Wait, you used blender for backgrounds too?

I did experiment with it for a project, I did like the results but the visual novel community didn't because "it didn't feel natural enough".

Incorporating 3D into comics can be tricky because if there is a major style disparity, the "active elements" can feel out of place. They'll appear to be pasted on top of a background instead feeling like a part of the environment. In order to integrate Blender, I had to spend a lot of time developing a methodology that results in rendered environments that tightly resemble my hand-drawn linework. The "linework texture adjust" step is crucial for this, because it takes the crisp lines from Blender and adds a texture and roughness that matches my pens pretty closely. Then I take the colors and shading and use them as references for my own watercolors rather than putting them directly into the final work. This further "converts" the render into the comic's overall style.

Fun fact: While the use of Blender may be more obvious for much of the environment on page 16 (https://www.furaffinity.net/view/36263461/), the fireballs were *also* produced in Blender. I designed a matcap shader with a bright center that always faces the camera, and applied it to a series of blobs that I stuck together into a general fireball shape. This created a naturally organic shape that was shaded accurately; I was then able to trace that shape (with some tweaking), add debris, and voila, fireballs. Pretty proud of that~

Neat.

I just try to use the renders as a layout and draw over them, which when I asked for criticism I was told the perspective was too good after being told my free hand perspective was terrible. I just could not win.

Oh, damn neat.

Thanks!

I always wondered about this of your comics or anyone else. 😀

I wish could do things like this (still have a severe "artists block" since 2000) . 😔 When I did draw.... "traditional" way with regular No. 2 pencil/color pencils/crayons/watercolor paint/paper from the local 5 and 10 stores in the neighborhood (it's what me/my twin sister had to make due what our parents could). My family couldn't afford a computer during school (elementary through college) that's how poor we're. 😞🥺

the college was in i didn't get a chance to learn things on the computer..... 😢💔


Thank you for sharing something like this with people like me. 🤗

My pleasure~

For a long time I tried to hide that I use 3D in my work because I thought people would see it as "cheating", but at some point I realized that a tool is a tool, and people who say that your work is invalid because you use a particular tool are... well, tools. Like people who say that using the "undo" feature aren't good artists—are people who use erasers "cheating" too? It's just silly. What's important is that the end result looks good, and I think it does.

The barrier to entry for stuff like this is getting lower and lower; you should go download Blender (it's free!) and poke around with it. You don't need a blistering computer to use it, you just need patience and a willingness to knuckle down and learn. There are tons of resources out there, so why not give it a looksie? Nothing to lose in giving it a try 😊

That's aggravating. 🙄 I would be so annoyed if someone or some people were to say that to me. 😤

I'll see about it this program. Try to learn "hands on".

I have a question for you from one artist to another. How long does it usually take you do these type of backgrounds ?

Usually it only takes a few hours to get one set up, maybe a little more for a complex background; the more I learn, the faster I go. For example, the books in this particular background went a lot quicker than I expected because I learned how to randomize them automatically, creating a variety of books rapid fire. Knowing how to do basic cloth simulations also helped with the sheets on the bed. The nature of the comic work also means I don’t need to do complex modeling; simple models provide the best results.

While they do take some time to set up, they save a ton more time for scenes where I’ll be doing multiple shots of the same environment, or when I’m dealing with extremely complex environments. It takes far less time to have Blender work out all the various perspectives than to try to work them out myself using traditional two- or three-point perspective methods.

It also saves a ton of time with certain props, like a vehicle we’ll see soon, that otherwise I would have to draw by hand in every panel.

I’ll be doing a full Rangers HQ environment in the near future, as we’re coming up on sequences that will require them. I may share some renders of those environments when they’re competed.

Honestly I wish I’d had this technology a while ago, as it would have enabled much more detailed and interesting backgrounds in scenes that otherwise were just talking heads.