What you need for this book

In order to complete the exercises in this book, you will need:

• Manga Studio 5 (EX Recommended to complete all exercises)
• A computer capable of running Manga Studio 5

Also recommended is a graphics tablet, such as a Wacom brand tablet.

Since this book is for intermediate Manga users, much of it assumes that you already have a graphics tablet. If you haven't heard of a graphics tablet before, I recommend that you pick one up! A tablet is an input device usually consisting of a board and a pen, called a stylus, which allows you to draw directly on the computer with a more natural feel. Wacom is the most popular brand, but there are many other brands out there. Most tablets do not have a screen in them so you do have to get used to some disconnect as you are not looking directly at your hand while drawing. However there are options out in the market today that do incorporate a screen, so that you can draw while looking directly at the tablet.

There are also some older tablet PC laptops that allow you to draw and have pressure sensitivity right on the laptop screen. Most of this book was written on one of those, actually. I currently use a Gateway C-141X Convertible Tablet PC that I purchased.