Do you have a great story to tell through images and words? Why not write a comic? To get information on how to draw, develop characters, write a compelling story, and summarize all of these elements in book form use the following guidelines.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Practice with preliminary sketches
Step 1. Draw your characters
Since the characters in the comics look very defined, making some quick sketches is a great way to get inspired to create a one-of-a-kind character. You can start with pencils, crayons or even a digital drawing program, choose according to your creativity.
Step 2. Practice drawing characters, places and objects that are part of your story
Cartoonists call them "model sheets". The more practical and consistent your drawings are, the easier it will be for the reader to "read" them. Make sure readers can identify characters even in the middle of the action.
Step 3. Practice drawing different facial expressions, postures and situations for each character
This will allow you to perfect your protagonists and your technique. To practice, draw your character by attributing the four most important feelings (happiness, anger, sadness and fear) to him in five different ways (moderately happy, somewhat happy, happy, very happy, hysterically happy). This is a good way to draw facial features. Since the comics are full of action, you will also need to draw each character in various poses.
Method 2 of 4: Develop the Characters
Step 1. Define the key characters
Develop personalities and backstories, this is a fundamental step for a comic. Even if you choose not to reveal much to the reader, (like wolverine) it is important to have a sense of the character's roots, so that you can make their behavior realistic, past experiences, victories, failures and so on, must transpire. in new situations.
Develop your villain / rival / evil character personality. But without going too deep, since comics have to say a lot in a limited time, the reader shouldn't be distracted by a character other than the protagonist
Step 2. Make the characters different
If you are a beginner, it will be difficult to draw specific traits for your characters, but you don't want the reader to confuse the hero with his rival! If the protagonist has short blond hair, draw his rival with long black hair. If the protagonist is wearing shorts, jeans, and a t-shirt, draw a lab coat to his rival (or whatever).
Step 3. Is this your first story?
Remember that a common mistake of beginners is to insert too many characters, in doing so the reader loses interest in the story of the protagonist. Make it simpler. For a short story, three is a good number! These characters could be: the protagonist, the antagonist and the helper of the protagonist.
Method 3 of 4: Create a Texture
Step 1. Introduce a key character
Usually the protagonist, but if the enemy is particularly interesting you could open the story with him (especially if you want to give the story a tone of corruption, decay or terror). You will need to define the characters to allow the reader to understand. Remember to include the important details of the character's life. You may have thought for a long time about the various developments in this story, but the reader is now discovering your story and will not be able to understand if you skip the details.
Step 2. Enter an element that will trigger the action
It can be something that disturbs the protagonist in daily life. Make sure you understand why this is different from the normal daily routine the character is used to.
Step 3. Send the protagonist on a mission
This is your character's adventure, set the right things (or the wrong ones if you have chosen an anti-hero). At this point you can add many twists to keep the reader's interest alive.
Step 4. Work out the conditions for a conflict
At this point the main character can be involved in a confrontation that will involve and change all the compromised parties. Avoid attributing too easy victories to your character, the best fights are those in which the participants are equal and the audience fears for the safety of the protagonist. This is the moment when the reader holds their breath to find out what will happen.
Step 5. End of the story
It happens when the reader determines that everything is back to normal. Make sure you feel a sense of accomplishment, of liberation. If it works for you, it will also work for those who read your story.
Method 4 of 4: Complete the Comic
Step 1. Draw the story with thumbnails
To help you, sketch out a story-board with each step or event in the story and decide in advance how many pages to dedicate to each one. Doing so will not make the mistake of dedicating more pages than necessary to an unimportant event for the purposes of the plot. Next draw the thumbnails based on how you have decided that the events will unfold. There is no need to do a complete script. Thumbnails are small fragmentary versions of each page. Use the thumbnails to decide how many pages and panels the story will occupy. Think about how to compose each panel and how to make the reader understand your point of view. Don't be afraid to try out different previews by organizing your story in different ways. Since the miniatures are small and inaccurate, you won't have to waste too much time.
Step 2. Cut the "good" panels
Throw away the scraps and make additional panels if necessary. If you like some aspects of the discarded panel try giving it another try.
Step 3. Draw the panel borders for the final pages
Use the thumbnails as a guide. This can be done in the steps shown below, start inserting the final design into the page space. You can decide the size of the thumbnails, whether they should be larger or smaller, underlined or not. This is the time when you have to make the final decisions.
Step 4. Write the letters "lightly"
You will be tempted to start drawing, but it is necessary to consider the space that will be occupied by the dialogues. Planning these positions will save you a lot of headaches later on.
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Pay attention to the placement of the "speech bubbles". The reader first reads the bubble on the top and the first on the left. Keep these details in mind when organizing dialogues.
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Step 5. Sketches and drawings
Make sure each panel is clear. Are there drawings that stifle the writing? Is a corner difficult to read? Does the "speech bubble" cover an important detail of the drawing? Is everything clear and easy to understand? Try using a sharp pencil (this is called "penciling") so it will be easier to read your comic. You could also use a micromine. Some artists use blue pencils. Because the blue pencil is invisible to copiers and black and white printing processes, so there is no need to erase later. Then, at a later time, you can refine the artwork.
Remember to re-read each page to make sure everything is clear. If a friend of yours asks you: "what do you mean here?" or "how did the character get here?" It means the page is not clear enough
Step 6. Define with the pencil
Add details to characters, objects and backgrounds.
Step 7. You can add ink to completed pages if you wish
For some artists it is enough to leave the pencil work. However, most of the comics are brushed over with ink over the pencil. Use whichever method you think best suits your job. Using ink, brushes or pens you will bring your work to life. Pay close attention to the thickness of the lines - the definitions of the outer lines are thicker, while the details such as facial lines and expression lines are lighter and more delicate. Put ink in the edges.
Step 8. Decide on the style of the letters and the type of ink you will use
The “lettering” is extremely important, it tells half of your story, while the images tell the other half. Hand lettering can take a long time, but the result will be superb when done by a talented calligrapher. Use rough pencils for the letters. Or consider using Word, or a similar program, and a font like Comic Sans to make your letters perfect and legible. Don't forget to check your spelling! Grammar is important.
Step 9. Find a title for the story
It's not as simple as it sounds. If you already have one, great! If you haven't found a title yet, start writing words about your story. Try writing 50 to 100 words for a short story and 100 to 200 words for a long story. (It's boring, but if you stretch the limits of your imagination, something creative will come to mind). You can combine words together to create a title. After you have made some combinations, choose the ones you prefer, or get help from friends. Always hear a second, third, fourth or even fifth opinion. Ask your friends for the title that seems most appropriate for your comic.
Step 10. Decide if you want to publish the comic
If you like your comic, you might be able to sell it at events like: "Lucca Comics & Games" or at "Comics Day" or why not? At the “Comi-Con”. If the results are not so spectacular or more simply, you are not interested in the publication, you can create a facebook page, a blog for the comic or put it on YouTube.
Advice
- Don't be afraid to start the story or a page over when you think it's not right. All the work you have done will always be useful, even if you think you have wasted time. Remember, only practice makes perfect.
- Read comics. You may also find stories similar to yours before you begin.
- Don't be afraid of being criticized. Remember that your opinion is not objective.
- Be consistent with your ideas.
