THE journey of comics in Indonesia has been quite long, the actors have also regenerated. The themes that emerge are increasingly diverse, including the way they are produced. In the old era or when comics were better known as cergam (picture stories), the production process used conventional methods. Now, along with the development of technology, comic production has accommodated various new methods.
Bumilangit writer and creative team Fajar Sungging Pramudito is one of those who still uses conventional methods in drawing comics. He, who is also the son of comic artist Wid NS, creator of Godam, is more comfortable working in a conventional way.
“When the process of making comics Hack: Test for the Cloudthe drawing process is full of mistakes. Because it is manual, so, yes, it cannot be fixed. I do various things. When drawing manually, of course there are many obstacles, but you also have to be able to quickly find solutions. Creativity and tools and materials must be mastered,” said Sungging in the discussion Cergam Manual or Digital? at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Palmerah, West Jakarta, Friday (9/8).
Sungging uses several techniques such as watercolors to blocks. According to Sungging, with conventional techniques in drawing comics, comic artists are required to be more creative in order to be able to fix the ‘broken’ so that it is not damaged. Meanwhile, graphic artist Iput Ukra, who grew up in the transition from conventional to digital, often uses digital tools to overcome errors in the conventional process.
“At that time I had time to draw with watercolors, but the colors weren’t good enough. Finally tone “I change the colors digitally. The most important thing is the final result when the image is broadcast or the comic is published. The main goal is to enjoy the final result,” said Iput.
According to Iput, currently in the creation of works such as comics, conventional and digital cannot be separated. Several times, he has utilized the use of digital tools such as for sketches, style and movement references, to coloring (coloring).
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Digitalization and rejuvenation
The son of the creator of Si Buta dari Gua Hantu, Gienardy Santosa, who also gave birth to the new edition of Ganes TH’s old comics, admitted that the digital era also helps readers in accessing old reading material. The almost obsolete Si Buta dari Gua Hantu comics can be saved by remastered.
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“With digitalization, it helps the rejuvenation process. From old books in-remastered. So, the end result is like a new comic,” said Gienardy.
Legendary Indonesian comic artist, Mansyur Daman (MAN), creator Devil’s Machete and Snake River Demonsaid that digitalization also helped create more advanced end results. He, who has been working for more than six decades, has also experienced various changes in the era. Starting letterpressmanual drawing by hand, to the present era.
“From the way of drawing, getting tools and machines, it feels unsatisfying if the end result is different from what we draw. Until then comes the era (of printing) offsetwhat color we make can be printed exactly. Digital appears again, it is better when compared to the original work,” said Mansyur in a discussion session on How to Survive Cross-Generation Work at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Palmerah, West Jakarta, Saturday (10/8).
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Si Buta dari Gua Hantu can be called one of the pioneers of martial arts comics that were popular in the 1970s. Gien said that his father also made comics of several other genres, such as household romance dramas that sold well. Si Buta was also not Ganes’ first martial arts comic, but it was able to bring the popularity of the genre for several years to come.
Nowadays, genres like superheroes are also common, such as comics published by Bumilangit. That is added with the adaptation of their stories and characters into films such as Gundala, Sri Asih, or the Tira series.
The stories and characters from old comics also experienced expansion and rejuvenation. As Sungging did with the characters Godam and Si Buta. Sungging assessed that comic artists from the past era always made stories that ‘‘half-hearted’. He then tried to expand the world and universe of the characters in the comic.
“I made a new story, where did Godam’s robe/clothes come from. Then Si Buta, where did Si Mata Malaikat actually come from. I tried to make a background story,” said Sungging. (M-3)
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