AAUG Reviews

by Stacey Denton and Zachary Zaletel, AAUG Member

If you’ve messed around with any of the more recent Photoshop programs, then you’ll know how to use Manga Studio EX – at least, the basic features. The program operates on the same layer feature that Photoshop does. Shifting around the layers places drawings above or behind other drawings, and the opacity of different layers can be adjusted. Layers can be placed within folders to organize layers for people or backgrounds within drawings.

The calligraphy brushes are the most unique feature of this program. When drawing with them, they automatically smooth out the strokes, making writing in Japanese and traditional Japanese artwork more authentic in appearance. I would recommend a tablet with a pen to maximize the use of this feature, unless you’re very proficient at drawing with a mouse.

The panel system is initially awkward. The program has built in templates that are shaped like comic book panels. You can swap between a wide variety of choices using a drag and drop feature – I found it unintuitive at first, until I figured out the drag and drop feature. In order to use it more effectively, it is helpful to refer to the guide several times throughout using Manga Studio. Once you have the basics down, drawing within the panels is refreshingly easy to do. The panels automatically cut out whatever part of the drawing goes outside the panel, giving the drawings a clean look.

Much like Photoshop, it is in your best interests to use separate layers for everything. In Manga Studio, having the ability to erase within one layer and not another is invaluable, especially in larger pieces of artwork. When you create a new layer, it gives you the option to make the layer greyscale, black & white, or color. It gives depth to your drawings to use the color scheme feature, and blending the calligraphy brushes with the standard pen tool while switching between color and greyscale is incredibly easy to do.

The reason behind the intuitiveness is the well-laid out toolbars on the side. They’re organized in such a way that everything is easily accessible, and it’s easy to change the order around or add new toolboxes. If you’re doing a drawing with a lot of layers, open up a new layer window. If you constantly need to switch between colors, make the color box more prominent.

I ran into problems when I wanted to do more complicated drawings involving the ruler and the panel system. The program is initially friendly to beginner artists, but anyone who can’t draw (like me) with grand ambitions (like me) is better off getting a guide to help him with the more advanced concepts. Ultimately, the program will most benefit aspiring manga artists that already have a basic concept of a story and who know how to draw. But to anyone who wants to try a Photoshop/comic creator hybrid for the Mac, and who has money to burn (at $300 per copy) I would recommend this program.

Conflict of interest disclosure: Smith Micro Software provided a free copy of Manga Studio EX to us for the purposes of this review.