Just wanted everyone to know (if you don’t know already) that Manga Studio 4 has been released to the public. I’ve had the opportunity to beta-test the program the last couple of months, and now that I’m free to talk about it, I’ll post a detailed review of the program this week.

The short version is that if you have enjoyed Manga Studio 3, you’re going to absolutely love MS4. While keeping the same basic structure as version 3 (which means that the MS4D Book will still be useful to a degree), there are many, many improvements that will help you produce some great digital artwork.

So, keep your eyes peeled for a review later this week!

In the meantime, you can pick up a copy of the program for the PC (the Mac version should be out later this year) at Smith Micro’s website (http://my.smithmicro.com/win/graphics.html).

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that if you’re going to be at the San Diego comic-Con, be sure to stop by the Smith Micro Booth (Booth #4516). They will be demonstrating the soon to be released Manga Studio 4!

Tell ‘em I sent ya.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to make it to the New York Comic Con this year, but I was happy to hear from a friend of mine that the book was seemingly all over the place, and selling pretty well, to boot!

So, I just wanted to drop a quick note thanking you guys for purchasing it, and I hope you had a great time there. Maybe I’ll be lucky and make it out next year (money willing )

In the Dealing With Cursor Offset post, I noted that I was didn’t know how to delete the preference file for a Wacom tablet driver on a Mac. Not long after I posted that, Andy Bold sent me an e-mail that may help you Mac users out:

I’ve never seen this problem myself, but I can tell you that the System Preferences panel that came with my Bamboo doesn’t have a ‘remove preferences file’ option. It does have “Defaults” buttons on the “Pen” and “Tablet” tabs that factory reset the settings on these panels.

If hitting the Default buttons doesn’t fix the problem then there are two preferences files that can be removed to try and fix it.

* Start Terminal to go to the command line.

* Run these two commands:

- rm $HOME/Library/Preferences/com.wacom.pentablet.prefs
- rm $HOME/Library/Preferences/com.wacom.tabletpreferences

Hope that helps!

If you’re unfamiliar (or uncomfortable) with the Terminal program, then I would suggest just re-installing the driver. But, if you’re like me and likes to get their fingers a bit dirty, you now have that option.

If you have (or want) to change the resolution of your monitor, there’s a good chance you’ll run into a very odd problem when you try drawing in Manga Studio with a Wacom tablet (I can’t speak for other tablet brands because I don’t own any other tablet brands. ).

If you switch resolution or orientation (if you’re looking to use a Cintiq in Portrait mode), you may notice that when you try drawing, the pen lines are way off compared to where you’re trying to draw. The obvious solution would be to go back to the original resolution or orientation. However, the problem doesn’t go away.

Apparently The Wacom driver doesn’t take too kindly to a change in resolution/orientation. The offsetting issue actually happens with all the drawing programs I’ve encountered. However, all I usually need to do is close and restart the program for the cursor to become properly aligned. Not so with Manga Studio — you can close and re-open the program until doomsday, and the cursor’s going to remain offset.

So, since that idea is thrown out, you have only one option. Well, two really..but they both produce the same result.

• You will need to un-install and re-install the Wacom driver. If you lost or deleted the driver installation, you can pick up a fresh copy at Wacom’s website.*

• If you use Windows, you can use the Tablet File Preference Utility to delete the driver’s preference file and restart the driver.** To do this:
  1. Find the program in your Start Menu (Start -> Programs -> Wacom Tablet -> Tablet Preference File Utility).
  2. The Preference Utility window appears (see Figure 1).
  3. Click on the button that says “Remove My Preference File.”
     
  4. Once it does its thing, close the window.

That’s it! If you use Manga Studio now, the cursor should now be properly aligned. Keep in mind though that all of the custom shortcuts you added to your pen and/or tablet will be gone. So you’ll need to re-enter them with the Wacom Tablet Properties program.

* It’s good to check there occasionally just to see if there’s an updated driver. Just be sure to hold on to the previous driver installation program just in case there are any problems with the new version.

** I don’t use a Mac, so I don’t know if the Mac has a File Preferences Utility program (I’d be shocked if they don’t). So, if any of you Mac users can confirm that (along with how to get to it), I’ll post it here.

I noticed the other day that Manga Studio For Dummies broke the top 10,000 ranking and was ranked 15th in a couple of specialized categories. Like a moron, however, I didn’t think to take a screenshot for posterity before it started going back down. Whoops.

That said, thanks so much to all of you who have bought the book so far, and I certainly hope that you have found it useful.

As I was flipping though the book, I noticed a mistake that slipped by me. on Page 316, where it says:
1. From the main menu, choose Ruler -> Create Focus Lines Ruler,

it should read:
1. From the main menu, choose Ruler -> Create Perspective Ruler.

I’m sure you already figured that out yourself, but I figured I’d give you the heads up anyway.

Hopefully you didn’t throw out the CD that came with the book, as there are additional chapters that didn’t make it to the final cut. Two of the chapters cover some of the more advanced features of Manga Studio EX, including using Vectors for your line work, as well as importing 2D and 3D objects into your page using the 2DLT and 3DLT import functions.

The final Bonus Chapter discusses the history of manga (and anime) in the United States. This was more of a fun chapter for those that probably didn’t know how far back there was manga in this country, and how it was much harder to obtain than it is nowadays.

Part of the idea for this site is to hopefully answer questions that either weren’t covered in the book, or weren’t expanded upon enough due to book-size constraints. So, if there’s something in the book that has you confused (or isn’t in the book at all), head on over to the Contact page, and ask away!

Keep in mind though…if you have a question that is easily answered in the book, I can’t answer it here. I will, however, point you to where you can find it in the book. Sorry…but I have to give you some reason to buy the book!