User Stories

Kaz Mayeda

How long have you been using Manga Studio? What version do you have?
For a little over 2 years and my current version is EX 4.artwork

How did you find out about Manga Studio?
By chance… I was at a bookstore browsing the computer/graphics section when I spotted "Manga Studio for Dummies" (great book). I was passively looking for a replacement for Corel Painter (which is the buggiest graphic program ever made, in my opinion) and was hooked by the description of image rotation which is a must-have feature for a drawing app.

What software do you use with MS? Where does it fit into your workflow?

What was your inspiration for your helicopter art?
I can't remember exactly but I think I just wanted to go beyond the boundaries of my normal 9 to 5, to exercise some over-the-top (but still representational) creative muscles. It's important for an artist to immerse him/herself into the creation. Imagining myself as the fellow hanging onto the helicopter by my bare hands flying over skyscrapers elevated my adrenaline level.

Where has your art been featured?
Some of my storyboard frames are used in some "lynda.com" training courses but unfortunately are behind a subscription wall. The other places where my MS pieces are posted are on my blog and in my portfolio (this still has some analog pieces as I transition to MS).

What is one of your favorite features of Manga Studio?
There are so many to choose from, I can't limit this to only one.

• The ability to flip my drawing while keeping a second window open to the original view.
• Instant one-step bluelines (and back).
• The ability to combine raster and vector layers, and different resolutions into one file to save computer resources.
• The ability to experiment with transformations before committing to them.
• A minor feature that I recently noticed is that sub layers (nestled within folders) are colored a shade lighter than the "parent" folder. Nice touch.

If you could change one thing about MS, what would it be?
Again, I have to give you more than one.

• Although I know it's beyond the scope of a comics-centric app, I would like to be able to use the line, curve-type tools with dry media (pencils, different values).
• An easier way to adjust perspective rulers without controlling the vanishing points would be a time-saver (unless this is already possible and I have missed it). It's a method I learned from my perspective instructor at Art Center College of Design.
• I wish that I could still adjust the "Opacity" and "Color View" of a locked layer.
• A one-step option to click on the "New Layer" icon and simultaneously open up the naming dialogue box also, ala Photoshop.
• More than one "Arrange Palette" positions.
• Greater control over erasing vector lines.
• An option to: 1) copy a selected area and 2) make this a new separate layer.

Can you give an example of how Manga Studio helped you with a project?
Recently, I had to draw a close-up of a woman with glasses looking straight at camera. MS's line symmetry feature literally reduced my drawing time in half because basically all I had to do was draw a monocle.

Is there anything else you would like to tell me?
MS has the most thoughtfully designed interface and features of any drawing app that I have used. It seems to have been designed by a programmer who is also an illustrator or who has first hand illustration experience. In the two plus years that I've been using MS, I've had many "oh yeah, great idea/execution" thought bubbles floating above my head.

Read More User Stories