Manga Lettering with Adobe Suite - Beginner to Professional from Udemy

What's inside

Learning objectives

Master photoshop for manga retouching, text placement, and sound effect design using both type and hand-drawn elements.
Create professional titles, logos, and cover designs with illustrator’s vector tools for seamless adaptation in manga.

Build efficient manga layouts in indesign, using styles and scripts for streamlined text shaping and export-ready files.
Gain practical experience on complete chapters using real manga pages and learn key freelancing skills to start your career in manga lettering.

Master photoshop for manga retouching, text placement, and sound effect design using both type and hand-drawn elements.
Create professional titles, logos, and cover designs with illustrator’s vector tools for seamless adaptation in manga.
Build efficient manga layouts in indesign, using styles and scripts for streamlined text shaping and export-ready files.
Gain practical experience on complete chapters using real manga pages and learn key freelancing skills to start your career in manga lettering.

Syllabus

Introduction

What will you learn in this course

Who I am

The full picture of the lettering process

The most important rule

Course materials

The tools, and alternatives

Course syllabus

Photoshop Basics

Interface overview

Setting up your workspace/preferences

Photoshop tools (1) Introduction

Photoshop tools (2) Changing how we see the canvas

Photoshop tools (3) Drawing

Photoshop tools (4) Selecting and moving

Extra: The clone source panel

Layers basics, opacity

Layers exercise

Layer modes

Layer styles

Layer styles exercise

Layer manipulation

Layer manipulation exercise

Type and smart objects

Image modes

Photoshop - SFX and asides

Fonts

SFX and asides, sub and replace

Using typefaces for SFX

Manga challenge - Replicate these SFX using typefaces

Brush panel basics

The power of the basic round brush

Handwritten SFX, smoothing, lazy nezumi

(Extra) Making brush tips

Screentones, and how to generate them

Extra - Screentones using generator & How to screentone glow

Other lettering cases

Extra - Advanced strokes

Manga Challenge - Handwritting SFX

Photoshop - Retouch

The White - Trace - Fill method

White techniques

Trace techniques

Fill techniques

(Extra) Filling with the pattern brush

The spot healing brush

Other retouch cases - action lines

Other retouch cases - create from scratch

Challenge: retouch clash images

Manga challenge - clean real manga pages

(Extra) Resizing bubbles

Illustrator basics

Vector basics

Interface and tools

Extra: The curvature tool

Layers, grouping

Compound paths, clipping masks

Vector practice

Type, outline

Appearance panel - Fill, stroke and their modifiers

Extra panels (Graphic styles, swatches, gradient)

Extra - Screentones in Illustrator

Extra panels (align, pathfinder)

Illustrator logos, covers and SFX

Logo replication process

Logo making - Easy

Logo making - Hard

Logo making - flying solo

Making a book cover

Challenge - make a book jacket

Illustrator SFX

Indesign basics

Interface. Setting up your workspace/preferences

Tools

Font basics and effects

Object, paragraph, character styles

Paragraph splitting / multiple fonts on frame

Scripts

Typesetting with Indesign

The style guide

Text shaping principles

Recycling the original indesign file

Setting up the indesign file from scratch - Master pages

Read this

Pre processing and pasting your script

(Extra) Tips for working on artbooks

Exporting pdf settings

Reviews, fdf comment files

Making a style template

Indesign Book Files (INDB)

Exporting packages

Full projects

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Provides hands-on experience with real manga pages, offering practical skills directly applicable to professional projects and portfolio building

Covers the use of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, which are industry-standard tools for digital art and publishing

Explores the nuances of adapting manga for English-speaking audiences, including retyping, SFX creation, and retouching, which are essential for localization

Emphasizes following publisher guidelines, which are crucial for meeting client expectations and maintaining professional standards in the manga industry

Requires access to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, which may necessitate a subscription or purchase, potentially posing a financial barrier for some learners

Teaches techniques for generating screentones, which are a traditional method for adding shading and texture to manga artwork

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Manga Lettering with Adobe Suite - Beginner to Professional with these activities:

Review Photoshop Fundamentals

Show steps

Reinforce your understanding of Photoshop's core tools and concepts. This will help you efficiently retouch manga pages and create SFX.

Show steps

Review tutorials on layers, masking, and basic tools.
Practice simple retouching tasks on sample images.

Brush up on Illustrator Basics

Show steps

Strengthen your knowledge of Illustrator's interface and vector tools. This will help you create professional logos and covers.

Browse courses on Vector Drawing

Show steps

Review tutorials on vector paths, shapes, and the pen tool.
Practice creating simple vector illustrations.

Adobe Illustrator Classroom in a Book

Show steps

Learn the fundamentals of Adobe Illustrator. This will help you create professional logos and covers.

View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon

Show steps

Read the chapters on basic tools and vector drawing.
Complete the exercises to practice your skills.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Retouching Practice on Manga Pages

Show steps

Improve your retouching skills by practicing on real manga pages. This will help you master the 'White - Trace - Fill' method.

Show steps

Find free manga pages online or use provided course materials.
Identify areas needing retouching, such as text removal.
Apply the 'White - Trace - Fill' method to clean up the pages.

SFX Replication Challenge

Show steps

Solidify your understanding of SFX creation by replicating existing manga sound effects. This will improve your font selection and brushwork skills.

Show steps

Select a variety of manga SFX to replicate.
Analyze the font, style, and brushstrokes used in each SFX.
Recreate the SFX using Photoshop or Illustrator.

Adobe InDesign Classroom in a Book

Show steps

Learn the fundamentals of Adobe InDesign. This will help you create professional manga layouts.

View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon

Show steps

Read the chapters on basic tools and page layout.
Complete the exercises to practice your skills.

Letter a Full Manga Chapter

Show steps

Apply your skills by lettering an entire manga chapter. This will give you practical experience with retouching, SFX creation, and typesetting.

Show steps

Obtain a raw manga chapter (with Japanese text).
Retouch the pages to remove the original text.
Add English dialogue and SFX using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
Export the finished chapter in a suitable format.

Career center

Learners who complete Manga Lettering with Adobe Suite - Beginner to Professional will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Manga Letterer

A manga letterer is responsible for placing dialogue, sound effects, and other text into manga panels, adapting the original Japanese text for an English-speaking audience. This course directly prepares you for this role by providing in-depth training in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, the software most often used by manga letterers. You'll learn how to manipulate text, create unique sound effects, and format entire manga pages. Specifically, the course's emphasis on using Photoshop for retouching and SFX, Illustrator for logos and covers, and InDesign for layout and typesetting will allow you to create a polished and professional final product. This course offers comprehensive instruction on following publisher guidelines, ensuring you can navigate professional industry standards, which is a core responsibility for any manga letterer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Manga Letterer

Comic Book Letterer

A comic book letterer places text in speech balloons, captions, and sound effects within comic book panels. Although this course focuses on manga, the core skills you learn using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are directly transferable to the field of comic book lettering. The course's instruction in dialogue typesetting, sound effect creation, and page layout using these applications will be very helpful for a comic book letterer. The course also emphasizes understanding publisher guidelines, which are essential for any professional in this role. The work involves precise text placement and a keen eye for visual dynamics. A person wishing to be a comic book letterer would find this course useful because the course provides practice on real pages and templates, and the Adobe software skills are applicable to both manga and comic books.

See salaries and explore the career path for Comic Book Letterer

Typesetter

A typesetter arranges text for various publications, and this course helps provide the necessary skills in Adobe InDesign, with specific emphasis on text shaping and layout. Though this course focuses on manga, the principles of typography and page design covered in the course apply across other types of publications. A typesetter is responsible for ensuring text is both legible and aesthetically pleasing, and the InDesign segment of this course helps develop the necessary layout and text management skills. Any prospective typesetter would find this course helpful, as it emphasizes creating structured documents through the use of styles and scripts, which are also key skills for a typesetter.

See salaries and explore the career path for Typesetter

Layout Artist

A layout artist arranges visual elements on a page or screen to create an appealing and functional design. This course helps a layout artist understand the principles of design through instruction in Adobe applications, particularly InDesign. Though the course focuses on manga, the skills learned from the course are transferable to other forms of media, since it emphasizes creating structured documents, managing text and images, and ensuring a clear and readable design. The course will help a layout artist by providing experience using InDesign's typesetting tools, and a firm foundation in how to use master pages and style guides, which also helps maintain consistency and speed in projects. A layout artist could find this course useful because it gives hands-on familiarity with layout and formatting.

See salaries and explore the career path for Layout Artist

Book Cover Designer

A book cover designer creates the visual elements of a book cover to attract readers and communicate the book's themes and genre. A book cover designer can benefit from the Illustrator portion of the course, which covers topics such as logo design, cover design, and vector graphics. A designer needs a strong foundation in visual design principles; this course does not discuss basic design principles, but the Adobe software skills acquired in the course help a book cover designer use industry-standard tools. The course also gives a designer familiarity with the process of creating a book cover, including working with text and visual elements in conjunction. This course may be useful for an aspiring book cover designer, who will be able to apply many of the acquired skills.

See salaries and explore the career path for Book Cover Designer

Graphic designer

A graphic designer creates visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate consumers. This course, while specific to manga lettering, provides practical skills in using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for tasks including logo and cover design. The tools and techniques taught in the course, such as vector graphics, text manipulation, and layout, can help equip a graphic designer to create professional designs across various mediums. It also emphasizes following client guidelines, which is essential for a graphic designer. Even though a graphic designer works on a wider range of projects, the skills acquired in this course would be invaluable.

See salaries and explore the career path for Graphic designer

Digital Artist

A digital artist uses digital tools to create art on devices like computers and drawing tablets. This course helps equip a digital artist with the technical knowledge needed for professional work, specifically through training in Photoshop and Illustrator. While a digital artist's work is broad, the course will help you learn how to create and manipulate digital images, create vector graphics, and use layers and other tools effectively. The course also covers a range of digital tools used by an artist to complete projects to industry standards, especially the retouching and sound effect techniques taught in Photoshop, and the logo design elements in Illustrator. Any aspiring digital artist wishing to hone these capabilities may find this course useful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Artist

Publication Designer

A publication designer is responsible for the overall visual appearance of publications, ranging from magazines to books. This course may be useful to a publication designer, since the course covers important Adobe software and methods, such as InDesign layouts and style guides. Though this course focuses on manga adaptations, the instruction in typesetting, document structure, and following publisher guidelines are all applicable to other forms of publication. The course also uses Adobe programs such as Photoshop for image manipulation, which is useful when assembling the pages of a publication. A publication designer could use these skills to create visually cohesive and reader-friendly layouts, especially the lessons on how to export files in formats suitable for printing or online distribution.

See salaries and explore the career path for Publication Designer

Freelance Illustrator

A freelance illustrator creates images for various clients, often for print or digital media. While this course is not specifically about illustration, the training in Illustrator is highly relevant, as it provides a detailed understanding of how to work with vector graphics and create logos and covers. A freelance illustrator often needs to adapt to different projects and publisher guidelines; the course's emphasis on following specific standards is useful in this regard. Though this course is not about illustration itself, the Adobe Illustrator skills taught can be easily applied to various illustration projects. Any prospective freelance illustrator would find the course relevant, as it will improve their ability to produce graphics with a professional-level workflow.

See salaries and explore the career path for Freelance Illustrator

Editorial Assistant

An editorial assistant supports the editorial team in preparing material for publication. This course may be useful for an editorial assistant who is often involved with tasks such as formatting text, managing files, and ensuring consistency across publications. Although the course focuses on manga lettering, the InDesign skills acquired such as typesetting and creating structured documents could be applied to a range of editorial tasks. Particularly, this course provides instruction on using style guides and scripts for streamlined text shaping, and how to export files that adhere to industry guidelines, which assists in smooth workflow as an editorial assistant. Any person wishing to be in this role may find this course useful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Editorial Assistant

Visual Development Artist

A visual development artist creates the visual style and elements for a project, be it a film, game, or animation. While this course is not focused on visual development, it may still be useful, as it provides instruction on Adobe software like Photoshop and Illustrator. These are common tools in the workflow of a visual development artist. Though the course focuses on manga, the skills gained in image manipulation, layout, and logo design can translate to a broader range of creative projects. This course is particularly helpful in building skills using digital tools and processes, though it does not teach the artistic elements of visual development. Any prospective artist would find this course helpful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Visual Development Artist

Webcomic Artist

A webcomic artist creates and publishes comics online, managing both the art and text elements of their work. While this course focuses on manga adaptation, the digital lettering and layout skills taught using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign can be applied to webcomics creation. The course helps a webcomic creator understand how to create professional-looking text and speech bubbles, and how to create a final product ready for online publishing. This course may be useful to a webcomic artist because they can implement the various methods and workflows taught for manga into their own creative projects.

See salaries and explore the career path for Webcomic Artist

Production Artist

A production artist prepares digital and print files for final output, making sure they meet specifications and are production-ready. Typically, this requires a deep understanding of design software, which is why this course may be helpful because it provides training in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. This specific course provides instruction in using these programs for practical uses, such as text replacement, layout, and file export. The course also emphasizes the importance of following publisher guidelines and creating professional-quality work, which are key skills for a production artist. A production artist may find this course useful because the course focuses on the technical details of file preparation and professional workflows.

See salaries and explore the career path for Production Artist

Art Director

An art director oversees the visual style and images for various projects, ensuring they meet the desired aesthetic. While this course focuses on the specific skills of manga lettering, the knowledge gained about digital tools can inform an art director's decisions and workflows. An art director coordinates other people, so while they may or may not perform the direct work tasks taught by this course, the practical understanding can help them communicate more effectively with team members who do. This course may be useful to an art director because it gives insight into industry-standard software, and the specific processes that go into the layout and typesetting of a publication.

See salaries and explore the career path for Art Director

Marketing Designer

A marketing designer creates visual content for marketing campaigns, using design principles to communicate a brand's message. This course may be useful for a marketing designer, since the Adobe skills learned, particularly in Illustrator and Photoshop, are applicable to a wide range of marketing materials. Although the course is specific to manga lettering, a marketing designer would benefit from the course's focus on elements such as logo design, typography, and image manipulation. A marketing designer would find the course helpful, since it provides hands-on experience with industry-standard tools and practical workflows for creating visual content.

See salaries and explore the career path for Marketing Designer

Manga Lettering with Adobe Suite - Beginner to Professional

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

Good to know

Save this course

Activities

Career center

Reading list

Share

Similar courses