ANDREW CHIU Illustrator & Comic Book Artist
[email protected]
Tel: UK 07753790102
  • Home
  • Portfolio
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Instagram
  • Contact

Microsoft Surface Pro and Manga Studio 5

23/7/2013

3 Comments

 
I recently made changes to some key aspects of my illustration workflow to improve productivity and creativity. Although I still rely on traditional pencil and paper for roughs and doodling concepts, the majority of my illustration output is now produced digitally. Here's an illustration I've produced of Judge Anderson from the pages of 2000 AD using Microsoft Surface Pro table (hardware) and Manga Studio 5 (software): review
Judge Anderson, 2000 AD
Below is a snapshot of my work area, and the number 86 bus from Chorlton to Manchester!  On the desk to the left is my sketchpad sitting on top of the lightbox where I do most of my initial drawing.  In the middle is an Acer laptop, Wacom tablet and Dell matt screen monitor, mainly used for final artwork edits and where I do all my colouring. work.  To the right of that is the Surface Pro which I use with a separate keyboard and stylus to produce the black and white artwork. 
Picture
I'll provide a more detailed breakdown of my working process at a later date, but briefly in this example I found some ref and then did a very rough pencil drawing, tweaked it in photoshop and printed it out on photocopy paper.  I then turn the paper over facedown and placed it on the lightbox so that when it's switched on I am able to see the image come through from the underside.   A detailed pencil drawing is then completed on the blank side of the photocopy paper like so:
Picture
The pencil drawing is scanned into the computer, enlarged to 150%, and loaded into Manga Studio where I work at a resolution of 400dpi. The layout/user interface on the latest version of Manga Studio is not dissimilar to photoshop, which is a good thing as the learning curve is minimal, but the great advantage is that it is set up with tools that enhance the workflow for a comic artist or illustrator.  The price is ridiculously good value for a professional standard piece of software, and many an artist will find it has enough of a toolset not to need to upgrade to the high end edition.

Back to the illustration - I reduce the opacity of the pencil image until I can see just faint lines and then work over it on a separate layer using the standard inking brush in Manga Studio.  The Surface Pro is pressure sensitive so I'm able to draw directly onto the screen using a stylus, which is much more intuitive than using a separate tablet.  I choose to work on a vector layer rather than a raster layer because of the added editing controls available, although the real world feel is dampened.  As you can see below, from there it is pretty much a case of drawing in the lines and filling in the black areas and, before you know it, the illustration is finished. Well done me.
Picture
3 Comments

Cup Glory - Football Factor Children's Book

19/7/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Here is the final cover to the Football Factor children's book series I've been illustrating.  It's listed over on Amazon with a publication date of November 2013.  When the series is completed, I'll have illustrated 6 covers and 156 pages worth of football action - I should be finished in time for the start of the new football season!   Details of all the titles can be found here.

I would've liked to have made Sheldon's (the fictional football team) strip resemble more Manchester United than Arsenal, but as the interior artwork is in black and white/greytones, I felt the contrast in tones between the sleeves and the body worked better resembling the Arsenal shirt design.  On the covers which are in colour, I didn't have the stomach to then change the strip from red to blue!

0 Comments

Private Commissions - Comic Book Covers

4/7/2013

0 Comments

 
I've managed to complete a couple of private commissions in between children's book work recently. I was approached by a couple of clients who wanted me to recreate a Batman and Superman comic book cover featuring their friends and family.  With the assistance of Jack Davies providing the colouring on the Superman Cover, here are the illustrations I came up with (images slightly edited for purposes of anonymity):
Superhero Comic Cover Commission
Superhero Comic Book Commission
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Illustrator Manchester UK

    Author Manchester

    Andrew Chiu is a UK based illustrator working in comics and children's books, concept art, editorial, as a storyboard artist and visualiser, and any other area of illustration that will have him. All images on this blog are copyright of the publishers unless otherwise stated.

    Contact Details

    T: +44 (0)7753790102
    E: [email protected]
    Twitter: @AndrewChiu1
    Tweets by @AndrewChiu1

    Archives

    December 2018
    October 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    May 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    July 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    2000 Ad
    Advocate Art Agency
    Alan Durant
    Andrew Feinstein
    Animation
    Ant And Dec
    App
    Bbc
    Benchmark Publishing
    CD Artwork
    Children's Book
    Concept Art
    Custom Comics
    De Agostini
    Doctor Who
    Ferg Handley
    Football Factor
    Franklin Watts
    Futurequake
    Gamification
    Hachette Books
    Heinemann Library
    ITV
    Jazz Mino
    John Freeman
    John Mccrea
    Jonathan Kendrick
    Jonny Zucker
    Kris Carter
    Learning Media
    Lou Scannon
    Manchester Metropolitan University
    Manchester United
    Manga
    Manga Studio
    Mcgraw Hill
    Microsoft Surface Pro
    Misfits From Mobilebed5282f99
    Misfits From Mobilef90728ea60
    Motion Comic
    Nel Yomtov
    New Internationalist
    NHS
    Nitrodigital
    Photomontage
    Private Commission
    Raintree
    Reluctant Readers
    Rising Stars
    Rok Comics
    Rok Records
    Saturday Night Takeaway
    Save The Children
    Steampunk Sherlock
    Storyboards
    Strip Magazine
    Superheroes
    Tattoo Design
    Team M.O.B.I.L.E.
    The 2 Steves
    The Deciders
    Walk The Plank
    Wayland Books
    Wayne Rooney
    Wolfhold

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.