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With the main story idea ready, it’s time to start your script.
You may wonder what format you should use when scripting your comic. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that.
There are a ton of different ways to script your comic, and there are a lot of resources online to help you. Part of the journey is to find what works best for you.
Now, when you start, it’s best not to try and script your entire story in one sitting. Focus on the story and how to make it flow.
Brainstorm ideas such as scenes, motivations, snippets of dialogue, characters, themes, jokes, and start putting them in a rough sequence.
• In order for this ‘thing’ to happen, this ‘thing’ has to come before it?
• Does the information provided to the reader make sense?
• How do we get from this part to the next one?
• Is the pacing working?
• Most important – Is this entertaining?
Now that the main ideas are assembled in a rough order, what seemed like a lot of ‘stuff’ opens up into chunks of content with gaps in between that need to be filled. Now I can start separating the story into chapters or in some cases issues.
Some days you may be able to write 1000 words and some days just 100. Focus on making small progress, it is still progress.
Then, when you have something ready to share, get some peer review. Friends, other creators, a Facebook community. Whoever it is, make sure they will offer honest, constructive feedback. If you can afford to, the best thing would be to hire an editor.
But, as most of us are on a shoestring budget as it is this is not always an option.
Set aside an hour, start scribbling and pretty soon your dream of making a comic will be a reality.
Until next time, stay positive and keep creating.
Starting a Webcomic – Set some rules
I started making thumbnails for Rancidville long before there was a story and before I started to take making comics seriously. I had snippets of dialogue, characters and a rough outline. So, when it came time to start drawing, I just dove right in. I started making pages with no real plan. I had been reading comics my whole life, how hard could this be?
Turns out, using this approach, very hard indeed.
So my first set of pages were chaotic and barely readable. What I needed was to create a set of rules to follow to ensure my work not only flowed properly but that it had some consistency to it.
Comics, like any medium, have a specific way that makes them work. From Panel choice to word balloons, pacing and page-turn reveal, there is a lot of science to the art of making comics (this is explored in Scott McCloud’s book “Understanding Comics”).
So, first I decided to make some layout/format rules:
- No Double-Page Spreads
- No more than 6 panels on a page
- Each page should end with a page-turn reveal (if possible) to motivate readers to return next week and find out what happens
- Draw everything with Pencil
- Ink every page by hand
- Scan and digitally color
- Backmatter – Before starting to write or draw anything, I needed to create some history for the story. I wrote Bios for all the characters (some are just a couple of sentences). I wanted to map out their personalities, family, age, appearance etc.
- Created world rules – I wrote a bit about the world these characters occupy and some of the people they may encounter. None of this was story yet – just setting the tone for the story to begin.
- Story – What is the progression or story arc – the last thing I did was decide how the story would progress. I took my basic outline and mapped the major events of the story. The details were few, just the big events/beats that led to the story’s end. I wanted the outline to provide the major things going on and allow for character development along the way.
Starting a Webcomic – What do you love?
All the creators I know give the same advice when it comes to making your project.
“Write and draw what you are passionate about”
So here’s the deal, it is impossible to manufacture success.
Many artists focus on what’s popular at the moment and try to make a comic or story that fits into that.
The problem with this though is without a passion for the topic you are writing/ drawing, it’s going to sound hollow and disingenuous to your readers, and you may end up hating the project.
Instead, make a comic you are passionate about. A story only you can tell.
Not all of us can write and illustrate superheroes. Not all of us are interested in Vampires or Zombies (which seem to be the rage right now, AGAIN). I get that we want our work to sell – but the primary motivation should be doing something you love. When you work on something just to get paid or to sell – to me it takes the joy of the creation out of it.
Are you interested in Unicorns and Aliens? Maybe your story is how Aliens came and rescued Unicorns from a cataclysmic event a million years ago. I guarantee, if you are interested in that – others will be as well.
It is up to you, to tell the story, that ONLY YOU CAN TELL.
If you’re here, you know that my story does not contain the fantastical. There are no superheroes, no zombies or vampires. These are ordinary kids who have to face an extraordinary conspiracy in the town they live in. It is a story that has been brewing for many years now.
Originally, it was just a release for me to turn my desire to make a comic into a reality. I had no illusions. This started as a hobby.
But now, as more people have discovered, liked and followed my journey I am beginning to see that this and other stories I have could possibly become more than just a hobby. But at the heart of it all – it is something I am passionate about.
When you create from a passionate vantage point your writing/drawing will show the conviction.
It will flow more naturally, and most of all, you’ll enjoy it more.
This, in turn, will infect your readers with enjoyment.
And as storytellers, that is our primary goal isn’t it – to create something others in the world will enjoy!
Starting a Webcomic – Finding Time for your Dream
Finding the time for your Webcomic
Do you dream about making comics? Is it possible to make a comic in your free-time while having a full time job? Most people who want to make comics, and are not professional comic book creators already, never set aside the time to make them. That’s because they think it is impossible with a full time job and life commitments. I thought the same way for the longest time. I have a wife, family and a full-time job, when can I find the time? Turns out, it all boils down to commitment. How many of us have a favorite show on television? Or a favorite past-time, such as softball or a mens hockey league etc. Do you play video games? How much time do you set aside for those activities? Do you love to draw and create? How much time versus the other things do you set aside to create? Many artists do not commit to setting hours aside in order to make their dream a reality. I decided at the start of this to set aside six hours a week (it may be different for you). I wanted to do something EVERYDAY. And of course have at least one day to recharge. Now that could be drawing, writing, learning a new program (which takes FOREVER), taking a writing class or other classes online, reading process articles, inking, coloring etc. Just so long as I used that hour productively to further my artistic dream. I made a commitment, spoke to my wife, agreed on a time and MADE IT HAPPEN. This works on anything you want to do – not just art. You have to make a decision that this is something worthwhile that you will invest time in each day. All it takes is a serious COMMITMENT to begin. Are you ready to commit?Starting a Webcomic – Webpage and Hosting
Last week I equated the process of making a comic as a Journey.
And I mentioned that I would like to catalog this trek so others may learn from it, or laugh at it, or both.
As with any journey, it doesn’t start until you take the first step (cliche I know, but the most accurate way of describing it).
Although these are laid out as steps – they are not mandatory to be done in this order, this just happens to be the process that I took in learning these things and getting starting in making comics.
Making a Webcomic – The Journey
As I mentioned, I have been drawing for most of my life and I have always wanted to make comics.
In November 2012 I started reading the (then) webcomic reMind by Jason Brubaker. I had an epiphany. I could make a webcomic. Should be easy right? Draw the comic and then post it on-line. How hard could that be? Not hard – but not necessarily that easy. Time to do some research.Researching
RESEARCH – I needed to decide on a few things before I could start making the comic: 1) The type of comic I wanted to make (was it going to be a long-form comic or a comic strip) 2) The type of website I was going to have (free or paid). Did I want to own the domain name etc? 3) The hosting platform I was going to use (this is tied to the type of website I was envisioning) 4) Costs associated with all of that if I chose the paid route. I was starting from zero so it took a few months (okay more like a year) to figure all of this out. A great reference book is Brad Guigar’s “The Webcomics Handbook” I highly recommend this resource as it lays out a lot of the technical aspects of creating a webcomic.Decision
DECISION TIME – I decided I was going to do a long-form comic. Something I could eventually collect and print. But how to get it online? I needed to set up a website to do this and didn’t want to pay anyone (because I am a DIY type of person…and cheap) Now, I really do not understand all the different acronyms such as SSL, CGI, SSH, MySQL, PHP etc. Nor do I have time or patience at this point to learn them all. I did know that I wanted it to be on my own website (I didn’t want blogspot.com or wordpress.com etc. after the URL) I found the best option for me is WordPress with Comic Easel (mostly because there is a large helpful community, many comic artists have gone this route before me and setting it up is free. And once you own the domain it is relatively easy to do – even for a noob such as myself). I then chose to use Bluehost as the hosting site. This too was basically based on what I researched about ease of set-up. Bluehost has WordPresss easily integrated – just a few clicks (which I will not go into because there are others more skilled at doing this). The costs are about $140.00 a year for the domain and protection and hosting (which is minimal if you decide that you have to invest in yourself to achieve your desired goals). With the research complete and the decision made on the type of comic, the website and hosting, it was time to start the comic. Rancidville was born! More to come stay Tuned!How did I wind up on this Journey?
I draw pictures.
I have been drawing (seriously drawing) since I was about 8 years old.
My mom took me to an art class where a ton of kids (older kids) were drawing and painting. I was going to learn to paint. I was so excited.
In a few weeks, I had mastered everything that basic instructor had to offer. Not because I had “natural talent” or was better than anyone else, but because I work hard – it became my focus. It was a passion.
I have done portraits, landscapes, other still life’s for a ton of people. Drawn political cartoons and illustrations. But all I really want to do is make comics. I just want to tell sequential stories.
For years though, I didn’t do anything. Where was the drive I had as a kid? What happened to that passion?
The answer: I was waiting.
Where was my muse? When was I going to be discovered? Where was the inspiration? Why wasn’t I the next Brian Bolland? HA!
I am reminded of a quote (one of my favorites) by Chuck Close (an amazing artist – you should check him out).
Anyway he said “Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.”
Isn’t that the truth!
Nothing happens if you don’t do the work. You can have mad skills, heck you can be incredibly talented. But, without doing the work and gaining knowledge it doesn’t add up to much.
It all started at the end of 2012 when I found the webcomic reMind by Jason Brubaker and a light went off in my head, I could make a webcomic.
I just didn’t know where to begin.
Fortunately for me, Jason was chronicling his experiences on his site. basically teaching as he went.
So the last 5 years I have been working on my comic.
Learning and building and deconstructing my art.
Laying a foundation for a creative business.
Working toward a goal of making sequential stories.
Taking online classes.
Publishing a webcomic.
Taking more classes.
Trying to build and audience.
Planning a Kickstarter.
And the list continues…
I didn’t know exactly what I didn’t know until I started learning again.
The biggest lesson learned, I have a long way to go.
I’d like to spend the next few weeks cataloging my journey and the lessons I have learned over the last 5 years. And maybe, just maybe this could help or inspire along the way.
Rancidville Book 1: A Sour Beginning
Greetings! When I started Rancidville it was primarily meant to be an avenue for me to complete a dream of mine and create a comic book. It however has grown into something much more over the last 3 years. It is still a comic book, but it is also a mission.
No longer just a hobby, Rancidville has grown in its story and its connecting stories that were just shadows in my mind not too long ago, into a world of wonder.
So, with the beginning of Chapter 3 (which you can read by going here), I’d also like to inform you all that in the fall of 2017 the first book (Chapter’s 1 and 2) will be launched as a Kickstarter. There is obviously a number of things that must get done before then as well as the continuation of the story, but I am confident that all will work out as we approach the deadline for the Kickstarter.
Stay tuned for more accurate dates and information to come!