MASSIVELY HELPFUL!!!! I have a Kickstarter comic that had a successful campaign. Art will be finished in a bit, but it hit me that I have no actual idea how to put this together into a professional looking PDF. Thank you so much for this
Thanks so much! I'm much more proficient in Photoshop than Indesign, so I appreciated seeing your process of bringing in full .psd page layouts. You definitely saved me some learning curve time there. I'm happy to limit the Indesign part of my workflow to just the publishing requirements. Was also fascinated to see that your text was still selectable/editable in Indesign even though it came from the .psd originally. Very cool. Thanks again, so helpful.
This is very helpful, thank you! I have a few questions if you don't mind: 1) How did you make your speech bubbles and text? 2) How do you go about designing the spine of your comic and putting that in InDesign?
You need to know how many pages your book is going to have then get in contact with the printer you are going to use. They will give you the specs or an InDesign template for the cover, spine and Backcover.
Look up the 240% ink limit. Basically, you don’t want your C, Y, M & K colors to ever add up to over 240% at any point, so as to not oversaturate the paper. Also, personally, I try to not go below about 60% down the color picker square. It helps to keep your inks crisp and visible, as well as not oversaturate your colors. Hope that helps!
Hey Scott, great video! I use this message to print out a comic book I make for my significant other every year for our anniversary instead of making her a card! I just had one issue. I don’t want to ask about to see if you might be able to help me figure it out. So I set my comment to print as 6 x 9. Just like yours, there’s a border around the final print. The plan was to make it a saddle stitch, so how do I make it that the booklet is along The Fold line and not in the center of the page? Thanks for the vid!!
This has been a huge help. I generally go through CreateSpace / Kindle to publish my books. What should my gutter be set at, and my margins for a 6 x 9?
I'm glad this has been helpful! Are you talking about column gutters in InDesign? Or panel gutters when setting up your pages? I don't bother setting up column gutters since my pages don't have columns, really. For panel gutters, I'm not sure. It all depends on what kind of look and feel you want. I'd recommend finding a comic at the size you want with panel gutters you think feel right and then just measure them with a ruler. Go old school! haha Hope that helps! If I'm way off, let me know and I'll try to answer your question. :)
@@ScottD I finally got the pages to load into InDesign, but noticed my images are creeping over the pink "safe" area at the top and bottom, so I'll have to redo these pages for the fourth time to make sure they don't get cut off. I'm using Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Acrobat 10. I'm setting the pages at 6.625 x 10.25 which is what KDF / CreateSpace recommends. Its just the panel gutters top, bottom, sides I'm having trouble with. I used CreateSpace's 6x9 template three years ago to set up my True Crime book "The Barker-Karpis Gang: An American Crime Family", but doing a graphic novel is a WHOLE lot different, lol. This is my first time trying to use InDesign CS6.
@@Greywolfgrafix The pink safe area that's on the page is arbitrary and set up when you create the document. It doesn't /really/ matter, but is more of a guide for text when designing in InDesign. If you have a printer that requires a certain size, that's one thing, but I would venture to guess it's probably fine. If it's just a little over it, I wouldn't worry about it. You can also change the safe area by adjusting the Margins to match whatever the border is on your comic if you just want to make it look nice! Those can be adjusted in File > Document Setup... > Margins. Hope that helps!
Thank you for the video. Your comic looks amazing. I'm working on my first comic and setting this up in InDesign. Is there a problem if I export my PNG illustrations from Photoshop in RGB and then add them into InDesign? Would that mess up the print? I know that upon exporting, InDesign converts your PDF into CMYK but just wanted to make sure. Thanks! :)
@@ana-marialuca5491 So, it depends. If you’re doing digital printing, you’re probably fine. Lots of digital printers use more colors than CMYK nowadays, so they actually might prefer RGB files, since they can get some rich colors that way. However, if you’re doing a large run where the printer is using actual four color press printing, you’ll absolutely want to export from Photoshop as CMYK. You should make sure to check in Photoshop, too, that you haven’t accidentally selected colors that are out of gamut for CMYK by pressing Cmd(Ctrl on PC)+Y (iirc off the top of my head). If parts of your image turn grey, that means they’re out of gamut and could look bad when printing CMYK. But you never know how stuff will turn out until you get the proof! Hope that helps! Good luck! :)
Great stuff! Glad I found this vid- question though. When making a graphic novel using InDesign, do you need to add in the spine spacing? Or just set up the files like you have here?
You do need to add spine spacing. I usually set up a separate InDesign doc for just the cover. I tell my printer how many pages the book is and ask them how big the spine should be. Then, I make a spread that's three pages wide (instead of two) and have the middle one be the spine length. I do two spreads: one for the outside and one for the inside. Hope that helps!
@@ScottD it does- basically set up a separate file for making a book cover. I'm new to all this and first time working on putting together a graphic novel.
very useful video! I'm workin on an art zine right now and want to fromat it like a comic book so this was just the perfect video for me :) I do have one question though... How do you set up the spine art/text in Indesign. I want to perfect bind it which means the cover and back will be 1 large page. How should I go about that, or will the print manufacturer fix that?
I set my Covers up in a separate document. I have the front, back and spine set up as three "pages" on each side, so they export separately for the printer, but are using the same image going across, so it all lines up perfectly. That's a good call, though, I should probably do a whole video on setting up a perfect bound comic. Oh, also, make sure to ask your printer about how thick they think the spine will be, since it will vary based on page count and paper stock thickness. Hope that helps!
@@ScottD ah thank you so much! What do you mean by "on each side", like front and backside? And I'll make sure to ask the printer how thick the spine will be, I hadn't even thought of that. Thanks again!
@@xtraordinaryzine Yeah, front and back. So I have basically two three-page spreads set up, so they have the full cover and then the two inside covers with full bleed. And no worries! Happy to help!
Hi Scott! Do you have a kind of "template" em PSD of your comic book? I want to try draw a comic book page, but I don't find a good template for it. Thank you in advance!
I start off my comic pages in Clip Studio Paint these days, so I don't have a Photoshop Template. EDIT: I had originally linked to a video I thought had CSP settings, but that wasn't the case. TBH, this video that we're commenting on has the sizes you probably want! Just plug in the sizes you see at 1:25 and add the bleed width twice (one for each side) to get your size, and then save a Photoshop Preset by hitting that little down arrow next to the Preset Details area. Hope that helps!
Amazing video. Thanks. I'm working on my second comic setting up the indesign file myself. I'm finding that my original 11 x 17 ink and water colour art files scanned as tiffs seem to be making indesign really slow down. I have been using the place command. Any advice about image prep for before importing into indesign.
Maybe try flat PSDs, since it'd be Adobe to Adobe, which usually works great. Also, you can try changing your Display Performance under View to something less processor-intensive.
Hi Scott. Thank you for your video. I wasn't sure what program artists use these days. Just a few questions if you don't mind me asking, did you do all your artwork, dialogue and setting up panels in another program like Photoshop or Illustrator; then bring them all into InDesign to prepare for printing? Also is CCJoeKubert the font that comic artists use? The example you gave here in this video is that prepared to go off to a digital printer like Ka-Blam? Great video Scott.
Hey Ben! Glad you dug the video! I do all my linework (pencils and inks) in Clip Studio Paint. Depending on the project, I'll either color in CSP, color in Photoshop or have a colorist do that work. I do my lettering in Photoshop, but many letterers would tell you that's not a good idea and to do it in Illustrator. I then take those final files, making sure they're CMYK and import them into InDesign for print. Joe Kubert is the font that I use the most, but there's a huge variety of fonts on ComicBookFonts.com (where I bought Joe Kubert), BlamBot.com (lots of free and paid fonts) and elsewhere. I haven't watched this video in a while, so I'm not sure, but it could be for a digital printer or a CMYK printer. The main thing to watch out for is your text color. If you're going for a digital printer, you want your text to be Rich Blacks (a combination of the four colors to create a nice dark black), but for CMYK, you want your text to ONLY be 100% K (no CMY) so that when the plates hit the page it doesn't leave any haloing of the CMY colors around the K. Hope that helps! Have a good one!
@@ScottD What is your method of drawing? Straight on digital using a Wacom tablet or hand drawn and scan in? I do struggle drawing directly via tablet, but not always. My hand drawn pencil is more precise. Line work in Clip Studio Paint, do you mean that’s where you do your panels? Lastly, would you recommend an artist do linework (pencils and ink) in Photoshop?
Any tips for two-page spreads? I'm quite confused by the the bleeds for these as I imagine they should be different for a two-page spread vs single page.
For two page spreads, I just have the one image go all the way across both pages in InDesign. You'll have to make sure your initial image is the right size to begin with first, though. Your image height will stay the same, but make the width equal to your (Trim Size X 2) + (Bleed Width X 2). That way you don't have extra Bleed in the middle messing up how your final image is looking. Hope that makes sense! :)
Very helpful. Just getting started with in-design and trying to figure out how to print comics. I draw traditionally on 9x12 using pencil and ink. Then I color digitally using PS. I normally have my PS file set to RGB. Do I need to set it for CMYK from the beginning or can I convert to CMYK after I've finished the art? I use hex codes a lot to determine the color I want. So, that's why I ask.
You don't really anymore. InDesign will export as a print-ready file when you Export your PDF at the end. However, you should be checking your Proof Colors along the way in Photoshop just to make sure you don't have anything super out of gamut. To do this, just hit Cmd+Y on Mac or Control+Y on PC (or go to View > Proof Colors in the menu). This will give an approximation of what the colors will look like printed, so you don't get any surprises. Good luck! :D
@@ScottD One more question about InDesign. I've got my file setup exactly as you did in the tutorial. If I want full edge to edge art printed, do I go to the edge of artboard (whitespace) or the edge of the inside blue border (the bleed area)? Thanks again!
@@Deric10000 You want your art to go to the fullest outside border. In the video, it's the dark red line outside the white of the pages. That way, when the printer trims the pages down, they'll have a little wiggle room to make their cuts and the art will go all the way to the edge of the freshly cut page.
Do you have to export the pdf as a "Spread" or "Pages"? Or is it irrelevant at this point? Seconly, what do you do if you have an illustration that goes to the "bleed"? Do you still set up the pages as you did?
Yo! I always export as Pages, so the printer can collate them as necessary. Since (in a short book anyway) the first page and last page are actually printed on the same piece of paper, it's better for them if it's just in pages. If you have an illustration that goes to the bleed area, just make sure that no necessary info is cut off. Size the illustration so it goes out to the Bleed area, and then go to View > Screen Mode > Preview to see how it's being cropped. Hope that helps!
Just looked this up. It looks like there's no easy way to do this. What you could try to do is just do everything manually, so the bottom page in your layout is actually the first page, etc, but that will definitely be a pain when numbering pages.
@@ScottD I appreciate the timely response! I actually figured it out. I had to go in the Indesign folder file and upload a different script. Then upload into the application
Hi Scott, I have some questions for you. Is it possible to make the Guided View animation for comics with Indesign like in marvel unlimited and comixology . i would be happy to get your answer. thanks in advance
I believe Guided View is something that is added in the app software after Comixology gets the high res files, so I don't think it can be done in InDesign. If you find out that's not the case, though, let me know!
@@95tTony After you've created your document, you can go to File > Document Setup and it will show you what settings you've selected. Then you can screenshot and send to yourself (or whoever).
I'm a crazy person and set my art files up at 1200 DPI. I know a lot of artists do 600 DPI and get by just fine. Most printers will say that 300 DPI is great and their printers won't go over that. If you have a printer in mind, you can email them and ask how high up their printers can actually print. When I export my PDF from InDesign, I think I have it shrink anything over 450 DPI to 300 DPI, and have never had a problem with it.
I'm writing a graphic memoir, and I am having a hard time deciding on how to organize the pages vs. layers. I understand how they both work, but should a layer be titled the page number, and since each page will have several layers, how do I link layers to a page?
Sorry for the delayed reply, just seeing this. I would make each page its own file, as opposed to its own layer. That way, when you export, you can make a flat version of that file, which you would link to in InDesign. You can link files in InDesign by going to File > Place. Hope that helps!
Not really as well as I'd like. Plus, I move from Clip to Photoshop for colors, so I like having a final program to make sure everything is all in order and consistent. InDesign is pretty much industry standard for book/print design, so I figure it's probably the best solution.
Good question! I usually will save a flattened copy of my final file and import that to InDesign because I’ve found that with so many pages being referenced, it helps ID run a little smoother. It’s not that big of a deal with a small handful of files, but once you start getting into a hundred large, multi-layered files, it really starts to chug. Or at least mine does! Just remember to save it as a copy, so you don’t lose all your layers! :)
@@ScottD thank you very much for your advice, and your videos. They are very inspiring for me, since this is my first time working on my own comic. Much ❤️
My files are each 5x8 tiff format. Each tiff is a page. I want each final page to be 6x9. Should I set up each Indesign page at 6x9 and copy/paste each 5x8 tiff into the corresponding 6x9 Indesign page? Also, how would I save all you those tiffs as a single PDF file containing all PDFs ( not tiffs)? Feel free to contact me directly if easier. Thanks!
Scott Drummond I noticed you started with individual PDFs. I am starting with individual Tiffs. When I export , will the tiffs get transformed to PDFs?
@@jhenri2482 I'm actually starting with individual PSDs (Photoshop Documents). It doesn't matter too much what you import them as (PSD, PDF, TIFF, JPG, etc) as long as they're high resolution enough to look good in print. Then, when you export, you get to decide HOW you want to export. You can choose PDF there, like I do in the video, as well as a host of other options if you select File > Export. The way I'm doing it in the video, it will create one multi-page PDF, which is what I've found printing companies prefer.
Are you going through a printer or printing them yourself? If setting up for a printer, just do everything normally and send a pdf with all the pages in order. If you’re printing yourself, do the same, but choose File > Print Booklet to print it at the end. Hope that helps!
@@ScottD also how to deal with double pages like the pages which is suppose to be coming on both pages making it one jow to deal with it while saddle stich
Hello, thank you so much for this tutorial, it is very helpful!! ♥ I have a problem with printing my comic book because I still don't know how to set my specific sizes etc. Or how should I draw the pages so it sets perfectly for the printing. Could you help me, please? :) Maybe via your e-mail? I'd really appreciate it!
Absolutely! For print, you want the full bleed to be 6.875" x 10.4375", the trim (actual page size) to be 6.625" x 10.1875" and you can set the inside safe guide to be 6.125" x 9.6875". Or, in InDesign, you'll set the page width to be 6.625" x 10. 1875", the Margins to be 0.25" all around and the Bleed to be 0.125" all around. Basically, when you're drawing your pages (especially digitally) you can set your page to be that size, but at a very high DPI (600 or even 1200 if your computer can handle it), so that you can get a good level of detail. Or you can make some boxes at the guidelines for yourself in light blue and print those out on 11x17 paper to do your pages traditionally. Whatever works for you! Hope this helps. If you have more questions, let me know! Thanks!
Oof, I am so bad at these things, haha. But thank you so much! I always set my files to 300 DPI, but now I see that 600 is really better for the details. :) What if I have A5 (210 x 148 mm) and the bleed is 2,5 mm. I still don't understand what is the safe area where I can draw and which one will be cut off. You know, there is a 2,5mm bleed which is cut off, then there is another area which might be cut off and there is third area which is safe. And what if I want my comic page to be at the edge of the book, you know, without any white borders. :) I discussed it with many print companies, but all of them use different A5 templates and in the end I am so cofused, how I should draw my comics, so it is prepared for all the print shops. I am sorry I am bothering you with it, thank you for your help! ♥
@@yamadaElric No need to apologize! I'm not as familiar with non-American sized comic pages. The Trim size is the size that the printer will do their best to cut at. The Bleed is the area outside the Trim that gives the printer a little wiggle room so that if they accidentally cut outside the Trim, there won't be a little bit of white at the edge. The Safe area is the are inside the Trim in case the printer cuts the page a little close on the inside. It's "safe" to put text there, because it's very unlikely that the printer would cut that far in. You might try to take a comic you like and measure the distance of the Safe Area on those pages to get a good idea of what would work for you. Usually it's just the distance from the edge of the page to the panel edge. Hopefully that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Kaylene Dawn I do my layouts, pencils and inks in Clip Studio Paint, then color and letter in Photoshop. I should letter in Illustrator, since the letters would then be vector, but I don’t because it’s just easier to do it all in one place.
@@ScottD Thanks. I’m preparing a graphic memoir and learning adobe. I’m wondering if it would work if I made the panels in photoshop and then place in InDesign. It seems to me, that would be cool because I could manipulate the panels as I’m looking at the layout and change as needed. I’m using real photos, since my memoir is about taking care of my mother with dementia, and I’ve got a lot of photos of my mother. I’m wondering if I change their size in InDesign, will the resolution be ruined too. Thanks for replying so fast.
@@kaylenedawnbuteaufitnessbu2282 I think that could work! If you're using wanting to place photos in InDesign, I would think about making the panels there, so you could just Place the photos inside the panels and make it a little easier. In the Info Window, you can click on images and check their Effective PPI, which will tell you what the print resolution of the image will be when you resize it! If you want to use Photoshop for the whole thing, you could import the photos at a Linked Smart Object, so they can be easily sized up and down without losing quality. Good luck!
@@ScottD I haven’t learned everything with InDesign, but I was using Photoshop to manipulate the panel, add balloons etc. Can I do that in InDesign too?
@@kaylenedawnbuteaufitnessbu2282 InDesign is a great layout tool, so you can easily resize photos, make shapes and place text in it. It's not great for anything beyond that, like photo recoloring, photo editing, etc. I'm not sure how much editing you plan to do to the photos besides just simple resizes, but if it's anything beyond that, PS might be better for you. Hope that helps!
I use PSDs when I make my comics because those files are editable after you close them. JPGs don't retain any of the layers after you close Photoshop. Also, JPG is a "lossy" format, which means that when you save it, you lose data when the computer compresses the image. I like to keep things in PSD (a "lossless" format) as long as possible so that I don't lose quality along the way.
Hey I have a quick question I saved all my comic pages 7x10.5 as the printer company wanted it. When I transfer the comic pages to indesign everything is good except there is a thick white line at the bottom of each page The company says the pages are still out of spec, any suggestions ? Thank you
MASSIVELY HELPFUL!!!! I have a Kickstarter comic that had a successful campaign. Art will be finished in a bit, but it hit me that I have no actual idea how to put this together into a professional looking PDF. Thank you so much for this
Awesome! And congrats on the Kickstarter! No bigger relief than getting funded! :)
i don't even make comic books and i watched this whole thing just because your voice is so soothing.
I hate the sound of my own voice, but I'm glad you like it! haha :)
Thanks so much! I'm much more proficient in Photoshop than Indesign, so I appreciated seeing your process of bringing in full .psd page layouts. You definitely saved me some learning curve time there. I'm happy to limit the Indesign part of my workflow to just the publishing requirements. Was also fascinated to see that your text was still selectable/editable in Indesign even though it came from the .psd originally. Very cool. Thanks again, so helpful.
This is very helpful, thank you! I have a few questions if you don't mind:
1) How did you make your speech bubbles and text?
2) How do you go about designing the spine of your comic and putting that in InDesign?
You need to know how many pages your book is going to have then get in contact with the printer you are going to use. They will give you the specs or an InDesign template for the cover, spine and Backcover.
You are a lifesaver. Thank you so much for making this incredibly informational video!!
Awesome!! Doing my first graphic novel currently. Many thanks!
Very detailed video. Thank you so much for making this useful video.
I've looked everywhere for this set up . It's a bit overwhelming but hopefully with some practice it won't be too intimidating.
thanks for the tutorial!
Appreciate the video - helped a lot with my project. I have a question, how do you prevent your pages from printing too dark?
Look up the 240% ink limit. Basically, you don’t want your C, Y, M & K colors to ever add up to over 240% at any point, so as to not oversaturate the paper. Also, personally, I try to not go below about 60% down the color picker square. It helps to keep your inks crisp and visible, as well as not oversaturate your colors.
Hope that helps!
Hey Scott, great video! I use this message to print out a comic book I make for my significant other every year for our anniversary instead of making her a card! I just had one issue. I don’t want to ask about to see if you might be able to help me figure it out. So I set my comment to print as 6 x 9. Just like yours, there’s a border around the final print. The plan was to make it a saddle stitch, so how do I make it that the booklet is along The Fold line and not in the center of the page? Thanks for the vid!!
This has been a huge help. I generally go through CreateSpace / Kindle to publish my books. What should my gutter be set at, and my margins for a 6 x 9?
I'm glad this has been helpful! Are you talking about column gutters in InDesign? Or panel gutters when setting up your pages?
I don't bother setting up column gutters since my pages don't have columns, really. For panel gutters, I'm not sure. It all depends on what kind of look and feel you want. I'd recommend finding a comic at the size you want with panel gutters you think feel right and then just measure them with a ruler. Go old school! haha
Hope that helps! If I'm way off, let me know and I'll try to answer your question. :)
@@ScottD I finally got the pages to load into InDesign, but noticed my images are creeping over the pink "safe" area at the top and bottom, so I'll have to redo these pages for the fourth time to make sure they don't get cut off. I'm using Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Acrobat 10. I'm setting the pages at 6.625 x 10.25 which is what KDF / CreateSpace recommends. Its just the panel gutters top, bottom, sides I'm having trouble with. I used CreateSpace's 6x9 template three years ago to set up my True Crime book "The Barker-Karpis Gang: An American Crime Family", but doing a graphic novel is a WHOLE lot different, lol. This is my first time trying to use InDesign CS6.
@@Greywolfgrafix The pink safe area that's on the page is arbitrary and set up when you create the document. It doesn't /really/ matter, but is more of a guide for text when designing in InDesign. If you have a printer that requires a certain size, that's one thing, but I would venture to guess it's probably fine. If it's just a little over it, I wouldn't worry about it. You can also change the safe area by adjusting the Margins to match whatever the border is on your comic if you just want to make it look nice! Those can be adjusted in File > Document Setup... > Margins. Hope that helps!
Super helpful, thanks!
Thanks you so much for this video. I'll have a few questions for you pretty soon.
Right on! And I'm happy to help! :)
Thank you for the video. Your comic looks amazing. I'm working on my first comic and setting this up in InDesign. Is there a problem if I export my PNG illustrations from Photoshop in RGB and then add them into InDesign? Would that mess up the print? I know that upon exporting, InDesign converts your PDF into CMYK but just wanted to make sure. Thanks! :)
@@ana-marialuca5491 So, it depends. If you’re doing digital printing, you’re probably fine. Lots of digital printers use more colors than CMYK nowadays, so they actually might prefer RGB files, since they can get some rich colors that way. However, if you’re doing a large run where the printer is using actual four color press printing, you’ll absolutely want to export from Photoshop as CMYK. You should make sure to check in Photoshop, too, that you haven’t accidentally selected colors that are out of gamut for CMYK by pressing Cmd(Ctrl on PC)+Y (iirc off the top of my head). If parts of your image turn grey, that means they’re out of gamut and could look bad when printing CMYK.
But you never know how stuff will turn out until you get the proof!
Hope that helps! Good luck! :)
Do you have any videos of doing this with open source software?
Really helpful! thank you :)
Great! Glad it helped!
Thank you vary much, this is so useful
Thank you very much!
Great stuff! Glad I found this vid- question though. When making a graphic novel using InDesign, do you need to add in the spine spacing? Or just set up the files like you have here?
You do need to add spine spacing. I usually set up a separate InDesign doc for just the cover. I tell my printer how many pages the book is and ask them how big the spine should be. Then, I make a spread that's three pages wide (instead of two) and have the middle one be the spine length. I do two spreads: one for the outside and one for the inside. Hope that helps!
@@ScottD it does- basically set up a separate file for making a book cover. I'm new to all this and first time working on putting together a graphic novel.
very useful video! I'm workin on an art zine right now and want to fromat it like a comic book so this was just the perfect video for me :) I do have one question though... How do you set up the spine art/text in Indesign. I want to perfect bind it which means the cover and back will be 1 large page. How should I go about that, or will the print manufacturer fix that?
I set my Covers up in a separate document. I have the front, back and spine set up as three "pages" on each side, so they export separately for the printer, but are using the same image going across, so it all lines up perfectly.
That's a good call, though, I should probably do a whole video on setting up a perfect bound comic. Oh, also, make sure to ask your printer about how thick they think the spine will be, since it will vary based on page count and paper stock thickness. Hope that helps!
@@ScottD ah thank you so much! What do you mean by "on each side", like front and backside? And I'll make sure to ask the printer how thick the spine will be, I hadn't even thought of that.
Thanks again!
@@xtraordinaryzine Yeah, front and back. So I have basically two three-page spreads set up, so they have the full cover and then the two inside covers with full bleed. And no worries! Happy to help!
Hi Scott! Do you have a kind of "template" em PSD of your comic book? I want to try draw a comic book page, but I don't find a good template for it. Thank you in advance!
I start off my comic pages in Clip Studio Paint these days, so I don't have a Photoshop Template.
EDIT: I had originally linked to a video I thought had CSP settings, but that wasn't the case. TBH, this video that we're commenting on has the sizes you probably want! Just plug in the sizes you see at 1:25 and add the bleed width twice (one for each side) to get your size, and then save a Photoshop Preset by hitting that little down arrow next to the Preset Details area. Hope that helps!
Amazing video. Thanks. I'm working on my second comic setting up the indesign file myself. I'm finding that my original 11 x 17 ink and water colour art files scanned as tiffs seem to be making indesign really slow down. I have been using the place command. Any advice about image prep for before importing into indesign.
Maybe try flat PSDs, since it'd be Adobe to Adobe, which usually works great. Also, you can try changing your Display Performance under View to something less processor-intensive.
@@ScottD Thanks PSD's are working great. All the best.
Hi Scott. Thank you for your video. I wasn't sure what program artists use these days. Just a few questions if you don't mind me asking, did you do all your artwork, dialogue and setting up panels in another program like Photoshop or Illustrator; then bring them all into InDesign to prepare for printing? Also is CCJoeKubert the font that comic artists use? The example you gave here in this video is that prepared to go off to a digital printer like Ka-Blam?
Great video Scott.
Hey Ben! Glad you dug the video!
I do all my linework (pencils and inks) in Clip Studio Paint. Depending on the project, I'll either color in CSP, color in Photoshop or have a colorist do that work. I do my lettering in Photoshop, but many letterers would tell you that's not a good idea and to do it in Illustrator. I then take those final files, making sure they're CMYK and import them into InDesign for print.
Joe Kubert is the font that I use the most, but there's a huge variety of fonts on ComicBookFonts.com (where I bought Joe Kubert), BlamBot.com (lots of free and paid fonts) and elsewhere.
I haven't watched this video in a while, so I'm not sure, but it could be for a digital printer or a CMYK printer. The main thing to watch out for is your text color. If you're going for a digital printer, you want your text to be Rich Blacks (a combination of the four colors to create a nice dark black), but for CMYK, you want your text to ONLY be 100% K (no CMY) so that when the plates hit the page it doesn't leave any haloing of the CMY colors around the K.
Hope that helps! Have a good one!
@@ScottD 😂 Yeah I watched your video on lettering…after I sent you that comment. 😜
@@benlines2987 Ha! Well, hope that one helped too! 😂
@@ScottD 😂Thanks for your input Scott. Would you be up for more questions or willing to comment on my work?
@@ScottD What is your method of drawing? Straight on digital using a Wacom tablet or hand drawn and scan in? I do struggle drawing directly via tablet, but not always. My hand drawn pencil is more precise. Line work in Clip Studio Paint, do you mean that’s where you do your panels? Lastly, would you recommend an artist do linework (pencils and ink) in Photoshop?
Any tips for two-page spreads? I'm quite confused by the the bleeds for these as I imagine they should be different for a two-page spread vs single page.
For two page spreads, I just have the one image go all the way across both pages in InDesign. You'll have to make sure your initial image is the right size to begin with first, though. Your image height will stay the same, but make the width equal to your (Trim Size X 2) + (Bleed Width X 2). That way you don't have extra Bleed in the middle messing up how your final image is looking. Hope that makes sense! :)
Very helpful. Just getting started with in-design and trying to figure out how to print comics. I draw traditionally on 9x12 using pencil and ink. Then I color digitally using PS. I normally have my PS file set to RGB. Do I need to set it for CMYK from the beginning or can I convert to CMYK after I've finished the art? I use hex codes a lot to determine the color I want. So, that's why I ask.
You don't really anymore. InDesign will export as a print-ready file when you Export your PDF at the end. However, you should be checking your Proof Colors along the way in Photoshop just to make sure you don't have anything super out of gamut. To do this, just hit Cmd+Y on Mac or Control+Y on PC (or go to View > Proof Colors in the menu). This will give an approximation of what the colors will look like printed, so you don't get any surprises. Good luck! :D
@@ScottD Thank you for the response and the tip! Definitely checking the Proof Colors!
@@ScottD One more question about InDesign. I've got my file setup exactly as you did in the tutorial. If I want full edge to edge art printed, do I go to the edge of artboard (whitespace) or the edge of the inside blue border (the bleed area)? Thanks again!
@@Deric10000 You want your art to go to the fullest outside border. In the video, it's the dark red line outside the white of the pages. That way, when the printer trims the pages down, they'll have a little wiggle room to make their cuts and the art will go all the way to the edge of the freshly cut page.
@@ScottD Good to know. Thanks again!
Do you have to export the pdf as a "Spread" or "Pages"? Or is it irrelevant at this point?
Seconly, what do you do if you have an illustration that goes to the "bleed"? Do you still set up the pages as you did?
Yo! I always export as Pages, so the printer can collate them as necessary. Since (in a short book anyway) the first page and last page are actually printed on the same piece of paper, it's better for them if it's just in pages.
If you have an illustration that goes to the bleed area, just make sure that no necessary info is cut off. Size the illustration so it goes out to the Bleed area, and then go to View > Screen Mode > Preview to see how it's being cropped.
Hope that helps!
@@ScottD yes, you saved my life and my project’s print, thank you ^^
Quick question, if you wanted your layout to read Right to Left how you set that up. Mine automatically numbers the pages Left to Right
Just looked this up. It looks like there's no easy way to do this. What you could try to do is just do everything manually, so the bottom page in your layout is actually the first page, etc, but that will definitely be a pain when numbering pages.
@@ScottD I appreciate the timely response! I actually figured it out. I had to go in the Indesign folder file and upload a different script. Then upload into the application
Still good!
Hi Scott,
I have some questions for you. Is it possible to make the Guided View animation for comics with Indesign like in marvel unlimited and comixology . i would be happy to get your answer. thanks in advance
I believe Guided View is something that is added in the app software after Comixology gets the high res files, so I don't think it can be done in InDesign. If you find out that's not the case, though, let me know!
can you talk about how to setup a webcomic in the manhwa style for print
Question , for any pages that do not bleed, the window box thingy (the panels) stays between the margins correct ?
Correct! That way the art stays within the safe zone and you'll be sure the printer won't accidentally cut off important info.
@@ScottD thanks 🙏 is there a way I can send a picture of my document thru email on how I formatted it ?
@@95tTony After you've created your document, you can go to File > Document Setup and it will show you what settings you've selected. Then you can screenshot and send to yourself (or whoever).
What dpi do you use for printing?
I'm a crazy person and set my art files up at 1200 DPI. I know a lot of artists do 600 DPI and get by just fine. Most printers will say that 300 DPI is great and their printers won't go over that. If you have a printer in mind, you can email them and ask how high up their printers can actually print. When I export my PDF from InDesign, I think I have it shrink anything over 450 DPI to 300 DPI, and have never had a problem with it.
@@ScottD Thank you!!
@@MrShaunofthedead9 Any time! :)
I'm writing a graphic memoir, and I am having a hard time deciding on how to organize the pages vs. layers. I understand how they both work, but should a layer be titled the page number, and since each page will have several layers, how do I link layers to a page?
Sorry for the delayed reply, just seeing this. I would make each page its own file, as opposed to its own layer. That way, when you export, you can make a flat version of that file, which you would link to in InDesign. You can link files in InDesign by going to File > Place. Hope that helps!
Doesn't Clip Studio EX automatically set up print and other publishing formats? I only have the Pro version.
Not really as well as I'd like. Plus, I move from Clip to Photoshop for colors, so I like having a final program to make sure everything is all in order and consistent. InDesign is pretty much industry standard for book/print design, so I figure it's probably the best solution.
@@ScottD Yeah, it makes sense. The right tool for the right job.
Do you have to flatten your psd when you save it to clip, or photoshop, and then place it in indesign?
Good question! I usually will save a flattened copy of my final file and import that to InDesign because I’ve found that with so many pages being referenced, it helps ID run a little smoother. It’s not that big of a deal with a small handful of files, but once you start getting into a hundred large, multi-layered files, it really starts to chug. Or at least mine does! Just remember to save it as a copy, so you don’t lose all your layers! :)
@@ScottD thank you very much for your advice, and your videos. They are very inspiring for me, since this is my first time working on my own comic. Much ❤️
Thanks!
My files are each 5x8 tiff format. Each tiff is a page. I want each final page to be 6x9. Should I set up each Indesign page at 6x9 and copy/paste each 5x8 tiff into the corresponding 6x9 Indesign page? Also, how would I save all you those tiffs as a single PDF file containing all PDFs ( not tiffs)? Feel free to contact me directly if easier. Thanks!
Yeah, you bring in your files like I say at 2:45 in the video. You can export a PDF like I say at 16:50 in the video. :)
Thank you, Scott!
Scott Drummond I noticed you started with individual PDFs. I am starting with individual Tiffs. When I export , will the tiffs get transformed to PDFs?
@@jhenri2482 I'm actually starting with individual PSDs (Photoshop Documents). It doesn't matter too much what you import them as (PSD, PDF, TIFF, JPG, etc) as long as they're high resolution enough to look good in print. Then, when you export, you get to decide HOW you want to export. You can choose PDF there, like I do in the video, as well as a host of other options if you select File > Export. The way I'm doing it in the video, it will create one multi-page PDF, which is what I've found printing companies prefer.
How to setup it for saddel stich binding. For example: take A4 pages folded into A5 comic book like how will the pages come out
Are you going through a printer or printing them yourself? If setting up for a printer, just do everything normally and send a pdf with all the pages in order. If you’re printing yourself, do the same, but choose File > Print Booklet to print it at the end. Hope that helps!
@@ScottD also how to deal with double pages like the pages which is suppose to be coming on both pages making it one jow to deal with it while saddle stich
where did you illustrate your comic before importing into InDesign?
Pencils and Inks in Clip Studio Paint, then coloring in Photoshop. :)
@@ScottD thank you so much!
Do trim lines affect comic book covers ?
Yep! You still need to trim them down once they're printed to get full bleed.
Hello, thank you so much for this tutorial, it is very helpful!! ♥
I have a problem with printing my comic book because I still don't know how to set my specific sizes etc. Or how should I draw the pages so it sets perfectly for the printing. Could you help me, please? :) Maybe via your e-mail? I'd really appreciate it!
Absolutely! For print, you want the full bleed to be 6.875" x 10.4375", the trim (actual page size) to be 6.625" x 10.1875" and you can set the inside safe guide to be 6.125" x 9.6875". Or, in InDesign, you'll set the page width to be 6.625" x 10. 1875", the Margins to be 0.25" all around and the Bleed to be 0.125" all around. Basically, when you're drawing your pages (especially digitally) you can set your page to be that size, but at a very high DPI (600 or even 1200 if your computer can handle it), so that you can get a good level of detail. Or you can make some boxes at the guidelines for yourself in light blue and print those out on 11x17 paper to do your pages traditionally. Whatever works for you!
Hope this helps. If you have more questions, let me know! Thanks!
Oof, I am so bad at these things, haha. But thank you so much! I always set my files to 300 DPI, but now I see that 600 is really better for the details. :)
What if I have A5 (210 x 148 mm) and the bleed is 2,5 mm. I still don't understand what is the safe area where I can draw and which one will be cut off. You know, there is a 2,5mm bleed which is cut off, then there is another area which might be cut off and there is third area which is safe. And what if I want my comic page to be at the edge of the book, you know, without any white borders. :) I discussed it with many print companies, but all of them use different A5 templates and in the end I am so cofused, how I should draw my comics, so it is prepared for all the print shops. I am sorry I am bothering you with it, thank you for your help! ♥
@@yamadaElric No need to apologize! I'm not as familiar with non-American sized comic pages. The Trim size is the size that the printer will do their best to cut at. The Bleed is the area outside the Trim that gives the printer a little wiggle room so that if they accidentally cut outside the Trim, there won't be a little bit of white at the edge. The Safe area is the are inside the Trim in case the printer cuts the page a little close on the inside. It's "safe" to put text there, because it's very unlikely that the printer would cut that far in.
You might try to take a comic you like and measure the distance of the Safe Area on those pages to get a good idea of what would work for you. Usually it's just the distance from the edge of the page to the panel edge.
Hopefully that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
You're great!
Haha thanks so much! Glad you like the videos! :)
@@ScottD some information has been very useful to me! Thank you! From Italy!
@@corracomics2182 Ha! That's awesome!
What are you using to make your pages before you place them in InDesign? Is it photoshop or Illustrator or ?
Kaylene Dawn I do my layouts, pencils and inks in Clip Studio Paint, then color and letter in Photoshop. I should letter in Illustrator, since the letters would then be vector, but I don’t because it’s just easier to do it all in one place.
@@ScottD Thanks. I’m preparing a graphic memoir and learning adobe. I’m wondering if it would work if I made the panels in photoshop and then place in InDesign. It seems to me, that would be cool because I could manipulate the panels as I’m looking at the layout and change as needed. I’m using real photos, since my memoir is about taking care of my mother with dementia, and I’ve got a lot of photos of my mother. I’m wondering if I change their size in InDesign, will the resolution be ruined too. Thanks for replying so fast.
@@kaylenedawnbuteaufitnessbu2282 I think that could work! If you're using wanting to place photos in InDesign, I would think about making the panels there, so you could just Place the photos inside the panels and make it a little easier. In the Info Window, you can click on images and check their Effective PPI, which will tell you what the print resolution of the image will be when you resize it! If you want to use Photoshop for the whole thing, you could import the photos at a Linked Smart Object, so they can be easily sized up and down without losing quality. Good luck!
@@ScottD I haven’t learned everything with InDesign, but I was using Photoshop to manipulate the panel, add balloons etc. Can I do that in InDesign too?
@@kaylenedawnbuteaufitnessbu2282 InDesign is a great layout tool, so you can easily resize photos, make shapes and place text in it. It's not great for anything beyond that, like photo recoloring, photo editing, etc. I'm not sure how much editing you plan to do to the photos besides just simple resizes, but if it's anything beyond that, PS might be better for you. Hope that helps!
hey can you use jpg or are you only psd
I use PSDs when I make my comics because those files are editable after you close them. JPGs don't retain any of the layers after you close Photoshop.
Also, JPG is a "lossy" format, which means that when you save it, you lose data when the computer compresses the image. I like to keep things in PSD (a "lossless" format) as long as possible so that I don't lose quality along the way.
@@ScottD im trying to line the pages of my comic so they will print properly any advice?
@@BoldCatStudios This whole video is pretty much most of my advice! Haha :)
Hey I have a quick question
I saved all my comic pages 7x10.5 as the printer company wanted it.
When I transfer the comic pages to indesign everything is good except there is a thick white line at the bottom of each page
The company says the pages are still out of spec, any suggestions ? Thank you
Hmmm. Weird. Do you have a bleed set up? Can you link to a screenshot of your export settings for your pages?