“do you have a process for making comics?”
My process usually goes something like:
1. The Big Idea/ brainstorming (sometimes I jot down notes or make a mind map). If you plan to make something BIG like a webcomic or a graphic novel, definitely write down your ideas!
2. Small thumbnails! Make sketches of your page that are maybe one to two inches tall. The idea here is to block out composition/bubbles/focal point etc, and you can’t focus too much on details because it’s so small. I made these so I can print them and quickly sketch inside them. Feel free to print/download these yourself for future comics! (*Note- these are designed for A5 size)
3. Make notes on your thumbnails, feel free to get messy and totally rearrange panels or layouts. Redo a thumbnail if it doesn’t feel right and make note of which page it is.
4. I bring my thumbnails into a drawing program like Photoshop or Clip Studio. You’re free to use whatever drawing program you have, Or, if you work traditionally, prepare your paper!
5. Using the thumbnails as a guide, I draw in the characters, bgs, details, etc. with a light color. If you’re using paper, they have special blue and red pencils designed just for sketching. I don’t suggest jumping right into inking from your thumbnails unless you have a very simple style– think of this step as a clean up sketch
6. Speech / text – if your comic has any narration or dialogue or sound fx, be sure to allow space for it in your panels! Even if you plan to do handwriting, I like to type any dialogue out and arrange the text ahead of time so I can make my drawings around it and give it the space it needs to be legible and not compete with the drawings for attention.
7. NOW we ink! Using your clean up sketch as a guide, make your lines. If you’re planning to color, that goes next. And then you can add any special effects you want on top!
Here’s a gif process of a page I did a while ago!
