Technical Question

[Steverules]

Jason, long time viewer first time caller. You know I dig your strip. One question, though, how do you do your shading. It almost looks like a zipatone overlay but I know that isn't so with this new fangled age of computers. Please tell your secrets.

[Anywherebuthere]

It's a bit of both actually.

I shade using a seperate greytone layer in photoshop, and then apply a filter to give me a ziptone pattern. I don't use a straight black and white, I'll use a 15% and 80% greytone, as I feel that gives me the best look.

Then I'll use a burn tool to darken as I need. Sometimes it comes out just right, other times it takes a lot of work to get it where I want it.

[Steverules]

Well, it's beautifully done. Your shading gives your strip such a unique style and mood. Here's to hoping you never go to color.

[Anywherebuthere]

Not planning on it. I really like the black and white look.

Even tried some variants of blue and green hues in a monocrome world. It still hides too much line work in my opinion. Not saying my line work is all that, but when I spend so much time trying to get it to look like I want it I feel like it's stupid to hide it behind colors.

[Tangent]

At least until you get syndicated and the Syndicate Soultakers insist you do a full-color Sunday comic.

But then I'm sure you'll come up with off the wall bits for Sunday that have no need for continuity. Or need for as fine a detail.

Hey, we can dream, can't we?

[Anywherebuthere]

If they DO demand full color, I'll switch over to a monochrome style strip with a very minimal color pallet.

Like this:

[Tangent]

Ooooh... looks good! You know, I bet within two months you'd have a dozen other syndicated strips mimicking that color-style.