In this chapter, you will learn these recipes:
Using Symmetry ruler
Making action lines with the Scattered stream line tool
Making action lines with the Dark stream line tool
Adding moods with the Gloom stream line tool
Making rain drops with the Rain stream line tool
Making focus lines with the Scattered stream line tool
Making focus lines with the Dark saturated line tool
Making focus lines with the Dense saturated line tool
Using the Brightness tool
Creating dark flashes with the Burst tool
Rulers are one of the best features of several digital art programs. They allow us to simulate traditional rulers in the digital space, making it easier to draw straight lines or smooth curves. Manga Studio 5 has some special rulers, including focus lines and perspective rulers.
In this book, we're going to cover only the new rulers and line tools that are available in 5.0.5, since all the other rulers were discussed in my other book, Mastering Manga Studio 5, Packt Publishing.
Symmetry is the quality of being made up of exactly the same parts, either facing the other, around an axis. To make a symmetrical drawing, you can draw half the object and then mirror it, or you can use Symmetry ruler!
You will need a sketch of something to mirror, of course! In this recipe, the demonstration will be of this sketch of a robot's head:
The following steps will walk us through the use of Symmetry ruler:
Select the Figure tool. Then, select the Symmetrical ruler subtool, which is under Ruler.
Click and hold the mouse on the drawing; then, drag out a line. This is the line that your drawing will be mirrored about. The dark line shown down the center of the face in the following screenshot is our Symmetrical ruler:
If adjustments need to be made to the ruler placement, select the Object tool under Operation...
If you read comics, you will be familiar with action lines. They show the path of an object in motion. With the Scattered stream line tool and the Dark stream line tool, we can create action lines quickly and have the flexibility to edit them—something that's not available when we draw action lines by hand!
You will need an open file to work in. The size and resolution don't matter. In the following recipe, the demonstration will be on the image shown here, in which we will be adding action lines behind the flying superhero:
The following steps will show you how to use the Scattered stream line tool:
Select the Figure(U) tool from the toolbox. Then, navigate to the Scattered stream line subtool, which is under Stream line.
Click with the mouse at one point on your image. Then, double-click at another point. In the case of the hero image, these points were spaced diagonally and at the width of the character's body...
In addition to the regular Stream line tool, there is also a subtool for a Dark stream line. Let's learn how to use it.
You will need an open file to work in. Again, the size and resolution don't matter. We will continue using the image from the previous recipe as our example.
The following steps will show you how to use the Dark stream line tool:
Select the Figure(U) tool from the toolbox. Then go to Stream line | Dark stream line.
Click on the canvas to create a starting point. Then double-click on another point to create an ending point. Lines will be made by the program according to the currently selected settings.
To make edits to the current stream lines, select the Operation tool and then the Object subtool. Select the stream lines to make them active. Next, select the Stream line subtool again while the existing lines are selected, and then open the Sub Tool Detail palette.
The Dark Stream line tool can be curved...
Almost anyone who reads Manga will recognize the special effect of moods. A character is sad and the background will have vertical lines coming down behind them, usually ending around the shoulders or the middle of the head, depending on the desired look. The Gloom tool makes this effect easy to achieve with just a few clicks.
You will need an open file to work in. Again, the size and resolution don't matter. For this example, I have drawn a down-in-the-dumps character and filled the line art with white on the inside so that the lines won't show through the character, as shown in the following screenshot:
This hand tool makes rain drops fit for a black-and-white or less detailed comic. Like the Scattered stream line and Dark stream line tools, it is easy to use!
The following steps will lead you through the simple process of making rain drops for your illustration:
Select the Figure(U) tool from the toolbox. Then select the Rain subtool, which is under Stream line.
Click on the canvas to create a starting point. Then double-click on another point to make an ending point. Lines will be made by the program according to the currently selected settings.
To make edits to the current lines, select the Operation tool and then the Object subtool. Next, select the stream lines to make them active. Then select the Rain subtool again while the existing lines are selected, and finally open the Sub Tool Detail palette.
Another effect used in a lot of Manga and comics is the focus line. These lines radiate from a central point and can show shock or surprise, indicate an action, or draw the eye.
The following steps will teach you how to use the Scattered saturated line tool:
Select the Figure(U) tool from the toolbox. Then go to Saturated line | Scattered saturated line.
Click on the spot from where you want all the lines to radiate and hold down the mouse button.
While still holding down the mouse button, drag out to form an ellipse around the area to focus on. In the example shown here, the lines will be focused on the character's face:
Release the mouse button to generate the lines.
With this tool, we can make darker, more powerful focus lines in an instant. Instead of a circle, this tool has us placing a curve to show where to focus the lines.
The following steps will teach you how to use the Dark saturated line tool:
Select the Figure(U) tool from the toolbox. Then go to Saturated line| Dark saturated line.
Click with the mouse button to start the curved line.
Continue moving the mouse and clicking to draw the curve. The following is the curve we'll be using for this example. Note that the lines will be stopping before the character's face, where we want the focus to be.
Double-click with the mouse on the final point to end the curve and generate the lines.
What if we need lots and lots of thin focus lines? The Dense saturated line tool is the go-to tool for that job!
The following steps will teach us how to use the Scattered saturated line tool:
Select the Figure(U) tool from the toolbox. Then go to Saturated line | Dense saturated line.
Click on the spot where you want all the lines to radiate from and hold down the mouse button.
While still holding down the mouse button, drag out to form an ellipse around the area to focus on. In the following screenshot, the lines will be focused on the character's face. Because this tool makes such dense lines, I try to go a long way around the area that I want the focus to be on so that it doesn't get obscured by the lines.
Release the mouse button to generate the lines.
The Brightness tool can be used to add a special effect to things such as explosions or bright flashes of light. Use your imagination and you'll find lots of uses for this tool!
The following steps will teach you how to use the Brightness tool:
Select the Figure(U) tool from the toolbox. Then select go to Saturated line | Brightness.
Click on the central point for the brightness effect and then drag out while holding down the mouse button to form an ellipse, as shown in the following screenshot:
Release the mouse button. The brightness lines will be drawn according to the settings of the tool. This screenshot shows the result of the default settings:
For more information on customizing the settings of this tool, see the How it works… section of the Making action lines with the Scattered stream line tool recipe.
Unlike the focus line tools, the Burst tool creates a series of lines emanating from the center point on the inside of an ellipse, instead of the outside.
The following steps will teach you how to use the Brightness tool:
Select the Figure(U) tool from the toolbox. Then go to Saturated line | Burst.
Click on the central point for the brightness effect, and then drag out while holding down the mouse button to form an ellipse, as shown in the screenshot just after step 2 of the previous recipe.
Release the mouse button. The lines will be drawn according to the settings of the tool. The following screenshot shows the result of the default settings:
For more information on customizing the settings of this tool, see the How it works… section of the Making action lines with the Scattered stream line tool recipe.
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