Do you have a great story to tell and would like to tell it in words and pictures? Why not write a comic? For drawing tips, character presentation and creation, writing a compelling story, and synthesizing it all into a book, here are the highlights and tips that will come in handy.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Make preliminary sketches
Step 1. Draw your characters or sketch out your ideas
Since comic book characters are defined by their appearance, doing a few succinct sketches is a great way to create quirky characters when it might inspire you for the plot. You can do this on paper or use modeling software, the choice of medium depends on what fuels your creativity the most.
Step 2. Practice drawing the characters, places and objects in your story
Professionals refer to these materials as "model sheets". The more you practice, the more consistent the drawings will be and the easier your story will be to read. Make sure you know what each character looks like from different angles; this will help your readers identify them, even if each page has many actions that feature them.
Step 3. Practice drawing each character's facial expressions, postures, and situations they will have to go through
This will give you a smooth look to the characters and help you improve the few little flaws in your technique. To practice, draw your characters according to the four major emotions (happiness, anger, sadness and fear) and according to five degrees for each of them (moderately happy, a little happy, happy, very happy, happy until 'to hysteria). It is a great way to practice drawing facial expression. In addition, it should be noted that the comics are full of actions; thus, you will have to draw each character in different postures.
Method 2 of 4: Develop the characters
Step 1. Build on your main characters
Developing the backstory and the personality of the actors is essential for the creation of a comic book. Even if you choose not to tell the reader too much about it (eg Wolverine); it is important to get a well-defined idea as to the origins of the character so as to give them attitudes that are as realistic and as consistent as possible: their past experiences, their victories, their ills and their weaknesses must condition their reactions in every situation.
Develop the personality of the opponent (the rival, the villain) without going into too much detail. Too deep an explanation of the evil figure would undermine the plot (which is why The Joker remains so interesting) and weaken the final duel. In addition, the comic strip must express many elements in a limited volume (of time and space), it is therefore excluded to express to readers peripheral facts unrelated to the protagonist
Step 2. Give the different characters very different physical appearances
If you are a beginner, it will be difficult for you to offer specific aesthetic traits to your characters, and you don't want the reader to confuse the hero with his rival. If your character has short blonde hair, make him an opponent with long dark hair. If your character is wearing shorts and a T-shirt, dress the rival in jeans and a lab coat (for example).
Step 3. If this is your first story, don't overload it with characters
A common mistake newbies make is that they try to introduce too many characters into the story; which has the consequence of harming the reader's interest in the main character's story. Keep it as simple as possible. For a short story, the good average would be around three characters. It could be the protagonist, the antagonist and the protagonist's assistant in an investigation or the protagonist, his rival and the protagonist's crush in the case of a love story.
Method 3 of 4: Build the story
Step 1. Introduce by an important person
This is usually the protagonist, but if the opponent is particularly interesting, you can start the story with them (especially if you want to impose a dark atmosphere of decay, corruption or terror on your story). You will need to express who he (or she) is and what his or her life is like as the story unfolds to allow the reader to delve into the plot. Don't forget to detail the important elements of the character's life. You've probably been thinking about this story for a long time, but you have to keep in mind that the reader is just discovering it and they might not understand your journey if you were to rush things.
Step 2. Introduce the trigger for the action
It can be a disturbing event in the life of the main character. Make sure you highlight what the event in question is troubling him about.
Step 3. Immerse the character in a quest
This is the character's adventure to restore things as morality (good) dictates (or, if you've chosen to start with the figure of evil, introduce his destruction enterprise). It is at this time that you are advised to multiply the twists and turns in order to arouse the reader's interest. Remember that you want to hold the reader's attention and that in no way would you want to sacrifice it for the sake of some idea of the world in which your character lives.
Step 4. Bring the conflict to a climax
This is the moment when your main character chooses or is forced to enter the major game-changer that is forever a game-changer for the parties involved. Resist the temptation to give your protagonist an advantage over his opponent that would make him win too easy a victory; the best confrontations are those where the two parties are evenly matched, to the point that audiences come to fear for the character's life (which he has come to love). The climax of the plot makes the reader hold his breath until the denouement.
Step 5. End and end
Things fall into place before the reader's eyes. Make sure there is a sense of accomplishment at the end, of catharsis. If this is what you are having, chances are the readership will have the same feelings.
Method 4 of 4: comic book fill
Step 1. Make vignettes to tell the story
To help you, you need to write a scenario for each stage (or event), i.e. break down the story and determine the volume of pages you want to devote to each part: this way, you will avoid the mistake of giving an unimportant event more pages than the climax. Then make the thumbnails according to your story cutout. You don't have to write the full script based on what you've written - thumbnails are visual summaries of each step. Use the thumbnails for “plot cutting,” that is, to determine what fraction of the story will be described on each page, on each board. Think about how you want to compose each board and how you want to make your point known to the reader. Don't be afraid to try different organizations for the thumbnails and by extension, different ways of presenting your story. The smaller and more imprecise the thumbnails, the less time you will have to spend organizing them within a page.
Step 2. Cut out the correct thumbnails
Compile the thumbnails (in order), sort and create additional thumbnails as needed. If you like certain aspects of an unused sticker, be sure to pick up those aspects in other places.
Step 3. Draw the panel borders for your final pages
Use your final thumbnails as a guide. At this point they can be dropped loose, you start to place your final artwork in the page space. You can decide to enhance or modify elements of a thumbnail, if you feel that something should be slightly larger or smaller or that it should be highlighted. Now is the time to make the final touches.
Step 4. Write gently in the text boxes
You might be tempted to start with the drawing, but make sure you have reserved space for text boxes and bubbles. Reserving text boxes at this precise point in the job will save you precious time and save you painful headaches.
- Pay attention to the position of the bubbles. A reader will naturally begin to read a bubble located on the top and on the left side. Keep this in mind as you go about registering and organizing dialogues.
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Step 5. Sketch in the drawings
Make sure everything in each panel is clear and everything looks the way you want it to. Do the drawings leave enough room for bubbles, or are the bubbles squeezed into a corner to the point of making it difficult to read? Does the bubble contain an important part of the story? Is everything clear and easy to understand? This work is what is called "the pencil drawing". Try to use a sharp pencil to make your comic easier to read. The use of a criterium would probably be ideal here. Some artists use “non-repro” blue pencils to perfect the features of their characters and the layout of the panels. This very light blue pencil is undetectable by photocopiers and when printing in black and white; it will therefore not be necessary to erase them later. You can then refine your artwork with your traditional pencil. The work is easier; all lines drawn in ink will display clearly on the final medium.
Remember to have your work proofread by a third party to be sure that your work is perfectly clear. If your proofreader asks you questions like "What did you mean by that?" Or "How did the character get here?" Is that your work lacks clarity and must be resumed
Step 6. Complete the drawing
Add missing details to characters, objects and locations.
Step 7. Resume your ink lines if necessary
For some artists, the final work done in pencil is more than enough (“Herobear and the Kid” is an example). For most of the comics, however, the pencil strokes are ironed in ink. Do what you think is best and use the tools you are most comfortable with or hire a third party for this part of the job (that's what big companies do). Use penstix, rapidograph, nibs, brushes and India ink to bring your artwork to life. Pay special attention to the thickness of the tip; generally, the outer lines are drawn with relatively thick points, while details such as fine lines and folds in the fabric are more delicate to draw and require very fine points. Finally ink the borders.
Step 8. Determine your writing or ink your letters directly in the bubbles
The text is extremely important, it does half of the storytelling work while the images do the other half. Handwriting can be long and difficult, but it is particularly interesting when the writing is neat and done with appropriate calligraphy. Use a pencil to outline your letters; there is nothing worse than not being able to put a word in a bubble for lack of space. You can consider using software like Microsoft Word (or any other word processing program) by choosing a Comic font, it will make your letters perfect and perfectly legible. Don't forget to use a spell checker! Grammar is important in writing.
Step 9. Find a title for your story
It's not always as easy as you might imagine. If you've already found one, great. If you don't have one, make an exhaustive list of words that refer to your story. For a short story, try to list 50 to 100 when you need 100 to 200 for a long story (it's boring work, but it will push the limits of your imagination and force you to come up with something. more creative thing). Then organize the words so that they have a title. Once you've got a few combinations, pick the ones you like the most and don't hesitate to ask your friends for advice. Look for two, three, four, or even five options. Finally, ask your friends which title they think is best suited to your work and the most attractive too.
Step 10. Choose whether or not you want to publish your work
If it turns out to be of great quality, you might even offer it at the comic book fair. On the other hand, if your work isn't particularly spectacular (or you just aren't interested in editing), you can set up a Facebook page to share it or use the YouTube channel!
Advice
- Don't be afraid to take over a page of your story or your entire story if you think it falls short. The work done will still be useful even if you think you have wasted your time. Keep in mind that you get better by doing.
- Have your story read again. Don't be afraid of criticism. It's often hard to take an unpleasant comment when you've worked hard, but it's still essential. Remember that your opinion of your work cannot be objective.
- Take time to think before you write or draw something. You wouldn't like having to write or draw something you didn't have in mind.
- Read many comics. You could also take the time to observe real objects to improve your pencil strokes.
- Stay consistent with your ideas.
- Don't make a story too long or too short. If the story is too short, the comic book reader will be disappointed, and if the story is too long and too complicated, the reader will sooner or later lose interest.
- Make a colorful and eye-catching front cover.