PLEASE NOTE: This is a copy/paste from a post I made at Webcomics.com; I'm trying to cover more area since fewer artists use 3D models in their artwork and I figured someone here might be familiar with it.

I'm still about a week or so from being able to upgrade from Manga Studio 4 EX to MS 5 EX, and already I'm getting more and more excited as I see potential ways it offers to streamline my drawing and coloring process. But after watching the trailer for MS EX 5 I was blown away by the real-time demonstration of an artist manipulating its 3D tools.

I've never considered 3D models for my artwork before, but a comic like mine (which uses tons of repeatedly used vehicles and robots) could benefit immensely if it were possible to make 3D templates which could then be re-used, rotated and re-sized, and tweaked as necessary. While I have a good visual idea of what each character/vehicle looks like from a given angle, currently I have to draw everything from scratch every time, and some of that stuff is seriously time-consuming. I've learned to cut/paste stuff that I draw from various angles as I go onto "Template Pages" for future use, but a "one size fits all" solution would be awesome.

Everyone here whose work I've seen to date uses traditional 2D illustration, but I wanted to ask for insight from anyone who may be familiar with doing 3D models/templates. Assuming that MS EX 5 is at least comparable to EX 4 with regard to those tools, is creating nice-looking model templates doable (I'm not looking for CAD-level capability as I wouldn't begin to know how to use that anyway; just whether I can make a decent 3D representation of my 2D Terrapin tank or Leopard fighter, for example)? Can I place "skins" of logos, textures, and other details over wireframes?

Lastly (and I admit this is more forward-thinking than is really necessary for where my comic is at for now; I'm just curious), might it be possible somehow to use the 3D models you create with 3D printers? Those are also something I'm unfamiliar with, but I've heard a lot of promising things for their potential in making small items from game pieces to toys one could possibly sell at their site store.

Thanks in advance for any insights you guys can share!

Hey everyone,

Most of you have probably tried at least one version of Smith Micro's Manga Studio series.  I personally own Manga Studio 4 EX and absolutely love it; the tools for drawing are far and above what you get in Photoshop as they're geared specifically for illustration.  With a Bamboo tablet (and especially a Cintiq, which I'm fortunate enough to own) you can draw as naturally as you can on paper with a bit of practice.

Recently Smith Micro announced Manga Studio 5 and EX 5, the latter of which I'm already planning to snap up ASAP (by the way, if you own MS 4 or MS EX 4 you can get a much-reduced "upgrade" price for 5 and EX 5 at their website).  What this version brings to the table is a true game-changer: the ability to color (with full CMYK capability for those who wish to print their work, no less!).  That's right, at full price MS EX 5 retails for $299.99 ($149.99 for the upgrade), which is less than half what Photoshop goes for and yet TONS more efficient for a comic artist's needs (and no, I don't work for these guys; I've just used their software and love it).

Something I may well have missed in Manga Studio 4 EX (since I color in Photoshop) is the addition of Layers in Manga Studio EX 5, which could be a game-changer from a productivity standpoint.  It's not that switching between programs is difficult at all, but once my files are in Photoshop I generally limit myself to coloring whatever I imported (occasionally tweaking a line here or there).  The most important thing I use Layers for in Photoshop is duplicating/multiplying so my colors don't bleed, but I've often thought of other more complex uses.

With MS EX 5 having everything in one place, hypothetically you could use Layers to create a background, color it with a base color, and then create another layer to draw and color foreground/detailed characters and objects. And then yet more Layers in front of/behind that one for any effects you may need (particles, etc.).

It may not sound like much, but I can already see how it would be a huge help to me.  The single biggest reason I stepped away from my comic was the fact that as I was learning more complex uses for Photoshop it was actually slowing me down due to the transition from Manga Studio (which can't be reversed after you color).  This realization has me seriously debating whether to continue with my online novel idea or give the webcomic another go.

Any thoughts from you guys on how much MS EX 5 might help you (or not) from a productivity standpoint?  Anyway, I wanted to share this in case anyone here hasn't yet heard about the release.

Earlier this year I stepped away from my webcomic "Tomes of Atlantis" because I was discouraged by the struggle to gain readership and the fact that the comics medium, while enabling me to depict my stories visually, was terribly time-consuming and inefficient for ever finishing the arc.  I'd worked for too long and hard to just abandon all of it, but for awhile I confess that I felt adrift and directionless.

Recently however, an idea that I felt was probably crazy but seemed like it would fit my needs much more suitably came to me: doing Tomes of Atlantis as an illustrated online serial saga in novel format.  This will enable me to use both of the talents the Lord gave me yet also get my stories out there much faster and hopefully in a more widely available format.

Much remains to be done, but I've already jumped into the project with both feet; I finally feel reinvigorated and excited about writing again.  While it may no longer quite qualify as a "comic" in the traditional sense, I will be using occasional panels from the original webcomic as illustrations along with plenty of all-new material down the road.

Currently my plan is, Lord willing, to re-launch Tomes of Atlantis in its new format in early 2014.  Until then I have a lot of editing to do and a buffer to build up!

Funny, we had a not-too-dissimilar discussion here not too long ago.

This morning I shared with the Webcomics.com community that I was having issues getting links to my latest comics to show up on Reddit.  Thanks to some helpful insight (I was using my site's URL repeatedly instead of specifically linking to the page's URL) I was able to get the problem fixed.

But a new problem, one that can't be solved via technical troubleshooting, soon reared its head.  Within an hour of my putting my post up, someone there had voted it down (and getting downvoted to "0" makes your link disappear).  A couple of friends from the Webcomics.com community said they'd experienced the same trolling, and went out of their way to upvote my comic to get it visible again.  But one member brought up a point that I knew I would probably hear someday, yet nevertheless made me bristle somewhat:

"It's possible that Reddit's just 'not your crowd'", he made in reference to the currently ongoing Creation vs. Evolution dialogue happening in my comic.  "These are not pages that a strongly atheist crowd like Reddit will love".

I tried to defend my position by stating that this ideological/faith disparity between them would be the crux of a lot of suspicion and conflict between the main characters and toward their Atlantean hosts.  They're coming from a world where everything has become secularized and where even right and wrong are considered subjective (our present/near future society) and now suddenly they're minorities in a culture with very defined beliefs and a vastly different version of history from what they're familiar with.

The moderator stepped in to say that the other member had made a valid point; some "other" places might prove more favorable for promoting my work, he said.  My hope from the beginning was to merge an entertaining story with Apologetics to hopefully encourage lost readers to pause and consider.   Deep down I knew I would likely encounter apathy or outright opposition; I guess in my head I wanted to think it'd be AFTER my comic had established a decent readership and notoriety, not while I'm still struggling to break 200 readers per week.

The question I would ask is, just because my comic isn't getting upvoted on Reddit, does it necessarily mean that no one is reading or that the "door has closed" there?  If so, where does that leave me and other Christian writers who want to make our faith part of our work but constantly have to walk that fine line of tolerance many folks have before labeling us as "preachy"?  Roddenberry, Straczynsky, Lucas, Herbert...TONS of secular science fiction writers/creators have woven their own worldviews into their stories, and the world loves them for doing so, calls them visionaries.  Star Trek, Star Wars, and Dune are chock-full of religious allegory, albeit seen through an atheist/secular lens.  But if a Christian tries to do so the door slams shut and we're told our stuff doesn't measure up by default.  I John told us it would happen whenever we try to make a statement for the glory of Christ (obviously this rejection isn't limited to comics for certain), so I'm not surprised; it still hurts though, I admit.  We're still human and this is still a dream for us.

So where DO we go if the door is shut to us as Christian creators, whether sharing our stories and especially ever making a living from them is concerned?  Submitting every outcome to the Lord's will is of the utmost necessity, obviously, but from a practical standpoint when people are telling us to find "other places" they know good and well there are no such places out there.  We give and receive encouragement and feedback here at the Christian Comic Arts Society and that's a great thing, but the interaction is from the standpoint of mutually struggling creators, not a tangible, reading, paying audience.

I had to learn early and often to submit whether I'll ever make a penny from my work to God's will.  I've always had a burning desire to share the stories of Tomes of Atlantis because I felt the Lord had a purpose for them to affect someone's life for His glory.  But the next level of faith-testing comes when someone actively discourages you (even if it's well-intentioned); do you block them out and keep slogging forward, or do you listen to determine if their words have merit?  Submitting to God's will means that we and/or our work may be taken in directions we never thought of...and maybe never wanted, truth be told.

For now my intent is to keep the status quo; my posting on Reddit and other secular sites isn't really helping my readership, but the advantage of having a tiny readership to begin with is that they don't really hurt it, either.  And maybe, just maybe, there may be a site or two out there that actively promotes and encourages Christian-themed comics for readers.  If anyone here can offer any suggestions, I'm all ears.  Thanks for hearing me out.

I felt that sharing this page (which is currently up at the website) from my initial storyline would help to illustrate how I am hoping to use my comic as a form of apologetics to reach an audience who are likely to be mostly non-believers.  The immediate discussion takes place solely on this page before the story moves forward again, which I hope will keep readers engaged but at the same time give them reason to pause and think.  I'm optimistic that it'll prove to be a way to plant some seeds without being "overly preachy", which is many seculars' complaint regarding Christian-based fiction.

While it definitely remains to be seen whether I'll have the financial aspect ready in time to prepare, I am hoping to take the next step toward broadening my audience and beginning to actually draw income from my comic as its second year of existence begins next February.  I'm tentatively planning to start putting money into ads on other websites via Project Wonderful and other means and to attend a comics show or two in my local area with perhaps some print copies of individual issue-sized segments (between 32-48 pages) of my initial storyline, The Warstar Gambit, along with some other inexpensive items.

Part of establishing your comic's identity is targeting its most likely audience; being a sci-fi military adventure saga, my demographic would likely be made up mostly of youth and young adult males (though I realize that ladies occasionally like that stuff too).  But Tomes of Atlantis kind of walks a tightrope, which will be particularly evident in this week's post and many in the weeks to come. It's targeting Christian readers on one hand while reaching out to lost readers who'd never pick up a Bible or darken a church door directly.  While my hope is that its underlying themes will help lost readers to pause and consider a Biblical worldview and its implications (ultimately the need for a relationship with Jesus Christ), I also have to be careful to avoid running such folks off by being overly "preachy" or heavy handed by keeping such references in small but effective doses.  I believe most Christian readers will be able to recognize the topics and appreciate how they're relevant in our society that right now is frankly a total mess, and hopefully they'll find in my comic a good sci-fi saga they can read without an atheistic, secular worldview being predominant.

Ultimately, though, I have no idea whether or how many lost readers will be willing to tolerate what they're reading; let's face it, you mention God or Jesus in a typical internet forum right now and you'll likely be trolled from every side, and often in a very vulgar manner as I'm sure many of us here have experienced.  There's a lot of vitriolic hatred around us for Someone so many people say they don't believe in.  I can't control what those readers do or decide as far as whether to keep reading; I just want to present a Gospel message in what I hope will be a worthwhile, entertaining story and let people choose for themselves (Keep in mind that in essence it's not YOU the readers are rejecting, so if you can relate to this please stay positive, don't take anything personally, and stay the course).  But that's precisely why I made so many of my characters lost and yet simultaneously identifiable and sympathetic, so that perhaps a lost reader might gravitate toward a favorite character that poses the arguments they would or has a background they can relate to.  In a sense in this way they'll live that character's experiences vicariously; at least that's my hope.

In closing, I would like to ask permission to include the fact that I am a member of the Christian Comic Arts Society on things such as future business cards, banners, etc.  I think that doing so would, at least in a small way, let potential readers know where I stand up front, and then the decision to read my material would be up to them.  That's the tightrope; not being heavy handed but at the same time making it clear who you are as a writer and as a person.  If we're a light we can't hide; we have to let the chips fall where they may and trust the Lord to give the increase according to His will.

After probably 12-plus hours of work I finally finished Page 120 for The Warstar Gambit, which will post on February 18, 2013.  Given the biblical reference here, I thought I'd share a sneak preview here.

A major issue that my comic and probably most others have encountered early on is the high degree of difficulty in not only gaining and retaining new readers, but fostering a genuine sense of community.  Simply put, most folks who browse webcomics tend to look quickly over the latest update before moving straight on to something else unless what you're offering really stands out and gets them personally invested.

Some of this is outside of my control, but one thing I'm going to try to be more proactive about is being more regular with blog updates, posting status updates here, on Twitter, and at my comic's Facebook fanpage, and continuing to experiment with new ideas that target my story's core demographic.

This past week I posted the second in my new weekly blog series covering old school videogames and industry topics, this one about the ThunderForce "schmup" series that debuted way back on the Sega Genesis.  So far I've noticed a few "Likes" by readers, which apparently means that they've met with at least some positive response.

Recently my Reference section has seen great progress with several new entries over the past couple of weeks alone, and if I can get all of that "filled out" to my satisfaction for the time being, I think it'll open things up for me to begin accelerating the pace of my comic updates (though with a longform comic I have to make certain I can sustain whatever pace I set).  Please note that a few of the Reference entries may contain spoilers of varying degrees as they pertain to characters and topics that are current as of that particular STORYLINE; in other words, the story itself may or may not have reached the point of all the information given on the Reference page, so please consider this as you read.  At any rate, I'll do my level best not to give everything away.

Another member here made the observation that thus far my storyline is decidedly male-centric (being a military-slanted story), and suggested that I get more female characters involved.  Actually this isn't the first time the topic has come up, but rest assured, the ladies are definitely going to be heard from in Tomes of Atlantis over the coming year (in fact one of them will be debuting in tomorrow morning's comic update!).  The storyline was laid out long in advance, but the reality of doing only once-per-week updates is that it can seem like forever (to both you and your readers) that you're in a specific "mode" when in fact only a relative few pages and story events have gone by.  Nevertheless, I very much appreciate the feedback and that someone cared enough about my work to offer suggestions; trust me, I'm working on it!  :)

Till next time...

After racking my brain trying to figure out a way to get a reader discussion and sense of community going on my site, today I decided to try something that my target demographic would have in common beyond my comic itself.  Though not as much as I used to be, I've always loved videogames and know quite a bit about the industry, so I figured I'd start there.  I posted a lengthy blog featuring the Daisenryaku series; it's a turn-based Strategy franchise that so far has only a few games represented outside Japan, but nevertheless is an awesome experience to play with a group of friends.  I then posted a link to the page both on my comic's Facebook fan page as well as a 40,000 views-strong suggestion thread (which I am an active member of) for Daisenryaku Perfect HD to be localized at the US PlayStation forums.

If this idea proves to be beneficial I will probably try adding more weekly blog entries featuring an "old school" videogame series and if not, I'll just drop it.  I don't yet know whether this will help boost my readership much (if at all) in the long run, but I'm willing to experiment a little as long as I don't risk the site losing its overall identity as a webcomic.  A thriving community is one where there is active reader participation and dialogue flowing, and I know I'm not even close to that yet.  Regardless, I will continue working to improve the core of the site, which is the comic itself, from my artwork to my writing.  Given enough time and perseverance, hopefully the effort will pay off.

I recently posted Page 100, which is a small milestone compared to many writers but still feels significant.

I've also added my first Store item, a glossy, 8 1/2 X 11" signed print of a two-page spread (pgs. 106-107, which are due to post to the site soon).  It depicts the Star Hunters' first glimpse of what makes the Atlantis Zoological park so unique: live dinosaurs.  I've attached the image here for your perusal; it took between 25-30 hours to finish counting the coloring.  I'm selling the prints for $10 per copy.

I hadn't realized that I hadn't posted here since I launched my webcomic back in January.  I've been so busy maintaining my buffer along with adding new Reference Pages for the various factions, characters, vehicles, etc. that often I don't get around to all the things I used to.  Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and that your own projects are progressing nicely.

Right now I just finished and scheduled Page 88, and the comic itself is standing at Page 73 if I remember correctly; essentially that gives me five weeks of buffer as I post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  My readership is still small but is growing steadily, and I hope to be able to acquire some merchandise to sell on the site's store in the near future.

The comic's storyline will deal with a lot of currently relevant, real life themes despite being military sci-fi in nature, and it will be told from a Christian perspective (though there are many characters of differing beliefs and worldviews).  While I certainly hope to eventually make a livelihood off the comic, the primary focus for why I'm writing it in this manner is to engage folks who otherwise would never pick up a Bible or attend church in a medium they're familiar and comfortable with.  Not that webcomics can be any substitute for God's Word or corporate worship, but my hope is that an idea planted here or there might be used in some way to make people think about why the world is the way it is and whether mankind really can fix certain things on our own.  Maybe it can open doors that will eventually lead them to come to Christ; I leave that and everything else up to God's will and timing.

Anyway, here's the website's link if anyone would like to come visit sometime:

http://www.tomesofatlantis.com/

Hi again,

I've been away for quite awhile, but I've been working hard at getting my comic ready for launch.  It's a bit behind schedule (it hopefully will be ready shortly after the turn of the year) but it's progressing nicely.  I recently finished scripting and paneling the initial 100 pages; the first 80 will be spread across the first 4 weeks after launch at 20 pages per update, and the remaining 20 will serve as my initial buffer.  As I write this I'm going back through and illustrating/coloring the panels.

I also just finished the templates for what will be a very in-depth Reference section of all the characters, vehicles, locations, and events for the series.  I posted the first Character Reference page, Colonel John Carlson, on my Homepage here.  The purpose of the Reference section is to complement the comic with descriptive detail and insight on the world of Tomes of Atlantis in a way that won't intrude unnecessarily on the story itself, but will give readers information they may not get solely from the comic.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to.  It's good to have a community of fellow Christian writers and artists to come back to and draw support and encouragement from!