In late 18th century Japan, a new style of drawing emerged. Known as “Manga,” or “whimsical picture,” it gradually evolved over the years, but finally came into its own in the post World War II occupied Japan. Its subjects were initially political, but with the rise of popularity of its cousin, Animé, Manga also found a fan base in Western culture.
Until recently, the only tools available to the budding Manga artist were pen and paper. But with the popularity of computer 3-D and drawing software, it was only a matter of time before there were some available for the animator. One such program is Manga Studio.
The layout of Manga Studio.
Ease of Use
I have to admit, although I am an artist that does a lot of work with organic tools (like charcoal and pencil) to draw surreal imagery, when it comes to computers, I generally draw more photorealistically than cartooney. As such, I prefer tweaking images in Photoshop to actually trying to draw things in it. So I was initially skeptical of a piece of software that my editor claimed would help me draw in a completely different style.
At first, my skepticism was confirmed got my first look at the program. On first blush, it’s a little disorienting and odd, even for someone who is used to programs like Photoshop. The icons which appear similar to those in Photoshop don’t work in the same way, and the things one expects to be able to do are very tricky to figure out. Fortunately, there is an online tutorial through MangaStudio.net which explains the basic functions and how to get started. (There’s also a 400+ user manual pdf available for download.) Those of us who are a little more impatient might balk at the idea of a tutorial, but for a new user it’s vital in understanding the intricacies of the software.
