DIGITAL INKING TUTORIAL

2. Importing your rough pencil draft

To start working with a file in ComicWorks, you can do three things: import directly from your scanner the pencil draft; import a digital file; or draw the draft directly in it. In this tutorial, I will import a digital file that I previously drew in openCanvas 4, with its proper guides and framing. Here's the initial page sketch, a "Master!" page; I will use this page to show you the whole inking process.

rough page

Make sure this file has the right measures before importing to ComicWorks; it is important if you are planning to print it. Usually, Japanese mangaka follow the International Standard paper size (A, B and C sizes). The actual size of this page is aproximately B5, and it's at 300dpi of resolution (the minimum for printing output). Now, next thing you do in ComicWorks is:

File > Open > filename.jpg

A window like this one will appear:

import 1

By default, these are the selected options. The actual mode is Threshold 50% (other modes are error difusion, ditter pattern and halftone), and I wouldn't recommend using this one if you are importing a sketch. Threshold 50% works when importing traditional inking and converting it to bitmap lines. Size and dpi are adjustable here, but check the next screencap:

import 2

In this one I selected my preferred options. First, I change the mode to error difusion and play with the gamma and levels until I get a very light gray tone that will use only as a guide. Notice that it already converts it to bitmap, meaning there are no grays in here, only black and white. In Standard Resolution I change the Original resolution default from 600dpi to 300dpi because my sketch was done in 300dpi. In Created resolution, I choose 600dpi for the final size, which is 16.27 x 22.23 cm, approximately the B5 size.

Click OK, and your sketch will look like the image below. Note the 100% view on the bottom left of the image. It may look like grayscale, but is actually 1bit black.

Save the file in ComicWorks format, that is .cwx. Now, you are pretty much ready to start inking with ComicWorks.

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