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2025年2月 この範囲を時系列順で読む この範囲をファイルに出力する
some screenshots from the #fefates gunter/corrin doujinshi cover i'm pretty pleased with. :3 made a breakthrough recently with coloring ~
2025.02.23 22:54:26 編集
Here's my guide to making comics with Krita, down to the details such as layer setup, borders, speech bubbles, and SFX.
preface: it took me at least a year to figure this process out; but once when you've figured out the system & a template, it's smooth sailing. let's use this finished spread from the selfship comic last year to go through the process:
i'm going to assume a certian level of digital program proficiency (knowing what layers are, having a general idea of what vector vs raster graphics are, etc) since otherwise this post would be a book. rest of the post under the cut; this one's going to be a long one as is.
let's start with talking about the layers for a single page of the above comic image.
(ignore the "orbs" and "titania bubble" layers - those were oddities for this specific spread.) Going from the top downwards:
- SFX - sound effects. this is an optional layer to have if you don't have a lot of sound effects. you can use either render the sound effects by drawing them out (raster) or vector SFX; whatever you're most comfortable with. more on that below.
- frame - this is the comic page borders.
- speech bubbles - self explanatory. contains both the text inside the bubble and the bubbles themselves.
- ink - main lineart & drawing layer; self explanatory.
- tone - the shading layer.
- (deleted) ruff/sketch - this is the sketchy thumbnail layer that is imported when i first start working on each spread, and naturally gets deleted when the lineart starts looking good on its own.
so!
there's two types of digital rendering krita can do: raster (most similar to drawing with a pencil or tablet) and vector (computer draws mathematical lines and shapes and text that you can manipulate). a lot of programs fully specialize in one or the other but the killer feature of krita is it can do both on a single page; you just need separate layers depending on the rendering..
that's what this "fx" symbol stands for by the way - these are the vector layers....
... and the symbols circled in purple clue you in that they're raster layers (ink, tone, sketch) where you do the actual drawing. with me so far?
speaking of those:
borders/frame
here's what the borders layer looks like + (the print layout layer above everything in black/yellow). the print layout layer is really only useful if you're physically printing this comic (it's basically bleed/trim if you've heard of those terms, ignore this otherwise).
i really struggled with doing borders in krita until finding this tutorial. since the thing is i make a lot of last minute changes. i need to be able to move and edit borders around easily if a panel's not working for me. so the method above makes it incredibly flexible to just ... up and move one, or to make a gutter wider.
i also really need to be able to see what's behind the borders while i'm drawing it to check anatomy sometimes -- the beautiful thing is you can simply turn the layer style to "multiply" and it's effectively transparent with one click.
like this, voila!
lettering
here's the lettering layer(s) with one bubbles' text selected.
fair warning: krita is absolute ass with the text tool. it's the biggest failing but in newer versions i do believe they're slowly working on improvements. thankfully this program can do just enough to letter bubbles.
essentially, i use the same trick as the frames shown in the video above. if you slap a "layer style > stroke" on the whole "bubbles" layer, that's where that 2px black border comes from, and that layer-style-as-a-border "follows" every bubble so it's consistent.
(rule of thumb aesthetics-wise is speech bubble borders should be slightly thinner than frame borders, and on average about as wide as your lineart.)
SFX (sound effects)
technically you can hand-ink all of your SFX if vector art scares you or if you don't intend on doing much, but the vast majority of pros use vector work for efficiency. hentai/erotic work also has a lot of SFX versus other (non-NSFW) genres for the immersion factor with bodily functions.
the spread above didn't need a lot, though. as you can see it's mostly the inorganic orb clinks and then the big SHING. (i put my for-the-web-kradeelav.com signature on the same layer for laziness).
here's part of my current sfx library below just to show you what i start with for erotic strips; usually i start with some base fonts and start moving the letters around individually.
(a lot of these are redone for every project; there's some in here that are already "outdated" in my eyes.)
miscellaneous
my favorite inking brushes are from this free resource pack. my favorite halftone (shading) brushes are from this (also free).
thanks for reading! COLLAPSE
preface: it took me at least a year to figure this process out; but once when you've figured out the system & a template, it's smooth sailing. let's use this finished spread from the selfship comic last year to go through the process:
i'm going to assume a certian level of digital program proficiency (knowing what layers are, having a general idea of what vector vs raster graphics are, etc) since otherwise this post would be a book. rest of the post under the cut; this one's going to be a long one as is.
let's start with talking about the layers for a single page of the above comic image.
(ignore the "orbs" and "titania bubble" layers - those were oddities for this specific spread.) Going from the top downwards:
- SFX - sound effects. this is an optional layer to have if you don't have a lot of sound effects. you can use either render the sound effects by drawing them out (raster) or vector SFX; whatever you're most comfortable with. more on that below.
- frame - this is the comic page borders.
- speech bubbles - self explanatory. contains both the text inside the bubble and the bubbles themselves.
- ink - main lineart & drawing layer; self explanatory.
- tone - the shading layer.
- (deleted) ruff/sketch - this is the sketchy thumbnail layer that is imported when i first start working on each spread, and naturally gets deleted when the lineart starts looking good on its own.
so!
there's two types of digital rendering krita can do: raster (most similar to drawing with a pencil or tablet) and vector (computer draws mathematical lines and shapes and text that you can manipulate). a lot of programs fully specialize in one or the other but the killer feature of krita is it can do both on a single page; you just need separate layers depending on the rendering..
that's what this "fx" symbol stands for by the way - these are the vector layers....
... and the symbols circled in purple clue you in that they're raster layers (ink, tone, sketch) where you do the actual drawing. with me so far?
speaking of those:
borders/frame
here's what the borders layer looks like + (the print layout layer above everything in black/yellow). the print layout layer is really only useful if you're physically printing this comic (it's basically bleed/trim if you've heard of those terms, ignore this otherwise).
i really struggled with doing borders in krita until finding this tutorial. since the thing is i make a lot of last minute changes. i need to be able to move and edit borders around easily if a panel's not working for me. so the method above makes it incredibly flexible to just ... up and move one, or to make a gutter wider.
i also really need to be able to see what's behind the borders while i'm drawing it to check anatomy sometimes -- the beautiful thing is you can simply turn the layer style to "multiply" and it's effectively transparent with one click.
like this, voila!
lettering
here's the lettering layer(s) with one bubbles' text selected.
fair warning: krita is absolute ass with the text tool. it's the biggest failing but in newer versions i do believe they're slowly working on improvements. thankfully this program can do just enough to letter bubbles.
essentially, i use the same trick as the frames shown in the video above. if you slap a "layer style > stroke" on the whole "bubbles" layer, that's where that 2px black border comes from, and that layer-style-as-a-border "follows" every bubble so it's consistent.
(rule of thumb aesthetics-wise is speech bubble borders should be slightly thinner than frame borders, and on average about as wide as your lineart.)
SFX (sound effects)
technically you can hand-ink all of your SFX if vector art scares you or if you don't intend on doing much, but the vast majority of pros use vector work for efficiency. hentai/erotic work also has a lot of SFX versus other (non-NSFW) genres for the immersion factor with bodily functions.
the spread above didn't need a lot, though. as you can see it's mostly the inorganic orb clinks and then the big SHING. (i put my for-the-web-kradeelav.com signature on the same layer for laziness).
here's part of my current sfx library below just to show you what i start with for erotic strips; usually i start with some base fonts and start moving the letters around individually.
(a lot of these are redone for every project; there's some in here that are already "outdated" in my eyes.)
miscellaneous
my favorite inking brushes are from this free resource pack. my favorite halftone (shading) brushes are from this (also free).
thanks for reading! COLLAPSE
2025.02.13 18:21:10 編集
been experimenting with some coloring/finishing techniques and i'm so impressed with krita's modulo layer effect ...
it's really fun studying the mathematics behind this class of layer effects and surmising why it works so well in the above screenshot (on top of "flat" cell-shade drawing to add just enough of randomness.) i think it has to do with the logic of gradients but then the abrupt switch to the next gradient, versus one samey blob of color.
"painting" that layer effect on with a watercolor brush (introducing another level of randomness) has some serious mileage! especially if you can still eyeball the general intensity/hue.
one problem i've always had with digital drawings is how stiff and lifeless it can feel without the randomness inherent in physical paints. a lot of effort behind digital brushes is the creators deliberately re-introducing artificial randomness - but sometimes it still feels odd or not enough. wet paints and ink separate, markers fade over time, entropy is its own artisan, in a way.
#zihark #fetellius
it's really fun studying the mathematics behind this class of layer effects and surmising why it works so well in the above screenshot (on top of "flat" cell-shade drawing to add just enough of randomness.) i think it has to do with the logic of gradients but then the abrupt switch to the next gradient, versus one samey blob of color.
"painting" that layer effect on with a watercolor brush (introducing another level of randomness) has some serious mileage! especially if you can still eyeball the general intensity/hue.
one problem i've always had with digital drawings is how stiff and lifeless it can feel without the randomness inherent in physical paints. a lot of effort behind digital brushes is the creators deliberately re-introducing artificial randomness - but sometimes it still feels odd or not enough. wet paints and ink separate, markers fade over time, entropy is its own artisan, in a way.
#zihark #fetellius
2025年1月 この範囲を時系列順で読む この範囲をファイルに出力する
2024年12月 この範囲を時系列順で読む この範囲をファイルに出力する
i am having *so* much fun screwing around with new character design Shapes. original drawn for these two's reaction to the new feh book and being judged of ""war crimes"" lol.
tl;dr i feel like my summoner design needed a more accurate upgrade? didn't feel genderbent hojo chaotic evil enough... also kinda want more nuanced sleazy flexibility with some body shapes n shit. LOVE the idea of the summoner's robes being like a lab coat and leaning into the mad scientist shape angle. the tricky part is the hairstyles are really similar so it's figuring out how to differentiate w/o going into boring Default gender shapes.
filed under: #zihark
tl;dr i feel like my summoner design needed a more accurate upgrade? didn't feel genderbent hojo chaotic evil enough... also kinda want more nuanced sleazy flexibility with some body shapes n shit. LOVE the idea of the summoner's robes being like a lab coat and leaning into the mad scientist shape angle. the tricky part is the hairstyles are really similar so it's figuring out how to differentiate w/o going into boring Default gender shapes.
filed under: #zihark
guess what came in the mail the other day (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ
probably not the first ossan dakimakura to ever exist, but damn if he's not a exceptionally good looking gent to be featured on one ~ huge shout-out to lululeighsworld on tumblr who was instrumental in egging me on with this project. this was a lot of fun to do on a whim, and vograce was honestly a pleasure to work with in terms of manufacturing.
more pictures under the cut!
filed under #fefates
COLLAPSE
probably not the first ossan dakimakura to ever exist, but damn if he's not a exceptionally good looking gent to be featured on one ~ huge shout-out to lululeighsworld on tumblr who was instrumental in egging me on with this project. this was a lot of fun to do on a whim, and vograce was honestly a pleasure to work with in terms of manufacturing.
more pictures under the cut!
filed under #fefates
COLLAPSE
2024.12.08 19:32:32 編集
2024年11月 この範囲を時系列順で読む この範囲をファイルに出力する
Territory (naesala/zihark fic on Ao3, mind the warnings) giftart back to queenlua <3
lua wrote Territory for my birthday and there were so many scenes that still live in my mind rent free i simply had to draw some of them ~! Tellius peeps ABSOLUTELY should check the fic out since there's some delicious post-Radiant Dawn worldbuilding, some sexi character dynamics and a kickass Sanaki.
++ ty for letting me rambl in your ear about naesala headcanons for a change since you've heard me go on about the other half here for a good two decades :P
filed under: #fetellius #zihark
lua wrote Territory for my birthday and there were so many scenes that still live in my mind rent free i simply had to draw some of them ~! Tellius peeps ABSOLUTELY should check the fic out since there's some delicious post-Radiant Dawn worldbuilding, some sexi character dynamics and a kickass Sanaki.
++ ty for letting me rambl in your ear about naesala headcanons for a change since you've heard me go on about the other half here for a good two decades :P
filed under: #fetellius #zihark
2024年10月 この範囲を時系列順で読む この範囲をファイルに出力する
2024年9月 この範囲を時系列順で読む この範囲をファイルに出力する
other than (hopefully) being a crunchy krad-typical story on delicious coercion nuances in silly videogames, this current 14 page strip i'm working on captures a lot of my feelings on twenty years of quietly self shipping.
i say quietly since certian areas of the internet wildly misunderstood or mocked selfshipping for the longest time. a lot of folks may not remember when it was viewed with the similar disdain of 'hags writing smoochy BL fanfiction'.
to be honest, i've been trying to get better about making things i give a shit about. and in some ways, i wouldn't be true to that unless this strip came to life. the truest guilty pleasure piece of art if you will.
mind, it's also been very fun to crack the code on toning & return to an old favorite. i hope you'll enjoy it as much as i am~
filed under #zihark
i say quietly since certian areas of the internet wildly misunderstood or mocked selfshipping for the longest time. a lot of folks may not remember when it was viewed with the similar disdain of 'hags writing smoochy BL fanfiction'.
to be honest, i've been trying to get better about making things i give a shit about. and in some ways, i wouldn't be true to that unless this strip came to life. the truest guilty pleasure piece of art if you will.
mind, it's also been very fun to crack the code on toning & return to an old favorite. i hope you'll enjoy it as much as i am~
filed under #zihark
i don’t know if i consciously started talking more about process and resources, but there’s a few possible explanations…
one, is i guess i’ve always found it neat when peers and mentors explained changes in their work. maybe you get bored. maybe you level up so much that it requires a different process (more complex comic projects aiming to evoke emotions vs single page doodles). maybe you want to showcase your work to a different audience (a background painter wanting to pivot to animation for work, or to simply study character design for fun). maybe you want to get into specific kinds of nsfw art; either for “yolo” reasons or something else.
maybe my reasons have absolutely nothing in common with yours. maybe they do, and it sparks more understanding. talking to satisfy curiosity’s sake, basically - it’s a bonus if more happens.
another take is i feel that a large part of my workflow (both dayjob design management and hobby work) is asking the “why” and then iterating off of that. just my humble opinion but in the age of ai images, the biggest missing step between those images and a sentient creative is the capability of asking the why, (why this as a illust? why are those three lines stylistically drawn like that? why is that prop in there? why is that line arced like so?) and using your slew of mental, physical, and digital tools to execute the work in aim of an unspoken goal (or several).
maybe artists misstepped by not extending an olive branch and illuminating that missing reasoning, in a similar way to educating others on critical thinking (but with visual arts). maybe selfishly i want to leverage this as a way to separate myself from the goopy grey morass of images in a unique way.
maybe this is half a diary to my future self to track what actually works, or to get past an area that i feel stuck in. there’s a concept in tech called rubber duck debugging that’s essentially talking about that why until you get past a mental roadblock.
i also miss how resources back in 2008 just used to be … free. not “technically” free if you sign up for a newsletter/class/etc, but freely given, sincere - no strings attached. honoring the ethos of early-internet ‘information wants to be free’ culture, even if it’s mostly extinct now. mindfully knowing that you’re lifting the current & next generation of artists up, if there’s a need for a reason to go with the extra effort.
i never do anything without multiple reasons why.
perhaps some of these are the answers. COLLAPSE
one, is i guess i’ve always found it neat when peers and mentors explained changes in their work. maybe you get bored. maybe you level up so much that it requires a different process (more complex comic projects aiming to evoke emotions vs single page doodles). maybe you want to showcase your work to a different audience (a background painter wanting to pivot to animation for work, or to simply study character design for fun). maybe you want to get into specific kinds of nsfw art; either for “yolo” reasons or something else.
maybe my reasons have absolutely nothing in common with yours. maybe they do, and it sparks more understanding. talking to satisfy curiosity’s sake, basically - it’s a bonus if more happens.
another take is i feel that a large part of my workflow (both dayjob design management and hobby work) is asking the “why” and then iterating off of that. just my humble opinion but in the age of ai images, the biggest missing step between those images and a sentient creative is the capability of asking the why, (why this as a illust? why are those three lines stylistically drawn like that? why is that prop in there? why is that line arced like so?) and using your slew of mental, physical, and digital tools to execute the work in aim of an unspoken goal (or several).
maybe artists misstepped by not extending an olive branch and illuminating that missing reasoning, in a similar way to educating others on critical thinking (but with visual arts). maybe selfishly i want to leverage this as a way to separate myself from the goopy grey morass of images in a unique way.
maybe this is half a diary to my future self to track what actually works, or to get past an area that i feel stuck in. there’s a concept in tech called rubber duck debugging that’s essentially talking about that why until you get past a mental roadblock.
i also miss how resources back in 2008 just used to be … free. not “technically” free if you sign up for a newsletter/class/etc, but freely given, sincere - no strings attached. honoring the ethos of early-internet ‘information wants to be free’ culture, even if it’s mostly extinct now. mindfully knowing that you’re lifting the current & next generation of artists up, if there’s a need for a reason to go with the extra effort.
i never do anything without multiple reasons why.
perhaps some of these are the answers. COLLAPSE
Not sure if this has been asked before but: do u have any advice for drawing old men?
-Asked by holdinglines
KRAD: Appreciate you asking, this post would be most relevant there ~ I also did two artbook reviews covering JP-styled ossans, if that’s the specific angle you’re looking for.
Otherwise good ol’ observation, practice, and dignity goes a long way.
Observation (preferably from real life if it’s possible, documentaries or gifs if not) to equip the mental library with how skin ages and how bones are a wonderful map underneath. Almost every time I’m talking to a person, I’ll be mentally sketching out how I would draw their interactions and the curvature of the face. If you’ve ever played the videogame Okami, it’s a remarkably similar notion to “drawing” on top of that world. :)
On the other side, I like documentaries specifically because you get a wider variety of folks and you can see the specific body language as well, and how age affects how people move.
Practice, if only for the (unfortunately unavoidable) fact that learned repetition over time teaches you what lines are critical and what lines aren’t needed for the sake of clarity. There’s also going to be a period of adjustment time in getting used to drawing those different shapes, lines, and motions especially if favorite subjects have skewed younger before. It’s totally natural and nothing to be ashamed of - I find it takes me a solid year before I’m truly comfortable drawing a brand new subject.
And last but greatest: dignity, as they’re no less visually interesting than any one of us, regardless if you’re coming from a place of personal attraction or not. You can (and should) draw breathtakingly erotic, kinky, sexual pieces that channel that dignity hand in hand - but it’s dignity in how you breathe a lived life into those lines, both on paper and what you’re depicting.COLLAPSE
-Asked by holdinglines
KRAD: Appreciate you asking, this post would be most relevant there ~ I also did two artbook reviews covering JP-styled ossans, if that’s the specific angle you’re looking for.
Otherwise good ol’ observation, practice, and dignity goes a long way.
Observation (preferably from real life if it’s possible, documentaries or gifs if not) to equip the mental library with how skin ages and how bones are a wonderful map underneath. Almost every time I’m talking to a person, I’ll be mentally sketching out how I would draw their interactions and the curvature of the face. If you’ve ever played the videogame Okami, it’s a remarkably similar notion to “drawing” on top of that world. :)
On the other side, I like documentaries specifically because you get a wider variety of folks and you can see the specific body language as well, and how age affects how people move.
Practice, if only for the (unfortunately unavoidable) fact that learned repetition over time teaches you what lines are critical and what lines aren’t needed for the sake of clarity. There’s also going to be a period of adjustment time in getting used to drawing those different shapes, lines, and motions especially if favorite subjects have skewed younger before. It’s totally natural and nothing to be ashamed of - I find it takes me a solid year before I’m truly comfortable drawing a brand new subject.
And last but greatest: dignity, as they’re no less visually interesting than any one of us, regardless if you’re coming from a place of personal attraction or not. You can (and should) draw breathtakingly erotic, kinky, sexual pieces that channel that dignity hand in hand - but it’s dignity in how you breathe a lived life into those lines, both on paper and what you’re depicting.COLLAPSE
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