Comic Relief: Paste's Favorite Writers & Artists Pick their Favorite Comics of 2012

samhiti:

DEATH RATTLE 

(UPDATED)  This is the final.

Sam just listed this thing as a new print, and whoa nellie. If you’re not already deep into Sam’s work, or Once Upon A Time in the West, this is a great reason to bellyflop into one or both. 

frenden:

With the release of their second generation budget Cintiq alternative, Yiynova gets it right

Yiynova took on Wacom’s tablet display monopoly last year with their release of the DP10 and MSP19. I reviewed those units and they left me wanting.

The Yiynova used Waltop digitizers (digitizers being the bit of hardware that senses stylus position and pressure variance). There was significant jitter in the line quality. Creating straight lines was near impossible especially when making a deliberate, slow effort and the cursor jumped around like a ferret on meth. The display quality and fit and finish were fine, but the underlying tablet tech was a let down. My conclusion? The Waltop digitizer was junk and it let the otherwise competent hardware hanging.

After, I reviewed Monoprice’s graphics tablets. Those use UC Logic digitizers. They’re snappier in OSX than Wacom equivalents with less cursor lag and crisper fidelity in small movements. They sensed light pressure with more accuracy than any Wacom hardware I’ve owned. I was so pleased with the UC Logic based tablets that I purchased a heap of other equipment by them. I sold my Cintiq. I sold my Intuos. Eight months, four tablets and around nine styli later, I became an all UC Logic studio.

I wished that someone could pair the underlying, fantastic UC Logic digitizer tech with a tablet monitor enclosure. I even bought some hardware to try and make my own. But now I don’t have to. Yiynova must have been listening. The MSP19U is a second generation product that jettisons the inferior Waltop digitizers of the first model and replaces them with UC Logic internals.

Does the pairing live up to the sum potential of its disparate parts? Can a relatively unknown $569 tablet monitor compete with a $1999 Wacom Cintiq? Yes, it competes. It even bests the Cintiq in a few key areas. But I’m jumping ahead.

Unboxing, Specs, and the Physical Properties of the Unit

The Yiynova MSP19U is a 19,” 1440x900 tablet monitor with an adjustable, VESA-compatible stand and mounting bracket. It comes with one stylus, one battery, and several additional pen nibs. It has 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity and a 4000lpi digitizer.

The unit is light but not flimsy. Thinner than a Cintiq thanks to its LED backlighting, I find myself occasionally sitting the Yiynova in my lap like a digital art board.

At 19,” 1440x900, and 89.37 PPI, no one will mistake the Yiynova for a retina level display. It’s nearest Wacom neighbor, the 22HD, has a 22,” 1920x1080, and 100.13 PPI, screen. While the Wacom beats the Yiynova in sheer PPI, I always found the color of Cintiqs to be quite muddy thanks in part to an antiglare coating present on the monitors and dim backlighting. I went so far as to remove the glass from my Cintiq to scrape the coating off its back. It helped a little, but was still less than ideal and was not an activity for the faint of heart. Prying, scraping, and modding a $2,499 device to make it useable is a bummer and I went into a lot of detail about the shortcomings of Cintiq tech in my previous review if you want to learn more.

The LED backlighting on the Yiynova makes for a brighter overall display. It’s a little cool out of the box, but was fine once calibrated. If I had to choose between lower PPI or dimmer, muddier colors, I’d pick slightly lower PPI. This particular category is probably a draw.

The glass of the display sits above the LCD by around an 1/8th of an inch and looks to be about the same distance as my previous Cintiq. Until a manufacturer creates a unit with an iPad-like fused LCD and glass display, cursor parallax will be a concern (and is present for both the MSP19U and Cintiqs).

The stand allows for either complete verticality or nearly horizontal viewing angles and is easy to operate. Rotation is not possible, but I find it to be less of a necessity these days. Photoshop, Painter, Manga Studio, and nearly any art app worth it’s salt allow users to rotate the canvas arbitrarily.

There’s a VGA out port on the back of the monitor that will mirror the activity on your tablet to yet another external display. It’s an odd inclusion, but could be handy for making presentations or when teaching a digital art class. I do both from time to time, so it may be of some use.

Software & Hardware Installation

Setup was quick. I tested the unit on maxed 2012, 13” Macbook Air. The Air has a mini display/thunderbolt port, so an adapter was required to pair it with the Yiynova. All in, the MSP19U needs a VGA port, a wall socket, and a USB port to get rolling.

I already had UC Logic drivers installed on my system from my Monoprice tablets, so I only had to plug in the tablet to begin. The bundled driver software is the same version as the downloadable driver on the UC Logic, Panda City, and Yiynova websites, so use whatever is most convenient.

A quick note about drivers. Like with Monoprice tablets, I recommend installing drivers before plugging the tablet in, especially in Windows. Windows will install generic HID (Human Interface Device) drivers otherwise. They’re horrible and you’ll think your tablet is broken. It’s not. You’ll have to uninstall the generic HID driver from device manager, install the proper drivers, and only then plug in your tablet. This mistake accounts for five to ten support emails in my inbox a week.

Some stubborn apps enable tablet specific features (like pressure sensitivity options) only after detecting Wacom drivers present on a system. I install Intuos 3 drivers alongside any alternative tablet hardware to fool these apps into thinking a tablet is present. Painter and Illustrator are the two biggest culprits in my experience in both Win and Mac environments.

Does it work?

I tested the monitor with Photoshop CS6, Painter 12, and Manga Studio 4 and 5 in OSX and Windows. Much like the Monoprice tablets that came before, I found performance even better in OSX than Windows, but fine in both.

There are cursor calibration options in Windows, but no such options in OSX. I didn’t find cursor offset or parallax to be as bad on the Yiynova as on a Cintiq, and never found myself wanting or needing to futz with the cursor offset anyhow.

Cursor lag is similarly less pronounced on the Yiynova than a Cintiq and drawing felt more natural as a result.

A note on Paint Tool SAI. I’ve heard there are some issues running a multiple monitor setup with Paint Tool SAI, specifically, but that’s hard to blame on the Yiynova. SAI has been largely abandonware for some time, and it’s starting to show. I recommend using Clip Paint/Manga Studio 5. It’s a bit like a mashup of SAI, Painter, and Photoshop, and has largely replaced all those other apps in my workflow. My Windows box is a single monitor setup, so I was unable to verify these reports.

The drawing surface is slicker than that of a Cintiq and took a little getting used to. I found that long, deliberate lines could sometimes wobble a bit as my stylus tip slid on the glass, but it was a user limitation, not a failure of the digitizer panel.

Viewing angles on the monitor are worse than a Cintiq, but brightness is better. Viewing angles never veered into unusable territory, but the resolution and viewing angles of the LCD are the single largest area I’d like to see improved in the future.

Bottom line? Is it perfect? No. Are Cintiqs? No.

The Cintiq 22HD costs $1999. It has a slightly laggier feel to drawing, but a higher resolution display and has programmable hotkeys. It’s heavy and cumbersome. At the time of writing, the Yiynova MSP19U costs $569. It has a superior drawing experience in terms of lag and cursor offset to my eye, but a lower quality display and no hotkeys. It’s light and easier to move around a desk or sit in your lap.

Even without the price disparity, I would opt for the MSP19U. Cursor lag was the single biggest complaint I could muster against the Cintiqs and I think the 19U is the winner there. How well it draws trumps how good the image looks for me every time.

But, price matters and we should talk about it. The 19U costs 72% less than the Cintiq 22HD and 77% less than the 24HD. Even if it were marginally worse in all regards – and I find it neither heads and shoulders above or below, simply different – it would still be a steal.

My 19U is now a permanent member of the household. I don’t plan on, or feel the need to, replace it with a Cintiq.

Wacom has genuine competition on both the tablet and tablet monitor fronts. Spread the word. Make them feel some heat. There’s no reason this technology should be so expensive. The underlying hardware has been largely stagnant for a decade with no real innovation.

At $569, and with performance that often meets or exceeds Wacom’s hardware, the MSP19U is more than a viable alternative. It’s the disruptive agent of change the industry needs.

Buy the MSP19U using my Amazon affiliate link if you want to support my efforts to test digital art hardware.

Lastly, I want to thank you all. There have been more than 34,000 reblogs of my Monoprice review on Tumblr alone. UC Logic digitizers are a known quantity in the tablet space now and it’s thanks to you.

Another splendid and thorough graphics tablet review by Ray Frenden. This time it’s the Cintiq alternative, the Yiynova MSP19U.

Adobe acquires massive portfolio sharing network Behance to make Creative Cloud social

Illustrator Dyna Moe (previously with the Mad Men Illustrated) has a very hilarious (and still as yet on-going) set of The 12 Days of Christmas featuring her Hipster Animals. 

(By the way, she’s got a Tumblr. Follow her now.)

Ty Mattson created a series of designs to celebrate Homeland by designing 12 vintage-styled record covers inspired by the TV series - with some very nice results. (via Homeland Vintage Jazz Record Covers « Mattson Creative)

Two comics subscription services that were closed at the time I mentioned them in my Best of 2012 post have both been re-opened. Both Oily Comics and Patrick Kyle’s Distance Mover are accepting subscription orders, so get on it!

kyletwebster:

This latest tragedy in Connecticut makes me feel helpless. Will our country ever seize control of this horrible gun mess? Small, innocent children are dead. What more can it possibly take?

Beautiful design for the worst possible reason, by Kyle T. Webster. 

evanpalmercomics:

Cute lil cats in a big bad mech stompin’ some pigs! I haven’t done a watercolor painting in a long time, so I thought I’d try my hand at it again. I think I might make this a series.

Evan Palmer, good gravy. More here. Wowee zowee. Oh and this, holy crap! 

Looking for a unique Christmas gift? For only £285 you can take home one of these gorgeous felt beetles (measuring a huge 52cm across!) by Louise Evans (aka: Felt Mistress). Of course, you may need to buy a second one for yourself. 

(via Felt Mistress — Giant Cavalry Caped Kitchener Beetle)

anthonyholden:

It’s almost the weekend! Get out your best outfit and strut your stuff!

-Anthony Holden

Oh yes I am reblogging this.

Wonderful sketch blog by Vancouver artist Won Kang. Click to embiggen. 

(via Urban Sketcher: Sun Tower in the Twenties)

movingthestill:

“A SHORT HISTORY OF THE GIF” by Legs (<— AWESOME.)

Tonights the night! Moving The Still: A GIF Festival’s final night live in Miami will close with an amazing party with DJ sets by Dan Deacon and Wild Nothing. Join us! 

Presented by @MilkStudios @Paddle8 @Tumblr @Smartwater | #MovingTheStill #SmartBasel

Short and sweet!

Cartoonist Gabrielle Bell is doing watercolor portraits over Skype. They’re tiny and amazing, and $35 I think. This might be the best possible use for Skype, although the scientific research isn’t in yet.

More from Gabrielle at her site, and her new book The Voyeurs is available from Uncivilized Books, as well as all good bookstores. 

lillicarre:

I didn’t know cartoonist and illustrator Lilli Carré had a tumblr of just animations, but now I do, and so do you. Holy mackerel! I’m in the middle of finishing her new book Heads or Tails, after which I’ll write a review. Spoiler alert: it’s fantastic. 

(link via Maré Odomo’s on Twitter)

Russian animator Alexandre Petrov directed this beautiful commercial for Russian Railways at Pascal Blais studio.

(via Catsuka)

So many wonderful animal illustrations at the Animalarium!

(via Daniel Savage’s twooter)

samhiti:

DEATH RATTLE 

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury: Sam Hiti, I rest my case. Once Upon A Time In The West is one of my favorite movies ever, and features my very favorite movie soundtrack ever. Sam Hiti is also one of my favorites ever—if you want to have your eyeballs melted in person, pick up his amazing book Death Day, one of the weirdest, best, wildest, best books you’ll read this year or any other. Read the online serialization for free here.

My friend and yours Mike Mitchell has a lot of talents, but he’s particularly good at revisiting iconic images—or even just clothes—in a way that’s respectful and gently mocking at the same time. His current series of “SUPER” prints, modeled after the classic Superman pose, is available until midnight tonight (December 4th 2012) as a grab bag. I have some of Mike’s prints, enough actually that it’s starting to get a little creepy. Mike’s shop is here, and his Tumblr is here. 

One of my favorite contemporary illustrators, Anita Kunz, has work in a group show in Toronto:

Gallery House is pleased to announce its grand opening and annual exhibition entitled “Miles to go Before I Sleep”, a group show of the work of Anita Kunz, Ray Caesar, Gottfried Helnwein and Catherine Howe.

2068 Dundas Street West Toronto, ON M6R 1W9 (416) 587-0057
The Public Opening is November 29th, 2012 from 5-9

johnmartz:

For the third consecutive year I designed the poster for the National Cartoonist Society Foundation’s Jay Kennedy Scholarship for Cartooning.

The deadline is fast approaching — applications must be postmarked by December 15th, 2012. Any North American student who will be in their junior or senior year of college or university during the 2013-2014 academic year is eligible. You do not have to be an art major. More information at www.cartoonistfoundation.org

This is a great opportunity for any student who draws comics, does animation, or dabbles in any sort of cartooning. Only a few days left to get your application in the mail!

The Hawkeye Initiative:

About 12 years ago for a class project in art school I argued that sexism was not inherently embedded in the female nude in art (or images of women, period, as argued by the hardcore feminists there), but coded in the poses. Wish I’d thought of the following to make my point: The Hawkeye Initiative exposes what we’re so used to seeing that we don’t notice any more. It shows the ludicrous and the sexploitative in comics by replacing heroines with the buff Hawkeye character in the same pose—-drawn by whoever wants to participate, with some pretty hilarious results.

generallynautical:

kylermartz:

Whaleboats II Screenprint.

2012.

Kyler Martz

Love it.

Clever and beautiful prints by Kyler Martz.

Chris Gardner, who drew our beautiful Drawn logo, shows some sketches and preliminary work for a logo he drew for a new iOS word game called Letter by Letter that launches today.

I’ve been playing a closed beta of the game for the past few weeks, and I’m complete addict. Its the perfect mix of Scrabble, Boggle, and Risk with short, but challenging turns that require some crafty strategy and a healthy vocabulary.

sirmitchell:

Super - Series 1 

Next week I’m trying something different. I’ll be selling a “grab bag” of three signed 4”x6” prints, which will include two common, and one uncommon/rare. 

They will be on sale for 24 hours at some point early next week. Each “grab bag” will be available for $35. There will also be a golden ticket in a random order which can be redeemed for the entire Super - Series 2 set. 

I really enjoyed making these, and whether or not I sell 3 or 300, I’ll be making more!

So great. Nice work, as usual, Mike Mitchell.