Rant #032 Wednesday, April 21, 2004

The backend code has been updated for the entire site. In particular, a PSD text-extraction tool (an automatic method of taking the comic text out of the original photoshop files for 2214 and storing it in a database) is completed. I'm still in the planning stages of exactly what to do with the comic text.

One idea is to offer a text-only version of the comic for anyone who follows the story and cannot readily access a computer... using a cell phone or a PDA instead. I'm still working on that.

So here's the debate: Flash, Illustrator, or Photoshop? Which one should the original artwork for 2214 be drawn in? I've been using Photoshop so far, but the disadvantage is that the tablet mapping isn't vector-based. That means if the drawing is zoomed out to, say, 25%, any lines I draw at that zoom level are going to be jagged when I zoom back in. That's because the tablet maps to actual onscreen resolution, not the overall image resolution. Boo! I mean, it's probably time to upgrade to Photoshop 7. If you have a good solution to this problem, please let me know. Having to zoom in so close to do the line work really slows me down.

There's a new sketch in the galleries, just a quick one I did in like, 10 minutes. It was more of a test of some tablet adjustments more than anything else. It seems more comfortable to draw with the tablet at an angle, resting against the edge of the desk and my lap, as opposed to being flat on the desk. Just a matter of preference.

Again, that's for voting for 2214 on Buzzcomix . We're rapidly gaining ground, and it's because of your help ^_^

Maya. 3D modeling / rendering software. I just started experimenting with it today... that's going to be quite a challenge to learn... quite complex.

That's all for now!