Stay in Comic Book Character – How to Draw those Comic Balloons in Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop software is a dream come true for graphic artists and comic book artists. With the help of the software, even budding comic book artists can transfer their imaginations to paper (or screen) with relative ease, as long as they devote the time to getting to know the program. So, you have some comic book characters created and a story line in mind, and you know how to draw the characters, but how do you create those dialogue balloons to let you characters engage in witty banter? Drawing a basic comic dialogue balloon in Photoshop is not difficult and requires just a few steps.
To get started, first you will need the image of the character that will be doing the talking. You can use either a character you have drawn, or a pre-existing image to practice with. Whatever you choose, open the image within your Photoshop program. With the image open, create a new layer and title it “balloon” or something else easy for you to remember. Now, select that layer and with it open, open your “elliptical marquee” tool.
Using the elliptical marquee tool, draw the shape you want for your speech bubble; usually oval is the shape used by comic book artists, but this is your comic, and you can make the rules. Once you have drawn your balloon, which will look pixilated at this point, open your “lasso” tool. Use your lasso tool to draw the part of the balloon that extends to your character’s mouth and indicates the words are being said by that character. This part should connect the balloon itself.
Now you should have the outline of your comic balloon drawn, and it is time to fill it in with color. Open you “swatches” palette and choose the color you want the inside of your balloon to be. White is the most common choice, but you can pick whatever you like – just remember that text has to show up against this background. With your color selected, open you “paint bucket” tool and use it to completely fill your balloon with color.
At this point, you need to get rid of the outline of your comic balloon. Click “control” and “D” at the same time, and your balloon will be de-selected and the lines will disappear. Now, open your “layer palette” and select your balloon layer with the palette open. Turn on the “blending options.” A dialogue box should appear titled “layer styles.” Go to the “stroke” option box at the bottom and change the size to 1 pixel. The position should be set at “outside” and the blend to “normal” with an opacity setting of 100%. “Color” should be the “fill type”, and the color should be black. With these settings applied, you can close that dialogue box. Your comic balloon should now be outlined with a thin, solid, black line. If you don’t like the appearance of the line, you can change the weight of the line or the color.
Now, the balloon is ready to add your text. Simply select the balloon layer, open your “text tool” and type away. You can make adjustments to the text color, size, and font within that tool.
If you want your characters to be thinking instead of speaking, you can use these same tips to create comic thought balloon. When you open the elliptical marquee, draw a balloon that has a more cloud like appearance, instead of using a straight line, to create this effect.
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