\\\Introduction\\\I've noticed that many people have been having troubles with comic making (in MS Paint). I descided that I'm going to make a wonderful "MS Paint for Dummies" plus additional Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, Flash, and Comic Tutorials.
By the end of this tutorial, you should:
#Understand every aspect of MS paint
#Be able to create semi-professional-looking comics
#Be able to save time on big comic or graphic projects
#Be proud to show your Fanart/Comics online
#Make a flash comic book
///MS Paint///:::Step 1: Proper Layout:::A* Start up MS Paint. MS Paint should be found like this [Start -> Programs -> Accessories]
This is what you should see:
If you don't see this, go into the taskbar and select "View". Now check off the following checked off selections:
:::Step 2: The Toolbox:::A* Observe the various tools you can use in this toolbox:
B* Understand each tool. I will give you descriptions and info on the following tools:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free-Form SelectDescription: Like the "Lasoo" tool in other programs, this selection tool allows you to trace around a picture. The part inside the traced area is selected and can be "Cut", "Copy'd", Dragged, and Etc...
How2: First, select the "Free-Form Select" tool. Now trace around the area you want to select. [[[MAKE SURE YOUR TRACE-ENDS CONNECT!]]]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SelectDescription: Like the tool above, "Select" selects part of an image, but in a perfect square.
How2: Select "Select". Now drag the broken up square around the area you want selected. You can click away from the selected area to de-select the previous selection.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EraserDescription: This tool erases un-wanted graphic material.
How2: Select "Eraser". Now pick a size:
You may proceed to the erasing process
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paint BucketDescription: This tool fills in spaces.
How2: Select a colour from the palett. Select the "Paint bucket". Fill in a space by clicking inside an enclosed space or on a line.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EyeDropperDescription: Get's a colour you want out of a picture.
How2: Select the "EyeDropper" tool. Now click wherever the colour you want is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magnifying GlassDescription: Zooms In or Out.
How2: Select the "Magnifying Glass" tool. Click on the screen (where you want it zoomed, right-click if you want to unzoom), or you can select one of the following zooms [the top one being the actual size of the picture]:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PencilDescription: Fine Line Drawing Tool.
How2: Select the "Pencil" tool. Now draw away.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PaintBrushDescription: Drawing Tool.
How2: Select the "Paintbrush" Tool. Now pick from the following shapes and sizes:
Now Draw Away! [[[The Slashes do a cool ribbon effect]]]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spray PaintDescription: Spray Paint style drawing tool.
How2: Select the "Spray Paint" tool. Now select a size.
Notice that the Larger spray is less dense/concentrated than the smaller spray.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TextDescription: You can type text on to a picture.
How2: Select the "Text" tool. Now notice the two new selections at the bottom of the toolbar:
The highlighted option makes an opaque background behind the text. The other selection is a transparent background. To change the size of the text, drag the broken up rectangle over the area you want written on. Now ["View" -> Text ToolBar]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LineDescription: Creates a line.
How2: Select the "Line" tool. Now drag your line to your liking. [[[You can choose the width of your line at the bottom of the Toolbar.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Curve LineDescription: Creates a curved lign.
How2: Select the "Curved Line" tool. Now select a width [like the regular line tool]. Now draw a straight line. You can now bend the line twice by dragging your cursor over a lign to a favourable area.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RectangleDescription: Square/Rectangle making tool.
How2: First, go to the "Lign" tool and select a width for the perimeter. Go select the "Rectangle" tool after doing the previous step. Notice you have 3 new selections at the bottom of the ToolBox:
The highlighted selection is Solid/Opaque perimeter and a transparent center, the middle is Solid/Opaque perimeter and center, and the final selection is transparent perimeter and a Solid/Opaque center. Now make your square.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PolygonDescription: Tool for creating a shape/polygon with multiple sides and verticies.
How2: Select the "Polygon" tool. Do all the same steps as the square, except now you can make a shape using a similar concept to "connect the dots".
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CircleDescription: Makes circles.
How2: Do all the same steps for the square. Now select the "Circle" tool. Make your circle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rounded RectangleDescription: Makes a rectangle with rounded edges [like a square pizza].
How2: Do the same steps you did for the square and circle. Now select the "Rounded Rectangle" tool. Make your rounded rectangle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:::Step 3: Colours:::A* Now that you know how to use your Tools in the "ToolBox", you are now going to learn about giving colour to your art! This is what your regular palett should look like:
B* To change to colour is easy: Just Left Click for Primary Colour/Drawing Colour, and Right Click for Secondary Colour/Erasing Colour.
C* To customize your palett, double click on the colour you want changed -or- ["Colours" -> Edit Colours]. Now you should see this pop up:
Now you can select alternate colours to your liking.
D* Now to go to the even more advanced palett. ["Colours" -> Edit Colours (Now select any colour) -> "Define Custom Colours >>"]. Now you should see this (Except more detailed, [lol]).
Notice the whole Colour spectrum. You can click anywhere in that colour box and then change the lumination/shading with the little bar on the side (light to dark).
:::Step 4: FX:::A* Here's the fun part. If you're at all adventureous, open "Image" in the taskbar. Here are your default image FX. I will explain each of the Effects.
I. Flip/Rotate: Choose this and you can flip and rotate your image.
II. Stretch/Skew: You can stretch and skew your image on an X-Y Axis.
III. Invert Colours: This changes every colour in your image to its opposite.
[[[Use the Selecting tools in the Toolbox to select the area you want effected]]]
:::Step 5: Basic Commands and Keyboard Shortcuts:::A* The basic shortcuts you will need to know:
-CTRL+C: Copy
-CTRL+X: Cut
-CTRL+V: Paste
-CTRL+Z: Undo
-CTRL+Y: Repeat
-CTRL+B: Bold
-CTRL+U: Underline
-CTRL+I: Italic
-CTRL+P: Print
-CTRL+A: Select All
-CTRL+T: Tool Box
-CTRL+L: Colour Box/Palett
-CTRL+R: Flip/Rotate
-CTRL+W: Stretch/Skew
-CTRL+I: Invert Colours
-CTRL+E: Attributes
-CTRL+O: Open Document/Picture
-CTRL+S: Save
-CTRL+N: New
-CTRL+F: View Bitmap
-CTRL+Pgdn: Zoom In
-CTRL+Pgup: Regular Size
-CTRL+G: Show Grid
-ALT+F4: Close Window
:::Step 6: The Taskbar:::A* First off, here's the taskbar:
B* Now I will explain each category and each sub-selection:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
File:
New...: Creates new/blank document/picture
Open: Opens an existing file from your chosen directory.
Save: Saves your work to a chosen directory.
Save As...: Saves your work + you choose the Name, Filetype (.bmp, .jpg, and .gif file types are preferred), and Directory.
From Scanner or Camera: You can use your scanner or digital camera to upload a picture into paint (which really isn't of any interest in this thread).
Print Preview: Shows what a printed copy would look like.
Page Setup...: Sets up page size and layout.
Print...: Prints
Send...: You can send your picture via e-mail, WAN, or LAN.
Set as Background (Tiled): Sets your desktop wallpaper to your image. The image will be Tiled numerously across and down the screen.
Set as Background (Centered): Same as above, but your picture will be centered instead of tiled.
1.....: Recent Image.
2.....: Recent Image.
3.....: Recent Image.
4.....: Recent Image.
Exit: Quits the program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit:
Undo: Undoes a mistake (3 Undo's Maximum)
Repeat: If you descide to Undo, but want to Undo the Undo, use this.
Cut: Cuts out selection and can be pasted later.
Copy: Copies a selection and can be pasted later.
Paste: Pastes a copied selection.
Clear Selection: Deletes a selection.
Select All: Selects the whole drawing space.
Copy To...: Exports.
Paste From...: Imports.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
View:
Tool Box: This box holds all of your tools.
Colour Box: Your Palett.
Status Bar: Coordinates + Help and Definitions
Text Toolbar: Fonts and sizes for text.
Zoom: Adjust your zoom level (and you can activate grid)
View Bitmap: View Bitmap
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image:
Flip/Rotate: Flips and Rotates the selection.
Stretch/Skew: Stretches and Skews your selection on an X-Y Plane.
Invert Colours: Makes colours their opposite.
Attributes: Selection size and whatnot.
Clear Image: Deleeeete!!
Draw Opaque: Draw solid and not Trans-lucent/parent
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colours:
Edit Colours: You may edit your palett if you wish.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help:
Help Topics: Do you really need help lol! Just Help Basics.
About Paint: It's a wet and sticky substance used to coat surfaces.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
///Comic Templating///I've seen some people complaining before because the they "Cuddent maek ah commix lolk!!11" and usually ended up boring the forums with comics like this:
Which, in my opinion, are hilarious, but get annoying after a while.
So. Here's an easy comic making tutorial for Flash users, Paint Shop Pro Users, or Photoshop users.
:::Step 1: Layering:::Now, these techniques work great if you follow instructions carefully, so listen up.
A* If you use Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro (I'll call it PSP for short), or Flash MX, chances are you already know how to make multiple layers. I don't even have to explain how to in Photoshop [lol great program! Just make 3 layers, ok.], but for PSP users, do this
["File" -> New Document (W400 X H450 Pixels for now) -> "Layers" -> New Raster Layer -> "Layers" (yes, again) -> New Raster Layer] Now you have 3 layers. At the bottom of the "Layers" pull-down list, you should be able to choose layers. Choose the bottom layer.
Now Flash Users: ["File" -> New Flash Document -> "Insert" -> Timeline -> Layer -> "Insert" -> Timeline -> Layer] Now you have 3 Layers (You can see them in your timeline). The lowest layer is the bottom layer. Select it.
Now create something on the lowest layer to look like this:
Now save the document as "Comic Template" under a project file, which you can edit in the same program (of course). So for Flash users: .fla, For PSP users .psp (Paint shop pro image (and dont flatten layers!!)), and Photoshop users, photoshop project image or whatever.
There's your basic template.
:::Step 2: Preparation:::Ok. You have a Template. Now what?
A* Pick the 2nd layer and draw a rough comic on top of it (like so):
B* Put stuff randomly in your comic (it doesn't matter where!). Now get rid of your 1st layer. There! No more dividing lines!
Now pick your top (3rd) layer. Make boxes around seperate frames and captions and try to make them "off" balance wise to give a cool/funky effect (like so):
:::Step 3: Completion:::A* Ok! The comic just needs those finishing touches! Touch up the backgrounds, colour, shade, decrease colour depth (to shrink file size) and presto! Sign your work of art and release it as a .bmp, .gif, or a .jpg!
Done.
///Flash Book///***You must have a basic understanding of flash to do this!***
(((Here's the link to the .fla file: [http://www.filelodge.com/files/room25/682616/Comic%20in%20Flash.fla])))
This is a really cheap example of what you will be trying to do: [http://img150.imageshack.us/my.php?image=flashcomicbooksz3.swf]
:::Step 1: Preparation:::Since you know how to do flash already, replicate my timeline.
4 layers, 5 frames each layer, 4 buttons (>>>,<<<, Replay, End) 400 X 450 Pixels
BG= BackGround---->\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
MG= MiddleGround------Draw you comic!
FG= ForeGround----->////////////////////////
BTNS= Buttons - This is where your buttons go!
:::Step 2: Codes:::I. Layer "BTNS", add this code to each keyframe:
stop();II. Now put these codes into the following buttons:
>>> -
on (release) {nextFrame();} <<< -
on (release) {prevFrame();}Replay -
on (release) {gotoAndStop(1);}End -
on (release) {gotoAndStop(5);}There you have it! Your own flash comic book!
///Conclusion///I have taken you through the basics of MS Paint, Comic Making, and Flash Books. I hope I helped you out and I will be happy to answer any questions.
ColonD///Credits and Tools Used///I provided all the info, I cropped out and edited all the images, and I hosted all the images
I used PaintShop Pro, Photoshop, Flash MX 8 Pro, and MS Paint.
I hosted on Imageshack.us and filelodge.com.
Thank you very much.
