A year ago, I made a big change. No, not a switch to Batman Underoos (sadly), but to making my comics digitally. After deciding to make the switch, I looked at three options: the Motion Computing LE1700, the WACOM Cintiq, and the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.
Spoiler alert: I went with the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.
Now, a year later (roughly, because who is really counting? Maybe that one guy), I decided to look back on my first year of digital comic making.
Digital: Year One
I wrote a six-months later post too, and I recommend giving it a read, as it covers my first thoughts on the switch. I don’t want to repeat myself here.
Was going digital worth the money?
- Yes. The advantages of making comics digitally are many. It is an investment, and one I would make again without hesitation.
- While the switch was costly, around $1300 for my Surface Pro 3, Type Cover, tax, kitten stickers, etc, going with the Surface Pro 3 was much more affordable than a WACOM (and I wanted a full computer, too).
- I’m more likely to experiment with my comics, or drawing in general, because I don’t waste paper or ink.
- Vector-based drawing makes it easy to scale images up or down without a loss in quality. This means a larger file size, but it is like shooting photos in RAW.
- Over the past year, I copied and pasted a warm-up sketch from a sketchbook file into a comic file many times (where the drawing was fine-tuned, then inked over). Working digitally with vector-based illustrations make such a thing easier (and faster).
- Coloring my comics is easier and faster. If I was still working on paper, I doubt I would have as many color comics.
- Likewise, I can experiment with lettering much easier. I could just use the font tool in Manga Studio, but I like the hand-lettered look I get by tracing the text (here’s a tutorial on my lettering process).
Was the switch to digital difficult?
- Any change in routine or production is a challenge, especially at first. Was I frustrated a lot those first few months after the switch? Yes. Often. I kept going though and don’t regret the switch at all.
- There are times I miss the pen and paper days, certainly. I started making comics as a way to get off the computer. Using a computer to make comics negates my original plan, BUT OH WELL. Honestly, I spent a fair amount of time on the computer in the old days too: mostly cleaning up my scanned comics in Photoshop (and I still had to upload the comics here, write posts, etc). Most of my comic writing and thumbnailing is still done on paper though.
Other Thoughts
- I’m still not crazy about the Type Cover, specifically the touch pad and its price. However I give it some extra points because I recently spilled coffee on the keyboard, and after a lot of paper towel a couple of minutes with a wet-dry vacuum, it works fine.
- I wear a drawing glove to cut down on-screen smudges and help with smoother strokes. Nothing fancy, I cut the thumb and first two fingers off a cheap jersey knit glove.
- The portability of the Surface Pro 3 made it worth every dollar. I can work on comics, start to finish, anywhere. Home (at a desk or laying back on the couch), coffee shops, late night at IHOP, and outside at a picnic table on a nice day (in the shade) just to name few places where I worked on comics.
If you have any questions, contact me or let me know in the comments.
