Halloween Sketch - Werewolf yearbook picture

Creating Comics - Tips

A friend of mine recently started a comic of his own. I have more experience (barely) in this area so he asked for my opinion. I thought some of these tips were good for anyone so I'm posting the email here. 

Hey man, 

First off, there is no right and wrong. Comics are more and more becoming a free form type of art. There are general guidelines, but you can always break rules when needed.Here's what I do. 

Step 1: Story

- Make sure to have the whole story mapped out before trying to draw anything. This prevents you from painting yourself in a corner later on. 

- Once you have the story outlined, Try breaking it up like a script. Write out what goes in each panel. There are many examples of comic book scripts online. 

- I don't really use this style, but it helps people who lean more towards traditional writing, especially when working with other people. 

Step 2: Layouts (Thumbnails)

I se this as my writing tool. This allows me to structure the comic in a more visual style. Since i'm more artist than writer I find this fits my personal process better. However, everyone uses layouts regardless of style. It really helps. 

-  I draw a small box about 3X5 inches (1/3 scale). Full size comics are drawn on 11X17 illustration board, however I draw about half that size for my final pictures. for the thumbnails I doodle stick figures in each panel, sometimes more elaborate. it helps me map out the page before drawing the full-size scene. (Example included) 

- You can also make personal notes out to the side, and it gives you and idea what it's going to look like when you're done. You can use it like a flip book. Think storyboards for movies. 

- Make sure to leave negative space for word bubbles. (explained below)

Step 3: Narration & Dialogue

- Dialogue always comes last. It's great to write out what you want to say ahead of time, but you will most likely have to change some things. The reason for this is if you're writing War and Peace, it's not going to fit on the page. You have to be conservative. 

- Show don't tell. Don't spend too much time explaining what's happening in the scene with narration. You have to do that with novels because there are no pictures. Narration can set the scene up, but use it sparingly. Use the dialogue and pictures to tell the story. 

- Negative space is where your word bubbles should go. Often you will run out of space so you'll have to trim down your narration. This can actually end up being a good thing as it forces you to be more concise with your writing. You also have to plan ahead so you don't cover up any important artwork. You will always lose something in this process, but hopefully you're just obscuring the background environment. 

- Cerebus by Dave Sim makes excellent use of negative space for word bubbles. 

http://i.imgur.com/ihDLK.png

Day 3 - Halloween Sketch

So, due to time constraints I opted for a quick doodle of a mummy. I like the darks. I had a much more elaborate picture in mind, but this thumbnail should do.

Day 2 - Halloween Sketch

I drew this one last night and fell in love. As frustrating as day 1 was, this was the opposite. I did have to erase two or three gestures before I landed on this one. I will most likely post a colored version of this when I get time. 

I'm working on using a softer pencil on illustration board. I was always intrigued by Adam Hughes' comments that he likes a soft pencil so he feels like he's "gliding across the page". I used to hate soft lead because it smears like a bitch. However, once you have the layout done, if you start rendering at the top and draw towards the bottom, it prevents you from dragging your hand across your finished lines and prevents smearing. I also use a light cloth to gently brush away eraser bits. 

I used a 2B on Blue Line Pro illustration board. I'm almost thinking I could go down to a 3B, but I want to give this one some time. 

Day 1 - Halloween Sketches

My brother and I love Halloween (If you don't there is something seriously wrong with you). To celebrate we decided to do a drawing a day. Since I'm super busy right now I decided to do uncolored sketches. I will most likely go back and color my favorites. My day 1 sketch is NOT one of those.

Sometimes it's about doing the work. It's far from what I wanted, but I'm posting it to remind myself that something is better than nothing. With that said, I do like the band of stitches across the chest. It almost has a graphic quality to it.