to try and find the problem. That was when I realized that this was all pointless. I spent more time pushing papers around than I actually did drawing, so I wasn't going to do this with my own work.

For the sake of optimizing my workflow for brute speed, I found pencils, inks, and photocopiers to be a redundant step for me. I took what I learned working in a professional animation studio, cut the useless steps out, and merged it with my own ideas about how I wanted to work.

I sketch almost all of my work directly into the computer by way of a Toshiba M4 Tablet PC, then I digitally ink over it an add colors. Sometimes I use a desktop for very large jobs which is equipped with a Wacom Intuous 2 tablet, but recently I've come to love the mobility that the Tablet PC offers and I use it 99.9 percent of the time for the comic.

This is the comic tutorial for you if you are looking for speed and accuracy in order to meet tight deadlines.

Things to Know Before We Begin:

You don't need to have the same gear that I have to use this tutorial and you also don't have to draw your comic with the same steps that I use. Your creative process is all about finding what works best for you.

If you don't own Photoshop, you might be able to use The GIMP, which is similar, and a free download. However, I haven't used The GIMP extensively yet, so I can't comment on how similar.

If you don't own a tablet, you can still use most of this tutorial series. I will indicate what to do if you don't have a tablet throughout the tutorials, so you should have no problems following along.

There is always help available at Harknell.com. If you find that something is unclear in this tutorial, please let me know so that I can fix it.

These concepts are not intrinsically beginner's concepts. My idea behind all of my tutorials is to make them accessible to people of all skill levels, regardless of how much gear they own. However, if you don't know how Photoshop works at all, I recommend that you take some of the other tutorials on this site first.

B. The Work Resources Folder and the Comic Mat

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Drawing Comics, Onezumi Style

A. Introduction: