RSoM mech guide question.

[Amarastarleaf]

ummm. hello. this is probably a stupid question but i just looked at the mech. guide for RSoM 7 and there are the instructions about the page size. i was wondering if the finished product is supposed to be the size of the page that says MECHANICAL GUIDE in great big letters, (ya no the one that shows bleed area:black, trim area:red, and safety zone:blue) or if its supposed to be the size of the page that says ACTUAL SIZE TOKYOPOP STANDARD SIZE TOKYOPOP PAGE LAYOUT TEMPLATE. i was wondering because the second one doesnt measure up to size, its 1 1/5 the size of the other page. im new at this, so if anyone could help that would be wonderful.
~thanx ^^
-Amara

[tohruchan]

:confused: I'm confused about that too. And another prob would be that the size sometimes changes when you print the stuff out or paste it somewhere else. >.< Is it just me or is it absolutely impossible to remove the text from it too? It doesn't seem to help much and that is what stopped me from entering last year. -__-

[Andyhep]

Print it the tokyopop standard size (The mechanical guide page with the blue/red/black lines), which are mirrored on the front page under Tokyopop Standard Size. Not sure why the actual size layout has different dimensions, but it seems to be a common cause for confusion.

Andy

[Nonameaugotta]

So...when we print our images, we print at the Standard size and then make a copy of our entry on 8 1/2 by 11 printer paper? Whew...I never understood that darn Mechanical Guide. I was just about to ask the same question when I dsicovered someone had done it for me! :)

[Andyhep]

Erm, or you could just print it out straight onto 8 1/2x11 paper at standard size... You're confusing me now.

[ZeKarmiSama]

You print it on a normal 8" by 11" sheet of paper at that standard size, the 5.25" by 7.68-something one.

@_@ Is it my Asian math skills or something? I always thought everything made perfect sense...

[KaYoKitten]

*facepalm*

*holding head in hands*

Good. God. Not ya'll, sorry to ya'll. They have COMPLETELY messed up this entire site. Where the heck IS the mech specs??!?!!!!

Okay, let me attempt to explain this in plain English.

When you print out your manga, it will be on a normal, 8.5'' X 11'' piece of printing paper, right? But the manga ITSELF will only be something like 5 X 7, and from what Peter said earlier, it should be centered on the page. There are three different measurements that TPOP supplies you with. Or they USED to anyway...>.> Prolly will get it back shortly, so we may have to wait a while. X.X...

But those measurements are very simple. I can't quite remember the difference between bleed and trim (someone prof. help me out here
-__-), but! One of them is a small distance to the outer edge that is so the machine can cut it off without cutting off your art/bubbles. You draw OUTSIDE this line so that if the machine sort of...misses its target, you won't get an ugly white space outside your art.

But you must draw important elements INSIDE the other line, or you run the risk of losing that art. There was a very good example of this in the mech specs. I'm assuming you saw them before the website went Wonka on us. -__- Yes, can't you tell I'm annoyed? ^^;

[Kadaj]

so could we just print out the thing from the mechspecs draw on that?
then just cut out the lines with photoshop or something on the computer?
cuz that would make my life easier...

[KaYoKitten]

Well...the thing with that is that you TEND to want to draw larger than at-spec. It reduces stress from small mistakes, it does. So, what you should do is grab a nice sturdy ruler, preferrably the metal kind with a rubber/cork backing on it. Why? The rubber/cork will prevent it from sliding so you don't have to redraw the line! Just draw a faint pencil mark where each of the three measurements will be, and then draw. The mech specs even give you the measurements for 1.5 and 2 times TPOP size, right in the document (which has returned from the graveyard since my last post).

[Kadaj]

... but you could? and actually I prefer drawing smaller

[Kadaj]

right?:confused:

[TheBohemian]

In theory, yes you could.

[Deathlaughter]

I have a question about mech specs, and I was wondering about the live, trim, and bleed. I was wondering if I should leave all those lines present when I print them on regular paper. Because I usually erase the trim line and I leave the bleed line there on the page.

Plus...this whole thing about page sizes...as long as the manga page is proportionally to the real size (no matter standard size or not)...is it okay? (assuming it'll still be printed on letter sized paper)

[PeterAhlstrom]

No. If it has tones, tones must be put on at the final print size in order to avoid moire printing problems.

The live, trim, and bleed lines should not be on the final printed page.

[Deathlaughter]

So if I do my tones on a really huge document size (that doesn't fit on letter size) and print back onto the letter size paper, is that bad?

And about the lines, the panels are the only things (including the info in the top corner) left on the photocopy, right?

[TheBohemian]

Yes, I think that would be bad, if I understand your question right, because it'd result in aforementioned evil EVIL moire...

And an affirmative to your second query. :)

[Deathlaughter]

Okay hrm...^^' sorry, I just need to be really sure of things.

Okay, so I'm clear about the absence of the lines.

So to get it straight I need to have my manga page the original manga page size (the final size in the manga volume) on the 8.5x11 paper? Then on that original size I should do my lettering and tones?

[TheBohemian]

There you have it, sir!
That's the ticket!

...
Sorry, I sometimes have urges to randomly spout outdated catch-phrases.
Whoops.
;)

[Deathlaughter]

Yay! XD; And...I forgot to add one more thing...

We can do our original comic page on a bigger scale, right? Before we scan it in the computer?

(hmm...do you call everyone sir? lol b/c I'm a girl...bleh I dun care...XD; it doesn't matter)

[TheBohemian]

Ummm, whoops again.:o
My bad. lol

And doing your work pre-toning and lettering on a bigger scale (so long as it's proportionate) is actually recommended. ;)

[PJupiter]

Alright so just to make sure i've got this right...
I'd draw out my manga to the mech specs (11X15.875 and so on) then scan it in, scale it down to fit on an 8x11 sheet of paper, print it, tone it, scan it again, then print for submissions? Does that sound right?

[TheBohemian]

If you're toning by hand, then yes.