VOID

Art => VOID University => Resources & Tutorials => Topic started by: Angie on Feb 20, 2008, 06:24 PM

Title: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on Feb 20, 2008, 06:24 PM
How to do Word Bubbles

This tutorial was created with Adobe Photoshop, any version should work fine.

First, choose a random picture of panel you want to add text to. Now type out the dialogue you want to use. The font I used here is Letter-o-Matic, a font that can be obtained for free at http://www.blambot.com , a site that has many other comic fonts for free. You should try to plan out where your dialogue is going to go in the actual drawing stage, things can get messy if you don't anticipate where your text will be going.

(http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/8572/24767473hx6.jpg)

Now make a new layer underneath your text

(http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1885/95683711wc0.jpg)

And select the Elliptical Marquee Tool, and make a circle where your bubble is going to be.

(http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/4182/79250593vf4.jpg)

Now select the Polygonal Lasso tool, and while holding down SHIFT, make a little tail for your bubble like so

(http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5783/44980788gi8.jpg)

Now go back to that new layer you made under the text and select the Paint Bucket Tool. Fill in the selection you made on the layer below the text.

Next, go to the Layer menu at the top of the screen. Select Layer Style from the drop down menu . Then choose Stroke. The size and color are up to you, normally my bubbles are 3-8 pixels depending on the resolution I'm working in. You should now have something like

(http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/2395/98592284tg4.jpg)

Some general rules for word bubbles
1.Don't do transparent word bubbles. It makes it look as if you screwed up your layout so you had to use transparent word bubbles to avoid covering the art or important details. Your word bubbles should always be in places they were meant to be.
2.Avoid obnoxious colors for your text as well as for the bubble itself. No one wants to read bright red text on top of a black word bubble.
3.Don't give each character their own special color or font for their text. It's your job to make sure that it is clear who is speaking. If you need 10 different colors or fonts for every character, you've failed.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Voodoo on Apr 26, 2008, 05:52 PM
Is It Better to do the text before or after I resize an image down to the submission size (usually 800 pixels wide)?
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on Apr 26, 2008, 06:31 PM
I normally do it prior to resizing but it's up to you. I prefer doing it before I resize so I have more room to work with and can resize the font a little more. I've found that when I do it after I resize it, the text is difficult to get just right.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Voodoo on Apr 27, 2008, 08:08 AM
When Downloading fonts from a website, how do I open them up in Photoshop?
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Corny on Apr 27, 2008, 08:31 AM
You open your control panel (I hope you're on windows, I haven't a clue about macs) and switch it to classic view if it isn't already, and then click the Font folder. Then you just drag the font file (it'll be a big T or something, easy to figure out) into it. They'll appear in Photoshop the next time you open it.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Enef on Apr 27, 2008, 10:01 AM
If you're on Vista you unzip the zip file the font came in, extract it somewhere, then right click on the file and click "install".
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Kuro on Apr 27, 2008, 11:19 AM

2.Avoid obnoxious colors for your text as well as for the bubble itself. No one wants to read bright red text on top of a black word bubble.


yeah i learned my lesson with that on those goofy orange captions that showed up yellow on everyone else's. hahahaha

great tutorial, angie! easy & efficient

-J
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Kotori Ky on Apr 27, 2008, 11:55 AM
Agreed. I've always done the bubble first and words after, which has caused me no end of trouble in the past. I had never actually considered reversing that order... /head-desk XD
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Kuro on Apr 27, 2008, 07:34 PM
Here are a few extra things too, that might help. It might get a little bit more complicated than Angie's so if you get lost, disregard & follow hers haha Like anything in photoshop, there's twenty ways to go about doing the same thing & this is a lot more clunky than the way above. but maybe someone might like it.


Getting A Balloon's Text To Maintain The Shape of the Bubble:
Step One:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep1.jpg)
First, for this you have to use the Ellipse Shape Tool (as shown above). Create a simple white ellipse. Don't worry about the size right now, just ballpark it. But notice how in your layers, it creates a 'Shape 1' layer. This shape is a vector.

Step Two:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep2.jpg)
Assuming you followed Angie's advice & got Letter-O-Matic on your machine already, go to the Type Tool, the 'T' on the tools. Chances are you know what this does already. First all you need to do is make sure your text is going to be aligned to the 'Center' Easy enough. Now try waving it over that Ellipse you created earlier. Notice how those square edges round out? That's what you're looking for. Click the mouse, & you'll notice that no matter where you click over the circle, the text bar will show up towards the top center, creating a new text layer. Now type away whatever bit of dialogue you need.

Step Three:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep3.jpg)
haha read the bubble above. See? Without ever having to hit 'enter' your text will automatically follow the mask of the shape layer below. now on that balloon i have the font set at like '11' at 72 dpi. it's smaller than you'll usually see, but whatever. and generally, you're not gonna want to use THIS MUCH type in a single balloon, but i did it to show how the text would fit the shape. you can use whatever size or typeface you want & it'll stay within the shape of the balloon on it's own separate layer. you may need to nudge to fit it just right. this one I didn't adjust it other than nudging it a bit, but you can also resize the balloon using the transform > scale. however, when you do that, unlike what it usually does to text, it doesn't actually change the size of the letters, just the shape of the bubble the letters fit in. you can do the same to the original shape layer as well. but it's important if you do resize the text layer itself: Make sure that if you shrink down the balloon size, it doesn't start to CUT OFF the text! if you have more typed than can fit in the balloon, it'll just fit what it can & cut off the rest. if this is constantly a problem maybe consider a smaller font size to begin with? you can always adjust the font size as you normally would by selecting & changing the number, but make sure it's consistent throughout.
This would be easy to apply to Angie's Version as well. Just make an ellipse roughly where & the size you want it, click the type tool over top to get that shape, type the dialogue & be sure to delete the Original Ellipse Shape.


Creating a Cursor/Tail/Pointer With a Curl

Step One:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep4.jpg)
Alright so you have your Balloon, the text is in it, it's good to go. Now what about that little doohickey that points to the source of the noise? Angie's way is great & super easy! Me? I dunno, I like giving the cursor a bit of a curl on it. Just a goofy little effect. If you look at the image above, I selected the original Shape Layer (mind you, don't be like me, name your layers haha), & created a duplicate layer. Using the nudge tool, I shifted it over to the side & down a little bit. When you're doing it for real, think about the direction you want the cursor pointing. And if you want it facing left or right, nudge it in the opposite direction. judging by how thick or thin you may want your cursor, you might wanna consider scaling it a bit.

Step Two:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep5.jpg)
Right, so next select that new shape layer & right click, looking for that option 'Rasterize layer'. When you do that, it takes that layer out of the goofy vector mask state it was in & turns it into a regular old PS layer. Now keep that layer selected, but hold the 'Control' key & click the original shape layer. It should select that original shape as a marquis/dotted line. with the newly rastered layer still selected, just hit delete.

Step Three:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep6.jpg)
Now I moved it aside on here, but it should give you this 'crescent moon' shape. Mind you this is a little rushed as I didn't really have a source in mind.

Step Four:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep7.jpg)
Move that shape over/under the balloon however you'd like. don't be afraid to rotate or whatever to get it just right. as for that other side that's sticking out the other end...

Step Five:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep8.jpg)
Just select it somewhere over the balloon & press delete. Voila. It gets that little goofy swoopy effect. Not that it mattered much. haha now...


Finishing Up

Step One:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep9.jpg)
Your Balloon is Comprised of Three Layers: The Text on top, & then the cursor & the balloon. If you've got a bunch of dialogue on your page right now, three layers per bubble is gonna get nutty. So first off, make any last minute size adjustments. Like you did earlier, you're going to rasterize the balloon, and any resizing is good to do before hand rather than after the fact. So Resize, rasterize... Now select which ever layer you have on top, the balloon or the cursor. if you go under the 'layers' option up top, you should see 'merge layer down' clicking that should merge the two into just one layer, giving you the image i have up above.
Since the balloon, cursor & all is one layer now, you can add the outline here like in Angie's. Now this is completely optional, but beyond the black outline, sometimes i'll add an 'outer glow' on as well (see below). Pure White, Screen, spread & opacity up to 100%, & set the size up to just one more than whatever you set the black stoke too. If you have a lot of lines & line work or dark bits, adding that little extra highlight makes the balloon stand out a little bit. again not necessary, just something i do sometimes.

Step Two:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/kurocrash/Tut/BalloonStep10.jpg)
Right so now, it's down to two layers. you could rasterize the text & merge like you did the cursor, but let's say you don't like the wording & wanna change something. you'd be eff'ed as rasterizing the text would make it so you could edit. But Wanna keep them together anyhow? Later versions of photoshop have the 'Link Layers' Tool. In your layers window, select the text layer & hold shift (or control) to select the balloon layer (they should both be highlighted like in the image above) Now if you have one of the later versions of PS, you will notice a 'chain' icon at the lower right of your image. With the two layers selected, click it, & the layers should get that chain icon too. Now select just one layer & try moving it. It should move both. This goes for scaling & rotating too. if you want to unlink them at any time, select either layer & click the chain again to do that. but linking is a good way to keep things together while still allowing you to do some editing.


Hope this helps someone out there!

-J
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on Apr 27, 2008, 08:03 PM
Looks good Kuro!
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: countkillalot on May 30, 2008, 11:47 PM
I have a question. What kind of word bubbles do you use when the charachters are comunicating psychicly, as in projecting thoughts to eachother  instead of just talking?
I realise this doesn't  neccessairily have anything to do with the technique behind making word bubbles, but I just couldnt find a relevant thread.  ;]
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Domino on May 31, 2008, 06:40 AM
Different comic artists/ letterers tend to use different techniques to indicate thoughts or psychic communication ranging from no balloons to elaborately designed balloons.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: luniara on May 31, 2008, 06:55 AM
ya'll do word bubbles the hard way. Sorta.

Don't go out of your way to make the lil tips that way. take the pen tool to it. lol
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on May 31, 2008, 11:32 AM
http://www.uncannyxmen.net/images/spotlight/xavier11.jpg
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/thumb/1/14/Professor_x.gif/250px-Professor_x.gif

Maybe looking at Professor Xavier will help? If you need me to show how to do the cloudy word bubbles I can
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: countkillalot on Jun 02, 2008, 05:13 AM
gee thanks! I was looking for a good referance ,but i hadn't thought about Xavier & Co .. I'm gonna look into that  ;D
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Evil-spark-dragon on Jun 03, 2008, 06:34 AM
Alright folks. I’m seeing all these photoshop tutorials on how to make word bubbles with the marquee tools. And they’re great!... except I use The GIMP and that tutorial wouldn't work with that.  :-[

Not to worry, though. After a bit of mucking around I’ve formulated a way around this little pothole!

Firstly, you’ll need an image to put your word bubble in. I’ve found a nice picture of my character Viper, so he’ll do.
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k131/Evil-spark-dragon/Speechbubbletut1.png)
Now, you make a layer above the image, and put in some text. Note the settings I used. Oh and the font came from blambot.com- it’s called ‘Evil Genius’ (muahaha).
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k131/Evil-spark-dragon/Speechbubbletut2.png)
Now we’ve got that down, make a new layer under your text, and get the paths tool (in my version it looks like a pen nib with lines and boxes coming out of it- don’t confuse it with the ink tool!)

Now this bit requires just a little guesswork. Make a sort of triangle shape with the path tool- like the pokey bit that comes out of the speech bubble.
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k131/Evil-spark-dragon/Speechbubbletut3.png)
Then go to the tool options menu ad click ‘create selection from path’.

This bit’s easier… grab the ellipse select tool (it looks like a grey circle) and enclose the text in it. Right now it should look like this…
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k131/Evil-spark-dragon/Speechbubbletut4.png)
Now (making sure of course that you’re on that new layer) you go Edit > Fill with FG Color (or BG Color if you prefer lol).

Now you make another layer that’s above your text. Then you go Select > Border and Border your selection by about 3-5 pixels (for a 700-800 pixel wide image).
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k131/Evil-spark-dragon/Speechbubbletut5.png)
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k131/Evil-spark-dragon/Speechbubbletut6.png)
Now just fill the selection with black, and you’re done!
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k131/Evil-spark-dragon/Speechbubbletut7.png)
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Kuro on Jun 03, 2008, 08:05 AM
neat.
something to consider though doing it that way. it seems like gimp is similar to photoshop in that the 'border' selection has a feathered edge. maybe try sharpening the selection before filling in the selection with black? i only suggest because the line work is all tight & nice in that last image but then you have this thick digital pixel blob for the edge of the balloon.

as for the pen tool, it's the devil, lune haha

-J
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on Jun 03, 2008, 12:45 PM
Yeah, I've never been a fan of the pen tool either XD And thanks for doing the Gimp tutorial, I'm sure some people on the site will find it helpful. My only suggestion is trimming down the image you're working with a bit to lower the load time.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: garic on Jun 03, 2008, 12:47 PM
I always draw my balloons by hand, and I try to hand letter too if I can.

The photoshop stuff looks pretty good and I'm sure is a lot more convenient and time efficient, but I find that digital balloons (or sound effects, captions, etc.) can really draw you out of a comic, especially if that comic has a noticeably 'non-digital' look.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Kyosho on Jun 09, 2008, 07:25 PM
I think someone posted this already, but check out http://www.balloontales.com/tips/
They're professional, and have great tips. This is for Adobe Illustrator, and most of the tips are for Mac users (but if you're clever you can figure out how to do it on the PC version). I've been lettering this way, and I think it turns out great.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on Jun 19, 2008, 06:51 PM
Hey Kuro, I just attempted to do word balloons your way, and it's not working. You may want to clarify what the top of your screen looks like so people can see what your settings are. Putting the text into the ellipse doesn't do anything for me
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Jackster on Aug 01, 2008, 11:07 PM
I think someone posted this already, but check out http://www.balloontales.com/tips/
They're professional, and have great tips. This is for Adobe Illustrator, and most of the tips are for Mac users (but if you're clever you can figure out how to do it on the PC version). I've been lettering this way, and I think it turns out great.

I've been lettering like that for a year and a half now.

All thanks to that site!

It beats lettering in Photoshop, that's for sure!
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: sheldon on Jun 23, 2009, 02:36 AM
I see you guys have got the recipe down, but not the taste. I made this quick tip pic up for gabe, thought you might find some use in it.

Don't fear the pen tool kids. It's just as scared of you as you are of it.

(http://www.1984custom.respark.net/images/bubble_help.jpg)
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Kuro on Jun 23, 2009, 04:22 AM
Don't fear the pen tool kids. It's just as scared of you as you are of it.

i had been messing with it & getting okay results recently. then i just started doing the whole shebang by hand anyway.
but very good points, thanks for the tips!
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: William_Duel on Jun 23, 2009, 07:01 AM
My initial understanding of the pen tool was a mess.  I have a better idea of how to use it now but it'll take some practice before I can actually put it to use.  It could be pretty interesting for fancier looking word bubbles I think, it's a matter of control. 
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on Jun 23, 2009, 11:22 AM
Thanks Sheldon, I'm still scared to use the pen tool and I had to use it in several classes haha but this should be helpful
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Mister Kent on Jun 28, 2009, 09:43 PM
These are some good resources here from everybody
That BalloonTales site is extremely helpful as well - Thanks!

I used to have do my text in PShop, then port the image over to Illustrator to make balloons with the pen - and I thought that was easy. Using the Pen tool in Photoshop is such a timesaver.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: JoshuaEliGilley on Jun 29, 2009, 03:45 PM
Pen tool is an acquired taste, much like coffee or beer,
It's pretty much terrible at first, But once past the initial lack of pleasure, you will realize the awesome benefits.

As has been said, it's great for simple, clean shapes such as word balloons/boxes. ;D

(some) Keys to pen tool success:
(the following applies to the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator, but the principles may apply to other progs. ???)

-Point and click will give you straight lines. (It creates anchor points actually, 2 points = a line :P)
-Holding shift while doing this will result in 90 and 45 degree angles automatically.


-If you drag while holding the click, you get curved lines (same deal, your still making anchor points, but the points dictate the direction/type of line)

and this one is VERY IMPORTANT:
-Hold alt & click (on mac) (I THINK it's prolly cntrl + click on PC) on an anchor point, it kind of resets your line.

You know how you'll be drawing a pen path then, all of a sudden: "OMFG WHY DID THE LINE CURVE OUT ALL CRAZY TO THE SIDE??!!!"
Well, the alt click trick ensures that you will be able to continue drawing as you want without madness.
The pen-tool line will act differently depending on your shape and the goal is draw as few anchor points as possible. The alt-click trick is crucial when you want your line to flow in a different direction suddenly, any sharp curves or angles.

remember to tweak your anchor points and handles as needed, you can easily refine your shapes this way.
and the pen tool shapes you make can combine nicely with the other tools like box and ellipse.

This probably sounds pretty basic and all, but once I knew these things, especially the last one, the pen tool and I became BFFs forever :D
pretty much all there is to it IMO. I use the thing always at work, so let me know if something doesn't make sense here. And I'll try to explain better.
so helpfully this helps somma ya'll pentool noobs.
There was some pen tool training sheet online I saw once, I'll try to find it......
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: CarrotMonster on Jan 05, 2010, 06:30 PM
What programs can be used like this?
I use corel painter Sketchpad and i cant figure out how to do text...
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: (Pi) on Jan 06, 2010, 12:26 AM
I dunno if Corel can do that, most people use Photoshop or GIMP (which I think is freeware?). If neither is available to you for any reason (or even if they are), just learn to hand letter. It's a good skill anyway.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Kuro on Jul 27, 2010, 12:29 PM
Bot much?
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on Jul 27, 2010, 12:40 PM
Enjoy the ban Mr.Bot
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Ten Dead Kings on Oct 31, 2011, 10:53 AM
Thread Necro.
Because I can.

For anybody using Paint.Net in here, I found this handy little plugin pack
which contains, among other arcane things,
an easy-to-use Speech Balloon thingie!

Download:
http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/16643-dpys-pack/

(http://art27.photozou.jp/pub/945/269945/photo/35724608_org.v1270566101.png)

Remember to keep your layer for the speech bubble on normal properties,
not multiply!
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: The Bent One on Oct 31, 2011, 12:51 PM
I know many people here have a version of photoshop, so I found this.

It's results are almost as good as what Illustrator can do.

http://www.gagcartoons.com/cartoon-tutorials/speech-bubbles/ (http://www.gagcartoons.com/cartoon-tutorials/speech-bubbles/)
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: cannonspark on Feb 17, 2013, 06:31 AM
Hi there,

Are there any online tools for creating word bubbles?

(Asking here since this thread is still on the front page)
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: William_Duel on Feb 17, 2013, 06:39 AM
What do you mean by 'online tools'?  What are you looking for?  Tutorial, program, or template?
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: cannonspark on Feb 17, 2013, 02:17 PM
Hi William,

I'm looking for online software/programs that can help me make word bubbles.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Red on Feb 17, 2013, 02:24 PM
Hi William,

I'm looking for online software/programs that can help me make word bubbles.

Well, if you look back in the thread there are tutorials for making them in GIMP which is a free program you can download. There's also http://www.getpaint.net/ (also free) and tdkgunghoul posted about a plug-in you can use to make them.

Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: cannonspark on Feb 17, 2013, 02:27 PM
Sorry but that's not what I'm looking for.

I can use Photoshop to do it but was hoping for something simpler.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Angie on Feb 17, 2013, 02:37 PM
I haven't heard of anything like that. Pretty much the 100% most simple and lazy way to do word bubbles is by doing them in Manga Studio, which will format the text and give you the tail. Anything online probably won't give you the best results or customization since you'll be relying on built in fonts to do it.
Title: Re: How to do Word Bubbles
Post by: Pennydox on Feb 17, 2013, 10:42 PM
You can find and install a free plugin for Photoshop to make speech bubbles.
Just look up "photoshop plugin for speech bubble" on google, see what you can get. I should find one too there, but I haven't, so if you DO find one, do post.

also, this link might help: http://www.2000shareware.com/downloads/photoshop/speech/bubble/plugin/

Plugins for photoshop is like a phone app for the phone. Quick to install, and a complete new application to the program.