Hello dear friends, in this post I wanted to share with you how to add a manga background to convey emotions, because we all know how important backgrounds are in conveying the desired feeling in a particular scene. Sometimes we draw the right facial expression and the dialogue is engaging, but without a suitable background, the feeling doesn't reach the viewer as we intend.
In this lesson, I will share with you four different ways to add manga backgrounds for emotions within your stories, using direct tools in Clip Studio, or even manually. We know that manga backgrounds are used in many comic and webtoon scenes. .
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The first method: Classical
This is the usual method in traditional manga, and it is the easiest in terms of saving time and effort, and most mangaka use it:
- Open the Clip Studio Paint program.
- We go to the Materials Library via: Window > Material > Manga Backgrounds or from the side panel.
- We choose the drawing that best suits the scene (sadness, tension, shock…) and draw it directly onto the canvas.
- We place the background in a layer below the characters.
- We use the Operation > Object tool to adjust the size of the drawing or to move it left and right.
Thus, we have added effects that express the character's feelings in a quick and effective way. As you can see, we have added a black background that expresses shock.
The second method: Action and emotion lines
Perfectly suited for scenes of anger, surprise, fast action, fighting, or shonen manga:
- From the side menu we go to the Direction section and then select Speed Lines.
- We select the font size from the size list.
- We choose the appropriate effect from among the displayed fonts.
- We add a new layer, then draw the effect on the canvas, and it will appear as quick lines.
These backgrounds give the desired scene the required excitement and action, and are used extensively in attack scenes. Even if the drawing is simple, a strong background takes care of the rest.
The third method: Color effects for webtoon scenes
If you're working on a webtoon and want modern, colorful backgrounds, here's how:
- We go to the Color Pattern section and then to Effect and Pattern Backgrounds.
- For example, we choose the Mist Yellow effect or any other suitable effect depending on the situation.
- We drag the drawing onto the canvas and place it in a layer below the characters.
You'll notice a wide variety of ready-made drawings that express joy, sadness, admiration, mystery, and more. These emotional effects, used in comics, are important for enhancing the scene, especially if the drawing is simple.
Fourth method: Hand-drawn with materials
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This method is designed for those who prefer to add their own personal touch to hand-drawn art:
- We add a new layer and color it a dark color to form a base.
- We select the Sub Tool: Decoration tool and then go to Hatching.
- We choose the brush we want and change its color to white.
- We draw manually in the places we want, such as behind the head, around the body, or at the edges of the scene.
This method gives a natural look to the drawn scenes, whether webtoons or even comics, and is very similar to what we see in traditional hand-drawn comics, when drawing backgrounds of emotions.
This is how we learned in today’s lesson, how to add important drawings and effects to scenes, which reflect the nature of the scene, whether it is a combat, emotional or mysterious scene, and we cannot do without these backgrounds, because they are an essential part of manga and webtoons.
The lesson covered three different styles, ranging from black and white to colored and brush-drawn, including the following:
- The first was using ready-made classic drawings.
- The second method involved using colorful and vibrant drawings.
- The third method was purely manual, which gives you absolute freedom to control the drawing.
Choose from these three methods what suits your webtoon comic drawing style, and don't forget to apply my steps literally, because it is the only way to achieve the same results, even if you use different types with different drawings and colors, there is no harm in that.
I hope you have benefited from this post about backgrounds of emotions, and I will see you in future lessons, God willing.
