Snagit Learning Center

Snagit 9 Tutorial:

Create a Vintage Style Comic Book Graphic

Vintage comic book art is characterized by bright blocks of color and a grainy, halftone print technique. Here is a good example:

About this Project

• This tutorial teaches you to use Snagit Editor to create a vintage comic book style image from a photograph.
• Estimated time to complete this tutorial is 10 minutes.
• This tutorial does not demonstrate how to take a screen capture. To learn how to do this, see the Snagit online help.

What you Need to Get Started

You will need the following to successfully complete this tutorial.

• Snagit 9.0. If you do not have Snagit 9.0, you can download a copy here.
• A photographic image open within Snagit Editor. This effect tends to add color in the red and orange hues. For the best results, do not choose photos with an abundance of red or orange colors in them. However, you can experiment with all kinds of photos once you learn this technique.

Skill Level: Intermediate

This tutorial is suitable for intermediate users of Snagit. Knowledge of Snagit Editor’s ribbon tabs and saving a file is required.

Let's Get Started: Creating a Comic Book Graphic

The following section takes you through this tutorial step-by-step. To be successful, do not skip any steps.

This is the image used in this tutorial.

Apply the Saturation Color Effect

1. Choose Image tab > Modify group > Color Effects button > Color Correction option. The Color Correction dialog box appears.
2. Move the Saturation slider to 100%.
3. Click Close. Your images will have some brighter colors and slightly overexposed white areas as seen below.
   

Apply the Color Effects

1. Choose Image tab > Modify group > Color Effects button > Color Correction option. The Color Correction dialog box appears.
2. Move the Saturation slider to 100%.
3. Move the Gamma slider just enough to the left to create the comic book / illustration effect. Click with the up and down arrows to fine tune the results. The image will take on an orangish cast with dark shadows.
4. Click the Contrast up arrow a couple of numbers – just enough to give the photo a slightly overexposed look.
5. Click the Hue up arrow a couple of times – just enough to remove some of the orange cast and replace it with blocks of lighter color. Here are the settings we used:
   
6. Click Close.

Apply the Noise Effect

1. Choose Image tab > Modify group > Filters button > Add Noise effect. The Noise options dialog box appears.
2. Use the up arrow button to add some noise to the image. You want just enough for the lighter areas to be slightly grainy.
   
3. Click Close.

Apply the Sharpen Effect

1. Choose Image tab > Modify group > Filters button > Sharpen effect > Custom. The Sharpen dialog box appears.
2. Move the slider to the right until the desired “halftone” effect is achieved. It should be almost to the end.
   
3. Click OK. Here is the look of the final image compared with the original.
   

Congratulations! You have just created a vintage comic book-style photograph.

Variations

Pop Art Effect

Create an Andy Warhol-style image by changing the Hue and combining several images together.

1. Create a new canvas (CTRL + N) large enough to fit the desired number of images.
2. Drag the final image from the Tray onto the new canvas.
3. Click the final image in the Tray to give it focus.
4. Choose Image tab > Modify group > Color Effects button > Color Correction option. The Color Correction dialog box appears.
5. Move the Hue slider to create an unusual color effect.
6. Click Close.
7. Click the new canvas to give it focus.
8. Drag this newly enhanced final image to the new Canvas.
9. Click the final image in the Tray to give it focus.
10. Press (CTRL + Z) to the Undo button to undo the changes.
11. Repeat steps 4-10 until you have the desired number of images on the new canvas.
12. Arrange the images as desired then save.
    

Add Comic Book-Style Callouts

Add comic book-style Callouts slightly offset and off the page to give your image some drama. Layer the Callouts with bold colors to give it a vintage feel.

Dramatic Black and White

1. Choose Image tab > Modify group > Color Effects button > Color Correction option. The Color Correction dialog box appears.
2. Move the Saturation slider to 0%.
3. Move the Gamma slider to the left to create the dramatic black and white effect.
4. Click Close.
   

Silkscreen Print Effect

Silkscreen printing is a very “flat” medium using just a few colors starkly contrasted. Halftone dots are scattered throughout to give a bit of shadow and highlight.

This example shows the many different looks you can achieve using the Silkscreen print effect.

1. Choose Image tab > Modify group > Color Effects button > Color Depth option. The Color Depth dialog box appears.
2. Change the Colors setting to 4 colors (2-bit).
3. Choose a Dithered method form the list. For this example, Clustered is used. Click Close. Your image will look similar to the following:
   
4. Return to the Color Corrections option (Choose Image tab > Modify group > Color Effects button > Color Correction option) and adjust the Hue, Saturation, Gamma, and Contrast to achieve the desired results.