Adobe Illustrator or similar programs.

[CrazyMobius]

Hi there,
I am wanting to get into doing some "clean" graphic style artwork. Is illustrator the best for this? Or can manga studio do a similar type of thing? Or are there any other programs that would be suitable?

Thanks.

[underwearhero]

as far as i know, illustrator is mostly used for vector. So ms might be the better option.

[Electronick]

Illustrator will give you good control over your shapes in case you need to make adjustments down the road, but you don't get that "direct interaction" feeling you get with pixel based art programs. It's all about how you prefer to work.

[Inkthinker]

Manga Studio does have vector tools. Illustrator is probably the most industry-common program for vector production art.

[CrazyMobius]

After having a look online it seems Illustrator's "Live Trace" does still lose some line integrity. For now I think I might just concentrate on my inking skills.

Thanks for the advice though guys.

[Wassy]

Illustrator is handy if you don't know how to draw. If you know, its a little counterintuitive.

[CrazyMobius]

Illustrator is handy if you don't know how to draw. If you know, its a little counterintuitive.

What do you mean? Adobe Illustrator is used by thousands of professional illustrators and graphic designers.

[Wassy]

Yeah, but it sort of like... streamlines a lot of drawing processes. If that makes any sense.

I like Illustrator for text, but not much else. I've talked to several artists about it, and it comes down to it will do things for you if drawing is not your strong suit... but if it is, you have a steeper learning curve with the software.

[CrazyMobius]

Yeah, but it sort of like... streamlines a lot of drawing processes. If that makes any sense.

I like Illustrator for text, but not much else. I've talked to several artists about it, and it comes down to it will do things for you if drawing is not your strong suit... but if it is, you have a steeper learning curve with the software.

You use it to convert your own drawings to vector rather than raster images. What's this learning curve you're talking about?

[dfbovey]

Drawing in Illustrator is a lot less intuitive than other illustration and drawing programs. It's a completely different way of thinking compared to traditional tools or programs that mimic traditional tools. It's not just used for vector conversion.

[Wassy]

Oh, heck yeah. I'm talking about it in the "making images from scratch" sense, not the converting sense. I've never used it for converting drawing I've already made.

[dfbovey]

It wouldn't do to well with detailed styles. Pretty terrible actually. Works well with cartoony styles though. Drawing cartoony styles from scratch in Illustrator also works decently.

CrazyD, check out this video. Shows how different drawing in Illustrator is. It's something that may actually work well for your style.

[CrazyMobius]

Oh, heck yeah. I'm talking about it in the "making images from scratch" sense, not the converting sense. I've never used it for converting drawing I've already made.

Ah I get you now. Yeah drawing outright in illustrator is a bit of a pain.

[CrazyMobius]

It wouldn't do to well with detailed styles. Pretty terrible actually. Works well with cartoony styles though. Drawing cartoony styles from scratch in Illustrator also works decently.

CrazyD, check out this video. Shows how different drawing in Illustrator is. It's something that may actually work well for your style.

Thanks Bovey. Will have a look.

[Jim]

Simply put, it's not drawing, or indeed 'illustration' software, despite the name. As a graphic designer, I only ever open it to work on logos -- Photoshop and Indesign cover 90% of the workload. Illustrator is a weird little program with few unique capabilities.