Comics I read without fail:
Adventurers!
Avalon
Bob the Angry Flower
Bobbins
Boredom Tastes Like Chocolate
Clan Bob's "The Life of Riley"
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Common Grounds
Dr. Lobster
Elf Life
Exploitation Now
Funny Farm
MegaTokyo
Penny Arcade
Pentasmal
Planet Zarquon
PvP
RPG World
Sinfest
Sluggy Freelance
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The real Bad Boys of Computer Science attend the State University of New York College at Brockport (SUNY-Brockport for short). Here's a picture of me (Nick) in my natural habitat, flanked by my two computers: my beloved iMac and ass-kicking P3. Here's one of Tim inbetween Kazi (left) and me (right) at a casual party. Andy was also there; he's the one wearing the Beavers hat, of course. Here's an awful black-and-white photo of Alison which will be replaced as soon as I get a better picture. Robin finally got off her duff and gave me this nice photo of herself. I don't need to be jealous of their boyfriends because I'm engaged to a damn sexy woman. I'm usually not very photogenic, but here's a cute picture of Su Hoay and me.
Photos from Ali's 21st birthday
Here's the general process I go through for the strip and the materials that I use for each one:
Rough Idea: 5-30 mins.
Paper (anything you can sketch on will do, but try to avoid used toilet paper if possible)
Writing implement (I use a Pentel that Alison covets)
Pad of Post-It notes
Basically, all I do here is draw a rough outline of what I envision the comic to be. This helps later on when I'm drawing the comic for real, as I have a much better sense of layout and the type of expressions and poses I want to use for the final version. I also try to finalize the dialogue at this stage, but it sometimes changes before the final product. Coming up with the idea can sometimes take awhile, so this stage can vary wildly in terms of time. I usually get ideas in spurts, so I always carry Post-It notes upon which I can furiously scribble ideas as I get them.
Black and White Drawing: 10-15 mins
Blank white paper
Adobe Illustrator 7.0
Computer with printer (I usually use one of the school's G4s)
Pentel 0.7 mm automatic pencil
Staedtler 03 and 05 pigment liners
Art gum eraser
I'm too lazy to use a ruler and draw my own frames, so what I do is use Illustrator to draw up some frames and then print them out. I have some standard formats that I use often (like the standard three panels), so I'll print out multiple copies of those. After I have my piece of paper with frames on it, I'm all set to start drawing. First, I use my pencil and draw the strip using the rough sketch as a guide. Then I use my Staedtler pens to ink the strip very carefully. Staedtler pens are an excellent alternative to the perilously messy brushes and inkwells. Their ink also dries very quickly. After the strip is inked, I use my curiously addictive art gum eraser to erase all of the pencil marks. Sometimes I may need to go back over certain places with the pens and touch things up. The art gum eraser also comes in handy during boring classes as you can sculpt it into phallic symbols, throw it at classmates, or use it to pass messages that you write backwards a la silly putty (such as "Tim = sheep rapist").
Color Strip: 10-20 mins
Computer with scanner (flatbed is best)
Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Adobe Illustrator 7.0
Ok, first I scan the inked image in. Make sure you scan it in at increased magnification so that all your lines end up looking nice and neat and not horribly pixellated. I usually do it at around 400%, but it really doesn't matter too much. Now load the image up into Photoshop and start cleaning up the little bits of dust or goop that got scanned in; don't get too carried away with this, because you'll be shrinking the image later, so it doesn't have to be perfect as some details will disappear upon shrinking. Change the image to RGB format so that you can start coloring and be able to save it as a .jpg when you're done. I first use the Fill tool to get all my colors down. Then I use the Airbrush tool set at Multiply and low pressure to add my shadows (Remember your light source!). If I want to do a glare, I set the Airbrush to Normal and turn up the nozzle pressure. I've found that Soft Light does a good glow from a TV or computer screen. I'm too lazy to use the Airbrush to add highlights to hair, lips, or skin, but this can certainly be done if you want to be more detailed. After I'm done using the Airbrush, I make sure I don't want to modify the art anymore or add any other special effects, then I shrink the image down to the final size I want. I then load the .psd file up in Illustrator to add the dialogue. I find that it's easier to manipulate and visualize the dialogue in Illustrator, but you could certainly do it in Photoshop. After I finish with the snappy banter and slap on a date and copyright, I export the file as a .psd and open it back up in Photoshop. I then add dialogue lines so you can see who is saying what. I originally fooled around with word balloons in Illustrator, but I didn't think they fit in the strip since I have such an angular style of art, so I discontinued their use. After I'm sure I'm done with everything I possibly need to do, I save the image as a .jpg (usually set on 7 or 8 because I prefer higher quality images).
Uploading: 5 mins
Computer
Notepad or Simple Text (depending on whether I'm on a PC or Mac)
Leech FTP or Fetch 3.03 (again, depending on OS)
For whatever sadomasochistic reason, I like using text editors to do web pages. I know it's really passe to write your own HTML and do everything by hand nowadays, but I just like the feel of doing everything by myself. Yes, I have been accused of being a control freak often. I have Macromedia's Dreamweaver, but I just don't use it unless I want a site to look super professional. The internet development tool that I really love to play with is Flash. You can view my results with Flash at the HotZP High Bandwidth Site. Basically, all I do in this stage is upload the latest .jpg and update the archives and index, pretty cut and dried. I usually do this around 11:00 PM EST and I'll log onto IRC's dal.net channel #webcomics (though lately I've been hanging out in #crfh as the crowd tends to be a bit friendlier) to converse with my fellow e-cartoonists and let them know the site has been updated.
Total time on overall process: 30-70 mins
Total time you take looking at the site: 30 seconds
Bastards.
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