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raluca-z — Typesetting guide for a BD
Published: 2009-02-12 22:18:05 +0000 UTC; Views: 10299; Favourites: 288; Downloads: 234
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Description
Because the way text looks is important as wellRelated content
Comments: 21
I'm just a newcomer looking to get into something like this. Didn't expect so much to go into it, but I guess it makes sense. It's really a very good tutorial, the only reason some of the things seemed alien to me is because I'm 100% new to this.
Don't suppose you have one for newbies, eh? Ah, kidding. A really good tutorial overall, but I just kinda... can't grasp it. I blame it on inexperience.
Sorry if this wasn't the type of comment you were looking for xD
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I really hope that you do one for SFX. Question, can you still do this even with traditional art?
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Doing typesetting/Lettering the traditional way or doing SFX traditionally?
Lettering, I can't do by hand, SFX, yes. All of them are traditionally done. I think I does give you a something special in your art.
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Thanks for the clarification.
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Very useful indeed! I mean, it doesn't look hard to make text look right because it's just goddamn text, but little screw ups here and there makes it really disapointing and amateur looking.
Also, there is something I wanted to ask you:
I've been told that because we non-asians write from left to right and not up to down, speech bubbles should be placed horizontally and not vertically. I understand and could agree, but I feel it just doesn't get the look we are used to in manga, even on scanlations... what is your opinion about this?
Also, I've been told to avoid right to left orientations on panels (manga way of reading) but I guess this part I totally refused because I am too used to it...
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I have no problem working left-to-right and right-to-left page layouts. I've worked both and once you get used to the direction of reading is very difficult to screw up or to have doubts about what pannel/bubble comes first. It's true that in a pannel bubbles are read in a horizontal order in non-asian comics but, unless you clutter a pannel with too many speech bubbles at a time, it's not that relevant. The reader will figure out what to read first and then second.
For example (since I used to do scanlations too), I definitely hate extremely elongated bubbles that would correspond to a single vertical file of asian characters. That in typesetting terms is murder. I would try to avoid creating such bubbles especially if non-asian. Creating them just for the "looking manga-ish" is stupid, in my opinion.
A page looking what "we are used to" is an entirely subjective matter, depending a lot on what type of manga you're used to reading. Shoujo has a certain way of panneling and making bubbles, shonen yet another...It really depends, so I'd say that when it looks as you intended it to look then it looks good. When you feel there's something off but you don't know exactely what, then probably something is missing and you should look into it.
Avoiding right-to-left page layouts is not going to make you better at left-to-right panneling. Actually, in my personal opinion, the fact that in the beginning I had to keep reminding me how to read, has made me more self-aware of how eyes are drawn to bubbles on the page and how reading flow happens. This is the same in both directions of reading, regardless.
What I would not recommend is changing reading direction half-way on a story or series. That is bad. Otherwise, if you're set on a way to tell your story go with it. Be coeherent.
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Oh, yeah, styles... horror/action manga, I gotta search for those then!
Ok, ok Thank you very much for your wise advice ^^
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Really helpful. I was wondering about these things, seeing as I'm planning to make my own comic and... that I wanna work as a DTP operator
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Thanks for all the hard work. I'm learning a few things. kinda helps with my Translations study.
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to all the posters below.
Glad to be of help to the community
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Yeah, I spent so much time with scanlator groups learning how they did typesetting.
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OOH! I hope u do consider making a tutorial or a reference sheet for sfx! =3
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Also - don't use the serif I except when talking of the first person singular,
ie, don't use it as you do in showing font samples: "WILD WORDS".
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Mie imi ia mult sa fac un tutorial o,o Incredibil cat de repede termini tu lucrurile!
Indeed, very usefull. Thanks! 8D
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