What is your graphic novel technical process?
Well, even thought you only mentioned drawing and inking, I think you should also consider other points when you are the graphic artist for a novel:1) I sketch a storyboard per page, to have a notion of which actions will appear in each pane of the comic. If I find that some of the narrative sent by the writer will not fit the panes that he stated in the script, this is the perfect time to write back and suggest changes, within days of receiving the script.It also lets me plan the volume of the dialog balloons, as some writers love to stuff a page of text in each pane, and sometimes that is not feasible to draw.2) I make very simple plans of the locations where the action will develop. I sketch them or even draw them in a 3D software so I can also have perpective aid drawing some details. This will let me...3) Prepare the camera sequence, where I will "place the imaginary cameras", where am I going to draw the action from. Will it be a zoom in from outside a barn? Or maybe an extreme closeup of the eye? Sometimes writers already include this vision and save you a lot of work, but some writers do not explain the camera angles perfectly and you need to plan. 4) Ok! Now after sketches are done and all camera angles set, and the action defined, I start drawing the comic itself, with pencils, on Letter or A4 paper, or double the size if the pay is good and I need top-of the line quality for the drawings. 5) I scan my pencils, already well traced and erasing all the excess of lines. I do all my inking process using Photoshop. 6) I prepare a layer with a single color to plan the whole character and temperature of the scene. This way I do not jump from one color to another, unless the intention obviously is doing something extremely colorful.7) I select the different objects using Photoshop lasso tool and apply solid color to them. 8) I create two layers, one for shadows and another one for lights, and I start applying gradients to each object, selecting the solid colors using the wand tool. I have to clarify, this is the fastest process to color a page QUICKLY. You can use any other process, specially if you use traditional media like watercolors. 9) I add at the end the text balloons, white and black lines, sound effects, and blurs or other effects using different filters. I also color some of the inks in the case I want a softer, not so defined effect.Good luck!
My English is very poor. What can I do?
Dear Friend, This answer is going to be a bit analytical and uplifting. So, let's start with something very surprising.“ Everybody knows English. A lot of English... No Matter what!”So, what's different is of course… our size of vocabulary, capacity to hold conversations, ability to use it for a variety of applicable areas… and so on.Still Surprised? Don't be, yet!NOWLet's examine a normal day in our life and how penetrated English is in all of it:Get… Set… Go!AlarmPhoneTimeSnooze(Tooth)BrushToothpasteShampooTrimmer(Hair) BrushHair DryerMake-upTiffinBusCabDriverTicket“Change”StopSignalTrafficElevator/LiftFloorSchoolOfficeClassDesk/CabinTeacherBossMeetingNotesSyllabusWorkflowTaskAssignmentScheduleTimetableClientLoginLogoutAttendanceParkingLateComputerPenPaper“Leave”LunchCanteenCoffeePlate…. Enough is enough!English follows you…even haunts… no matter where you go!So, What's your point, Ahmed?Well, it's very simple and this:You… I… All of us… already know A Lot of English. An awful lot, I might add.Ok, ok… Agreed! What's next?Next is even simpler.Try to focus on two important things:Integrate more and more English into your life and lifestyleSlowly but steadily, shift the focus from our native language to English. Because, as a matter of fact, 60–70% of our daily thinking AND conversation is pure English!Now. . .A Digital Solution to DigiFans:YouTube is now full of short-films, Web series, and even many Episode ‘thing’.No matter what the parent language of such videos, every 3rd sentence, on average ,is in natural English.And, by the way, who wouldn't want to like our Mithila Palkar from Girl in the City?Anyway, a few such Youtube Names:Shitty Ideas Trending (SIT)Girl in The CityMensutra, the “Bang On” Channel!Sandeep Maheshwari.. sessions… and many more. . .subject to search!My Point:English is already integrated into our system of life and society in a great way. All we have to do now is … conciously and deliberately look for areas to expand it so that we become more and more comfortable with all of it.That way, the Weak-English become Strong-English…and Stronger become the Excellent-English… as simple as that!I earnestly request my readers to try this Methodology for a while and the result will definitely take care of itself.-Ahmed, The Curious Being.
What are some good short stories between 150 - 200 words starting with the line, "I saw a small boy standing in the woods and crying "?
I saw a small boy standing in the woods and crying. His dear tree had been felled. He was inconsolable. For that little boy it was not just a tree. It was like a friend he would rush to everyday after school, a friend who would hide him from those nasty bullies, a friend who always had sweet fruits for him, and a friend who would wrap him in a warm embrace and put him to sleep. “This is murder”, he screamed as I tried to console him. He said he would avenge the murder, he kept saying he would. I had then laughed at his innocence and dismissed it as a childish whim. But today thirty years later as I sit in the audience and listen to the same little boy, now all grown up speak about conservation of environment I know he still remembers his tree, his friend. As the audience broke into a thunderous applause after his speech, I felt he had now avenged his dear friend.