Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Make exploratory sketches
• Part 2 of 4: Developing the characters
• Part 3 of 4: Making up a storyline
• Part 4 of 4: Finish the comic
• Tips
• Warnings

Do you have a great story to tell with illustrations and text? Why not turn it into a comic? If you need help sketching and developing characters, writing a compelling story, and putting all of these elements together in comic form, use the following guidelines as clues.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Make exploratory sketches

1. Sketch your characters. Since the characters in a comic are mainly defined by their looks, making a few sketches is a great inspiration way to create a unique character - and it might even give you a plot idea. Start with pencil, pen, or maybe even a digital one, depending on what gets your creativity going.
2. Practice drawing the characters, locations, and objects you will use in your story. The pros call these "model sheets." The more you practice, the more consistent your drawings will become, making it easier for the reader to "read" your artwork. By knowing what each character looks like from different angles, you can ensure that the reader can recognize the character, even if many other things are happening on that page.
3. Practice drawing facial expressions, postures, and situations that any character can get into. This helps to make your characters look better and to get rid of the flaws in your technique. Draw the character with the 4 main expressions (happiness, anger, sadness and fear), each in 5 different ways (something, more or less, ordinary, bad and very happy). This is a good way to practice your character's facial features. Since comics are action packed, it is also necessary to be able to draw each character in different action poses.

Part 2 of 4: Developing the characters

1. Make your characters credible. Developing a background and personality for your characters is crucial to creating a good comic book. Even if you choose to hide something from the reader for now (eg Wolverine), it is important that you have an idea of ​​the past of characters so that you can make their behavior realistic and natural; past experiences, victories, pain, and failure affect their responses to new situations. Read the How to Create a Super Hero article for advice if you want to create such a hero, otherwise the How to Create a Fictional Character from Scratch article.
   • Show the personality of the antagonist / rival / villain, but don't take it too far into the story itself. Explaining too much why the antagonist is the way he / she is makes them less intriguing (this is why the Joker remains so interesting) and makes the bigger conflict in the story less exciting. In addition, comics cover many events in a short amount of time, leaving the reader no time to be distracted by a character other than the protagonist. In the example of the cartoons like Biowars, the protagonist is actually more about biology, so don't feel obliged to base your storyline purely on people or monsters.
2. Make sure that the different characters look very different physically. If you are a beginner, it is difficult to give each of your characters their own appearance, but you do not want the reader to confuse the hero with his nemesis. If the protagonist has short, blond hair, give the enemy long, black hair. If the protagonist is wearing shorts and a T-shirt, give the opponent jeans and a lab coat (or something similar). If at all possible, make sure that a character's clothing matches their general attitude; bad boy clothes, etc.
3. If this is your first story, don't include too many characters. A common mistake made by beginners is that too many figures quickly cause the reader to lose interest in the main character's story. Keep it simple. For a very short story, a good number is three characters. This could be the protagonist, the antagonist and the protagonist's sidekick, for example, if the story is about a quest. Another possibility is the protagonist's main character, rival and sweetheart, if it is a romantic story.

Part 3 of 4: Making up a storyline

1. Introduce an important character. This is usually the main character, but if your villain is particularly intriguing you may want to start with him or her (especially if you want to indicate that the tone of the story is one of corruption, decay, or terror). You will need to state what his / her life is like at this point, to allow the reader to feel a connection. Don't forget to cover all the important details of that character. You may have thought about the story for a long time, but the reader will discover and not fully understand if some details are skipped.
2. Introduce an element that will start the action. This could be something that disrupts the main character's life. Make sure you make it clear why this is different from what the main character is used to.
3. Send the protagonist on a quest. This is the hero's adventure in which he / she sets out to solve something (or, if you've chosen an antihero, mess something up). This is also when you can make many twists and turns in the course of the story to keep the reader's attention. However, you don't want to confuse your reader, so get a sense of the world your hero is growing in.
4. Work the conflict into a climax. This is the moment when your protagonist has to make a choice, or is forced into a huge confrontation, after which none of the parties involved are the same. Don't succumb to the temptation to overpower your hero, making victory too easy; The best confrontations are those where the participants are evenly matched and the reader really starts to worry about the character he / she loves so much. This is when the reader holds their breath to see what is going to happen.
5. End the story. This is when the reader sees how everything falls into place. Make sure the ending gives you a sense of fulfillment, of catharsis. If this works for you, it works for the reader of your story.

Part 4 of 4: Finish the comic

1. Create thumbnails for the story. To help with this, create a timeline with each step or event in the story, and write in advance how many pages you want to spend on each event - that way, you don't make the mistake of spending more pages on an unimportant event. than the to climax. Then you create thumbnails based on how you divided the events. This doesn't have to be a full script: thumbnails are small, sketchy versions of each page. Use the thumbnails to plot the plot - decide how much of the story you want to tell on each page, and in each frame. Think about the composition of each frame and how you will convey what you want to convey to the reader. Don't be afraid to try many different miniatures, which organize your story in many different ways. Since they are small and sketchy, you don't need to spend as much time on them as on a fully drawn page.
2. Cut out the right frames. Put these in order and discard the frames that are wrong and make new ones if necessary.If you like certain aspects of a certain frame, copy them into new attempts.
3. Draw the border lines for your final pages. Use your final panels as a guide. You can now do this loosely while you are busy placing the final artwork in the space of the page. You may find that some of your thumbnail should be larger or smaller, or more / less emphasized. Now is the time to make those final important decisions.
4. Write the text in lightly. You may be tempted to start with the drawing first, but you need to make sure there is plenty of room for the text and speech bubbles. Do this now first and you will save yourself a lot of headaches at a later stage.
   • Pay attention to where the speech bubbles go. The reader naturally reads a text from top left to bottom right. Keep that in mind as you look for the right place for the text in the box.
5. Make your first sketches in large format. Make sure it's clear what needs to be in each frame and that it works the way you want it to. Are there drawings that make it too busy around the text, so that it is printed in a corner somewhere, and difficult to read? Has a speech bubble been placed over an important detail in the drawing? Is everything clear and easy to understand? Always try to use a sharp pencil so that people can read your comic or comic strip properly. If necessary, opt for a mechanical pencil. Some artists use non-repro blue pencils to draw in the characters and designs of the frames. This is because these very light blue pencils are invisible to photocopiers and black and white printers, so you don't have to remove them at a later stage. Then you can further elaborate the artwork with pencil. Work light - you will see all the lines that overlap your ink lines in the final version of your comic.
   • Remember to proofread every page to make sure it is clear enough. When people who read it start asking questions like "What do you mean by that?" or "How did that character get there?", that page is not clear enough.
6. Finish the pencil work. Add details to your characters, things and backgrounds.
7. Ink the pages that are finished, if necessary. Some artists only work in pencil ("Herobear and the Kid" is an example), but most comics are inked. Use what makes you feel good - or have someone else ink the pages (like at the larger drawing studios). Use Penstix, Rapidograph, or quills, brushes and India ink and you will watch your drawings come to life. Pay particular attention to the line thickness, where the outlines are thicker than the lines that indicate, for example, the nose or details of the clothing. Also ink the outlines of the boxes.
8. Choose a font or write your letters with ink. Lettering is extremely important - half of it defines the story, with the pictures telling the other half. Handwriting the text can be time-consuming and difficult, but it looks great when done by a talented calligrapher. Use a pencil to outline the letters - nothing looks worse than running out of space in a speech bubble. Or use Word or a similar program, and a font like Comic Sans, to make your text look perfect and readable. Don't forget to check spelling !!
9. Come up with a title for your story. This is not always as easy as it sounds. If you've already found a good one, fine. If not, start writing about 50 - 100 words for a short story or 100 - 200 if it's a long story (this is annoying, that's right, but it will stretch the boundaries of your imagination and force you to a slightly more creative title), then combine all the words together into one title. After a few combinations, pick the one that sounds best and ask some friends to help you. Always ask for the opinion of others. Ask your friends which title will most make them want to read the story.
10. Decide whether or not to publish your comic book. If the result turned out to be very good, you might even be able to sell it at a Comic Con. If the results aren't that spectacular (or you're just not interested in a release), you can always create another Facebook page for your comic, or put it on YouTube instead!

Tips

• Make the front page colorful and eye-catching.
• Read a lot of comic strips and comics. It doesn't hurt to learn from the masters.
• Try to think carefully before you start writing and drawing. The better you imagine the story and the individual characters, the better you can describe and draw them.
• Don't make the story too long or too short. If it is too short an interested reader will be disappointed. But if the story is too long and complex, the reader will eventually drop out.
• Don't be afraid to start over with a story or a page if you don't think it's appropriate. All that work you've done is always helpful, even if it feels like it was in vain. Remember, practice makes perfect.
• While you're writing a comic book, it's important to balance the amount of action and dialogue. Too much action and it gets over-the-top, too much dialogue and the comic (depending on the quality of the dialogues) can get boring.
• Have others reread your story over and over. Don't be afraid of criticism. It is often not easy for someone to point out a point in your story or drawings that is not appropriate, especially if you have worked so hard on it, but it is essential. Remember that your opinion is not exactly objective.
• Work out your idea consistently.

Warnings

• Don't feel discouraged if the story or drawings aren't as good as you'd like. With a little practice it will get better. You're not immediately a pro.