#I need to practice comic layouts

[drawingoddessy]

I’m dying to write a comic, anyone have any ideas that they would like to see in a short comic?

[cirusthecitrus]

Entrapdak Positivity Month 2023 Days 9-10: Invite + Argument

Mkay story behind this one: one of many parties in Bright Moon, everybody promised to bring something they cooked/baked themselves. And Entrapta was very excited to make something for her friends! Hordak saw her the night before the event, all glowing and happy, so when some of Entrapta's friends had the audacity to dismiss her dish like this he could no longer stay in his quiet corner (the dish was still terrible)

[rhinco]

I just need to yell somewhere because that post you made about "my pre-trans self is a little girl and i killed her and our bones will be the same etc" is basically the plot of a visual novel im making and im not posting this on main because knowing that is like major endgame spoilers but. just wanted you to know that i felt that so hard that i had independently come to the exact same conclusion and the only way i could come up with to express the sentiment was making a self indulgent metaphorical werewolf VN whereas you expressed it very succinctly via tumblr text post. very based of you

!!!! that sounds sick as hell if you ever do post it please let me know :D and great minds think alike <33

[bc-jpeg]

now you’ll see how obsessed I’ve become with the hermit archives fanfiction that I decided to make illustrations based on it as my college graduation project :D

so, the story! I'm a design college graduate and we had to do our final projects. I chose an illustration project based on @sixteenth-days’s “from the archives” fanfiction! basically I needed to create a book layout and create story illustrations and cover illustrations along with the logo.

now I'm going to post here everything I've done for this project, I'll start with the covers!

why are there three cover versions shown here? during the period of choosing what we were going to do for the projects, fan fiction was in the process status, so it would have been difficult to try to create a whole book at that moment, and it would have taken much more time, which was limited. as an option, I decided to make this project in the issues format, close to the comic serial format. it has practical creation advantages, also provides much more illustrations than it could be. in theory, each such issue would have 5 chapters inside.

the logo is just a localized simpler version of the original fan fiction name, with a descriptor and an eye symbol.

I created the first three covers to show their appearance in this serial format. for the final project, I created story illustrations only for the first issue, for the first five chapters of fta (which I’ll post later on).

part 2

[nopanamaman]

Do you have any advice for drawing & animating quicker or is it all practice? Perfectionism also ties a lot into my workspeed, and I've always wanted to make a comic, so I'm trying to find away around it.

Practice helps for sure! You become able to capture the shapes you want faster and learn to streamline certain aspects of your style.

But also if I had to point out other factors that helped me get faster:

Less frames per page. It's easier to make a less cramped layout look good. Yes, you will need more pages to show the same succession of events. But juggling a ton of speech bubbles and panels every time will really slow you down, especially if you suffer from perfectionism.

Less frames per animation. All my current animations are low FPS. Use references to pinpoint which keyframes to prioritise and experiment with timing to make the most out of the few drawings you have. Post production can help smoothen things out with tweening and light camera shakes.

Flow/composition over everything. Most people won't care about the anatomy or perspective being subpar if the flow is good. 90% of my animation frames look like actual shit, but I like the way they move, and that's how most people will perceive them anyways. People usually blitz through comic panels as well. As long as the art in a particular panel isn't distractingly worse than the rest of the comic, no one will care.

Storyboard. When I was making the comic page by page, I often ran into the issue of having to go back and change things because the flow ended up being weird when reading the whole thing together. Storyboards help you settle on the overall flow and composition super early on, so you won't need to redraw the same scene several times over.

Lasso fill. I saw a post on twitter about someone being shocked at how much lasso fill has sped up their colouring process. It couldn't be that good, I thought. It was that good.

[avidlylivid]

everyone meet Lee Nova she has been spinning in my head at rapid speeds for like a week now

i love space and she does too, so i based the layout (loosely) on an official space heroes comic cover i saved a while a ago (under the cut)

i made this to be entered in @ultimatebabygirlsupremebattle 's competition for transfem leo(s)

(space heroes cover + short rant)

look at this and tell me it doesnt go hard. this is supposed to be for a knockoff series why did the creators put their budget into this masterpiece i am so upset there aren't more high quality covers available

ight so when drawing nova, i realised

despite watching 2012 tmnt from day 1 i never drew ANY of them

it is hard to pick names i completely forgot how difficult it is, i've been vibing with the same name for 4 years, sorry to everyone figuring out theirs

on the topic of names i was going to have her be 'Lenova' but it is apparently an obscure name and sounds too close to the 'lenovo' tech brand

backgrounds are hard

i need to practice colour theory oh god this is a mess

i hate drawing the knee/elbow pads i hate drawing them

character design hard :/

uh last few things if i draw any propaganda for her in the competition there is a very real chance her design will change slightly due to the fact i have never drawn the 2012 hamato siblings + her design currently feels a little too minimal. i personally don't think she'd change much about her appearance but she'd do a little more than this

also big thanks to my friends listening to me rant about her and sending a ton of progress screenshots, love you guys /p

[stickynotelovers-art]

Congrats on your new Wacom! Hope you enjoy using it. :D If you're taking requests, how about Mikey cooking something?

This is actually a tablet I've had for 6 years, lol. I have a new desk though and the layout I have set up is way different than my previous desk and I just need to get used to it. Plus going back to an older tablet where I'm not drawing on the same surface I also look at is a strange "relearning how to ride a bike" feeling.

It turned into some lineart practice and a silly comic instead of the handful of sketches I was originally planning because I had to reinstall my drivers and also came to the realization that drawing on a handheld tablet screen vs a normal drawing tablet is a completely different feeling.

[potionpeddlerpatchy]

Hi, yes I please enjoy this smut drabble that came to my mind for no reason other than I think of Sero often and what he would do

cw: sero x afab!reader, mirror sex, creampie.

“Why do you have such a large mirror in your bedroom?”

That is what everyone always asks. The people - friends and family, acquaintances at times too -  whether they be lucky to get a grand tour of your beautiful home during a holiday or summer barbeque, or they were there to enjoy a chill Saturday night at your place, whenever they would glance into your master suite and see it the question would be uttered.

You always had your reasons, excuses though they may, lined up and ready to go once that dreaded question was uttered; often times the answers left your lips before your brain could think to utter them. 

The main go-to response was usually for getting dressed. That a large mirror like that was a practical item in making sure outfits looked right; a larger mirror makes it earlier to see everything from head to toe, and from different angles after all. Can’t go to work or out for some fun without making sure the outfit looks cute, right? 

Usually, that was more than enough to satiate their curiosity; everyone had a mirror in their bedroom for that reason after all. But some people never were fully convinced, and they would probe again over the gigantic size - surely someone wouldn’t need one THAT big for just outfits?

To which, you had a planned response for it too. Mirrors in the style you wanted were hard for you to find when you were furniture shopping; either the material was wrong, the shape of the mirror was not idea, or the size was too extreme on either end. And well, you figured if could only get two out of the three things of your ‘perfect mirror wishlist’ it only made sense to forgo size and get the style and sturdy material.

Some would end there, shrugging their shoulders and just agreeing with you on that statement; furniture is after all hard to get perfect unless you were making it - and they all knew you were not a master furniture maker. But some, like your nosiest friends, would still prod further - to ask why you would go so large instead of smaller.

The phrasing would almost always make you giggle, but nonetheless, you kept up your composure; simply stating that it was all due to the layout of the bedroom. It was no surprise that your master suite was much larger than the other bedrooms in your abode. And with all the extra space, you would have to find some way to fill it. A smaller mirror would just emphasize just how large and almost barren the room was, by adding a ginormous mirror it helped fill the space and keep things in order - feng shui and all that.

Every single question, every single poke, and prod at your choice in decorating was always handled with grace and a reason - especially that comically large, wide, mirror that sat on the far wall across your bed. It was simply something that made sense and ended up fitting well into the grand plan of your home.

You could never fess up that it was your boyfriend who wanted it.

When you both bought the beautiful home, Sero allowed you to do as you pleased; to decorate the place how you saw fit. He claimed you had a better eye for it, but it was mainly because of how cute it was to see you excitedly come home every day with something new to add. But when it came to your bedroom, he had only one request. Well, more like one stipulation. That you could make it as pretty as you wanted, but he was the one to choose the mirror. 

And when he came back home with that mirror, one that stood taller than him, you knew the reason why.

And that reason was why you had to make excuses, why you had to tell little white lies to get people off the subject because it was simply too embarrassing for you to say; a topic your poor little self couldn’t handle discussing.

It was because you always looked so pretty when you came.

Sero loved having you sit in his lap, legs spread over his own to gain the perfect view of your cunt for both your eyes to feast on, as his fingers stretched you out. How his other hand would force yours in place as you watched your own essence dripping down your thighs, how they would shake uncontrollably as he skillfully built you and kept you there for what seemed like hours.

And when you would whine, beg and cry so pretty for him for some form of release he would simply chuckle, kissing your temple, and murmur into your hair  “Can’t cum unless you look, sweetheart” 

It would take all your might to pry your eyes open, to meet his briefly before staring down at your abused and aching pussy. Only then would he finally give you what you wanted. “That’s it, pretty girl, look at you. Look at how pretty you are.”

But of course, that was never enough for him. He loved watching how your little hole took his cock; loves seeing it stretched and drooling as he bullies his way in. Loves seeing your wreaked face as you struggle to keep up, to allow him in, as broken moans ring like a sweet melody in his ear.

“Look at you, taking me so good. No one can take my cock like you can baby, no one. Look at how well you’re taking me gorgeous, come on.”

He taunts you whenever you try to hide, hips stilling their delicious friction until you have to look. Your need for release overpowered any kind of shyness you held, and he always uses that to his advantage as he whispers praises in your ear; the tickling sensations added to your heightened senses and sending you repeatedly over that heavenly edge.

The night always ends with him getting too enraptured by it all; too compelled by your cries of his name - so broken and sweet it drives him wild. To the point where that wonderful glass is pressed against your skin, the cool sensation is a stark contrast against your abused and heated flesh of your face and chest, as pins you against it. Hips unrelentingly pounding into you and the sounds of flesh meeting yours filled your ears as your moans fog the glass. 

It is only now that you are gifted the sight of him; of how his face changes and contorts to the pleasure you give him; truly a shame you are so far gone to truly appreciate it.

And when he finally cums, finally fills you up in the way he knows you crave and allows your poor body the respite it needs from his pleasurable assault does he sit you back in his lap to watch as his milky cum drips out of you.

Yeah, you guess you could say it's best to come up with an excuse for the mirror in your bedroom.

[goldenshrikecomic]

Hello! GS is one of my favorite comics right now and a huge inspiration in my own journey of working on a comic. One of the things I find the most impressive is your paneling. Visually each of them are laid out in a way that gives this great flow, it feels really natural to imagine the pages in motion.

Would it be okay to ask what your thought process is on panelling, or just general advice/thoughts on setting up/laying out pages? I hope this makes sense

When I think about page layout, my number one question is what kind of panel I want the page to end with. It shouldn't cut the conversation or motion awkwardly, and ideally it should be something that acts like a hook that makes you want to click to the next page, like here:

It's all about getting from part A to part B. Part A, you're here. Where's the part B? The cutting point, the point where the page ends, where the chapter ends, and ultimately where the story ends.

What kind of story you want to make?

What kind of plot points you want to cover in your chapter?

How much content there is in this one page, does it forward the plot, relationships, or just show a side of someone you want seen?

You can go even smaller. Is this panel important? Does it need a full background? Could these three small panels of characters talking be one big panel? It'll save you time and look nicer.

You'll get it with practice! The old first pages of my comic wasted a lot of space, sometimes they still do. Don't stuff it full but don't get too loose! Don't be afraid of small panels, reserve big ones for big moments, like mother saying goodbye to her kid, or a yellow deer meeting a god. I see many starting comicers use very few panels per page, but this is a LOT of unnecessary work that builds up versus you including more panels per page. It's all about the bubbles. Bubbles lead everything. It's the silent pages that are the hardest.

Again, this is just how I do it. I bet there's tons of different approaches that work for the right people. Hope you find what works the best for you, best of luck with your project!

[elviraaxen]

ive really been loving the pacing of your story and i enjoy the concept and the bits that have been released about the plot! youre doing really well, and i admire it greatly!!

ive been having trouble figuring out an overall plot in my own work, i just have character ideas and the vaguest idea for a storyline. i try to just write but then i usually end up taking a break (re: dumping it) because i don't have anymore ideas for how to complete the plot. i've laso been curious about how you go about writing for a comic (do you write then do thumbnails? do thumbnails then go back to figure out dialogue? a third thing?) so i was wondering if you had any advice or resource tips for writing? both for comics and for overarching plots, if that's okay

if you don't have any ideas tho, no worries. i was just curious. good luck with Felt World! i love everything that's coming out so far, thank you for gifting us it!!

Oh thank you so much!! I can't say I'm a comic book artist at heart because I really don't have much experience, I was only an illustrator for a short while and never wrote anything myself, but learning from past mistakes (i.e. I don't stick to plans), I've so far done this and it seems to work:

I'm one of those that don't like to plan strict layouts for the entire thing, because chances are I will not stick to it, so what I've done for felt world is just write a sketch for the overarching plot, the b-plot and c-plot, with rough estimates in what order I want the major plot points and settings to be. My current sketch looks like this;

(which is done in Miro) and as you can see there aren't that many plot points, because I want to have the wiggle room to come up with something on the spot. And also, my comic focuses a lot on interpersonal relationships, character development, and themes rather than the plot, which means it needs to be concise or else the comic is gonna take 6 million years to finish.

And now,, I think this might just be how I work, but I think it's easier to be creative when you have strict restrictions rather than all the choices in the world.

for me, personally, I restrict an update of 10 pages tops, because instagram only allows max 10 images per post! This means I have to 1) fit all I want to say in 10 pages, 2) it has to be concise or else I infodump on readers, and 3) I have to answer some sort of question within the update, or else I said nothing and I start over.

As for scripts, I tend to write one or two sentences of what's going to happen for the update, and then I get to thumb-nailing and sketching right away! I come up with most of the dialogue on the spot too.

And also, I think what's most important, is that you take your damn time! If you aren't immersing yourself in your own world, how do you expect your readers to do the same?

I'm very much a believer that the stories you are telling are something that comes to you naturally if you just sit with it and listen rather than demand that it makes itself known to you. When I brainstorm for felt world I quite literally sit in my bed and go "omg!! And then what? :0" TO MYSELF LMAO as if I'm not making everything up myself! I think that's extremely important that your story is engaging to you first and foremost!

And as for more practical tips

carry a notebook with you or use your notes app AS SOON as you get ideas to write them down! No you will not remember, lol.

set rules of what you're not allowed to do with your story so that you don't fall into lazy trope territory! You can do that when you brain storm, but finesse the story post brainstorm to just make it.. smarter.. if that makes sens For example, don't kill your gay characters, don't make sensitive men the butt of the joke, don't make your women fight over men (unless it's the point), etc.

set physical restrictions! For example, max amount of pages per upload, max amount of pages for the whole story, max amount of characters, etc.! That literally forces you to problem solve, which by definition is creativity! Like, oh you can't do this the obvious way? Do it the creative way! That's way more fun!

I could probably go on, but this is too long already! But I hope it at least helped somewhat!

[sabertoothwalrus]

eep sorry if youve been asked this, but when u go abt drawing bgs for ur comics, do u look up references or use imagination, and how do u practice drawing bgs for storyboards rather than illustrations? im rlly not sure where to start, and i feel like a lot of advice focuses on rendering bgs rather than it feeling ~lived in~ or actively being used or augh not sure how to say!!

hhhh ok this is something I am also still in the process of trying to figure out, and I am not a professional storyboard artist so I will attempt to answer to the best of my ability.

when it comes to storyboards, the amount of detail bgs will have during the boards phase will depend largely on both the studio AND the specific production. some 3D shows will have a render of a commonly used room the board artists can angle around for their shots. Adventure Time boards tended to be pretty loose, while the Owl House boards are EXCEPTIONALLY clean. DTVA seems to have bgs created in a several step process, and I'm not exactly sure of the timeline, but I know they have vis dev artists that do more illustrative, conceptual drawings to get the vibe, then the board artists draw out what general angles will actually be used, then layout artists/bg designers who actually go in and DRAW those bgs and add in all the little details, and THEN the colorist comes in and...colors it. I don't think every studio distributes the work in this same way. Not every studio is going to want board artists to draw clean backgrounds, but MOST will get pissed if you refuse to draw them at all djfhgdjf

If you want some tips about adding small details, this has some really useful advice.

I don't add lighting or grayscale values to my comics unless it's important to the tone/clarity, and I think that's generally the case with boards too (at least for TV, I don't know as much about boarding for feature). Here's some advice about adding lighting.

^ here's a bg I put a little more effort into than usual. I referenced some images of thrift shops I pulled up on duck duck go, some of my own memories of thrift shops I've been to, and even went on the shiftythrifting tumblr. This was just a silly comic I knew I'd be posting on tumblr rather than a serious board, so it didn't matter to me if it was perfectly clean or not. some of the shapes are... vague. and loose. but who cares sdjhfjd I think (?) it conveys the concept that this is a thrift shop.

^ for THIS comic I wanted imply hunter crowded them in the bathroom to "talk in private" which felt like a very 16 year old thing to do + there were already some nifty references of the Noceda's bathroom. and listen I know it's not perfect. I didn't draw ANY perspective guides, did more trial and error than I probably needed to, the cabinet is WAY too high. (even in the original, why is this bathroom so spacious???? why is the toilet so far from the wall where the toilet paper is???) but even with all the mistakes, it doesn't matter! no one probably noticed while watching. you see it so briefly, and your attention is still focused on the characters.

I'd say the main thing when drawing bgs for storyboarding & comics is to focus on Perspective and Composition above all else. It's ok to be loose, but make sure you still have Clarity. Be mindful of proportion ("how big is this character in comparison to the objects around them?") and angles ("if this is a low angle, shouldn't I be seeing the ceiling/sky?") etc etc because even if you know you won't be drawing it perfectly, it helps to still have it in mind.

[deoidesign]

Just wanted to say I absolutely adore your comic! It reminds me of all the comics I would read when I was little (except now they're gay), the style and shading is amazing.

What would you say is your favorite part of creating your comic, and do you have any tips?

Thank you I'm so glad to hear that!

I think my favorite part of making comics is the way it sort of feels like a puzzle. It's super mentally difficult but it's extremely rewarding to figure out plots and work out my best execution of it! I also LOVE editing, it's where things get to really pull together.

As for tips, I'm not sure what you mean! so I'll just share a few tips for a few different ideas...

Saving time

to save time I save every head I've ever drawn in a file so I can reuse the head (I redraw the face) which allows me to skip the sketching stage, since I only need to sketch for heads!

I also make my backgrounds a single very large image so I can reuse parts of it throughout the whole scene, recolor it for different times of day, etc, which saves a TON of time for me. Then, I just add in some spot blacks on top to make it feel cohesive with the character art! (this ALSO has saved me a TON when I've been converting my pages from scroll format to page format, as I have a high quality version of the background to use when I need the panels to be wider!)

But the biggest thing that saves me time is my line confidence.

So, next I'll talk about lineart tips!

most important is to draw from your elbow and your shoulder, instead of your wrist and fingers. this will get you cleaner lines, but will also save your body in the long run! The wrist is extremely fragile, so start learning to draw with more of your arm NOW rather than later.

Next is practicing line confidence! this basically is what gets you to draw the right line the first time, saving you a ton of time! These two tips sort of go hand in hand.

writing tips

First and foremost, you should be having fun! and I'm so serious, if you are working on a scene that feels like a drag to you, it will drag to your readers too. Whatever you feel like that scene HAS to be there for can almost definitely be accomplished in a different way!

but, really, I like to try to keep the big picture in mind. What is this scene accomplishing, what needs to happen to force these character changes, what needs to be revealed, what information about the world is canonized, etc, rather than thinking about your story as "events that have happened and will have to happen"

building off of that, my personal rule for establishing information is 3 times: If you've mentioned something three times, you can expect the audience to remember it. If you've mentioned it once or twice, it's really pretty likely they'll have forgotten by the time it's relevant.

This is getting really pretty long, I could get into character design tips, worldbuilding tips, tips for characters emoting, layout tips, marketing tips, business tips... there are SO many skills that go into making a comic, it's extremely hard to offer tips without knowing what you're looking for!

[magicratfingers]

WRHP S2 Notes

Okie dokie here's the wuffleherp deal for season two (this is more for my accountability than actual news.)

I'll start posting tomorrow morning, likely once a day to get it rolling and then move to twice a week so I can try & push layout quality.

Season 2 is a mix of behind the scenes, PBS TV context & of course the regency werewolf shenanigans we know and love. It should be pretty clear what's BTS and what's WRHP b/c I'll be using different panel styles.

Sticking to consistent formats is gonna be my big learning exercise. Same with whatever this post is.

If yer new here, Werewolf Regency House Party (WRHP, wufflehouse) is my practice comic. I get a lot of questions about this - the werewolves are werewolves in kind of a DND anthro way. I’m not too serious about it. I'll keep posting work-in-progress, process notes and the comics here on my main blog, and then reposting just the comics over on @ratfingerspress

Season 2 is a continuation of what Season 1 started but you don't need to read S1 to follow it. Everything to date is canon. It'll also establish more context and background (for mine learning) I'll be making some sort of master post / link list of S1 and all the little comics that came before it sometime today.

Lol this feels like I'm emailing my boss. The big references are Dark Shadows (the original TV show), Regency Romance (mostly the tropes), SCTV & GLOW (the netflix one)

[gynandromorph]

Hello! Do you have any advice for someone who can't draw, who's looking to write a comic? I'm fairly confident in my ability to produce an at least semi-competent script & layout, but I just don't have the artistic ability to make it look decent without years of practice that I'm missing. Am I just pretty much hamboned?

i'm not sure if i have a good answer -- comics are an assload of work with a specific skillset required, which means the majority of artists won't mesh well with drawing a comic. artists who bothered to learn the nuances often aren't interested in making them if it isn't for their own ideas -- they probably learned just by drawing a lot of their own short comic ideas over the years. some have this skillset but they developed it for occupational reasons, so they'll need to be paid to do it, which would also be a lot of money due to the labor involved. the artists who don't have the skillset generally also look for payment. it sounds like you want an artist for a longer story, but if you're only looking for a few pages, the price of paying someone is a lot more manageable. i think your options are: 1) write it as a book to remove the art dilemma entirely 2) adapt the story to work well with a simpler, more "amateur" art style, then learn and draw that style 3) pay an artist to draw your script (this would be most feasible by dividing the story into chapters or small chunks and paying for a portion at a time and providing layouts to an artist who isn't very experienced with comics) or 4) win Partner Lottery and convince them to draw your writing free of charge as a collaborative bonding thing

[mynameismad]

Please can I have some advice about making comics, specifically figuring out panel/page layout? Robber/Robert was beautiful and flowed so nicely

(Sorry, I know that’s a big ask, especially busy as you are! I would be grateful for even the smallest nugget of wisdom!)

Hey! I know you're specifically referencing Robber/Robert, but all of the tips I gave in my How To Draw Sakana series still mostly apply to the way I make comics!

I plot out important story beats first (and the ending) and fill in little jokes between those mostly on the fly.

Even though RR is mostly digital (unlike Sakana, which is totally traditional), I still thumbnail RR traditionally because it's easier for me to see the whole page that way, and really get a sense of how big each panel and each element within the panel needs to be. All other details are basically omitted at this point, it's really just figuring out page composition. I also write out the dialogue traditionally. Even if I have a good idea of what I want the characters to say in every panel, trying to come up with exact dialogue later in the process always spells disaster for me. So I try to figure out dialogue and thumbnails at the same time.

The 5 in 5 rule is still what governs my panel/page layouts! I feel like the last [5] rule is worded a little poorly: what I mean is that hands can also add a lot to character acting and should be present as often as possible to avoid having too many "talking heads" panels. Even if a page is dialogue heavy, at least having the character gesture with hands or even do a small task (like make coffee or something) during a conversation or monologue will be more satisfying to read. ALSO, BACKGROUNDS ARE GOOD. I know I'm in the minority of people who LOVE drawing very complicated backgrounds, but even a few little lines or shapes or colors here and there behind a character can keep them present in the environment. I always try to Avoid The Void, but it really depends on how important the setting is to your story. I only draw comics with very specific important settings for some reason lol.

RR is in an American comics format (so roughly 10"x15", which is a 2x3 ratio and can scale down to 6x9 for print.) Again, I think it's important to get as much of a sense of how the page will look in the thumbnail stage as possible, without bogging yourself down with too many details. Often characters will just be pegs with circles for heads (and in Rob's case, two little antenna lines that make him look like a cricket), but where they are and how big they are are most crucial. I'd even suggest thumbnailing two consecutive pages right next to each other so you can really see the flow from one to the next.

The rest of the pages only really apply if you're thinking about doing your comic completely traditional. Penciling, inking, and lettering DON'T need to happen on the same page/paper, but I'm used to that workflow so that's how I do it!

LETTERING IS STILL VERY IMPORTANT THOUGH. I'm sorry to be harsh, but there's nothing worse than bad letters on a great looking comic. If you're not feeling great about your lettering capabilities, I'd suggest taking some time with tutorials and practice to get something that really fits your comic style.

FINALLY, it's important to go out there and find comics that you LIKE and really study what they're doing, how they're doing it, and why it speaks to you. Currently I'm looking at a lot of Franco-Belgian comics, which are bigger than american or manga sizes, and CHOCK FULL of backgrounds usually. Some day I'd like to make something that looks similar, so I'm using every comic project I make as practice to get closer and closer to that style.

Anyways, I know that's a lot of images and text, so thank you if you got all the way through it, and I hope it's helpful! If there's something specific you're still confused about, I can always try to explain a little more. Thanks!

[wellnoe]

hi! I love your art so much?? you’ve really reignited a love for the x-men that I haven’t had since I was a kid <3 I wanted to ask if you had any advice for making comics? have a nice day!!

ah!!! ty!

when i make comics on my own (most of the single page stuff i post on here) i have a different process than when i make comics with other people. i usually start with a couple of strong visuals i have in mind, then i’ll break down what i want to be conveyed by the paneling (basically: what are the main beats i want to hit?), and then i finally do dialogue. i sometimes put in placeholder dialogue to remind me of information that absolutely has to be conveyed in the layouts/pencils stage, but most dialogue only gets added in after a page is completely done, colors and all. this is the most intuitive way to do comics for me, and i think that’s my first piece of advice, which is find a workflow that makes sense for how your brain conceives of scenes. anyway bc thats my process all of my advice is basically about drawing comics.

(this is the 'coming up with visuals' stage for a comic i'm working on currently. you can see that i'm basically just throwing anything at the wall to see if it works, and leaving a couple words/notes for myself so i know whats going on. its not even really a layout, the panels are not arranged how they would be on a final page.)

my other piece of advice is to pick apart paneling and comics you love? don’t just redraw them (though that can help too), but study what the paneling and composition conveys, and how that accentuates the story (which it often does!). i’ve done this w watchmen, a couple of moon knight runs, and some x-stuff, and i find it really helps me learn a lot about pacing, how time works, and how to economically convey information (bc you have a lot less room on a page than you think!). as a part of that: an exercise i think is a lot of fun/really helpful is to take pages/scenes you like and recompose them. use different paneling to convey the same scene and see how the meaning changes! do it intentionally, planning on pulling focus to something the original scene slides by. you can do this with your own stuff too:

(this is me picking apart a redraw i wanted to do of a comic i posted on here a couple of years ago. first i redrew the comic in the left corner so i could see the composition, then i made notes to myself about what the original comic was supposed to be about, and what i wanted to add to it to improve it. sorry for how blurry it is, the pencil smudged.)

here’s some rapid fire stuff i like to keep in mind while making comics: time does not exist in comics the way it exists in movies or in prose. the gutter? anything can happen there. it is potentially literally any amount of time. its up to you to convey via panel content and composition how much time has passed (which can be very little!) same deal with space. things happen in between panels, and people move, but also panels overlap, or squish, or disregard scenery. that said! this has to be done intentionally. how panels are organized, their size, their relationship to one another, all convey information to your reader. my point is the sky's the limit here. so yknow. have fun w it.

finally i think you just need to do it a lot. i have a ton of comic layouts or pencils that i never posted bc they honestly just aren’t that competent, but i learned nevertheless. there’s other stuff that never made it past the layout or sketch stage bc i was just doing it to practice, so there was never any need to ink or color it. making comics like any other drawing is about continuously assessing intention and communication.

hope that was helpful in some way!! i like making comics a lot, and i have a lot of fun thinking about paneling and the like. i hope you have fun making comics too <3