A page done for practice. It’s probably too late to reboot my old “web comic”, but I dunno. My problem is that I still don’t have a place I’m comfortable publishing online, and I can’t afford to maintain a website. This here is just a blog hosted by WordPress, with a free domain because they were offering those once.

Anyway, I’m posting this as an example of a comic book page drawn on Deleter manga paper, as opposed to the type of bristol board that US comic artists generally use. It’s thinner than board, but still sturdy enough for general use.

The tougher board the US industry uses is required because the physical art would generally get passed around a dozen hands. The penciler, inker and letterer would all have to get their hands on it. It would probably also get kicked around an office by editorial. The manga page, by contrast, is generally produced from start to finish in one room, by a head artist and a varying number of assistants who will be working in the same room, under the artist’s direction.

I’ve started using the Deleter because it’s smaller. My eyes are bad, and my space is limited, so drawing on the typical 11 x 17 inch board for me is rough. The Deleter blueline I’m using is (I think) standard for Japanese pros, and measures a slightly more demure 10 x 14, which makes a big difference on my desk. Blueline for manga is also produced at an even smaller scale for hobbyists.

This is my first full page on Deleter paper. Scroll down for the finished page with digital lettering and zip tone. I’m probably going to give up on zip tone and switch to flat colors, because color work just gets more attention when I post it.