Webcom lettering question

[Jerks Comics]

Hello all,

Long time viewer, first time poster. Cheers! I am a web cartoonist with a question towards bettering my craft. Figured here would be a good place to ask. I am a crummy letterer, and want to start a project that will be very text heavy. Doing letters by hand won't be an option. However, all drawings will be with pencil and ink, and I need an attractive and efficient way to add digital text to the scans of the drawings. My first thought was Photoshop, but maybe more experienced comic-ers have some better advice from experience?

Any help appreciated.

Aside: I believe I have not violated Rule 30, because I've not mentioned my webcom in the post. If I have crossed any line, it was not in bad faith!

[Kimra]

You have squeezed past the rule safely, but please introduce yourself. Also, my best suggestion would be go and create your own font. That could work but might be a bit of a challenge at first. Just don't use comic-sans.

Also, we read a webcomic we don't all make webcomics.

[Jerks Comics]

Hi Kimra - thanks for the response!

Sorry about the no-introduce. My name is Sterling, and I've been running a Sunday web comic for just over a year now (although I've been doing comics on and off for a decade privately and in my universities' student newspapers). I'm still in the early stages of developing my webcom and net presence, though. I've just left my twenties behind me this year, have a bit of world travel, a graduate degree in Existentialism, and I dig continental philosophy, computers, saltwater aquarium-ing, reading about law, Xbox Live and Halo, ummmmm....and webcoms and SMBC of course!

While I figured not everyone here is a webcom artist, I also figured someone would have some solid input. And your suggestion about custom fonts proved me right - thanks!

Nice to meet you,

[sotic]

If you do wind up making a font face, there's a nice guide here: http://ilovetypography.com/2007/10/22/s ... nt-part-1/

For typesetting text on a page, if I recall correctly there's a somewhat-related tutorial thing in the Extras section of http://www.thepunchlineismachismo.com/ but the site's down right now.

[In Jam]

Use MS Paint, very easy to use interface and lots of bright colours to choose from.

***/*****

[Lethal Interjection]

Aside: I believe I have not violated Rule 30, because I've not mentioned my webcom in the post.

Ooooops.

[In Jam]

He has a webcomic? There was no way to know!

[sotic]

Site is back up again. The aforementioned tutorial is here http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/image ... torial.jpg

This artist lays down the text over the sketch, then inks/colours it, leaving the text bubbles for last.

[Jerks Comics]

Haha thank you all for your replies! They will be very useful. Further, I do appreciate some of your logical jabs at the inherent contradiction in my post - I am aware, per Rule 12, "we all read [SMBC] and thus have a bent sense of humor." Thanks again, and nice to be on board (~pun~) - Cheers!

[DonRetrasado]

I'm not too sure about this.

[Jerks Comics]

Hello Mr. DonRetrasado,

How are you? Have you ever watched Terry Jones' "The Hidden History of Rome?" Good stuff, available on Netflix streaming. Good stuff I'm enjoying right now. What's not to be sure about?

Nice to meet you,

[DonRetrasado]

You're making me kind of uncomfortable, Sterling Lambert.

[Lethal Interjection]

Seconded.

[In Jam]

Dear Sterling Lambert,

I am writing to inform you that not every post must be in the format of a letter.

Your pal, In Jam

[Jiro]

I thought we were invisible until we posted in that one thread. Anyway, his knowledge of the rules is impressive. I gave them a cursory glance and then decided it was too much reading. My attention span isn't all th