How hard is screen toning?

[ddr tatsujin]

I'm not an imbecile in this retrospect but I am a n00b. I (shivers) purchased the how to draw manga, pen and toning, book. I tried it on one of my drawings and found that I cut straight through the paper...this made me very angry and I gave up completely. I want to know what you can do to practice without using screen tones. Cutting wax paper? possibly. Screen tones are very expensive in bulk, you see. I am but a lowly college student with a very low income, I'm sure you can understand or at least relate. I was wondering, with modern technology do they have tone programs? I've downloaded a few tone brushes for photoshop but they don't work how I imagined they would. I want to know what the pro's do and how to do it. I'm just curious.

[Klawzie]

Yes, they do have tone programs. :3

ComicWorks and MangaStudio are the ones that seem to be used most by the TP OEL artists... You can do it in Photoshop, but apparently it is more difficult. (I've Photoshop toned before.) And OpenCanvas 3 has some tone capabilities, but probably not the sort you'd use for an actual manga. XD

I know nothing about toning by hand, unfortunately. You've got a book on it, so you're a step beyond me!

[Wolfman]

I ordered "how to draw manga: computones" Pop Mhan recommended it over at his forums + I bought this new 3d mag the other day which had an article on toning and the person from that recommended it also as it contains a CD with bout 100 tones. I think theres about 3 or 4 books in the computones series so far.

[SweetNymph]

I got those, as well. The first and the second one, though I'll probably need the Mecha tones for a future comic.

MY toning question is would it be worth getting Manga Studio and possibly a tablet for the toning part? How useful is it when toning? Is it easy for a beginner to become proficient at using it?

[Ayokillyou]

I'm not an imbecile in this retrospect but I am a n00b. I (shivers) purchased the how to draw manga, pen and toning, book. I tried it on one of my drawings and found that I cut straight through the paper...this made me very angry and I gave up completely. I want to know what you can do to practice without using screen tones. Cutting wax paper? possibly.


If you ever feel the urge to cut screentones by hand again:

Step 1) Lay the screentone sheet over the drawing.

Step 2) trace the drawing with a pen. The ink isn't permenant since the material is plastic/acetate, but it's enough.

Step 3) place the screentone sheet on a rubber cutting mat.

Step 4) cut away.

Step 5) carefully remove design and carefully lay it in the designated area of the art.

Step 6) lightly trim off the excess.

yay!

[ouch]

If you ever feel the urge to cut screentones by hand again:

Step 1) Lay the screentone sheet over the drawing.

Step 2) trace the drawing with a pen. The ink isn't permenant since the material is plastic/acetate, but it's enough.

Step 3) place the screentone sheet on a rubber cutting mat.

Step 4) cut away.

Step 5) carefully remove design and carefully lay it in the designated area of the art.

Step 6) lightly trim off the excess.

yay!

If you accidentally stick tone on the area you don't want, use hair dryer. Blow the area, let it heat up a while, then peel it off carefully. :)

[Wolfman]

MY toning question is would it be worth getting Manga Studio and possibly a tablet for the toning part? How useful is it when toning? Is it easy for a beginner to become proficient at using it?

I got my tablet the other day there and been working on it in between work. Its a little tricky at first to get used to, but i think, like anything else once you've got the hang of it there shouldnt be a problem. As for manga studio, i just use photoshop. Im pretty good with it now so i dont see myself changing it.

[beanclam]

... Screen toning makes me want to claw my eyes out.

Trying to manually tone would probably make my head asplode.

[headmistress]

I dunno, I actually kind of liked manual toning. After getting through the initial period of learning the right pressure for cutting tone without cutting the underlying paper (and it helps to use a fairly sturdy paper for this), it was really fun to use the various etching techniques. Very hard on the hands, though.

I just wasn't happy with the way the tones printed after being scanned - moire patterns galore! It was probably my own fault, though.

Bridget

[Pedes]

I'm also a poor college student, so I can't allow myslef to buy tones. I'm considering buying Mangastudio as I like the demo version.

Yes, tablets are very, very usefull :) Unless you're a genius with a moust this is a good investment :)

[QueenieChan]

I either tone in greyscale or in dot tones (is there any other way), and I would say that I kinda like toning. Hard to get it right though, so I would suggest getting software rather than using real tones. There is a certain joy to toning by hand, though real tones are GODAWFUL to work with. If you've ever worked with them, you'll find them go EVERYWHERE, and stick to everything!!

That neat trip where the manga artist scraps off part of the tone for clouds and all... you can't do it for smaller bits of tone!! If you're trying to conserve money, you'll be screaming when you work with real tones.

The moral of the story: get software.

[Tavisha]

There is a certain joy to toning by hand, though real tones are GODAWFUL to work with. If you've ever worked with them, you'll find them go EVERYWHERE, and stick to everything!!

YES~! No matter how hard I try to keep neat by carefully sticking the extra tone scraps onto a white sheet of throw away paper, I'll still find the sticky devil scraps for weeks on end that'll stick on my socks, etc. Heck, I've had pieces on shirts that went through whole wash cycles and still had to be physically peeled off. And because it involves very sharp knives~~it can dangerous.

>____<*** There was that time I couldn't find my xacto knife......until I sat on it....

::::keeps an ample supply of band-aids around when live toning because I'm a total klutz::::

[SweetNymph]

Erm... I think I've just been convinced towards digital tones.

Now I just hope tones will hide how bad my inks are. ><

[Klawzie]

The thought of sitting on my xacto knife fills me with deep dread. Now I'm wondering where mine is. I haven't used it in over a year, but now I have the sense it is lurking like a shark in murky waters.

[Pedes]

Erm... I think I've just been convinced towards digital tones.

Now I just hope tones will hide how bad my inks are. ><
I don't knwo how your inks are

BUT

The sad truth is that neither toning not color can really hide bad lines. It can fool you for a minute, but the truth is... Mastering inking is the only way (and still long before me XD)

[Ayokillyou]

Now I just hope tones will hide how bad my inks are. ><

That will never happen.





Inking is so much more fundamental than toning. Inking is part of the foundation of the visuals. Tones are there to polish and enhance. They're not even completely necessary. Screentones are a popular convention to manga and most manga contains screentones on some level or another, but its not required.

[Tavisha]

Amen on the inking comments everyone. Tones are meant to accent and/or enhance what linework you've created~ not hide them. >____<***

[YamPuff]

What is screen tone exactly?

I know what it is, but what exactly? Is it see-through? Like a sticker? How do you apply it? What's it made out of? Can it solve world hunger?

Never used it before; I use colored pencils and have never done a greyscale before. I'm a poster girl.

[Ayokillyou]

What is screen tone exactly?

I know what it is, but what exactly?

It's an adhesive acetate clear sheet of patterns that can be cut out and applied to a surface.


Is it see-through?

Yup.

Like a sticker?

Yes, it is self-adhesive.

How do you apply it?

You cut out the shape with an X-Acto knife and carefully apply it to the paper.


What's it made out of?

Plastic. Acetate. Something like that.


Can it solve world hunger?


It can solve world hunger for starving artists by helping to make their work look prettier, and thus they make more money.


Never used it before

Most people will tell you that it's not necessary, since computers can do the same thing. The choice is yours.


; I use colored pencils and have never done a greyscale before. I'm a poster girl.

Neat.

[YamPuff]

Thank u so much Ayo Ayo Ayo! I luv u!!! (I will now go solve world hunger)

[Tavisha]

What is screen tone exactly?
I know what it is, but what exactly? Is it see-through? Like a sticker? How do you apply it? What's it made out of? Can it solve world hunger?
Never used it before; I use colored pencils and have never done a greyscale before. I'm a poster girl.

Traditional Japanese screen tones (http://www.deleter.jp/eng/eng_shopping_n/tone_gallery_1.htm) are clear plastic sheets printed with tiny black dots or special effect patterns (http://www.deleter.jp/eng/eng_shopping_n/tone_jr_gallery_3.htm). There's also some rarer tones available in white and in color. These screen tones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screentone) are used to accent and shade artwork most typically found in manga. ^________^

[Talim]

This is my method: Buy some tones that you like from Akadot.com or wherever they sell tones. When it arives you get started. First of you see how much tone you need for that certain space and cut it out, but be sure to include a bit extra. Peel of the back and tape it on top. Then using a special tone tool which you can buy at Akadot, you cut around the image leaving all that is necessary. Flatten it out to make sure it stays on there. Afterword you make a copy of the image and you're done! And thats my method of using screen tones. Simple and easy.