These questions were posed to us by students in our Fall 2004 ‘Digital Lettering for Comic Books’ online course through The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD)
Q&A With MCAD Students
Jagged Burst Balloons
How to create jagged or spiked balloons.
Preparing Lettering Files for Output
How to properly create EPS lettering files for print output.
Tattered Captions
How to create rough or tattered looking captions.
Overlapping Balloons
How to connect two balloons around a third and make them overlap properly.
Alternate Characters
Using alternate characters to create a more natural pen-drawn appearance.
The Business of Comics
Advice on working in the comics field.
Font and Character Usage
Tips for finding and using international characters, swear symbols, comic-specific characters, alternate characters and more.
TV Shape Balloon
How to create a squarish ‘TV Shape’ word balloon in Illustrator.
Print Resolution
Tips for generating quality print output.