I’m currently working on my own manga/webtoon project and I’m looking for tips on the most efficient way to handle sound effects and onomatopoeia directly within Krita.
I love drawing in Krita, but I find the text tools a bit challenging when it comes to the complex, dynamic effects often needed in manga (warping, distortion, text following a curved path, etc.).
I’d love to know your workflow:
1- Do you use any specific free fonts for dynamic sounds (like explosions, impact, etc.)?
2- Do you rely entirely on hand-drawing the text, or do you start with a font and then rasterize it for manual distortion?
3- Are there any lesser-known Krita features or filters you use for warping the text? (I’m trying to avoid moving back and forth between Krita and an external software like Inkscape just for text effects.)
Any advice, tutorial links, or workflow hacks would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I won’t pretend to be an expert on this subject, but from my limited experience it has always come down to being a situational endeavor. For simple things (say, a phone ringing), some simple “RING RING” text drops might work fine, in which case finding a bouncy font and typing it near the phone will work out. However, being comics, onomatopoeia often becomes a part of the scene itself, rather than just text put on the page to be read. For example, the “BOOM” of an explosion might become incorporated with the drawing of the explosion itself, to convey the force of that moment. Because of this, there really isn’t a set in stone method for creating them, as each sound effect becomes its own creation, designed for the specific comic it’s in. In such cases, we might start with a font that gives us an initial starting point, but then it becomes a matter of transforming that font to fit the aesthetic. So, the font becomes a framework used to stay on course, while free handing the final product. I’ve done a quick example of this below.
My SFX is super simple, I just use a font I like (Mostly a choice between 2) And sometimes manipulate the shape a bit. My story is Slice-of-Life so I don’t need much. I’m pretty boring.
I also struggle with this in my own comics. Probably because it’s a much deeper and more complex subject than I initially thought
Anyway, here’s my basic workflow with an example:
- I start by defining a general shape for the placement of the sound effect.
- Next, I draw a rough sketch and make extensive use of Krita’s transformation tool (mainly perspective, distortion and liquefaction, tbh), trying to achieve a good balance.
- Finally, I draw by hand (with a large ink brush in this case) and try to make energetic, confident brushstrokes.
For short, small noises (the “tap! tap!”), I put them in speech bubbles.
I totally agree with @Someonsane on the importance of adapting to each situation. If you haven’t already, try looking into the art of Kakimoji. Japanese artists take the use of onomatopoeia to another level of wildness.
