More Manga Clip Art

Just last month, a new Manga Clip Art book was released entitled Manga Females Clip Art. As the second installment to this series of books, this set has improved quite admirably. Most notably, the artwork within is much more cohesive and easier on the eyes overall; not because all the characters are of the fairer sex (though that may be a reason for some of you ;D ); but because as a collection, it has risen above the first Manga Clip Art in terms of drawing style.

Before I go into why I believe this, let me get down to what the book is comprised of. First off, it is in the same format as the original – hardcover, a circular cut-out within the center of the book where the CD containing all the artwork is held, and it contains 128 color pages of tutorials and artwork. It is also available at the same low price of $20 USD.

Gradeschoolers done right.

Though only one artist is involved in this volume, Yishan Li has taken the pains to do a nice mix of manga drawing styles which will sate those of you who prefer to have a variety to work on. Aside from the differing styles Li presents, overall, the quality of her drawings are kept at a high bar so you will not find any gradeschooler-like drawn characters  much to my relief.

Painting the natural way.

The first third of the book instructs readers on the what’s, how’s, and where’s of digital coloring from the materials needed to actual tutorials on coloring in cel shading, airbrushing, and painting (or natural media as they call it) style. What I really like about this first half of the book is how they walk you through into how to create the characters by adjusting, rotating, resizing, and adding layers. How to work with the materials within the book is key and much more important than learning how to color it, however nicely that part of the book is presented, and I must say that it was done in an easy-to-understand manner.

Finishing touches.

In regards to the artwork, they are divided into two sets; characters and everything else (i.e. backgrounds and accessories). The female characters within this book were set in the following fashion styles: contemporary, sci-fi, traditional Asian, traditional European, warrior, child, and kawaii (aka chibi’s). Each “fashion style” features four pages of sample characters that may be made in three drawing styles done by Li. These samples feature a nifty box that shows you exactly which parts were used to make the characters and beside each character is a list of the specific part used. A rather nifty addition for those who want to ape a particular look.

Furries… or monsters?

For such a gender specific book, I think it would have been nice if older women were also available. All the characters within the book can be seen as, at most,  middle-aged and younger but where are the grandmothers? I understand the book is marketed towards the younger generation who are more interested in their own age group or younger but I find it disappointing that the older generation are not represented in some way. If you’re artistically inclined, though,  this wouldn’t be a problem but artistically-challenged individuals will have to make do without the golden girls.

It’s all in the details!

Moving on to backgrounds and accessories, I have one thing to say: bea-u-tiful! I can’t stress that enough! The backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous! The amount of details and the composition of the backgrounds are downright fantastic. I almost feel like they were taken from photos – they’re that good. With such great backgrounds, I feel sort of put out that there isn’t more though eight is a lot more than what was present in the first Manga Clip Art book. The accessories are just as detailed and I will say that you will  find nothing to criticize (except maybe that the game console Li drew is a PSP when everyone knows that the DS is so much better! ; D ).

Tell that isn’t beautifully done.

There is one downside to what I just said and that is with all the details found in the backgrounds, there are bound to be some things that get missed. Case in point, one particular background had lines that should have been cleaned out. Being an artist myself, things like that bother me as I consider such errors as sloppiness. For those of you who don’t want to fix them or can’t seem to find them, this is not really a problem as the average person who looks at drawings don’t usually look at the details and won’t see these mistakes.

Some of the few “mistakes” I saw.

Last but not least, this book also allows buyers to use the artwork for commercial purposes. For full details on what you can and cannot do with  the assets, check out the license agreement here. All artwork are is PSD format with layers intact and ready for you to manipulate. With that said, with PSD files only available in the CD, that requires you to have a software that can handle it. Though Photoshop would be the best software to use, there are free alternatives like GIMP out there for you, making the art assets open to everyone to use easily.

How to use the book.

For the curious, here is the table of contents and some additional images from the book:
Table of Contents
Introduction
On the Disc

-Digital Manga-
Introduction to Digital Art
Photoshop and Photoshop Elements
Photoshop Tools
Photoshop Brushes
Creating Characters
Choosing Colors
Blocking in Base Colors
Cel Shading
Airbrush Technique
Natural Media

-Characters-
Contemporary [preview]
Sci-fi
Traditional Asian [preview]
Warrior [preview]
Child
Kawaii [preview 1], [preview 2]

-Backgrounds and Accessories-
In the City
Harbor
City Gardens
European Street Scene
Traditional Japanese Garden
Traditional Japanese Building
Traditional European Town
City Shopping District
Accessories
Putting it All Together
License Agreement

Book Review Fixes and So On

I found the images for the Manga Clip Art book review! With that done, I will soon be posting up a review for the recently released follow-up book called Manga Females Clip Art (as seen below). Stay tuned!

Book Review Images Back Up… Partly

I’ve brought back the images for the 500 Manga Characters book review post. The unfortunate news is that I can’t seem to find the images for my review on Manga Clip Art. I’ll look again… I probably have it saved up in one of my DVD backups or external hard drive. In the meantime, I should be posting up my review on Manga Females Clip Art soon so stay tuned! : )

I’m Back!

Anyone miss me? …On second thought, don’t answer that! >_<

That past month or so, I have been working on something else which I am finishing up. For those curious about what exactly it is, it has to do with my other site called Ren’ai Games. The latest post there will tell you what I’ve been doing. Well, with that project winding down, I’m here to pick up the pieces on RFGA once more and I must say, I’m pretty revved up on moving RFGA forward again.

Let’s see, what exactly will I be doing next month…?

First off, I will be doing a review of a new book release called Manga Females Clip Art, which is a follow up to a  previously reviewed book; Manga Clip Art. So far, it is in the same format as the prior book though the artists are different and in my opinion, much better in quality overall than in Manga Clip Art. Speaking of Manga Clip Art, I have to go back and re-link the images in the reviews I did. I’ll inform you guys when those are back up.

Second, I will be redoing the overall design of RFGA. Right now I have a free template I’m using which, though nice, I would prefer making a custom look and feel to the site.

Lastly, I will be continuing my efforts on Alys.

There are some other things but I’ll keep mum on them until I’m 100% positive I’ll go ahead with the ideas. Well, it’s good to be back and I’ll see you all soon.

Change In Affiliate Terms

I will be changing the affiliate terms a bit, specifically the bit about the Paypal transaction fee. I don’t know what I will decide in the end but it’s one of the following:

a) absorb the full cost of the transaction fee so all affiliates will have a true 90-10 earning/commission rate (or whatever the commission rate is agreed upon at the moment)
b) split the transaction fee to either…
1) affiliates will take up the 2% and I take the $0.30 fee
2) affiliates take 1% and I take the other 1% + $0.30 fee
3) split the cost 50/50 depending on the final total of the Paypal fee

I think the easiest all around would be A because there are a lot of situations in the B examples that can get a bit dicey and complicated. For example, what if a customer bought from various affiliates at one time? Why should all the affiliates get charged the Paypal fee? Talk about a headache!

Hrmm… I’ll think about it some more. :\

Carpal Tunnel

No, I don’t have it but lately my right arm has been feeling a bit stiff at times after doing some work for RFGA. So, in an effort to prevent it from becoming a full blown problem, I got myself a nice brace. It’s nice and soft, has memory foam, extends from the hand and past the wrist, it’s under $20, and the color is much better than the stark black or bright blue that’s out there in the market. I just got it recently so I’m not as used to working with it on just yet but it shouldn’t be a problem I think.

So, anyone else have carpal tunnel or are seeing signs of it?

RFGA News Update

Hey everyone! It’s been awhile since I posted any news-worthy information for you guys so here’s what’s been happening:

1) In-House Affiliation is almost ready. I haven’t tested posting up products but sign-up and log-in to the account works well. I have no reason to think that posting up products will not work but who knows? Better know 100% before making the service live, right?

2) I redid all the hair styles to fit well with the redone faces. Most are fairly the same with one that I redid one side of quite a bit. All I have to do now is repack and update the zip files.

3) I’ve set up a forum, mainly for any affiliates who have joined or those interested in finding out more information than available at the front pages. I created it recently and haven’t had a chance to build it up more than making a general discussion category and a brief hello post. Feel free to drop by though and suggestions are more than welcome. :)

4) Site maintenance is done. It was, as I said briefly last week, in an effort to make a certain service work correctly at the site. Specifically, it’s basically a points system. For every dollar you spend, you get points back which you can redeem at a later date and will not expire, ever. I plan on using this as an incentive in general and hey, it’s a nice little thing to have specially if I do special sales like double/triple points or more during certain times of the year (…like Valentines? ;D )

Well, those are the major news. There are some other things like the Alys Avatar face features but I’ll talk about those once I’m done with the hair. Till next time!

Still Tickin’

Hi everyone! I haven’t made that many posts for the past week or so and I’m posting now just to let you know I’m still here and no, I haven’t forgotten about RFGA.

If you’ve been to the site, it’s under some site management. In more detail, I’m getting one of the features in the site fixed. Don’t know how long it’ll take but for now, orders are not going to go through.

I’ll talk about what I’ve been up to later this week or next week. Later! : )

RFGA Affiliation Terms

Hello! Yesterday, I talked about the affiliation terms at Royalty Free Game Art. You can read the completed version here.

I’ve made it so it’s easy to read through and I think I’ve pretty much covered everything that needs to be covered. If there’s something I’m missing or you have a question about, drop me a line or post a comment.

Regarding the rate, it will initally be 90-10 in the artist’s favor for those who sign up. After several months, I will change the sign-up rate to 80-20 and then eventually 70-30 for all new affiliates. In other words, early adopters will get the better rate so keep your eyes peeled here or at RFGA. ; )

What’s My Next Move?

For those wondering what I’m up to next in regards to Royalty Free Game Art, here’s what I am currently working on or will be working on:

1. In-house affiliate system
2. Alys Avatar Hair tweaking
3. Alys Avatar nose, mouth, and ears
4. More image samples for current Alys Avatar items

I haven’t forgotten about the affiliate system. I am currently working on this one alongside doing number 3 on the list. It’s rather complicated so I’m going to take my time setting this up. I’ve basically decided on the affiliation terms which I’ll post later this week for you guys to take a look at. Later!