The first one of these went well so let’s try another, shall we? Thanks to everyone who sent in questions (please continue to do so)! It’s looking like I’ll be answering one question a week so if you don’t see yours, keep checking back.
Today’s question is from Jennifer (Jenny?) P.
How many pages would you suggest I publish for my comic’s initial launch? It’s a webcomic (story driven). I plan to make buffers (20-30 pages) but not sure how many to upload on the initial launch.
We’ve been talking at length about panel descriptions. Hopefully you’ve got a friend friend willing to collaborate, or found a forum somewhere that encourages people to post panel descriptions so that other people can try to draw them. Practice makes perfect! Aside from that, here are a few more tips that will save you time and money in the long run. I’ve already stressed the importance of establishing expectations with your art team well before sending them a script. In this section I’ll be discussing word balloons in panels, letterer notes, and the benefits to the revision process made possible by email. read more»
Tropes are storytelling devices. Used well, they enrich a story; used badly, they result in the dreaded cliché. This series of articles takes a closer look at some major tropes relevant to comics and the pitfalls they may present. read more»
You’ve worked out your tone, the character design sketches, and are ready to write those panels, right? Great! The format of your pages is entirely up to you, your artist, and your editor. Heck, you could text message or tweet a description of each panel if you wanted to! But the main point is to get on the same page, and this is done by finding a common language before you begin. read more»
Hey there! My name is Devin, and in case you don’t know me I’m the Editor-In-Chief here at Making Comics (dotCom). I’ve had an idea percolating for a bit to start something new—an ongoing Q&A column that should prove useful for anyone needing advice. Creating a comic can be an isolating experience, especially when you hit a wall and are having difficulty finding solutions. If you’re in a situation like that, I’d like to help. read more»
If you’re using letters to convey language in a graphic context then it’s a good idea to learn about some basic typographic rules, or you run the risk of making major mistakes known as “type crimes”. Comic lettering, while different from traditional typography, shares many of the same rules and benefits as its cousin. read more»
Basic edits
We ended the last post with WordPress and ComicPress installed and our child theme created. We’re now ready to start customizing our site so that it looks like we want it to. This post is still what I’d classify as a beginner level and we’re going to be customizing the layout, type and colors. Let’s get started.
Most comic book scripts are a series of panel descriptions intended for the artistic team. The script is your way to communicate to your artists—it’s a technical document, not intended for your audience nor designed to make people laugh or cry.
Shadows have always been a weak spot of mine. I’ll be sitting there thinking, “Man…that’s definitely not enough shadow on his face,” and the next thing I know, my figure’s head has turned into a giant black blob of ink. It’s more than a little disheartening when you have to redraw entire frames because of something so seemingly simple, yet so damn tricky! To ensure that this stopped happening, I hopped on my pathetic excuse for a computer and surfed through the net, looking for some awesome shading tutorials.
For my first contribution to the site, I thought I’d start with the single best piece of advice I could ever give a creator. read more»
