| Lettering With Photoshop
Before we delve into this tutorial, I would like to state the obvious and point out that I am the worst letterer ever and therefore the last person you should turn to for instruction in the matter. Also, raster based programs such as Photoshop, GIMP, and so forth, are really not suited for lettering. You really should use a Vector based program such as Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, Corel Draw, or Inkscape. However, if you are not comfortable with Vector programs, then, and only then, should you consider following the instructions outlined in this tutorial.
Open the comic you want to letter and set the Zoom to a percentage you are comfortable with. You can select the Zoom tool by pressing your Z key, or by selecting it on your toolbar. Alternatively, you can enter your desired percentage in the lower left hand corner.
If you have not already done so, set the appropriate image mode. Use Grayscale for black and white comics, RGB for colour.
Create three new layers using the appropriate button on your layers window. If your Layer window is not active, you can bring it up by selecting "Layer" in the Window menu.
This step is optional, but I like to give appropriate names to my layers. The important thing is to remember the order. Text goes on top, then the speech balloon/caption box, then the border. This is because layers work like slides. If, for example, you put your text layer under your speech balloon layer, your speech balloon would cover your text. To name a layer, right-click on it and select "Layer Properties..."
Then enter your desired name in the appropriate field.
Now, with your text layer active, (Look at the Layer Window.) select the Text tool. (Keyboard shortcut: T.) And type your text. If you position your mouse cursor a certain distance from your text cursor, your mouse cursor will turn into the Move tool. (Keybaord shortcut: V.) When the move tool activates, you can move your text while holding down the left mouse button. Alternatively, you can commit the text, (Hit the Enter key on your Number Pad.) and use the move tool, or use the Arrow keys while holding down the Control key.
This is the Text toolbar, from which you set your font size, alignment, anti-alias, and so forth.
Also, highlighting your text and right-clicking on it will reveal some additional options. The Faux Bold and Faux Italics options are self-explanatory...
...And the Warp Text option allows you to, obviously, warp your text. If you wish to do this, select the style from the dropdown menu and adjust it to your liking.
Make your balloon layer active, select the Elliptical Marquee tool, (Keyboard shortcut: M.) and create an oval outline around your text. You can move your outline by placing your cursor inside it, and holding down your left mouse button while you move it. To select a different marquee, (Rectangular, for example.) right-click on the Marquee button on your toolbar. If you wish to make rectangular balloons with rounded corners, simply use the Rectangular Marquee, and when you have drawn your rectangle, go into the Select menu, and select Modify, and then Smooth. In the box that comes up, enter the radius value. (I use 15-20 pixels.) When you use the Marquee and Lasso tools, you should notice an anti-alias option on their toolbars that you can turn on or off. If you plan on printing your comic, turn it off, if it is just for viewing on the web, turn it on.
Now select the Polygonal Lasso tool (Keybaord shortcut: L.) and place the cursor in your marquee outline, hold down your shift key and draw a triangle pointing to the character that is speaking.
Clicking on the foremost block of colour on your toolbar will bring up the colour picker. Set it to the colour you want to fill your speech balloon with. You can press D to set your foreground colour to black, and your background colour to white, and you can press X to switch them.
Selecting "Fill" from the Edit menu will bring up this box. Click OK.
Now make your border layer active. Go into the Select menu, select "Modify" and then "Expand".
Enter the amount of pixels you want to expand your border by.
Bring up the Colour Picker again and set it to the colour you want your border to be. Then select Edit > Fill and hit OK. Another way to create borders for your speech balloons is to right-click on your balloon layer, select Blending Options, select Stroke on the Layer Style menu, and enter your desired values. Note that this eliminates the need for your border layers.
To continue lettering, select your text layer, and create three new layers. Continue until you're done.
When I finish lettering a comic, I save it as a .psd, then I go to Layer > Flatten Image, then I save it as a .png.
To save a Grayscale image as a .png file, go to File > Save For Web and make sure your settings match the ones shown.
To make room for the title and the credits, I open the strip in an image viewer, (I use Irfanview.) copy it, then create a new file (File > New.) in Photoshop. The horizontal strips are 800x280, so I will create a new file with a width of 800 pixels, and a height of 400 pixels. I then paste the image on the blank file, (Press Control and V.) and create two layers. The title goes on one layer, the credits on the other. Then, using the Crop tool, (C.) I crop it as close as I can without cutting off any text. The Crop tool is similar to the Rectangular Marquee. Create your outline, adjust it so that it fits around your image the way you want, and then press the Enter key on your Number Pad. The space that was outside of the outline will be cut off. Then I create a PNG copy.
The last step is to optimize your .png file. Instructions for which can be found here.
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