I just got Manga Studio 5ex and it is quite a bit different. So many plusses, but a huge learning curve! I love that I can really customize brushes and the colouring options are unbelievable. The frustrating bit is that they have changed the look of many of the icons so I have to relearn them. Grrrr. I don't see why that was necessary. It seems to run a bit slower, and a couple of the changes, unless I am missing something, I don't quite like. For example, before when I had a double page spread - it worked as a full page so that I could continuously draw from left to right. Now, though you 'join' the page into a double page spread, it doesn't allow you to continuously draw and instead forces a left and right side of the page. Not quite what I want. I am sure I will get used to it and make it work - but it'd be nice to have the option to draw on both sides as though one side. Overall though - they have added so many new options to make your work really beautiful and better quality that it is really just nitpicking.
I was fortunate to be asked to review Mastering Manga Studio 5 by Packt Publishing and am very pleased that I agreed. I have just started it and only in the second chapter but Liz Staley, who wrote it, provided wonderfully detailed information and I am finding it very helpful so far. Have made a couple of brushes - which I would never have figured out without this book. I will post more about this book and what Manga Studio 5 can do. You can get it yourself from www.packtpub.com. If the other publications from them are as good as this one, I might check out some other stuff too. This was WAY better than Manga Studio 4 for dummies which I had bought when I first started on that. It seems more in- depth. Although Liz Staley does say she presumes that you already know a bit of the software, it seems suitable so far for newbies as well. Anyway, so far so good and I wouldn't steer you wrong even if I did get a free copy. I had been asked to write the book ages ago and had considered it - but glad I didn't! Liz did a great job and I don't think I would have done as well.
I skipped ahead and without the book played with the new 3d option in the software and am excited about the possibilities to speed up my work on my graphic novel. This will help a lot! I wish it had young children though. It seems to go to teen/tween but not young children 3d forms. I'd have liked that. Looking forward to seeing how much I can modify and create new models.
That's it for now.
I was fortunate to be asked to review Mastering Manga Studio 5 by Packt Publishing and am very pleased that I agreed. I have just started it and only in the second chapter but Liz Staley, who wrote it, provided wonderfully detailed information and I am finding it very helpful so far. Have made a couple of brushes - which I would never have figured out without this book. I will post more about this book and what Manga Studio 5 can do. You can get it yourself from www.packtpub.com. If the other publications from them are as good as this one, I might check out some other stuff too. This was WAY better than Manga Studio 4 for dummies which I had bought when I first started on that. It seems more in- depth. Although Liz Staley does say she presumes that you already know a bit of the software, it seems suitable so far for newbies as well. Anyway, so far so good and I wouldn't steer you wrong even if I did get a free copy. I had been asked to write the book ages ago and had considered it - but glad I didn't! Liz did a great job and I don't think I would have done as well.
I skipped ahead and without the book played with the new 3d option in the software and am excited about the possibilities to speed up my work on my graphic novel. This will help a lot! I wish it had young children though. It seems to go to teen/tween but not young children 3d forms. I'd have liked that. Looking forward to seeing how much I can modify and create new models.
That's it for now.