![[Comic 170] She’s a hacker](http://www.thefarreaches.com/comics/2008-03-20-0170_hacker.jpg "[Comic 170] She’s a hacker")
Mar 20
This one was both fun and frustrating to do. I would have had it done sooner, but my Wacom tablet had to be replaced, then my mouse went bad and my new wireless mouse is driving me nuts. But it’s done! I’m not totally crazy about the 2d cockpit of the ship in the background but it works, I guess. Also I changed the aliens laser effects from those blue smoke trails to this electrical effect. My sister wasn’t impressed but I kind of liked it. Oh, well. They’re arms merchants, they’ve got tons of weapons. I wanted to have explosions (because, I mean, they’re fun to do, but it would have cluttered the page too much.) And of course, Pix in the last panel was taken from the Pix poster I did a while back. I had a different picture I was going to use and it suddenly dawned on me that she should be clicking away at her computer. So rather than delay the comic while I do a whole new pic, I simply used that one. I think it fits nicely. Now what is she up to? That I have planned out. What’s going to happen after that? Good question. I know how it ends, but I’m still figuring out how to get there :mrgreen:
poli…? police? hmmm. right or wrong this could be quite good.
question:
i’m saving for a wacom. what type is best for general editing, shading, etc. assuming i do line art by by hand? (i like my pens)
Kazu Kibuishi (copper, flight, etc) uses a intuos3 6×8, so i might go for one of those.
i’ve played with one of the big ones, its pretty sweet
Hi Zach,
Like Kazu Kabuishi, I really like my Intuos3 6×8. It’s about $290 on Amazon, which is way cheaper than off Wacom’s site. If you’re on a budget, and don’t need to do digital inking, you may be able to use the Wacom Bamboo Fun (about $90 on Amazon). It has only half the pressure sensitivity and has a much smaller active drawing area, but it’s a good start if you’re short on cash. Even so, I love my 6×8. It’s big enough that it doesn’t strain my wrist and I can draw from my shoulder or elbow to some extent, which is important to avoid wrist strain. But it’s small enough to fit perfectly on my desk with my keyboard. Also, for anyone that doesn’t have photoshop and can’t afford it, the Bamboo Fun comes with Photoshop Elements and Painter Essentials (a lite version of Corel Painter.)
It’s good you like doing linework by hand. I wish I could do that, but on the other hand I love digital inking. Manga Studio Debut ($49) is actually a superior choice for inking than Photoshop, believe it or not, and then you can export as a Photoshop file and color in Photoshop. Corel Painter is great for inking characters and is more responsive and fluid, but I like Manga Studios rulers and vanishing point tools for doing backgrounds.
Anyway, I hope that helps a bit. And if you or anyone else has any more questions about this kind of stuff, ask away. Or email me and I’ll write a blog post about it.
Yeessss, Pix in action! I really liked that one, nice job!
I didn’t even notice the 2D cockpit until you said that, so, it looks fine. (And I usually notice things!)
Thanks! I really like this page too. The shot of the ship flying through traffic is my favorite of those scenes so far, and I really wanted Pix to have a role in this. She is a hacker after all.