Templates » Illcraft

Pro Comic and Manga Template

Apr 012008

UPDATED WITH MODIFIED TEMPLATE ON APRIL 3, 2008. THIS VERSION IS COMPATIBLE WITH ALL ILLUSTRATOR CS PROGRAMS.

Download the Template here…(make sure you RIGHT CLICK and SAVE AS) then load it into your templates folder to use. Comic and Manga Template

This is a Template for creating comic and manga art in Adobe Illustrator.

It’s preloaded with standard American comic and manga sizes like…

American standard
American standard Double Page Spread
American Standard DPS on one page

TokyoPop standard
TokyoPop standard 1.5 x up
TokyoPop standard 2 x up

TokyoPop standard DPS
TokyoPop standard 1.5 x up DPS
TokyoPop standard 2 x up DPS

I’ve also loaded this document with a bunch of cool brushes that are all color-coded with a directory for what each color brush does.

The brushes are colored in the brush menu but can be assigned a new color when in use. I noticed it’s hard to keep track of dozens of black brush icons so I created the color code.

The page is set to 11″x 17″ dimensions but you can easily change the crop marks.

This document is set for use in Adobe CS3, but I’m sure you can use it in earlier versions.

If you load this document as a User Defined Brush Pallette you can use all the brushes in other documents.

This is version 1. I’m sure you may find errors in the brushes or typos, if you do please write me and let me know. I’ll fix them up as soon as possible.

Let me know what you think!

Take care,
Brian Denham

EDIT–
Some of the brushes used in this document were taken from the web. I’ve included a few of several different people’s free brush palettes but they have a lot more to offer if you visit their sites. I didn’t include whole palette’s just the best of the best for what I liked.

JOE WEBSTER–JW INK BRUSHES
First up is Joe Webster who has some awesome comic style inking brushes. Be sure to adjust your stroke to change the look. I like using a very low stroke of his detail brushes. Here’s where you can find out more about Joe, his awesome art, and cool tutorials and brushes…
[link]

PAGE TEMPLATE

Basics 8 Responses »

Jul 142005

Let’s get started! You will need to create a new file. To do this go into FILE>NEW and this will open the dialogue box you see to the right.

Rename the new document as I have it here, Comic_Page_Template or another exciting title you provide on your own.

I have the settings set to pixel for any international viewers of this page who decide not to use the Inches menu.

Pixel is understood the world over.

Once your document is open make one layer that you will keep on the bottom. Draw 3 boxes as I have done in this picture at these exact sizes. You can use the MARQUEE TOOL to create the shapes. Once you select Marquee just click once in the center of your picture. Another dialogue will open and you can type in the exact dimensions of your boxes.

It beats trying to do it manually. That’ll drive you crazy!

Here are the exact dimensions I use for my page template. The RED BOX is the TRIM area once your art is printed. Anything between RED and BLUE may be cut off during printing.

The blue are will contain your artwork. The inner GREEN box is a lettering guide. No lettering should go outside of this box. It will look very unprofessional if it does.

Click on my image of the page template and it will open a bigger image. Save that one to your computer and place it in Illustrator and you can see if your lines line up with mine.

I keep 2 layers in my LAYER PALETTE with these guides. One is one the very bottom at all times. The other is on the very top. All of my artwork is contained on LAYERS between these 2 layers as I draw. Once I know that my art is within these guidelines I will delete those layers and continue finishing my art.

Always delete them before printing your image or sending your work to your publisher. You don’t want a green box showing up over your beautiful artwork.

Draw Comics With Illustrator

I had hand surgery in 2000 and it made it very difficult and painful to draw on paper. After getting out of comics and having my dreams dashed I was given a second chance at art with a graphics tablet. I taught myself how to use Illustrator to draw comics. If it wasn't for Wacom and Illustrator I may never have drawn comics again.

If this is your first time here please start reading from the beginning. It will help you get an understanding of this amazing program. Hopefully you will find it useful. Please read the comments sections of each post. There is a lot of good info there.

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