I reworked the ol' "Schweizer Guide to Spotting Tangents" lecture from my comics-teaching days, figured I'd share it here.
If you want a free, printable PDF for yourself or to share (especially if you're an educator), you can find it at the bottom of this same lesson on my website.
also I closedĀ my askbox for a little bit because i wont be able to reply to asks until september ;;Ā
1) Im a selftaught artist, so those advices i give are not professional to that grade but my own experience xD
there are different ways to start a comic, maybe at first try to do a short one with simple plot to get used to the paneling! I suggest to look at different artists who draw comics so you can see what page style fits you more. Thereās not really a rule for paneling so people tend to get lost in there you just need to find your style
try different perspective (I know its hard)Ā and dont be afraid to draw backgrounds. even simple ones are ok and it makes a big difference from just a blank space xD
use a LOT of references. and dont get mad if the drawings are not as good as you wish they were. you have to focus more on the story because if the story is good then that is gonna be the first thing people will look at. good art is importantĀ but donāt get frustraited too much over it and try to follow the flow of the page more. try always your best tho BOTH in art and story just donāt push yourself over your limit because youāre gonna build upin the process ;;
Ā furthermore i always suggest to draw comics as a way to improve art in general because if you keep going you will improve page by page. especially expressions ;; (also youtube tutorials are great!!!!!!)
donāt run away from your weaknessĀ (could it be hands, legs, anatomy etc) by finding ways to not draw those xD you gotta draw those more!!!
also i stumbled across this artistās comic tips and i find them super valid and i always reccomend to check those out ;;
2) THANK YOU FOR CHECKING TAGS FIRST ;; it's true I didn't show much of Rex yet as in the present he's not really active. He's the original owner of the body indeed in ALL the comics about the swapfells past Pup isn't present at all since he literally wasn't existing yet. the "accident" will be explained in the new comic although i'm planning to draw more of dlots with Rex and more dlots about their past. as I got asked many times about the whole Pup/rex situation I'm thinking about making a storyboard to explain better with more details their story without spoilering the main comic (as that specific part will come after a looong time xD)
BUT I'm not sure about when i will actually have time to do it. I think after the reference sheets about the other AUs so maybe once those are done you will get to know more about the boy ;; sorry for being really slow on providing infos but my time is limited and i want to do things the best way i can. thank you for your interest ;; <333
3) aah thank you dear I'm glad you liked that comic ;; as for your question well I have a few things that motivates me to draw storylines/series:
i want to tell stories mostly and the best way to do it, at least for me, is by drawing comics
I want to show characters interactions and i want to see myself how the characters develope through the series. sometimes I'm more like a watcher as the story is forming them and not really my own specific choice xD
Pup for example! I didnt plan to make him like he is xD the story needed a character that could balance the angst happened in the chapter before his appereance so that's how he became the goofy character of the story. As Ā one of the main protagonists tho he developed through the chapters to become a more serious and deep boy than he could look from the beginning. he developed thanks to the story. thats also why i think comics are amazing they help you forming your characters. you also get to learn from them ;;
what also motivates me a lot are the comments and interactions of the people reading my comics. it's really a huge help for me. but you can't really count on that in the beginning! because people will come only if you are determined enough to start by yourself and work for yourself ;; just because you dont have much feedback yet it doesnt mean you're not good enough. people still have to find you! the more you post, the higher are the chances of you to be found and you'll finally get the feedback you deserve! don't give up and give always your best ;; draw for yourself not for the notes
thank you all for your questions ;; you know it means a lot to me <33
Found this in my notes from Comic Art Workshop recently. Eleri is a comics editing gun and sheās done a tonne of work on my book. Itās so much of a better graphic novel because of it, plus sheās saved my wrist by helping me cut roughly a hundred pages.
Eleri also added that if she gets stuck while scripting her own comics (or editing someoneās script) she assigns each page eight numbered bullet points and writes to those, which Iāll definitely be stealing in the future.
