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Back to Manga Studio?

Back to Manga Studio? published on No Comments on Back to Manga Studio?

Getting tired of the limited options available in Adobe PhotoShop Elements, mostly the lack of tails on speech bubbles. I’m thinking that it might be time to return to Manga Studio. It’s up to version 5, and it has apparently much improved since the previous version, with its obtuse GUI and complete lack of helpful documentation. There are also English-language reference books [something I didn’t encounter for version 4], such as Manga Studio 5 Beginner’s Guide and Manga Studio for Dummies. Hmmmm…Given that I do lots more photostories, doll and digital, than I used to, this may be a sensible investment.

EDIT: Okay, I’m convinced. There were very few tutorials online for Manga Studio 4, but a search quickly turned up hoards for version 5. For example, this tutorial in template creation is not only easy to follow, but it’s also by a fellow online comics artist who was previously using an Adobe product before switching to Manga Studio 5.

My photography setup

My photography setup published on No Comments on My photography setup

Someone on MWD asked what mine was. Since I recently consulted with a Green Mountain Camera employee who came over to my house to give me advice, I have improved my studio based on some of his recommendations. The setup below includes those innovations that I recently incorporated.

 

As for my photography setup… I shoot in a 9×9′ room with a door and one exterior window. Walls are light cream, ceiling white, carpet navy blue. I have a single-panel, black, insulated blackout curtain over the window, and I shoot only with artificial light.

I set things up on an unfinished desk on a white cardboard flat to cover the yellow unfinished desktop. The backdrop is a folding three-panel magnetic screen, covered in canvas, to which I affix various pieces of fabric or paper with neodymium magnets. A pale blue or pale pink sheet of art paper, mounted on cardstock to stiffen it, serves as my green screen.

For light, I have two umbrella lights that are supposed to be the Kelvin of natural sunlight [hah!]. When I say “umbrella lights,” I mean two light bulbs on tripod stands with white umbrellas for shades, the whole rig of which, including stands, bulbs, umbrellas, and carrying case, cost me less than $100.00. Each is set up so that the bulb is about 5′ off the ground and the umbrella is pointing out and away from the desk. Both lights are tilted up so that they shine down on the desk from a bit above, like they are satellite dishes receiving signals from my dolls. :p Each umbrella light points in at a 45-degree angle toward the center of my set.

To set the room up for shots, I use natural light or crappy overhead light to arrange things in the set. Then I turn off the overhead light and shut the shade, making sure that it is tacked to the window frame for better darkness. Then I turn on the two umbrella lights and move them around so that they mostly cancel out the shadows behind figures. I just started with this setup, so I’m not sure if I need more light.

I currently use a Canon EOS 30D 8.2MP Digital SLR with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and no tripod. I have a 60mm macro lens, but I don’t use it as frequently. The camera was used when I got it about 5 years ago, so it is nowhere near the latest and greatest.

Clearly I need to just go into the woods…

Clearly I need to just go into the woods… published on No Comments on Clearly I need to just go into the woods…

…And stand on a path and take some panorama shots. I also need to get some panorama shots of rolling hills.

I say this because my digital backgrounds are sorely lacking. Whenever content creators make mountains, they assume that mountains = jagged, pointy rocks. They never think that mountains = rounded lumps. Thus most of my shots of people out walking don’t really look like they’re walking in the Champlain Valley of Vermont. They look like they’re out west somewhere, and it really distresses me.

Since no one seems willing to make the background images I would like to use, I have to generate them myself:

 

  • Forest [Allen Brook Nature Trail, Tanglewood Trail, trails in Winooski]
  • Rolling hills [somewhere on Route 7 between Shelburne and Middlebury, maybe also along the ridge of the Tanglewood Trail]
  • Reservoir or pond [ideally Indian Brook Reservoir, but could also accept Colchester Pond]

 

 

Ideally I should do shots in all seasons, which means, if I break out the camera soon, I’m just in time for spring…

Genius discovers studio umbrella lighting!

Genius discovers studio umbrella lighting! published on No Comments on Genius discovers studio umbrella lighting!

Well, I didn’t really discover it. I’ve always admired Robing over at Roville for her meticulously crafted interiors and her mastery of clear, even lighting. So finally I asked her what her lighting techniques were. She reported that she used overhead light + 2 inexpensive studio umbrella lights. Clearly I need to acquire some of these, even though I have very little studio space. I’ve been putting up with crappy lighting for as long as I’ve had a camera, and I’m really sick of uneven, washy-outty, dim, supersaturated, etc., etc., etc. shots.

Here is a complete two-light set that’s relatively cheap. I’m considering its purchase.

This tutorial on portrait lighting gives tips on best positions for the umbrella lights.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1656634.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Light box lite

Light box lite published on No Comments on Light box lite

I think I’m going to use some of my self-standing display boards to make a partial light box. I’m going to cut out frames from the side panels and then put white pillowcases in the holes for added light filtering.

For easy reference, here’s a link to the first light box I made.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1522845.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Genius discovers basic DSLR functions!

Genius discovers basic DSLR functions! published on No Comments on Genius discovers basic DSLR functions!

No thanks to the Canon EOS 30D Digital Field Guide I bought to supplement my manual, I finally figured out how to adjust my camera’s shutter speed, which should take care of my long-time bane: washed-out photos.

The Digital Field Guide [an independently produced book] went off on a tangent about the philosophy of shutter speed and what every different mode does, until I eventually wanted to yell, "Just tell me which buttons to push dammit!"

Turns out it’s as easy as hitting the DRIVE ISO button, then turning the main dial on the camera to the left to increase or right to decrease the ISO.

With my new knowledge of autofocus points and ISO control, I’ll be unstoppable!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1506522.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Some shots from my new camera!

Some shots from my new camera! published on No Comments on Some shots from my new camera!

I'm slowly learning how to use my DSLR. Here are some pictures from my second round. I reduced my first round too greatly and had to trash them. From top to bottom, Ellery's desk, Ellery's desk, Ellery's desk, and Jareth.Continue reading Some shots from my new camera!

La la la, using my new camera

La la la, using my new camera published on No Comments on La la la, using my new camera

So I used my new camera this morning and took some awesome closeup shots of my dolls and their accessories, but you can't see them because I haven't figured out how to get them off the camera yet. Things I have learned about my new digital camera:

  1. It is very sensitive to shaking, so I have to hold it very still.
  2. It's also very sensitive to light, and I haven't figured out how to compensate for that.
  3. The greater the number of mm in a lens, the closer it can get to the subject!

New lamp and new photo studio setup

New lamp and new photo studio setup published on No Comments on New lamp and new photo studio setup

I got my new full-spectrum lamp today! Here's my desk with the new setup. Please ignore the piles of 1:3 clothing I have to either get rid of [on left] or dress Janvier Jett in [on right]. I'm preliminarily pleased with the brightness and clarity of the results.Continue reading New lamp and new photo studio setup

Another desk light…for better photos?

Another desk light…for better photos? published on No Comments on Another desk light…for better photos?

Soon winter will be here and, with it, permanent darkness. I won't be able to just frolic outside and take nicely lit photos of my dolls. To that end, I should ensure that my indoor lighting setup in my photo studio — read "on my desk" — produces adequate photos.

I currently have one full-spectrum gooseneck lamp on my desk. I just bought a matching one from LampsUSA for $39.00 including a light bulb and shipping, woo hoo! This will hopefully produce enough light so that I can take reasonable photos when it's dim or dark outdoors.

Photography with flash

Photography with flash published on No Comments on Photography with flash

Taking advantage of the clocks turned back and the early dark, I tried taking some photos of Sarah under my one desk light, no other lights on in the bedroom, and the flash. Amazingly enough, the flash didn’t totally wash out her features. I did some burning and dodging on her eyes in the first picture so you can see what a lovely green they are.Continue reading Photography with flash

Reduce photo blur by using your body to stabilize camera

Reduce photo blur by using your body to stabilize camera published on 1 Comment on Reduce photo blur by using your body to stabilize camera

I found a video, along with a transcription, that gives advice on how to use one’s body to stabilize one’s camera so that one won’t have a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on when one takes photos.

Pet peeve: poor photography

Pet peeve: poor photography published on 1 Comment on Pet peeve: poor photography

Besides poor posing, I really dislike poor doll photography. Like any other visual art, photography has many aspects that one can alter for varying effect: lighting, framing, focus, etc. [No, I don’t know the technical terms.] However, I have, unfortunately, experienced way too many photos where these aspects are altered out of sheer ineptitude, rather than artistic consideration. While we poor amateurs may not be able to take photos as beautiful as those of the masters, we can at least follow some basic rules to make our own works functional:

  • The camera should be focused on the subject. If the subject is a particular doll head, I don’t want to see fine-grained, macro-level detail of the wall just behind the doll. [Here’s a beautiful example in the first panel of Unreal Life 1.5.]
  • Lighting should be appropriate to the subject. Consider that fluorescents make things yellow, and flashes tend to wash out the subject. [And here in Unreal Life 4.6, we can’t even see what’s happening because it’s too damn dark.]
  • The level of blur should be appropriate to the subject. If the dolls are supposed to be running, feel free to move the camera as the shutter is closing. But, if you’re supposedly taking a static shot, blur sabotages all the detail that you’re allegedly capturing. [Unfortunately, all the pictures of Meg’s Onyx that I took at doll club on Saturday were blurry!]

I really can take a decent picture, though, you know!

Camera equipment

Camera equipment published on 1 Comment on Camera equipment

I just got a rechargeable battery for my camera and 2 4 GB memory cards. Since Staples was selling the memory cards for almost half off, I got a backup. Now to charge the battery when I get home…. I should probably get another battery too when I have a bit more money to dispose of. Well, there went my Momoko refund… :p

My new camera: Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS

My new camera: Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS published on 3 Comments on My new camera: Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS

Here is the page on the Kodak Web site for my new camera. I got it with a dock too. I really hope it came with a neck strap and a lens cap, but I can’t tell because I’m at work now, and my camera is at home. I also can’t tell if it came with a rechargeable battery pack, which I hope it did because then I can recharge the batteries on the camera dock. If not, it takes Kodak brand KLIC-8000 Li-Ion rechargeables. Damn proprietary batteries.

So far, this is what I have learned about my camera: Continue reading My new camera: Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS

New camera! Michaela with red hair!

New camera! Michaela with red hair! published on 2 Comments on New camera! Michaela with red hair!

I got a new camera in the mail today, a Kodak EasyShare Z712, refurbished, for <$125.00. I’ve spent the last hour learning its features and swearing at it. Its default pictures have much higher resolution, thus crisper detail, than my old camera. Witness the following picture of Michaela, who now has the red hair appropriate to her character. She’s not finished; she may get a haircut and her neck painted to match her head, but she’s in much better condition now than she was yesterday.

I hope I can work out my puzzlement with my new camera and get to work taking better close-ups.  Continue reading New camera! Michaela with red hair!

Notes on how to take background photos

Notes on how to take background photos published on No Comments on Notes on how to take background photos

I’ve learned a few things while taking outdoor shots for LHF backgrounds:

1. I should NOT use regular AA batteries or regular rechargables for my camera. My camera eats them quickly. Lithium ion ones are the best. Sources say that they last a lot longer.

2. I should not take pictures at night time. Pictures at night time on the street usually have two colors: black and BILIOUSLY YELLOW [from the streetlights].

3. There are four meteorological conditions that provide an acceptable substitute for night time: right around sunrise, right around sunset, cloudy [but not rainy] weather and rainy weather. All of these conditions balance my need for distinguishable detail with my need for a sense of dimness. Anyone who claims that sunrise, sunset, clouds and/or rain make backgrounds that are "too light" for my characters will be summarily ignored.

4. I should not take too many pictures with snow on the ground, since this dates the pictures too obviously in winter. Instead, I should take pictures with bare ground.

5. Pictures with green leaves can successfully signify late spring, summer and early fall. Green leaves have a broad applicability of dates.

6. Pictures with brown, yellow, red or orange leaves successfully signify fall and early winter. Fall leaves tend to date pictures too narrowly.

7. Pictures with no leaves can successfully signify fall, winter and early spring. Pictures with no leaves have a broad applicability of dates.

8. I should avoid taking pictures of people, but sometimes they will get in front of my camera.  Fortunately, if they keep moving, they will blur, so they are easy to anonymize.

9. Pictures should never, ever, ever, EVER be taken inside a business, including one’s workplace, even with permission from the head honchos. Pictures may be taken inside the private homes of friends and family with permission.

10. Pictures at the following locations are best taken early in the week, when crowds aren’t so large: parks, gardens, squares, campuses, malls, stores, sidewalks and streets in general.

11. However, pictures at the following locations are best taken early in the morning on the weekends, when almost no one is there: subway station exteriors, subway station interiors, subway car interiors.

12. Cemeteries are in their own category as far as scheduling photos. The best times to photograph them are on weekdays early in the morning and early in the evening. The heavily trafficked Granary and Kings Chapel cemeteries in Park Street should ideally be shot just after opening or just before closing because, unfortunately, they are locked at night, and, during the day, they attract hordes of tourists.

13. Background shots should be simply framed from simple angles, such as front view, side views from both sides, back view and maybe some three-quarters views. Side views from both sides should be taken so that the characters can have some variety to stand in front of. Background shots are not about artsiness or individual details, but about a sense of place.

14. Background shots should capture the distinguishing feel of a place, but they do not need to be comprehensive. E.g., photos of Central Square do not need to get the Town Hall and the view toward Boston and the aboveground entrances to Central Station and all the bus shelters and the crosswalks and the painted utility covers and all the benches…. Likewise, photos of the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge do not need to cover every single inch of the cemetery.

Notes about lighting my photos

Notes about lighting my photos published on No Comments on Notes about lighting my photos

Now that I have a designated photo studio [= a corner of my desk], I also have designated photo lights. One is a pharmacy lamp with a regular fluorescent bulb in it. The other is a gooseneck lamp with a full-spectrum bulb in it. I have been taking pictures with various combinations of lights and backgrounds. Here are my results:
Continue reading Notes about lighting my photos

Experiments with desktop photo studio

Experiments with desktop photo studio published on 1 Comment on Experiments with desktop photo studio

Tonight I was filming an ep. I accidentally discovered that the colors as seen under my full-spectrum light were more realistic and much less yellow than those seen under fluorescents. Therefore I placed one full-spectrum in front of my subject as shown and then took some example shots.

Conclusions: Full-spectrum light obviates yellow correction in post-production. Full-spectrum also errs on the side of excess blue, but, since most of my characters are cold and dead, I welcome the increase in blue light, which seems thinner and crisper than the thick, yellow, sludgy light.

Also, the crisper the light, the better my photos. My wienie of a camera functions best in full-blown natural light, which is best approximated by full-spectrum bulbs. Ergo, under my full-spectrum experiments tonight, I achieved sharp levels of detail and color more accurate than that under fluorescents.

Also, Will looks incredibly sexy in black.Continue reading Experiments with desktop photo studio

Photo studio on desk and results

Photo studio on desk and results published on 1 Comment on Photo studio on desk and results

I got some new lamps recently and made the following set-up… Below that is a picture of the results, slightly corrected for color and darkness. I’m pleased with the results. With proper lighting, my crappy camera takes crisp photos!
Continue reading Photo studio on desk and results

Better photography I: better lights!

Better photography I: better lights! published on 1 Comment on Better photography I: better lights!

Since the days are growing shorter up here in the North Pole Boston metro area, I cannot depend on natural sunlight to illuminate my photostories, especially if I want to take pictures after work. Therefore, I need artificial lights.Continue reading Better photography I: better lights!

Current camera crappy

Current camera crappy published on No Comments on Current camera crappy

I was reviewing LHF 1.0 and recent eps of LHF done with my crappy digicam. I realized that, while the stories and lay-out hold up well over time, the poor quality of the photos is glaringly obvious. Therefore, I need a new camera. I am now considering the following:

Canon Power Shot S series
Kodak Easy Share Z series 

Basically I’m looking for a camera that takes good pictures in a variety of lights, has stupendous zoom powers, runs on non-proprietary batteries, has image stabilization and costs <$200. 

EDIT: Kodak Z712 is looking attractive right now.

Wow, look at the detail on that dust!!

Wow, look at the detail on that dust!! published on 1 Comment on Wow, look at the detail on that dust!!

Two years ago, I picked up an idea online for how to make a cheap light box. A light box is a device to diffuse light around objects that one is taking pictures of, thus mitigating the effect of crappy amateurish lighting rigs [read: desk bulbs]. Following the guide posted on Strobist, I chopped up a cardboard box and tissue paper to create the following:

http://www.oddpla.net/blog/dolls/misc16/lightbox/IMG_0023.JPG

Then I tried to take some pictures. The light box successfully diffused the light to such a great degree that I achieved accurate, in-focus, highly detailed pictures of the dust on Velvette’s face.

Two photo sessions later, I finally squeezed out a decent shot of my most beautiful doll ever. I’ve also decided that I’ve reached the limits of my camera’s macro capabilities and therefore want a more powerful camera. Some non-yellow lights would be good as well, especially if I’m going to start taking pictures of dolls again.

http://www.oddpla.net/blog/dolls/misc16/lightbox/IMG_0033.JPG

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