{"id":7487,"date":"2015-07-14T05:00:48","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T09:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/?p=7487"},"modified":"2015-07-12T16:48:10","modified_gmt":"2015-07-12T20:48:10","slug":"digital-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/digital-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a previous post, I discussed some of the tools (pens, pencils, paper, etc.) I use to create my comic features. Today, I’ll discuss some of the digital tools I use in the studio.<\/p>\n

Since I ‘m still a bit of a traditionalist and draw all my cartoons on paper, I need a way to get them into my computer. \u00a0That’s were a good scanner comes in handy. \u00a0I like scanners that have a large plate area for scanning. \u00a0I draw my comic strip George in dimensions 4″ x 13″. \u00a0So, it’s nice to have a scanner with a scanning bed at 14″ or more.<\/p>\n

I’ve had a\u00a0HP ScanJet 8250 Document Scanner<\/a>\"\"\u00a0in my studio for a number of years and it has served me well. \u00a0Especially because I’m a Linux user. HP products have been wonderfully compatible with Linux. \u00a0 \u00a0I discussed this scanner on my Linux blog. \u00a0You can read all the details a bit about it here<\/a>. \u00a0I also still own a Umax scanner. \u00a0I also posted about it on the same linux blog.<\/a><\/p>\n

You really can’t go wrong with any of the\u00a0HP Scanners<\/a>. I really like the newer All-in-One models. \u00a0I’ve also used a couple of the\u00a0Brother All In One <\/a>\u00a0scanner\/printers. \u00a0Again, I tend to gravitate to models that give me a bit more space for scnning larger\/longer images.<\/p>\n

When I travel or find myself away from the studio, that’s when I bring out my\u00a0VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Portable Scanner<\/a>\"\"
\n\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

This thing is great! \u00a0It’s especially nice for scanning my comic strip. \u00a0I simply lay the strip on a flat surface and slowly pass the scanner over it. \u00a0Done. \u00a0Fair warning, scanning longer images requires a steady hand and keeping the scanner as straight as possible. \u00a0Otherwise, the scanned image tends to have a it of a bend or distortion.<\/p>\n

But, that’s why we have digital imaging software.<\/p>\n

The big dog on the block is, of course,\u00a0Adobe Photoshop Elements<\/a>\"\". \u00a0This is all \u00a0you’ll need. Adobe now only sells it’s high end version of Adobe Photoshop CC<\/a>\"\"\u00a0as a yearly subscription. \u00a0Most reviews I’ve read have been negative and quite critical of this approach. \u00a0\u00a0But if you can find an earlier version of the high end Photoshop on disc, snap it up.<\/p>\n

You don’t have to stick with Adobe photoshop. \u00a0There’s Corel PaintShop Pro X7 Ultimate<\/a>\"\". \u00a0I’ve used Paint Shop Pro many\u00a0times in the past during my Windows days. \u00a0It’s quite powerful and has an easy to use interface. \u00a0It really is a nice alternative to Photoshop and you\u00a0may even save a few dollars.<\/p>\n

If you’re on a budget and want something that doesn’t cost one cent, then get GIMP<\/a>. \u00a0GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) is the “Photosop” for the Linux platform. \u00a0GIMP comes alredy installed when you install Linux. \u00a0But it is available for Windows and Mac as well. \u00a0It feels and runs just like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro and other digital imaging software. \u00a0It’s 100 percent free and quite powerful. \u00a0There’s also a free online manuals\u00a0to help get you started.<\/a>\u00a0 if you prefer to have a bok in hand, amazon has several. \u00a0The Book of GIMP: A Complete Guide to Nearly Everything<\/a>\u00a0has gotten some great reviews.<\/p>\n

I’m a Linux user and I use GIMP. \u00a0Linx and GIMP are every bit as easy and powerful as Mac\/windows running Photosop. But, it really all comes down to personal preference and of course, the number of dollars you have to spend.<\/p>\n

In future posts, I’ll share how I use some of these programs to create and enhance my cartoons.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a previous post, I discussed some of the tools (pens, pencils, paper, etc.) I use to create my comic features. Today, I’ll discuss some of the digital tools I use in the studio. Since I ‘m still a bit of a traditionalist and draw all my cartoons on paper, I need a way to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1244,9,153,1246,1245,1247],"class_list":["post-7487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-digital-tools","tag-linux","tag-mac","tag-paint-shop-pro","tag-photoshop","tag-scanners"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7487"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7500,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7487\/revisions\/7500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgetoon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}