| Tools I Use Look, Ma,... no paper! ARGON ZARK! is drawn directly on the computer with the following toys... er, I mean tools! Links from this page open in a new window. |
 |
| Hardware |
 Apple Power Macintosh G4 450. My favorite arrangement of plastic, metal and silicon. Yes I know there are faster machines out now, but I'm waiting for the G4's to hit a gig or so to swap them out, and with the dual 450, my need for speed is being met for the moment, thank you. I just got a new display which I like a lot, a 21" Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 1010e.Lest you think it's necessary to have high-end equipment to do this kind of work, bear in mind that the first 30 or so pages of the first story were done on a faithful little Quadra 610 with 16 megs of RAM, 250 MB drive, a 25MHZ processor and a 15" Sony monitor. I buy my hardware, and most of my software, from an Apple VAR (Value Added Reseller). You might find sligtly cheaper pices online or in a computer chain store, but if you find a good VAR, the advantages far outweigh the small difference in price. I'm in the Philadelphia area and I deal with Doug White of Matrx Systems. Wacom Intuos 6x8 pressure-sensitive graphics tablet. This is The Tool! Take up thy stylus and draw! No trees were killed during the creation of Argon Zark!, The entire comic is drawn directly on the computer with my trusty Wacom. Their name comes from "Wa", Japanese for harmony, and "Com" for computer, meaning a tool that puts one in harmony with a computer. Aptly named. |
| Graphics software |
Painter 6 Rembrandt would have loved it. Does nifty stuff that even Photoshop can't. I actually draw the strip in Painter, its drawing tools and response to the pressure-sensitive tablet can't be beat. This is an amazing program with an uncanny ability to emulate traditional drawing and painting tools, and then take those tools into the digital beyond. Cool stuff. Amazon's listing: Mac, Windows Adobe Photoshop 6 Still the King Jumpjumping graphics app. Because of its unequaled selection tools, transparent layers and terrific filter suite, I do most of my image manipulation, compositing and special effects in Photoshop, Amazon"s listing: Mac, Windows Kai's Power Tools 6, and KPT 5 & 3 The toybox in the toolbox! Most of the ARGON ZARK! special effects start with this fantastic set of plug-ins for Photoshop. Foolishly abandoned by Metacreations and picked up by Corel. KPT5 includes the KPT 3 filters and is my favorite. KPT6 is a separate set of filters. KPT and Bryce are the main reason I rarely play computer games. Amazon's listing for KPT6: Mac, (No Amazon listing for KPT6 for Windows or KPT5 for either platform, try other sources or direct from Corel.) Bryce Absolute power in a box. Transforms you from a mere mortal to a maker of worlds, A 3-D application specialized for creating landscapes, real and surreal. I also use it to render some objects and interiors when I want a 3-D rendered look. The athmospheric effects are stunning.The "Virtual Conference Environment" and most of it's backgrounds were done in Bryce. Amazon's listing: Mac & Windows Artmatic, created by Eric Wegner, creator of Bryce. This cool little app generates dazzling fractal patterns, and lets you control their parameters with almost infinite variety. Download the demo and play with it or just check out the gallery. Cyberdelic! |
| Inexpensive alternatives |
Once again I'll stress that, although it's nice to have access to the best tools, it's not necessary to use high-end tools to do good work. Painter Classic is a stripped-down version of Painter with most of the cool drawing tools (about $99). If you like the program and decide you want the full version , the upgrade only costs the difference between the two, so you don't lose anything by trying the smaller version first. If you don't have a pressure sensitive tablet, you can frequently get Painter Classic bundled with an inexpensive 4x5 Wacom for not much more than the cost of the tablet alone. For an inexpensive alternative to Photoshop, try Color It from Microfrontier (Mac only), a very powerful little image editor that's a steal at $50. On the Windows side, try Paint Shop Pro, a very capable image editor for $99. Also, if you're buying a scanner, watch for one that includes a version of Photoshop LE, the "Lite" version of Photoshop, from which you can upgrade to the full version. |
| Comic book fonts: | I don't actually know of a current source for the font I use but these are close and the best I'm aware of. The folks at ComicCraft/Active Images make a number of balloon lettering fonts that are used professionally in the comic book industry. These are expensive but very good. ComicCrazy is their most versatile (and wildly expensive) font ($395!!! Ouch!). It includes lower case letters which are uncommon in comic fonts. WildWords is a more reasonable alternative at $129. Astro City is a nice, somewhat older style also at $129. They also have a selection of display lettering for sound effects and specialty lettering for comics. A less expensive alternative is WhizBang from Studio Daedalus at $35. They even have an older, more limited version (1.2) for $24. |
 Web authoring software |
 I write my HTML in BBEdit 6. BBEdit isn't as "friendly" as some of the other editors, but its powerful text editing, scripting, global search and replace, Grepp search, template, and includes features make it an outstanding tool for anyone who is doing serious web site work on a Mac. You can download a save-disabled demo and get a nice feel for how capable it is. Even if you don't want to invest in the full program, get their free version of BBEdit Lite. Mac only, for Windows, try Allaire's Homesite.Amazon's listing for Homesite: Windows Adobe GoLIve 5.0 is an excellent professional-level WYSIWYG HTML editors/site management tool. I use BBEdit to write my code, and GoLive for site management, table editing, and imagemaps. The site management features are nothing short of amazing. Amazon's listing: Mac, Windows I've also worked a little with Macromedia's Dreamweaver, which is comparable to GoLive and also excellent. Amazon's listing: Mac, Windows |
|
| Style Sheets | Both Dreamweaver and GoLive write DHTML, which includes Style Sheets and some JavaScript. I picked GoLive because I think the site management tools are a bit stronger, and because of its Adobe-style interface. Many people prefer Dreamweaver. You can't go wrong with either if you want a professional Web authoring tool. Style Master is a great little Style Sheet editor for Macintosh from Western Civilization |
|
| Web graphics software |
I output my GIFs with the PhotoGIF plug-in for Photoshop from Boxtop Software. Although Photoshop now supports GIF89a as well as GIF87a, and the new "Save for Web" feature is very convenient, PhotoGIF still gives me more control and allows me to really squeeze high quality GIFs into their smallest file size. I use it for all of my professional web design work and the GIFs on the AZ site. I also like their ProJPEG plug-in, which I use to make the JPEGs of the Argon Zark! comic pages. ProJPEG 4 includes the ability to selectively alter the compression level of different areas of the image based on a selection, so you can leave important areas smooth and compress the heck out of backgrounds. Both PhotoGIF and ProJPEG work as filters from within Photoshop or other image editors. You can download them over the net in save-disabled versions and make them fully functional on paying the fee. They're excellent products at $45 and $35 respectively. You can also buy them bundled for $70. These are available for Mac and Windows. I also use Macromedia Fireworks, which I think is stronger than Adobe's Imageready. Fireworks is vector-based and is sort of a mini-Freehand specialized for the Web. It also includes a nice Export feature that, like Imageready and Photoshop, allows you to preview your graphic in 4 different versions simultaneously to determine the best choice for file size and image quality. It also is a strong GIF animation editor. (So is Adobe's Imageready, which ships with Photoshop.) Amazon's listing for Fireworks: Mac, Windows If you are interested in both Dreamweaver and Fireworks, you can usually save some money by ordering them together. Amazon's listing: Mac, Windows |
| GIF animation |
Boxtop Software, who makes PhotoGIF and ProJPEG (above), also makes GIFmation 2.0 (Mac and Windows), for making animated Gifs. It's $50, but you can get a 30 day free demo from their web site. It features a clear interface and rich feature set. I sometimes use Fireworks and Imageready, but I always seem to come back to GIFmation to do the bulk of my GIF animations. Macromedia Fireworks (above) and Adobe Imageready (ships with Photoshop) are also good GIF animation tools. Fireworks has nice tweening features and Imageready has a good interface and convenient cell preview windows. GIFbuilder (Mac only), is free and a very good animation tool in it's own right. Windows users may also want to check out GIF Construction set. Likewise WhirlGIF for UNIX |
| Flash animation |
I haven't worked extensively with Flash, so I can't speak with great authority. I normally avoid technologies that rely on plug-ins, but the Flash plug-in is becoming so popular (80%+ according to some sources) that it's now reasonable to expect most people to be able to view Flash files. I'm starting to work with it more. Amazon's listing: Mac, Windows Macromedia Flash is, naturally enough, the strongest authoring tool for the format, but Adobe's LiveMotion has some advantages in terms of an elegant user interface and a shorter learning curve, particularly if you are already familiar with Adobe products. It's also cheaper. If you just want a tool to do Flash animations, it's very good, but if you want to do any complex interactivity or scripting, go for Macromedia Flash. Amazon's listing: Mac, Windows |
| Techniques |
I'm hoping to expand this section to include some of my own techniques for Argon Zark!, but for now I'll try to provide some how-to links for graphics and web design. |
| Books with Argon Zark! techniques |
There are several books out that have sections specifically devoted to Argon Zark! art and techniques, not the least of which is the Deluxe, Cordless, Portable Argon Zark! Souvenir Dead-tree Edition! I've moved the book recommendations that used to be on this page to a new |
| Painter |
See the Computer Graphics section of the Books page. Painter Techniques. Tips, techniques and tutorials. Painter Tips. Some tips by Jeremy Sutton, author of Fractal Design Painter Creative Techniques. Artistry Online, site for Artistry Magazine, which is largely devoted to Painter Techniques. Some online tutorials. |
| Photoshop |
See the Computer Graphics section of the Books page. Here's some of Adobe's own tips and techniques, including info on preparing images for the web. The Pixel Foundry is an excellent source of info on Photoshop, including Kai's Power Tips and Tricks. Photoshop Web Reference. An excellent overview of the app, it's tools pallets and features, examples of filter effects, etc. also links to other Photoshop sites. Nicely organized and presented. Ultimate Photoshop. Searchable lists of Photoshop sites arranged by category. Tips and techniques, tutorials, archives of filters and actions, forums and more. |
| Kai's Power Tools and KPT Bryce |
See Official Kai's Power Tools Studio Secrets on the Books page. For KPT Bryce, stop in on The Bryce Forum, The Bryce Forum Gallery, and The Terraformer's Guild. (I'm not sure what the current status of the Terraformer's Guild is.) Also check out the Bryce Gallery from Eric Wenger, creator of Bryce. |
| Web Design and HTML |
See the Web design section of the Books page. Builder.com, C-net's web design resources. A good place for beginners to start, plus more advanced material. WebMonkey, HotWired's guide. They do really good basic tutorials and also have lots of advanced stuff. WebReference.com, the works. WebReview, more good reference, great stuff on Style Sheets. Use the drop-down menu for "Topics". Devhead, the works, from ZDNet |
| Adobe GoLive |
See the CSS & dHTML section of the Books page. Adobe's tutorials, Quick time movie training videos and user forums. GoLive Heaven news, techniques and forums. GoLive Headquarters, news techniques and forums. RealWorld Adobe GoLive, the support site for this excellent book is informative in its own right |
| Cascading Style Sheets |
See the Style Sheets section of the Books page. WebReview, good stuff, including an overview of the CSS specification, and a definitive listing of CSS browser compatibility. Essential, since the big problem with CSS, (As well as HTML, JavaScript and everything else on the Web, is wonky implementation on the part of the browsers. I keep an offline version of the browser compatibility chart for quick reference. Builder.com, C-net's resources. WebMonkey, HotWired's guide. Features Mulder's excellent CSS tutorial.. WebReference.com, part of their HTML resources and tutorials. House of Style, good info (if in a not so good site design) about CSS form the authors of the StyleMaster CSS editor for Mac (See above in software). W3C style sheets , info from the horses mouth, also very useful are their testing pages in which you can see how CSS declarations actually work (or not) in the browsers.
|
| JavaScript |
Thou's JavaScript Tutorial, part of HotWired's Webmonkey site. Doc JavaScript, columns and tips from webreference.com The JavaScript Directory from developer.com, columns and canned scripts ScriptHead, part of ZDNet's DevHead site IRT.org, I go searching here when I can't answer a question quickly elsewhere. They have huge lists of FAQs that cover a lot of territory. Coolnerds JavaScript, reference, links and canned scripts. This is where I got the script that formed the basis of my book and T-shirt order form. Timothy's JavaScript Examples, lost of canned scripts. Web Review's webcoder.com. Good reference for JavaScript and Dynamic HTML. JavaScript whiz Nick Heinle has a knack for explaining it to us mere mortals. He started out producing the JavaScript tip of the Week and now does the Webcoder site. Here's Netscape's own JavaScript guide. |
| Web Graphics |
C/Net's graphics & multimedia resources, good info on a variety of subjects. Lynda Weinman has become the most recognized expert on Web graphics. This site is largely in support of her many books, but also informative in its own right. For excellent information on keeping web graphics small, check out The Bandwidth Conservation Society. GIF.com, Internet.com's Web graphics resources And for great general information on web graphics, including transparency, lighting effects, buttons, tiled backgrounds and more, check in with Doc Ozone and his Hands On tutorials. His site itself is a prime example of creative (and somewhat enigmatic) web design. |
| GIF Animation |
Here's Royal Frazier"s GIF animation tutorial. Builder.com's animated GIF resources |
| Flash Animation |
Macromedia's Tutorials FlashKit great Flash resources from Internet.com, including lots of downloadable .fla files, Flash movies that can be opened in Flash to examine and learn from. FlashZone, news, techniques, forums and links. FlashPlanet, extensive info and resources ExtermeFlash, info, resources and all |
| LiveMotion | LiveMotion (see software above) is Adobe's Flash authoring tool.
C/Net's Builder.com's LiveMotion tips >Adobe has some excellent online LiveMotion tutorials, as well as user forums. The best of the tutorials are their Quicktime movie LiveMotion training videos. To my mind Livemotion plus these videos is the quickest path to doing Flash animations. If you're really serious, though, learn to use Flash, it's much more powerful at this point |
| Comic Book Art Techniques |
ComicColors.com, a wonderful site with contributions frm a number of people. Tips and tutorials on comic book coloring, penciling, inking, lettering and writing. Also includes galleries a message board, links to resources and more. The Drawing Board, tips, techniques, tutorials, articles, advice, interviews and other resources for pencillers, inkers, writers, colorists, letterers, etc. Part of the Figma.com site which also includes 4-Color Review and The Launchpad, a webzine for aspiring comic creators. Comic Book Art Tips, professional pencilling and inking techinques from Gerry Alanguilan. Creating Comics, a terrific list of links to sites about writing, pencilling, inking, coloring, submitting, promoting and publishing comics, much more extensive than I can give here. Larry Dempsey's Comic Book Inking Survey, questions asked of over 200 comic book inkers, plus tips, techniques and more. Wahoo, (ComicBookWebsites.com) a comic book sites search engine. Here is their list of sites devoted to creating comics. Draw Comics, interviews articles, gallery and more. Joe Kubert's World of Cartooning, An offshoot of the school in New Jersey that is dedicated to teaching comic book art. They also have correspondence courses. |
| Print Resources The Argon Zark! book was printed by Quebecor Printing, Inc. (Impremieres Quebecor) in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. They did a beautiful job. I could have gone to a cheaper printer without the hassle of shipping across the border and all, but their work with this kind of printing is unmatched. They do most of the high-end printing for the major comic companies. My sales rep was Juan Campbell (514) 494-5451. Both he and Sales Coordinator Annie Dauphin were extremely helpful in my quest to achieve a print quality that would do justice to the intense color of the images. I recently had Argon Zark! business cards printed by Copy Craft Printers in Lubbock Texas. Not only was I impressed with the quality of the work and the excellent price (they did a beautiful job from my digital file), I was knocked out with the fact that they got a last-minute rush order to me ahead of schedule. If you deal with printers very often you'll be impressed with the level of service. They're also a full-service printer. My sales rep there is Jaime (pronounced hi-may) Todd. Check out the site, or you can e-mail him or call them at (806) 794-7752. |
|